Let's talk about the Walsall game

[RobbieDRFC]

2 weeks on the training ground, and all I can’t see the purpose of the new tactic for goal kicks.

Williams takes the goal kick and passers it 2 yards sideways to Mitchell. Mitchell then kicks the ball upfield.

Anyone else know the tactic behind this?

This made me laugh. It looked ridiculous.

I just don’t understand the logic, all it did was draw pressure on immediately as they had the players to close down Williams and Anderson as soon as the ball was kicked.

[Prez]

Some very well made and articulate posts above. Can’t disagree with anything what’s been written. It’s just soul destroying watching our decline. Schofield has only been in the job a few week, but already alarm bells are ringing with him. Too negative and not proactive. Not ruthless enough.

Still persisting like GM with 1 up front. It’s not working though is it?

I left early yesterday albeit around 87th min. Only ever done that on 3 or 4 occasions in 40 years, and I’m ashamed to say I’m seriously considering not renewing next season, which would be the first time in 20 years.

[Upton Rover]

To me, it’s quite simple to see, another inexperienced manager that can’t motivate a poor squad, won’t admit when the team is performing shite, and doesn’t think we need pace

[normal rules]

Criticism for some players, the manager and the board.
Not one ounce of finger pointing towards the one person who everyone believed would shape the football our club is playing since he was given a job invented just for him.
Nothing has changed has it?

[sf9944]

I think the problem is largely down to poor recruitment.  From my own experience I know that there is nothing more important a manager does it recruit well.  I think previous managers have failed in this respect for whatever reason.  Does make me wonder what value these so called talent identification people we have employed have added!

The type of player we should be recruiting is epitomised by their number 30 (Bennett) last night.  Brave, quick, skilful and ran all night.  Are these sort of players really beyond our reach?

[BiargeBob]

https://www.drfc-vsc.co.uk/index.php?topic=286514.90#:~:text=Quote%20from%3A%20mushRTID,It%20looked%20ridiculous.

It does improve Williams passing stats

[goalkick]

Our style of play leaves a lot to be desired. Most teams we play seem to have more pace while we plod around like a bunch of old men. I feel sorry for miller up front on his own with little support. I can understand people not attending after yesterdays poor performance. Why can’t we attract players like walsall?

[ForsolongaRover]

If Close was MOTM it can only be because he played it safe. He avoided tackling, avoided making forward passes and avoided making himself available to receive the ball to build attacks. What is the opposite of a midfield dynamo?

When I saw Clayton was playing I worried about his limitations, but in fact he was one of the few who put in a creditable stint. Unlike most of the rest he could make an actual footballing contribution - everything slowed to his pace anyway.

Schofield made a big issue about running stats, work rate etc., not long ago and they put in less effort yesterday than they did a fortnight ago at Colchester.  Just what is he talking about? Coaching is not only about teaching and measuring activities, it is getting your squad to go out and play football in the way you have supposedly been drumming into them. What have they learnt since McS left that has made them play any better?

[ncRover]

If Close was MOTM it can only be because he played it safe. He avoided tackling, avoided making forward passes and avoided making himself available to receive the ball to build attacks. What is the opposite of a midfield dynamo?

When I saw Clayton was playing I worried about his limitations, but in fact he was one of the few who put in a creditable stint. Unlike most of the rest he could make an actual footballing contribution - everything slowed to his pace anyway.

Schofield made a big issue about running stats, work rate etc., not long ago and they put in less effort yesterday than they did a fortnight ago at Colchester.  Just what is he talking about? Coaching is not only about teaching and measuring activities, it is getting your squad to go out and play football in the way you have supposedly been drumming into them. What have they learnt since McS left that has made them play any better?

We have a collection of weak mentality players. I would hope that Coppinger would be able to see this, given his book. But as Clayton said “everybody says the right things”.

[selby]

  If DS does not change both some of the players in the team  and the tactics and set up of the player's we currently have at the club, or in the next window gets players in that are tactically aware and technical enough to play his preferred style. he will not last this season out, and might take some others with him.

[i_ateallthepies]

We’ve gone from League One promotion contenders where our managers were deemed to be desirable by bigger clubs so they left us, to now where we are in a frankly worrying situation of cycling through managers regularly having to sack them due to terrible results. to now playing as absolute also rans in League Two, the lowest professional tier.

How has it come to this? We’ve blinked and gone from League One respectability to an unstable mess in League Two, in only a few short seasons.

The club said it had taken steps to ensure that losing managers in this way would be less likely.  What the omitted to tell us was that this was to be achieved by recruiting managers so poor that nobody else would ever consider taking them from us.

[ForsolongaRover]

In Schofield’s post match interview he does not sound too concerned about the defeat, his emphasis being on the technical outcomes. It seemed important to him that we “had balance behind the ball” and inconvenient that Walsall were able to tactically counter our approach in the final third. He said that two up front was an option, but did not provide any further justification for not seeming to go any further. The journalists were really too polite to press him on the style of his answers which focused on a coach’s view of a game. SOD used to talk about performance, but the difference was that his team very often did out-perform the opposition when we failed to win.

Ferguson used to talk about the players as individuals reflecting an understanding of the individual as opposed to the footballer. You can be too technical and I’m afraid this is what comes across