Keep the Faith

[Butchers Red]

Let me begin by saying, I know and understand that football is a results business. Results are brought about by building a side who know their jobs, work and fight together and it usually takes a couple of seasons for this to come to fruition.

Yesterday - for 30 mins in the first half - and 47mins in the second, we dominated and swarmed over a Crewe side who for me are the best team I've seen us play this season. Their front 2 have pace, power and awareness of each other.

The combinations of Bailey /Nixon on the right, and Senior and Maxwell on the left were outstanding, with Zain and Closey linking it all together leaving Molly to roam at will. Mo was unplayable at times and Ironside's header was outrageously good for the equaliser.

The one handed save Jones made yesterday in the first half was unbelievably good.

Every player looks comfortable on the ball and all want it - the energy and effort levels yesterday were outstanding - matched by the Fans who never stopped singing even after the last minute sickener.

The ovation we gave the lads at the end says it all - this team is getting better and better, are a joy to watch ( even in defeat ) and it won't be long before someone get's 5 or 6 pumped past them.

The vast majority of negative posters, here and elsewhere clearly don't go to the games - oh and by the way only 12 sides out of 86 playing yesterday managed to keep a clean sheet - are  all their defenders shit as well??

[Lesonthewest]

Great post. I believe we are 2 commanding centre halves & a midfielder away from being an excellent side, the rest is in place.

[BillyStubbsTears]

Let me begin by saying, I know and understand that football is a results business. Results are brought about by building a side who know their jobs, work and fight together and it usually takes a couple of seasons for this to come to fruition.

Yesterday - for 30 mins in the first half - and 47mins in the second, we dominated and swarmed over a Crewe side who for me are the best team I've seen us play this season. Their front 2 have pace, power and awareness of each other.

The combinations of Bailey /Nixon on the right, and Senior and Maxwell on the left were outstanding, with Zain and Closey linking it all together leaving Molly to roam at will. Mo was unplayable at times and Ironside's header was outrageously good for the equaliser.

The one handed save Jones made yesterday in the first half was unbelievably good.

Every player looks comfortable on the ball and all want it - the energy and effort levels yesterday were outstanding - matched by the Fans who never stopped singing even after the last minute sickener.

The ovation we gave the lads at the end says it all - this team is getting better and better, are a joy to watch ( even in defeat ) and it won't be long before someone get's 5 or 6 pumped past them.

The vast majority of negative posters, here and elsewhere clearly don't go to the games - oh and by the way only 12 sides out of 86 playing yesterday managed to keep a clean sheet - are  all their defenders shit as well??

How many conceded 3 or more for the 5th time in 18 games?

[Butchers Red]

Let me begin by saying, I know and understand that football is a results business. Results are brought about by building a side who know their jobs, work and fight together and it usually takes a couple of seasons for this to come to fruition.

Yesterday - for 30 mins in the first half - and 47mins in the second, we dominated and swarmed over a Crewe side who for me are the best team I've seen us play this season. Their front 2 have pace, power and awareness of each other.

The combinations of Bailey /Nixon on the right, and Senior and Maxwell on the left were outstanding, with Zain and Closey linking it all together leaving Molly to roam at will. Mo was unplayable at times and Ironside's header was outrageously good for the equaliser.

The one handed save Jones made yesterday in the first half was unbelievably good.

Every player looks comfortable on the ball and all want it - the energy and effort levels yesterday were outstanding - matched by the Fans who never stopped singing even after the last minute sickener.

The ovation we gave the lads at the end says it all - this team is getting better and better, are a joy to watch ( even in defeat ) and it won't be long before someone get's 5 or 6 pumped past them.

The vast majority of negative posters, here and elsewhere clearly don't go to the games - oh and by the way only 12 sides out of 86 playing yesterday managed to keep a clean sheet - are  all their defenders shit as well??

How many conceded 3 or more for the 5th time in 18 games?

Agreed on that and I fully understand the stats - however,one of the oldest sayings around in football is that you defend from the front.

Because we are so expansive, and front footed it's more or less inevitable that we won't be able to always make them lung busting 40 yard back tracks - especially in the 92nd minute ffs !!

For me the quality of the defence isn't the main problem - yesterday was a great example - we should have been out of sight and 2 or 3 up after 30 minutes - and then again that period on the second half we should have had another 2 or 3.

Mo and Joe are doing their bit goal wise but to be brutally frank - Molly for all his endeavour simply isn't getting the goals his all round play warrants - neither is Zain or Closey. For me, Hurst will be the answer to that problem, we just need to get him on the pitch.

Then there's the plentiful crosses( 42 against Salford ) and corners we get every game - not once have we had a central defender hit the mark.

The team as a whole need to contribute more goals and kill off and dispirit the opposition much more.

[roversdude]

I hate criticising GM but after the Accrington game I can’t see how he could leave Wood out, Anderson was left flailing again yesterday and seems (at the minute) to cost us each game. He’s been a tremendous servant to us but he should be fighting for his place rather than a given
Agree that Crewe are the best I’ve seen this season. Personally I thought ZW was not up to his usual high standard yesterday but a great team performance and I’m still gutted can’t even bring myself to watch the highlights

[BillyStubbsTears]

Let me begin by saying, I know and understand that football is a results business. Results are brought about by building a side who know their jobs, work and fight together and it usually takes a couple of seasons for this to come to fruition.

Yesterday - for 30 mins in the first half - and 47mins in the second, we dominated and swarmed over a Crewe side who for me are the best team I've seen us play this season. Their front 2 have pace, power and awareness of each other.

The combinations of Bailey /Nixon on the right, and Senior and Maxwell on the left were outstanding, with Zain and Closey linking it all together leaving Molly to roam at will. Mo was unplayable at times and Ironside's header was outrageously good for the equaliser.

The one handed save Jones made yesterday in the first half was unbelievably good.

