CONCENTRATION is our biggest problem

[Bootle Buck]

How many times do we give away uneccesary free kicks that result in goals/ How many times are we caught napping on a set peice. It's seems like most goals we concede come from these lapses in concentration. The main factor in our recent run was the fact that we were determined to keep a clean sheet. Our defenders, midfielders and our goalie kept focused for 90 minutes. Since the turn of the year we have lost that concentration and it has cost us many points. We were lucky not to get knocked out by Luton and for a good part of the Pompey game we looked very nervy. The question is can we get that intensity back and how quickly.

[Guest Jude]

Agree that our team must keep their concentration one hundred per cent focused until the final whistle and if Rafa and the backroom staff are all they are cracked up to be then im sure they will sort this out.

Also think our long season is beginning to take it's toll on some of our players and i find it hard to believe that some people have a go at Rafa as regard's rotation,we all know that when you are tired your concentration is not fully focused so Rafa is doing the right thing in my opinion.

[Magic8Ball]

only having or fielding 8 top players is our problem too

[Bootle Buck]

only having or fielding 8 top players is our problem too

 

I agree there but any 11 players we have on the field have to stay focused the whole game. I have noticed we give far too many silly free kicks away outside our box too. Many of them eventually lead to goals that should never even have been allowed to happen.

[Guest Kev]

Sorry, what was the topic about again ?

[Guest JV]

Sorry, what was the topic about again ?

coat!

[Nebraska Red]

How many times do we give away uneccesary free kicks that result in goals/ How many times are we caught napping on a set peice. It's seems like most goals we concede come from these lapses in concentration. The main factor in our recent run was the fact that we were determined to keep a clean sheet. Our defenders, midfielders and our goalie kept focused for 90 minutes. Since the turn of the year we have lost that concentration and it has cost us many points. We were lucky not to get knocked out by Luton and for a good part of the Pompey game we looked very nervy. The question is can we get that intensity back and how quickly.

 

 

not scoring goals is our major problem, not taking the chances we get is our major problem.

 

if we score early, the other team has to attack us and we can get a 2nd, for example-Portsmouth in the cup.

 

if we take our chances, the pressure is taken off the defence and they can play their normal game instead of the nervy desperate defending we have seen in some games.

 

get some bloody goals and the rest of the game will take care of itself.

[fyds]

not scoring goals is our major problem, not taking the chances we get is our major problem.

 

if we score early, the other team has to attack us and we can get a 2nd, for example-Portsmouth in the cup.

 

if we take our chances, the pressure is taken off the defence and they can play their normal game instead of the nervy desperate defending we have seen in some games.

 

get some bloody goals and the rest of the game will take care of itself.

Is the right answer.

 

Only the Chavs have conceded fewer goals than us - 23 games in, only 15 conceded is it - six of them to the Chavs themselves? And one of them on Sunday was offside. Let's hope the crash-course fit Robbie Fowler can do the job Rafa brought him in for - the number of chances we make, I think he will - I wasn't so sure to start with but seeing how he was left out on Sunday this told me two things...one, Rafa is mostly concentrating on second place and full automatic qualification for the CL next year, and two - winning it again this year. The league - even had we won on Sunday would still have been a very tall order and not in our hands...interstingly, if the first 6 games of the season (our 'hello, who are you again?' new player bedding in period) - then the results since then compared to the Chavs showed only one point between us up til Sunday - interesting and impressive at the same time - and that's without a regular goalscorer...so with one next season?

 

Robbie may have a couple of years or more with us if he gets it together as we hope he will - and they could be very successful years too.

 

On a side note - what exactly do you have to do get a) a penalty against Chelsea these days and b) sent off if you're a Chelsea player?

[Koogan]

Sorry, what was the topic about again ?

 

Parry out and Cissé too, in short

[G Richards]

Agree that scoring is the biggest problem. A couple more quality players might help, since being fresher will help keep concentration levels higher.

 

It's also worth pointing out that our concentration levels have tended to drop against the better teams (Ferdinand goal, Gallas goal). Basically, better teams punish you if there's a lapse in concetnration/mistake. These things probably happened all through our good run, but the calibre of team we were facing at that stage was not able to punish us.

[yellow jumper]

would a crespo for crouch swap have changed the outcome of the game on sunday?

 

personally i think we're missing a robben, or a cole far more.

[Barnes' left foot]

would a crespo for crouch swap have changed the outcome of the game on sunday?

 

personally i think we're missing a robben, or a cole far more.

 

That's the thing, while Gerrard is excellent on the right, more often than not he's not really going to try and take on the full back opposite him (this is not a criticism, its just what I've observed).

 

With someone like SWP/Pennant, they'll occupy the opposing teams' defence much more, which is what Robben (the git) and Cole were doing to Finnan and (to a greater extent) Warnock.