Compulsory "without Lambert" thread

[The9]

I may as well, someone will :

 

So, we won 3-0 without Lambert, we seemed to be creating more, shooting more from distance, creating different kinds of chances to the ones we've become used to and generally playing a lot more effectively than we have done in the past month.

 

Also worth noting that Richardson was missing, so the overlap down the right with crosses into the box wasn't an option.

 

So, here are the questions : Do we look like a more difficult prospect without those two playing ? Had we become a little predictable and have those two injuries enabled us to provide a threat from unexpected areas ? The call to shoot more from distance was obviously being answered, but shouldn't we be doing that sometimes with Lambert in the team anyway ?

 

Interested to see your thoughts...

[Roger]

I may as well, someone will :

 

So, we won 3-0 without Lambert, we seemed to be creating more, shooting more from distance, creating different kinds of chances to the ones we've become used to and generally playing a lot more effectively than we have done in the past month.

 

Also worth noting that Richardson was missing, so the overlap down the right with crosses into the box wasn't an option.

 

So, here are the questions : Do we look like a more difficult prospect without those two playing ? Had we become a little predictable and have those two injuries enabled us to provide a threat from unexpected areas ? The call to shoot more from distance was obviously being answered, but shouldn't we be doing that sometimes with Lambert in the team anyway ?

 

Interested to see your thoughts...

 

No, that's one game. Doncaster away wasn't so got without him! You don't like lambert do you. He's created as much as anyone else. How quickly people forget.

[Sour Mash]

I may as well, someone will :

 

So, we won 3-0 without Lambert, we seemed to be creating more, shooting more from distance, creating different kinds of chances to the ones we've become used to and generally playing a lot more effectively than we have done in the past month.

 

Also worth noting that Richardson was missing, so the overlap down the right with crosses into the box wasn't an option.

 

So, here are the questions : Do we look like a more difficult prospect without those two playing ? Had we become a little predictable and have those two injuries enabled us to provide a threat from unexpected areas ? The call to shoot more from distance was obviously being answered, but shouldn't we be doing that sometimes with Lambert in the team anyway ?

 

Interested to see your thoughts...

Really interesting point and I think you're right - think there's some saying about necessity being the greatest source of creativity and you could well re right in this instance. Having said that, it's hard to judge, I really thought Forest were one of the poorest sides I've seen in a long time, particularly 2nd half and it's easy to forget how poor we've looked without Lambert in the past - the Doncaster performance being a great example.

[doddisalegend]

I can't imagine leaving Lambert out if he is avaliable. Having said that I think we were becoming a bit reliant on the cross from Frazer to Lambert heading in at the back post approach and teams were working us out a bit. Taking Lambert out of the team has forced us to try something a bit different leaving oppostion guessing a bit (which is good IMO) and shown the team that we can perform without him. We've had two games without him won them both (admittidely against two poor teams).....kind of shows we didn't need to buy six Lambert clones as back up IMO. That said in the end I'd want him in the team against better opposition.

[Dr Who?]

We looked really poor without Lallana last season, and the season before, and did not seem to know how to cope without him. I think we have found a different way of playing without lambert, but would prefer him in the team, as he is a goal machine and his hold up play is second to none!

[Dr Who?]

I can't imagine leaving Lambert out if he is avaliable. Having said that I think we were becoming a bit reliant on the cross from Frazer to Lambert heading in at the back post approach and teams were working us out a bit. Taking Lambert out of the team has forced us to try something a bit different leaving oppostion guessing a bit (which is good IMO) and shown the team that we can perform without him. We've had two games without him won them both (admittidely against two poor teams).....kind of shows we didn't need to buy six Lambert clones as back up IMO. That said in the end I'd want him in the team against better opposition.

 

I have noticed this as well, that diagonal cross into the box, was working really well, but now I think we need to try something different. If lambert is fit and not suspended then he would be th first choice on the team sheet. He adds so much to the team, and his all round play is just second to none.

[simo]

Dc is back that helps

[Danbert]

Dc is back that helps

 

This

[ant]

What I've taken from Saturday's game is the overwhelmingly positive feeling that we aren't really becoming a one-dimensional team. In these past two seasons the times we've ripped opposition teams a new one is when we've played composed possession football. During our December lull there appeared to be an increasing frustration and nervousness pervading the squad. That impatience appeared to be causing us to spend more time playing the sort of direct football which many teams in this league are able to stifle.