Every player looks comfortable on the ball and all want it - the energy and effort levels yesterday were outstanding - matched by the Fans who never stopped singing even after the last minute sickener.

The ovation we gave the lads at the end says it all - this team is getting better and better, are a joy to watch ( even in defeat ) and it won't be long before someone get's 5 or 6 pumped past them.

The vast majority of negative posters, here and elsewhere clearly don't go to the games - oh and by the way only 12 sides out of 86 playing yesterday managed to keep a clean sheet - are  all their defenders shit as well??

How many conceded 3 or more for the 5th time in 18 games?

Agreed on that and I fully understand the stats - however,one of the oldest sayings around in football is that you defend from the front.

Because we are so expansive, and front footed it's more or less inevitable that we won't be able to always make them lung busting 40 yard back tracks - especially in the 92nd minute ffs !!

For me the quality of the defence isn't the main problem - yesterday was a great example - we should have been out of sight and 2 or 3 up after 30 minutes - and then again that period on the second half we should have had another 2 or 3.

Mo and Joe are doing their bit goal wise but to be brutally frank - Molly for all his endeavour simply isn't getting the goals his all round play warrants - neither is Zain or Closey. For me, Hurst will be the answer to that problem, we just need to get him on the pitch.

Then there's the plentiful crosses( 42 against Salford ) and corners we get every game - not once have we had a central defender hit the mark.

The team as a whole need to contribute more goals and kill off and dispirit the opposition much more.

Problem with Hurst is, he's almost as much of a liability as Sotona when it comes to defensive duties.

And therein lies my concern. We have a host of midfield players who are quite good going forward. But we are not very good at all on the issue of doing the hard work where midfield supports defence.

I fear that the benefit of the first doesn't do enough to compensate for the shortcomings of the second.

One solution is obvious, which is to have Bailey as a deep lying midfielder to do some of the dirty work. But it's very telling that we can't play him there because he's needed to shore up huge shortcomings at centre-back.

[Butchers Red]

Let me begin by saying, I know and understand that football is a results business. Results are brought about by building a side who know their jobs, work and fight together and it usually takes a couple of seasons for this to come to fruition.

Yesterday - for 30 mins in the first half - and 47mins in the second, we dominated and swarmed over a Crewe side who for me are the best team I've seen us play this season. Their front 2 have pace, power and awareness of each other.

The combinations of Bailey /Nixon on the right, and Senior and Maxwell on the left were outstanding, with Zain and Closey linking it all together leaving Molly to roam at will. Mo was unplayable at times and Ironside's header was outrageously good for the equaliser.

The one handed save Jones made yesterday in the first half was unbelievably good.

Every player looks comfortable on the ball and all want it - the energy and effort levels yesterday were outstanding - matched by the Fans who never stopped singing even after the last minute sickener.

The ovation we gave the lads at the end says it all - this team is getting better and better, are a joy to watch ( even in defeat ) and it won't be long before someone get's 5 or 6 pumped past them.

The vast majority of negative posters, here and elsewhere clearly don't go to the games - oh and by the way only 12 sides out of 86 playing yesterday managed to keep a clean sheet - are  all their defenders shit as well??

How many conceded 3 or more for the 5th time in 18 games?

Agreed on that and I fully understand the stats - however,one of the oldest sayings around in football is that you defend from the front.

Because we are so expansive, and front footed it's more or less inevitable that we won't be able to always make them lung busting 40 yard back tracks - especially in the 92nd minute ffs !!

For me the quality of the defence isn't the main problem - yesterday was a great example - we should have been out of sight and 2 or 3 up after 30 minutes - and then again that period on the second half we should have had another 2 or 3.

Mo and Joe are doing their bit goal wise but to be brutally frank - Molly for all his endeavour simply isn't getting the goals his all round play warrants - neither is Zain or Closey. For me, Hurst will be the answer to that problem, we just need to get him on the pitch.

Then there's the plentiful crosses( 42 against Salford ) and corners we get every game - not once have we had a central defender hit the mark.

The team as a whole need to contribute more goals and kill off and dispirit the opposition much more.

Problem with Hurst is, he's almost as much of a liability as Sotona when it comes to defensive duties.

And therein lies my concern. We have a host of midfield players who are quite good going forward. But we are not very good at all on the issue of doing the hard work where midfield supports defence.

I fear that the benefit of the first doesn't do enough to compensate for the shortcomings of the second.

One solution is obvious, which is to have Bailey as a deep lying midfielder to do some of the dirty work. But it's very telling that we can't play him there because he's needed to shore up huge shortcomings at centre-back.

Agreed - Bailey at CDM would be a game changer - a return to the Whiteman days.

But we aren't far off at all - and I've seen many a rovers victory down the years that wasn't as enjoyable to watch from a footballing point of view as either yesterday - Stockport or Wrexham for that matter.

RTID

[Padge_DRFC]

Crewe were decent in spells but didn't have a clue in the 2nd half.

The only reason McCann is prioritising a striker is that we've got so many defenders at the minute on the book and only 2 fit strikers.

[drfchound]

Let me begin by saying, I know and understand that football is a results business. Results are brought about by building a side who know their jobs, work and fight together and it usually takes a couple of seasons for this to come to fruition.

Yesterday - for 30 mins in the first half - and 47mins in the second, we dominated and swarmed over a Crewe side who for me are the best team I've seen us play this season. Their front 2 have pace, power and awareness of each other.

The combinations of Bailey /Nixon on the right, and Senior and Maxwell on the left were outstanding, with Zain and Closey linking it all together leaving Molly to roam at will. Mo was unplayable at times and Ironside's header was outrageously good for the equaliser.

The one handed save Jones made yesterday in the first half was unbelievably good.

Every player looks comfortable on the ball and all want it - the energy and effort levels yesterday were outstanding - matched by the Fans who never stopped singing even after the last minute sickener.

