by Owzat » Tue Apr 14, 2009 2:40 pm
Do we expect too much?
Perhaps, but then we're an established top four side with some quality players and have shown capable of beating all the 'big four' in the past season or two. Perhaps we're not quite good enough to dominate games at will, but getting outclassed doesn't happen very often and I don't think that was anything more than them playing well when we didn't play well at all.
We can struggle to break sides down, you expect that against the better sides but we can struggle in almost any game. We are top scorers in the Premiership, but go in spells and are short of scoring goals consistently enough to reduce those draws that plague us
Premiership Goals 08/09
Games 01-08 : 13
Games 09-16 : 11
Games 17-24 : 15
Games 25-32 : 20
Bit of a scoring spurt of late, five more goals than in any other eight game split. In those same eight games last season (as just played) we scored 12 goals and next season we might not even manage 12. I wouldn't read too much into that scoring spree, the problem isn't when we do score lots of goals but when we don't.
Where is our weakness re winning the league, I think it is in the make-up of midfield. Alonso, Mascherano and Riera simply don't weigh in with enough goals and assists, wonderful as most on here think they are. Agger scored at the weekend, but our defence don't weigh in with many goals which puts a lot of pressure on Gerrard, Torres and Kuyt to score goals.
Premiership Goals
Gerrard, Torres & Kuyt : 32/59 = 54.24%
Alonso, Riera & Mascherano : 6/59 = 10.17%
Defenders : 6/59 = 10.17%
Our top scorers in the Premiership are :-
13 Gerrard
11 Torres
8 Kuyt
5 Keane
4 Benayoun
3 Alonso, Riera
2 N'Gog, Aurelio, Babel, own goals
1 Agger, Arbeloa, Hyypia, Dossena
I'm not sure there is any magic "fix" to the situation, short of signing someone who fits in the system who is a superb scorer of goals and sets them up too. There is a nagging doubt that Torres may not fire if we change the system to play 4-4-2, and at who's expense would that be? Alonso or Mascherano? Play Gerrard left or right and hope he doesn't score less or become less influential. Rafa has identified a system that he prefers and that utilises the players available quite effectively, picking out areas to improve like RM, RB etc might sound simple, but who is to say the new RB, LB, LM, RM etc is going to work out any better than the current incumbents or previous players tried in those positions (unsuccessfully)
Maybe instead of focusing on changes of players and formation, we could work a bit harder on tactical approaches that might help unlock defences when we need it. I have serious doubts about Rafa's ability to change the game when it's not working out, he leaves it as late as when things are going ok and what he brings on often doesn't make an impact. Maybe that's why he leaves substitutions so late, fearing that whoever he brings on will be less effective than the players who started so hopes they score before he has to do something. So in that respect maybe it isn't the starting XI but the rest of the squad, those that come on from the bench and those that come in as injury cover.
Of course we could always improve defensively and in other areas, those two Ivanovic goals have put us in a difficult position in the CL. We can't improve much defensively, and it hasn't been that costly. Our lack of scoring goals has been costly, we've scored one or less in nearly half our Premiership games and nine of those were draws.
0-1 goals : P15 W4 D9 L2 F9 A8 PTS 21 (Clean Sheets = 9)
2+ goals : P17 W16 D1 L0 F50 A13 PTS 50 (Clean Sheets = 8)
I think our recent run shows what happens when we're a bit more positive, and that's why I'm not against the idea of selling Mascherano and using the funds to buy a more attacking midfielder (or all rounder) We didn't need Mascherano against Blackburn, he may provide cover for the defence in tight matches but how many of those do we play a year? And when it might have made a difference he was suspended, sent off at old trafford last year and generally we don't seem to concede any more goals when he's in the side than when he's not (0.77 against with, 0.83 against without)
Never buy from PC World, product quality is poor and their 'customer service' is even poorer
