Discuss Pellegrini (Pt 4)

[Blue Tooth]

The only important Stat away from home is the one that says P6 W1 D1 L4

 

[Prestwich_Blue]

Yep - I've seen improvement at home.
None away. In fact we regressed at Sunderland.

I'd disagree with that. They should have been down to 10 men and their goal was as the result of a foul. But even leaving that aside, we absolutely dominated that game after the goal. The BBC report talks about us being thwarted by a well-organised defence and exerting incessant pressure. The number of times bodies blocked goal-bound shots was into double figures.

 

[Deleted member 58678]

Didn't someone post some stats the other day that showed we're doing most things pretty well right away from home apart from putting the ball in the net.

What's cost us is not the overall approach to games but Zab's poor marking at Cardiff, failure to stop Villa scoring late on and Hart's brain-fart at Stamford Bridge.

We couldn't put the ball in the net at Sunderland and were probably a bit shit at Stoke overall, which is the only game we have been somewhat clueless.

Yes. They were incredible stats. I'll find them.

-- Tue Nov 26, 2013 11:40 am --

Here you are PB, courtesy of Chippy Boy:

(rank in brackets)
Total passes
3,419 (1st)

Passing accuracy
87.42% (1st)

Average possession
62.39% (1st)

Shots for
77 (2nd)

Shots on target
34 (2nd)

Shots to goals
10.39% (10th)

Goals scored
8 (=4th)

Shots against
56 (1st lowest, i.e. best)

Shots on target against
21 (4th lowest, i.e. 4th best)

Goals conceded
10 (=10th lowest)

Points dropped from winning positions
6 (20th, i.e. bottom)

Those stats highlight, to me, that we either:
- have strikers who can't finish their dinner (or other players, doesn't just have to be strikers), which isn't true
- that we make opposition goalkeepers make dozens of saves, which we don't
- that there are games where we have a lot of the ball and don't create enough proper chances and "shots" are just those we've seen all to often that are hit at goal but have no chance of going in because there are five or more players in the way eager to block the shots and then the possession starts again before we have another shot that's going nowhere near the goal - but they are classed as "shots" and "shots on target"<br /><br />-- Tue Nov 26, 2013 12:32 pm --<br /><br />

The only important Stat away from home is the one that says P6 W1 D1 L4

Correct

 

[Exeter Blue I am here]

Sadly away from home it's pretty poor and against the best (Byern) it was woeful. Worst of all the same mistakes are being made game after game and Pellegrini seems to be doing very little about it. To blame bad luck and the football Gods with his "That's Football" quip would, if said by Mancini, have got the cult members frothing at the mouth in anger. What is the difference chaps?

You make your own luck in football by being the best you can be. More importantly, good defending wins trophies - not cavalier attacking. It is a truism that applies across all team ball sports.

Pellegrini has to do two things have to be done away from home (and against the best teams at home):
- We need to play with a more solid defence (rather than the open gate we have been using till now). Defending well will silence the opposition crowd
AND
- Improve the attempts to goals ratio (currently at 10%) nearer to the 1 in 3 we are getting at home. Confidence will help here but we need to threaten the goal with more shots and runs at the massed rank defence. Improved corner delivery will also help (we don't clear the first man for around 33% of them).

I happen to think that the way we played against Spurs by defending in depth and hitting the opposition on the break is the way forward away from home . Some though don't even recognise that we defended more deeply than in previous home games (which is rather bizarre to say the least).

If Pellers sorts it out he will stay, if he doesn't he will be given the boot. I personally think he will be given the boot if he hasn't sorted it out by Christmas as there is no such thing as being given 'Time' to develop a team in this day and age. Indeed if he doesn't sort it out over the next 4 away games he deserves to be given the boot as our Champions League qualification for next season would be put in jeopardy.

Thank god, someone with a bit of football knowledge and common sense.

To borrow from Paxman....."You're being humorous of course?!"

 

[Anonymous]

None away. In fact we regressed at Sunderland.

Can you elaborate on how Sunderland was a regression ? Unless I'm mistaken we had more of the ball, more shots on and off target, and generally dominated them. They scored from the only real opportunity they created, which was actually only an opportunity because the ref didn't blow for a blatant foul on Milner. I'm not even taking into account the woeful challenge on Garcia which should've been a red card.

I'm finding it hard to see how it was a regressive performance.

 

[OB1]

On the point of our supposed shambolic defending and the apparent blame for that landing at Pellgrini's door, we have conceded just 2 goals more than the league leaders and we have conceded just 2 goals more than last season after 12 league games and we had an apparent defensive guru in charge of us then.

Factor in missing personnel and some ridiculous individual errors it puts our current situation into perspective I think and makes the continued claims ridiculous.

I will wager now that we will finish the season off with the best record once more and comfortably so.

And, as I keep trumpeting, we concede less shots than anyone else.

 

[blueinsa]

On the point of our supposed shambolic defending and the apparent blame for that landing at Pellgrini's door, we have conceded just 2 goals more than the league leaders and we have conceded just 2 goals more than last season after 12 league games and we had an apparent defensive guru in charge of us then.

Factor in missing personnel and some ridiculous individual errors it puts our current situation into perspective I think and makes the continued claims ridiculous.

I will wager now that we will finish the season off with the best record once more and comfortably so.

And, as I keep trumpeting, we concede less shots than anyone else.

Correct and not by accident I will wager.

 

[BobKowalski]

None away. In fact we regressed at Sunderland.

Can you elaborate on how Sunderland was a regression ? Unless I'm mistaken we had more of the ball, more shots on and off target, and generally dominated them. They scored from the only real opportunity they created, which was actually only an opportunity because the ref didn't blow for a blatant foul on Milner. I'm not even taking into account the woeful challenge on Garcia which should've been a red card.

I'm finding it hard to see how it was a regressive performance.

I assume because in previous away games we scored goals and took the lead on two occasions whereas at Sunderland we barely created a worthwhile chance let alone score. Hence regression.

 

[kaz7]

The only important Stat away from home is the one that says P6 W1 D1 L4

This.It doesn't matter how well we played etc,the points on the board are all that matters come may

 

[Didsbury Dave]

Yep - I've seen improvement at home.
None away. In fact we regressed at Sunderland.

I'd disagree with that. They should have been down to 10 men and their goal was as the result of a foul. But even leaving that aside, we absolutely dominated that game after the goal. The BBC report talks about us being thwarted by a well-organised defence and exerting incessant pressure. The number of times bodies blocked goal-bound shots was into double figures.

Of course we did. It was like the bloody Alamo. We were far from our best because the creative players didn't take responsibility in the absence of Silva and Fernadino , but we still completely dominated that game. It was a freak result.