The ovation we gave the lads at the end says it all - this team is getting better and better, are a joy to watch ( even in defeat ) and it won't be long before someone get's 5 or 6 pumped past them.

The vast majority of negative posters, here and elsewhere clearly don't go to the games - oh and by the way only 12 sides out of 86 playing yesterday managed to keep a clean sheet - are  all their defenders shit as well??

How many conceded 3 or more for the 5th time in 18 games?

How many have done that?  It might be more than you think.

[RoversInSpain]

Great post. I believe we are 2 commanding centre halves & a midfielder away from being an excellent side, the rest is in place.

Totally agree with this.
Great opening post too, totally behind Grant and Cliff. More frustration to come BUT I’m sure it will come good in next 12 months or so.
Onto Tuesday…..

[Padge_DRFC]

Great post. I believe we are 2 commanding centre halves & a midfielder away from being an excellent side, the rest is in place.

Totally agree with this.
Great opening post too, totally behind Grant and Cliff. More frustration to come BUT I’m sure it will come good in next 12 months or so.
Onto Tuesday…..

Add a decent GK to that

[LincolnDonny]

The only thing i will say is after going to all home matches and seeing all the away matches is, I honestly dont think any of the teams have commanded any of the games.
In other seasons i have said about 1 or 2 teams .hey i can see why they are a decent team or with a few opposing players they should be playing in a higher division.

I think that is why I have been a little dissapointed how our players have performed or should that read underperformed.

It also annoys me when the so called best players are out injured and many on here say they need to be in the team and things will be better.....thats never the case though.
Defenders just get stuck in and STAY with the one you are marking ....SIMPLES!

Oh an i dont give a RATS ASS what 1 or 2 say on here .and FFS yes we scored a goal from a corner against Everton ......

WE CANT CROSS A BALL TO SAVE OUR FRIGGIN LIVES !!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Michael Shaw]

At the start of the season some said don't judge the team until after 6 games, and then it was 10 games. Now we have gone 19 games and are still 19th in the table. Is this really where everyone really wanted us to be?

[grayx]

At the start of the season some said don't judge the team until after 6 games, and then it was 10 games. Now we have gone 19 games and are still 19th in the table. Is this really where everyone really wanted us to be?

I for one was expecting a promotion push at least this season BUT,despite where we are in the table now, progress is definitely being made.
Theres still some obvious “ fine tuning” to be done , but with a couple of additions in january (keeper/central defence) will see us climb the table. Think we may have to wait til next season for promotion though but keep faith in mc Cann.

[Lesonthewest]

Let me begin by saying, I know and understand that football is a results business. Results are brought about by building a side who know their jobs, work and fight together and it usually takes a couple of seasons for this to come to fruition.

Yesterday - for 30 mins in the first half - and 47mins in the second, we dominated and swarmed over a Crewe side who for me are the best team I've seen us play this season. Their front 2 have pace, power and awareness of each other.

The combinations of Bailey /Nixon on the right, and Senior and Maxwell on the left were outstanding, with Zain and Closey linking it all together leaving Molly to roam at will. Mo was unplayable at times and Ironside's header was outrageously good for the equaliser.

The one handed save Jones made yesterday in the first half was unbelievably good.

Every player looks comfortable on the ball and all want it - the energy and effort levels yesterday were outstanding - matched by the Fans who never stopped singing even after the last minute sickener.

The ovation we gave the lads at the end says it all - this team is getting better and better, are a joy to watch ( even in defeat ) and it won't be long before someone get's 5 or 6 pumped past them.

The vast majority of negative posters, here and elsewhere clearly don't go to the games - oh and by the way only 12 sides out of 86 playing yesterday managed to keep a clean sheet - are  all their defenders shit as well??

How many conceded 3 or more for the 5th time in 18 games?

Agreed on that and I fully understand the stats - however,one of the oldest sayings around in football is that you defend from the front.

Because we are so expansive, and front footed it's more or less inevitable that we won't be able to always make them lung busting 40 yard back tracks - especially in the 92nd minute ffs !!

For me the quality of the defence isn't the main problem - yesterday was a great example - we should have been out of sight and 2 or 3 up after 30 minutes - and then again that period on the second half we should have had another 2 or 3.

Mo and Joe are doing their bit goal wise but to be brutally frank - Molly for all his endeavour simply isn't getting the goals his all round play warrants - neither is Zain or Closey. For me, Hurst will be the answer to that problem, we just need to get him on the pitch.

Then there's the plentiful crosses( 42 against Salford ) and corners we get every game - not once have we had a central defender hit the mark.

The team as a whole need to contribute more goals and kill off and dispirit the opposition much more.

Problem with Hurst is, he's almost as much of a liability as Sotona when it comes to defensive duties.

And therein lies my concern. We have a host of midfield players who are quite good going forward. But we are not very good at all on the issue of doing the hard work where midfield supports defence.

I fear that the benefit of the first doesn't do enough to compensate for the shortcomings of the second.

One solution is obvious, which is to have Bailey as a deep lying midfielder to do some of the dirty work. But it's very telling that we can't play him there because he's needed to shore up huge shortcomings at centre-back.

Agreed - Bailey at CDM would be a game changer - a return to the Whiteman days.

But we aren't far off at all - and I've seen many a rovers victory down the years that wasn't as enjoyable to watch from a footballing point of view as either yesterday - Stockport or Wrexham for that matter.

RTID

Now all 3 of the centre halves are fit, is there a case to play them all, with Bailey in front of them, maybe we would stop shipping goals.

[andyst79]

Let me begin by saying, I know and understand that football is a results business. Results are brought about by building a side who know their jobs, work and fight together and it usually takes a couple of seasons for this to come to fruition.

Yesterday - for 30 mins in the first half - and 47mins in the second, we dominated and swarmed over a Crewe side who for me are the best team I've seen us play this season. Their front 2 have pace, power and awareness of each other.

The combinations of Bailey /Nixon on the right, and Senior and Maxwell on the left were outstanding, with Zain and Closey linking it all together leaving Molly to roam at will. Mo was unplayable at times and Ironside's header was outrageously good for the equaliser.

The one handed save Jones made yesterday in the first half was unbelievably good.

Every player looks comfortable on the ball and all want it - the energy and effort levels yesterday were outstanding - matched by the Fans who never stopped singing even after the last minute sickener.

The ovation we gave the lads at the end says it all - this team is getting better and better, are a joy to watch ( even in defeat ) and it won't be long before someone get's 5 or 6 pumped past them.

The vast majority of negative posters, here and elsewhere clearly don't go to the games - oh and by the way only 12 sides out of 86 playing yesterday managed to keep a clean sheet - are  all their defenders shit as well??

How many conceded 3 or more for the 5th time in 18 games?

Agreed on that and I fully understand the stats - however,one of the oldest sayings around in football is that you defend from the front.

Because we are so expansive, and front footed it's more or less inevitable that we won't be able to always make them lung busting 40 yard back tracks - especially in the 92nd minute ffs !!

For me the quality of the defence isn't the main problem - yesterday was a great example - we should have been out of sight and 2 or 3 up after 30 minutes - and then again that period on the second half we should have had another 2 or 3.

Mo and Joe are doing their bit goal wise but to be brutally frank - Molly for all his endeavour simply isn't getting the goals his all round play warrants - neither is Zain or Closey. For me, Hurst will be the answer to that problem, we just need to get him on the pitch.

Then there's the plentiful crosses( 42 against Salford ) and corners we get every game - not once have we had a central defender hit the mark.

The team as a whole need to contribute more goals and kill off and dispirit the opposition much more.

Problem with Hurst is, he's almost as much of a liability as Sotona when it comes to defensive duties.

And therein lies my concern. We have a host of midfield players who are quite good going forward. But we are not very good at all on the issue of doing the hard work where midfield supports defence.

I fear that the benefit of the first doesn't do enough to compensate for the shortcomings of the second.

One solution is obvious, which is to have Bailey as a deep lying midfielder to do some of the dirty work. But it's very telling that we can't play him there because he's needed to shore up huge shortcomings at centre-back.

Agreed - Bailey at CDM would be a game changer - a return to the Whiteman days.

But we aren't far off at all - and I've seen many a rovers victory down the years that wasn't as enjoyable to watch from a footballing point of view as either yesterday - Stockport or Wrexham for that matter.

RTID

Now all 3 of the centre halves are fit, is there a case to play them all, with Bailey in front of them, maybe we would stop shipping goals.

This is the main issue we don't have a midfielder capable of shielding the defence when our attacks break down

[pib]

Let me begin by saying, I know and understand that football is a results business. Results are brought about by building a side who know their jobs, work and fight together and it usually takes a couple of seasons for this to come to fruition.

Yesterday - for 30 mins in the first half - and 47mins in the second, we dominated and swarmed over a Crewe side who for me are the best team I've seen us play this season. Their front 2 have pace, power and awareness of each other.

The combinations of Bailey /Nixon on the right, and Senior and Maxwell on the left were outstanding, with Zain and Closey linking it all together leaving Molly to roam at will. Mo was unplayable at times and Ironside's header was outrageously good for the equaliser.

The one handed save Jones made yesterday in the first half was unbelievably good.

Every player looks comfortable on the ball and all want it - the energy and effort levels yesterday were outstanding - matched by the Fans who never stopped singing even after the last minute sickener.

The ovation we gave the lads at the end says it all - this team is getting better and better, are a joy to watch ( even in defeat ) and it won't be long before someone get's 5 or 6 pumped past them.

The vast majority of negative posters, here and elsewhere clearly don't go to the games - oh and by the way only 12 sides out of 86 playing yesterday managed to keep a clean sheet - are  all their defenders shit as well??

How many conceded 3 or more for the 5th time in 18 games?

How many have done that?  It might be more than you think.

I've had a look into the defensive stats.

In terms of goals conceded, our defence is joint 14th in the league with 30 goals conceded (equal with Crawley). Sides that have conceded more include Notts County (6th place, 35 conceded) and Swindon (10th place, 33 conceded), and then mostly other bottom half teams, albeit some of these teams, including Swindon and Notts, have played 19 vs our 18.

We have conceded on average 1.67 goals per game. This is 18th best in the league, which is pretty poor, but again is better than Swindon and Notts County, who are proving that it is possible to be open and concede goals and still be in play-off contention, as long as you have the firepower to compensate.

On the question of how many teams have conceded 3+ goals 5 times or more, here is the answer. Eight sides have. Colchester (5 times), Rovers (5 times), Grimsby (5), Notts County (5), Salford (5), Newport (6), Swindon (6) and Sutton (7). Exactly one third of the division.

A further 5 teams have conceded 3+ goals on four occasions. Amongst them are Wrexham and Accrington.

These numbers suggest to me that, whilst it is more common in poorly performing teams to have conceded 3+ goals in games than better performing teams, this particular statistic probably isn't the best measure of the overall effectiveness of a team, as it focuses on a somewhat arbitrary cut-off of 3+ goals.

It is also actually quite a common thing to happen in this division, with over half of teams (13) conceding 3 or more goals on 4+ occasions. This includes a mixture of good teams, average teams and poor teams. Additionally, there are some relatively average to poor teams who have conceded 3 or more goals on fewer occasions, such as Harrogate, and Tranmere.

Attacking-wise - we rank 20th for goals scored, with only 22 from 18 games. Bradford, Forest Green, Gillingham and Harrogate are the only sides worse off in terms of goals scored.

This suggests to me that while our defence is below average, our attack is further below average. So there may be a case for McCann prioritising looking for more firepower in the January window.

[ncRover]

Wow.

And looking at xG conceded we have the 7th best defence in the league.

For players ranked by “Chances created”, a Rovers player doesn’t show up until 23rd (Molyneux) and then 48th (Westbrooke).

I think our 2 strikers are up there in the division and have good goal returns. The stats would tell me that we need some creativity, perhaps in the form of a good crosser as Faal and Ironside are good in the air.

[pib]

Didn't know that xG stat. That's an interesting one nc.

Bit more geeky this one, but I've had a look also at the pressing stats. Looks like we are comfortably in the top 10 teams in the division in terms of pressing (forcing turnovers in the attacking third), but one of the least effective teams at converting those turnovers into shots and goals. We've scored 1 goal from such situations this season, and perform joint 5th worst in terms of converting those turnovers into a shot on goal.

That says to me that our tactical setup off the ball isn't bad. But our final ball and decision making in the final third really lets us down.

[BillyStubbsTears]

Let me begin by saying, I know and understand that football is a results business. Results are brought about by building a side who know their jobs, work and fight together and it usually takes a couple of seasons for this to come to fruition.

Yesterday - for 30 mins in the first half - and 47mins in the second, we dominated and swarmed over a Crewe side who for me are the best team I've seen us play this season. Their front 2 have pace, power and awareness of each other.

The combinations of Bailey /Nixon on the right, and Senior and Maxwell on the left were outstanding, with Zain and Closey linking it all together leaving Molly to roam at will. Mo was unplayable at times and Ironside's header was outrageously good for the equaliser.

The one handed save Jones made yesterday in the first half was unbelievably good.

Every player looks comfortable on the ball and all want it - the energy and effort levels yesterday were outstanding - matched by the Fans who never stopped singing even after the last minute sickener.

The ovation we gave the lads at the end says it all - this team is getting better and better, are a joy to watch ( even in defeat ) and it won't be long before someone get's 5 or 6 pumped past them.

The vast majority of negative posters, here and elsewhere clearly don't go to the games - oh and by the way only 12 sides out of 86 playing yesterday managed to keep a clean sheet - are  all their defenders shit as well??

How many conceded 3 or more for the 5th time in 18 games?

How many have done that?  It might be more than you think.

I've had a look into the defensive stats.

In terms of goals conceded, our defence is joint 14th in the league with 30 goals conceded (equal with Crawley). Sides that have conceded more include Notts County (6th place, 35 conceded) and Swindon (10th place, 33 conceded), and then mostly other bottom half teams, albeit some of these teams, including Swindon and Notts, have played 19 vs our 18.

We have conceded on average 1.67 goals per game. This is 18th best in the league, which is pretty poor, but again is better than Swindon and Notts County, who are proving that it is possible to be open and concede goals and still be in play-off contention, as long as you have the firepower to compensate.

On the question of how many teams have conceded 3+ goals 5 times or more, here is the answer. Eight sides have. Colchester (5 times), Rovers (5 times), Grimsby (5), Notts County (5), Salford (5), Newport (6), Swindon (6) and Sutton (7). Exactly one third of the division.

A further 5 teams have conceded 3+ goals on four occasions. Amongst them are Wrexham and Accrington.

These numbers suggest to me that, whilst it is more common in poorly performing teams to have conceded 3+ goals in games than better performing teams, this particular statistic probably isn't the best measure of the overall effectiveness of a team, as it focuses on a somewhat arbitrary cut-off of 3+ goals.

It is also actually quite a common thing to happen in this division, with over half of teams (13) conceding 3 or more goals on 4+ occasions. This includes a mixture of good teams, average teams and poor teams. Additionally, there are some relatively average to poor teams who have conceded 3 or more goals on fewer occasions, such as Harrogate, and Tranmere.

Attacking-wise - we rank 20th for goals scored, with only 22 from 18 games. Bradford, Forest Green, Gillingham and Harrogate are the only sides worse off in terms of goals scored.

This suggests to me that while our defence is below average, our attack is further below average. So there may be a case for McCann prioritising looking for more firepower in the January window.

Interesting stuff Pib.

Made me have a deeper look at the figures. I'm COVID-addled at the moment so I won't swear these are 100% correct, but it does look like this season so far is a bit unusual in terms of the number of goals scored.

If my number are right, so far this season the average goals per game throughout L2 is 3.04.

Compare that to 2022/23 (2.34 goals per game) and 2021/22 (2.42 goals per game).

In other words, over 18 games, the average goals scored (and conceded) by a team would be

21/22 - 21.78
22/23 - 21.04
23/24 - 27.36

So, in a normal recent season, our attack would be slightly above average and the defence would be a lot worse than average.

But, this looks like an unusual season, so far at least.

So yes, as you say, our attack IS significantly below average for this division, this year and the the defence is a bit worse than average but not as much as I'd assumed.

Interesting stuff.

Now back to bed.

[selby]

  AS Brian Clough said, it only takes one moment to win a game of football if you have a good defence, The rest of the game is just the the filling.

[pib]

Let me begin by saying, I know and understand that football is a results business. Results are brought about by building a side who know their jobs, work and fight together and it usually takes a couple of seasons for this to come to fruition.

Yesterday - for 30 mins in the first half - and 47mins in the second, we dominated and swarmed over a Crewe side who for me are the best team I've seen us play this season. Their front 2 have pace, power and awareness of each other.

The combinations of Bailey /Nixon on the right, and Senior and Maxwell on the left were outstanding, with Zain and Closey linking it all together leaving Molly to roam at will. Mo was unplayable at times and Ironside's header was outrageously good for the equaliser.

The one handed save Jones made yesterday in the first half was unbelievably good.

Every player looks comfortable on the ball and all want it - the energy and effort levels yesterday were outstanding - matched by the Fans who never stopped singing even after the last minute sickener.

The ovation we gave the lads at the end says it all - this team is getting better and better, are a joy to watch ( even in defeat ) and it won't be long before someone get's 5 or 6 pumped past them.

The vast majority of negative posters, here and elsewhere clearly don't go to the games - oh and by the way only 12 sides out of 86 playing yesterday managed to keep a clean sheet - are  all their defenders shit as well??

How many conceded 3 or more for the 5th time in 18 games?

How many have done that?  It might be more than you think.

I've had a look into the defensive stats.

In terms of goals conceded, our defence is joint 14th in the league with 30 goals conceded (equal with Crawley). Sides that have conceded more include Notts County (6th place, 35 conceded) and Swindon (10th place, 33 conceded), and then mostly other bottom half teams, albeit some of these teams, including Swindon and Notts, have played 19 vs our 18.

We have conceded on average 1.67 goals per game. This is 18th best in the league, which is pretty poor, but again is better than Swindon and Notts County, who are proving that it is possible to be open and concede goals and still be in play-off contention, as long as you have the firepower to compensate.

On the question of how many teams have conceded 3+ goals 5 times or more, here is the answer. Eight sides have. Colchester (5 times), Rovers (5 times), Grimsby (5), Notts County (5), Salford (5), Newport (6), Swindon (6) and Sutton (7). Exactly one third of the division.

A further 5 teams have conceded 3+ goals on four occasions. Amongst them are Wrexham and Accrington.

These numbers suggest to me that, whilst it is more common in poorly performing teams to have conceded 3+ goals in games than better performing teams, this particular statistic probably isn't the best measure of the overall effectiveness of a team, as it focuses on a somewhat arbitrary cut-off of 3+ goals.

It is also actually quite a common thing to happen in this division, with over half of teams (13) conceding 3 or more goals on 4+ occasions. This includes a mixture of good teams, average teams and poor teams. Additionally, there are some relatively average to poor teams who have conceded 3 or more goals on fewer occasions, such as Harrogate, and Tranmere.

Attacking-wise - we rank 20th for goals scored, with only 22 from 18 games. Bradford, Forest Green, Gillingham and Harrogate are the only sides worse off in terms of goals scored.

This suggests to me that while our defence is below average, our attack is further below average. So there may be a case for McCann prioritising looking for more firepower in the January window.

Interesting stuff Pib.

Made me have a deeper look at the figures. I'm COVID-addled at the moment so I won't swear these are 100% correct, but it does look like this season so far is a bit unusual in terms of the number of goals scored.

If my number are right, so far this season the average goals per game throughout L2 is 3.04.

Compare that to 2022/23 (2.34 goals per game) and 2021/22 (2.42 goals per game).

In other words, over 18 games, the average goals scored (and conceded) by a team would be

21/22 - 21.78
22/23 - 21.04
23/24 - 27.36

So, in a normal recent season, our attack would be slightly above average and the defence would be a lot worse than average.

But, this looks like an unusual season, so far at least.

So yes, as you say, our attack IS significantly below average for this division, this year and the the defence is a bit worse than average but not as much as I'd assumed.

Interesting stuff.

Now back to bed.

Interesting BST. Get well soon!

[philsky]

Let me begin by saying, I know and understand that football is a results business. Results are brought about by building a side who know their jobs, work and fight together and it usually takes a couple of seasons for this to come to fruition.

Yesterday - for 30 mins in the first half - and 47mins in the second, we dominated and swarmed over a Crewe side who for me are the best team I've seen us play this season. Their front 2 have pace, power and awareness of each other.

The combinations of Bailey /Nixon on the right, and Senior and Maxwell on the left were outstanding, with Zain and Closey linking it all together leaving Molly to roam at will. Mo was unplayable at times and Ironside's header was outrageously good for the equaliser.

The one handed save Jones made yesterday in the first half was unbelievably good.

Every player looks comfortable on the ball and all want it - the energy and effort levels yesterday were outstanding - matched by the Fans who never stopped singing even after the last minute sickener.

The ovation we gave the lads at the end says it all - this team is getting better and better, are a joy to watch ( even in defeat ) and it won't be long before someone get's 5 or 6 pumped past them.

The vast majority of negative posters, here and elsewhere clearly don't go to the games - oh and by the way only 12 sides out of 86 playing yesterday managed to keep a clean sheet - are  all their defenders shit as well??

This 100%

[scawsby steve]

Let me begin by saying, I know and understand that football is a results business. Results are brought about by building a side who know their jobs, work and fight together and it usually takes a couple of seasons for this to come to fruition.

Yesterday - for 30 mins in the first half - and 47mins in the second, we dominated and swarmed over a Crewe side who for me are the best team I've seen us play this season. Their front 2 have pace, power and awareness of each other.

The combinations of Bailey /Nixon on the right, and Senior and Maxwell on the left were outstanding, with Zain and Closey linking it all together leaving Molly to roam at will. Mo was unplayable at times and Ironside's header was outrageously good for the equaliser.

The one handed save Jones made yesterday in the first half was unbelievably good.

Every player looks comfortable on the ball and all want it - the energy and effort levels yesterday were outstanding - matched by the Fans who never stopped singing even after the last minute sickener.

The ovation we gave the lads at the end says it all - this team is getting better and better, are a joy to watch ( even in defeat ) and it won't be long before someone get's 5 or 6 pumped past them.

The vast majority of negative posters, here and elsewhere clearly don't go to the games - oh and by the way only 12 sides out of 86 playing yesterday managed to keep a clean sheet - are  all their defenders shit as well??

How many conceded 3 or more for the 5th time in 18 games?

How many have done that?  It might be more than you think.

I've had a look into the defensive stats.

In terms of goals conceded, our defence is joint 14th in the league with 30 goals conceded (equal with Crawley). Sides that have conceded more include Notts County (6th place, 35 conceded) and Swindon (10th place, 33 conceded), and then mostly other bottom half teams, albeit some of these teams, including Swindon and Notts, have played 19 vs our 18.

We have conceded on average 1.67 goals per game. This is 18th best in the league, which is pretty poor, but again is better than Swindon and Notts County, who are proving that it is possible to be open and concede goals and still be in play-off contention, as long as you have the firepower to compensate.

On the question of how many teams have conceded 3+ goals 5 times or more, here is the answer. Eight sides have. Colchester (5 times), Rovers (5 times), Grimsby (5), Notts County (5), Salford (5), Newport (6), Swindon (6) and Sutton (7). Exactly one third of the division.

A further 5 teams have conceded 3+ goals on four occasions. Amongst them are Wrexham and Accrington.

These numbers suggest to me that, whilst it is more common in poorly performing teams to have conceded 3+ goals in games than better performing teams, this particular statistic probably isn't the best measure of the overall effectiveness of a team, as it focuses on a somewhat arbitrary cut-off of 3+ goals.

It is also actually quite a common thing to happen in this division, with over half of teams (13) conceding 3 or more goals on 4+ occasions. This includes a mixture of good teams, average teams and poor teams. Additionally, there are some relatively average to poor teams who have conceded 3 or more goals on fewer occasions, such as Harrogate, and Tranmere.

Attacking-wise - we rank 20th for goals scored, with only 22 from 18 games. Bradford, Forest Green, Gillingham and Harrogate are the only sides worse off in terms of goals scored.

This suggests to me that while our defence is below average, our attack is further below average. So there may be a case for McCann prioritising looking for more firepower in the January window.

Good post, Pib. I'd just add that GM didn't say that he needs more firepower up front in the January window, he said that he needs more cover, as he only has 2 senior strikers available at the moment because of the long term injuries of Miller and Marsh.

[drfchound]

Let me begin by saying, I know and understand that football is a results business. Results are brought about by building a side who know their jobs, work and fight together and it usually takes a couple of seasons for this to come to fruition.

Yesterday - for 30 mins in the first half - and 47mins in the second, we dominated and swarmed over a Crewe side who for me are the best team I've seen us play this season. Their front 2 have pace, power and awareness of each other.

The combinations of Bailey /Nixon on the right, and Senior and Maxwell on the left were outstanding, with Zain and Closey linking it all together leaving Molly to roam at will. Mo was unplayable at times and Ironside's header was outrageously good for the equaliser.

The one handed save Jones made yesterday in the first half was unbelievably good.

Every player looks comfortable on the ball and all want it - the energy and effort levels yesterday were outstanding - matched by the Fans who never stopped singing even after the last minute sickener.

The ovation we gave the lads at the end says it all - this team is getting better and better, are a joy to watch ( even in defeat ) and it won't be long before someone get's 5 or 6 pumped past them.

The vast majority of negative posters, here and elsewhere clearly don't go to the games - oh and by the way only 12 sides out of 86 playing yesterday managed to keep a clean sheet - are  all their defenders shit as well??

How many conceded 3 or more for the 5th time in 18 games?

How many have done that?  It might be more than you think.

I've had a look into the defensive stats.

In terms of goals conceded, our defence is joint 14th in the league with 30 goals conceded (equal with Crawley). Sides that have conceded more include Notts County (6th place, 35 conceded) and Swindon (10th place, 33 conceded), and then mostly other bottom half teams, albeit some of these teams, including Swindon and Notts, have played 19 vs our 18.

We have conceded on average 1.67 goals per game. This is 18th best in the league, which is pretty poor, but again is better than Swindon and Notts County, who are proving that it is possible to be open and concede goals and still be in play-off contention, as long as you have the firepower to compensate.

On the question of how many teams have conceded 3+ goals 5 times or more, here is the answer. Eight sides have. Colchester (5 times), Rovers (5 times), Grimsby (5), Notts County (5), Salford (5), Newport (6), Swindon (6) and Sutton (7). Exactly one third of the division.

A further 5 teams have conceded 3+ goals on four occasions. Amongst them are Wrexham and Accrington.

These numbers suggest to me that, whilst it is more common in poorly performing teams to have conceded 3+ goals in games than better performing teams, this particular statistic probably isn't the best measure of the overall effectiveness of a team, as it focuses on a somewhat arbitrary cut-off of 3+ goals.

It is also actually quite a common thing to happen in this division, with over half of teams (13) conceding 3 or more goals on 4+ occasions. This includes a mixture of good teams, average teams and poor teams. Additionally, there are some relatively average to poor teams who have conceded 3 or more goals on fewer occasions, such as Harrogate, and Tranmere.

Attacking-wise - we rank 20th for goals scored, with only 22 from 18 games. Bradford, Forest Green, Gillingham and Harrogate are the only sides worse off in terms of goals scored.

This suggests to me that while our defence is below average, our attack is further below average. So there may be a case for McCann prioritising looking for more firepower in the January window.

Good post, Pib. I'd just add that GM didn't say that he needs more firepower up front in the January window, he said that he needs more cover, as he only has 2 senior strikers available at the moment because of the long term injuries of Miller and Marsh.

Odd though that Grant calls the young lad Marsh a senior striker but doesn’t mention Goodman.

[ForsolongaRover]

Butchers Red: You say “The vast majority of negative posters, here and elsewhere clearly don't go to the games - oh and by the way only 12 sides out of 86 playing yesterday managed to keep a clean sheet - are  all their defenders shit as well??”
But I wonder whether you have any evidence of the connection between what you classify as a “negative post” and contributors who never attend matches. It seems unlikely that you have made a detailed analysis of posts or really know who falls into the category.

Your own post here is a well-written summary of the best of recent performances even though, based on my viewing of the match replay, the superlatives are exaggerated. The comments on your post are almost all qualifying your view and therefore less positive, even critical in some respects and could fall into your definition “negative” in some respects. (But perhaps these are from non-attenders.) The fact is that the team is in the bottom half of the lowest division of the EFL and I suspect that the majority of us recognise the need to get better if we are to return to the level above which is a realistic minimum ambition for a club of our stature.

In disparaging the opinions and those who do not attend games I wonder if you have ever put yourself in the position of the exiled supporter. I would suggest that most of us would have regularly attended games when we lived locally and in my case when I still lived near enough to travel to and from Doncaster and still get home at a reasonable hour. Others maintaining a keen interest “who do not attend games” will include those who cannot be there for financial reasons, ill health or simply old age. The majority of those are likely to pick up their knowledge via newspapers, the OS, this forum and most of all, via the highlights, extended highlights, match replays or live streaming. I would suggest that doing all this and keeping the faith demands rather more commitment and loyalty than those who are in the fortunate position of being able to “actually attend games”.

On top of the loyalty factor, having attended as many games as has been practicable and affordable over the years, I, and I imagine everyone who is in the “exiled” category will understand the great experience of “being there”, how it adds an extra dimension and how fortunate you are to be able to look forward and enjoy it every other week. However, we all know that there  are drawbacks because it is not always possible to see exactly what happens in the penalty box or on the other side of the field or at the other end of the ground. Here we are all reliant on video replays either on the big screen (which I believe is now a feature at the stadium), or afterwards on the highlights etc. Indeed we can all go over the key incidents online.

The point I am making is that trying to devalue the opinions of “those who do not attend games” may have little foundation in fact. It is also hurtful and divisive.

[wing commander]

   Injury's have taken there toll and we still haven't got to the bottom of why that happens.So while we are disappointed with the position we find ourselves in, you can kind of understand how the clubs investment in the summer hasn't paid dividends..

However our team and bench on paper was the strongest it has been on Saturday and from here GM has no more excuses going forward. First job is to stop the flow of goals, we are far to easy to score against and constantly need to be scoring 2 or 3 goals a game just to get a result.Then he has to find consistency because from the games i've seen we can spend half the game being awful and the other half looking decent.

 GM can count himself lucky that he has the support of the club and fans because teams higher than us have dispensed with their manager so far this season.That wont last forever though and we need to start seeing some improvment all ways round and sharpish too.

[DonnyOsmond]

Let me begin by saying, I know and understand that football is a results business. Results are brought about by building a side who know their jobs, work and fight together and it usually takes a couple of seasons for this to come to fruition.

Yesterday - for 30 mins in the first half - and 47mins in the second, we dominated and swarmed over a Crewe side who for me are the best team I've seen us play this season. Their front 2 have pace, power and awareness of each other.

The combinations of Bailey /Nixon on the right, and Senior and Maxwell on the left were outstanding, with Zain and Closey linking it all together leaving Molly to roam at will. Mo was unplayable at times and Ironside's header was outrageously good for the equaliser.

The one handed save Jones made yesterday in the first half was unbelievably good.

Every player looks comfortable on the ball and all want it - the energy and effort levels yesterday were outstanding - matched by the Fans who never stopped singing even after the last minute sickener.

The ovation we gave the lads at the end says it all - this team is getting better and better, are a joy to watch ( even in defeat ) and it won't be long before someone get's 5 or 6 pumped past them.

The vast majority of negative posters, here and elsewhere clearly don't go to the games - oh and by the way only 12 sides out of 86 playing yesterday managed to keep a clean sheet - are  all their defenders shit as well??

How many conceded 3 or more for the 5th time in 18 games?

How many have done that?  It might be more than you think.

I've had a look into the defensive stats.

In terms of goals conceded, our defence is joint 14th in the league with 30 goals conceded (equal with Crawley). Sides that have conceded more include Notts County (6th place, 35 conceded) and Swindon (10th place, 33 conceded), and then mostly other bottom half teams, albeit some of these teams, including Swindon and Notts, have played 19 vs our 18.

We have conceded on average 1.67 goals per game. This is 18th best in the league, which is pretty poor, but again is better than Swindon and Notts County, who are proving that it is possible to be open and concede goals and still be in play-off contention, as long as you have the firepower to compensate.

On the question of how many teams have conceded 3+ goals 5 times or more, here is the answer. Eight sides have. Colchester (5 times), Rovers (5 times), Grimsby (5), Notts County (5), Salford (5), Newport (6), Swindon (6) and Sutton (7). Exactly one third of the division.

A further 5 teams have conceded 3+ goals on four occasions. Amongst them are Wrexham and Accrington.

These numbers suggest to me that, whilst it is more common in poorly performing teams to have conceded 3+ goals in games than better performing teams, this particular statistic probably isn't the best measure of the overall effectiveness of a team, as it focuses on a somewhat arbitrary cut-off of 3+ goals.

It is also actually quite a common thing to happen in this division, with over half of teams (13) conceding 3 or more goals on 4+ occasions. This includes a mixture of good teams, average teams and poor teams. Additionally, there are some relatively average to poor teams who have conceded 3 or more goals on fewer occasions, such as Harrogate, and Tranmere.

Attacking-wise - we rank 20th for goals scored, with only 22 from 18 games. Bradford, Forest Green, Gillingham and Harrogate are the only sides worse off in terms of goals scored.

This suggests to me that while our defence is below average, our attack is further below average. So there may be a case for McCann prioritising looking for more firepower in the January window.

21st for goals scored when you look at non-penalty goals.

Faal and Ironside performing above their xGs so that isn't the problem. It is just creativity, which has been the issue for years.

[drfchound]

Stats for non penalty goals can be misleading though.
A defender giving away a penalty might have prevented a goal from open play from being scored.

[DonnyOsmond]

Stats for non penalty goals can be misleading though.
A defender giving away a penalty might have prevented a goal from open play from being scored.

But wouldn't that be the case for all clubs then and even out? Either way, the main issue is creating chances.