 

The performance against Forest reminded me of the Southampton team we saw at the start of the campaign - sure, it was against a poor Forest side but the signs were there and we didn't let up that intensity until the final whistle. Obviously I understand that at times you have to 'win ugly' (West Ham have got that down to a tee), but it helps if that's plan C, D or E. Lambert is a large cog in our strongest line-up and fits into the 'Southampton way' brilliantly, demonstrating hold-up and lay-off play as strong as his goal-scoring. However with him on the pitch there will always be the option of endlessly hoofing the ball which is just too basic if it's the sole tactic.

 

Though I admit I've not made it to many away games of late, the most recent matches at St. Mary's were less pleasing to my eye and there was a very real danger of us going stale. Hopefully it's not a false dawn, but this could now act as a reboot to our season; a reminder that despite no team in this division being a walkover, on our day we have the ability to tear any of them a new one. Forest may be in a precarious league position, but the players proved yet again that they've got it in them. It was a comprehensive performance and you could say tactically sound too - credit to Nige and his staff since they've come under some criticism of late.

 

Plus (as mentioned above) DC links brilliantly with Lallana It comes as little surprise to me that Adam looked more confident and dangerous than he has done since his return from injury. Even when Lambert has served his suspension, even if we sign another striker etc. etc. I believe that Connolly can still play a vital role in our promotion push.

 

There's an abundance of what ifs and maybes, but perhaps this is now a case of the little details coming together at the right time...?

[St_Tel49]

No, that's one game. Doncaster away wasn't so got without him! You don't like lambert do you. He's created as much as anyone else. How quickly people forget.

 

I like Lambert but it is still a valid point for discussion. It has occurred to me that our play has become predictable and that being forced to play without Lambert has made us explore alternative approaches. If it brings more flexibility to our tactics then maybe having to do without him temporarily will turn out to be a good thing.

[The9]

No, that's one game. Doncaster away wasn't so got without him! You don't like lambert do you. He's created as much as anyone else. How quickly people forget.

 

If you couldn't get the tone of "I think it will be an interesting discussion" rather than "Lambert is crap" from the OP, you sir, are a mental.

[keithd]

Think it shows we can adapt without anybody, we can change tac tics accordingly i.e not so many overlaps and balls chucked in the box. Play to your strengths

[The9]

Having been to Brighton and seen how dire we looked without a plan when he got sent off, it was nice to see that we were able to adapt.

 

I think last season we played it wide and attacked down the flanks more than any kind of long ball game, though we did occasionally whack it out of frustration. Whilst this season we began with Lambert dropping off and linking play on the deck with Connolly being the in-box player, and we basically refused to knock anything in the air at all in the whole season until we were 2-0 down at Cardiff, when suddenly Frazer's cop-out ball from the season before became our main attacking tactic for 15 minutes (hence De Ridder's equaliser).

 

The direct ball at the target man has a time and place, and mixing the two has to be the goal, but as the season has drawn on, we've gone more and more away from the passing possession game and back to "knocking it", especially away from home. That predictability meant when we weren't able to exploit the flanks we struggled to create any chances (Doncaster and Bristol City notably) against teams who can eat up long balls - especially when fouling the target man for 90 minutes like City at home, and in a way I'm glad we've been forced back into playing it on the deck to prove we can still do that - if we get up, it's the kind of game that's seen Swansea and Norwich looking pretty decent.

 

Apart from anything, introducing some long range shooting means teams have to defend the shot AND the pass, so occasional pot-shots are also beneficial to helping us unlock defences.

Edited 16 January, 2012 by The9

[Appy]

If some of those chances fell to Lambert on Saturday it would of been double figures.

[Jack]

I may as well, someone will :

 

So, we won 3-0 without Lambert, we seemed to be creating more, shooting more from distance, creating different kinds of chances to the ones we've become used to and generally playing a lot more effectively than we have done in the past month.

 

Also worth noting that Richardson was missing, so the overlap down the right with crosses into the box wasn't an option.

 

So, here are the questions : Do we look like a more difficult prospect without those two playing ? Had we become a little predictable and have those two injuries enabled us to provide a threat from unexpected areas ? The call to shoot more from distance was obviously being answered, but shouldn't we be doing that sometimes with Lambert in the team anyway ?

 

Interested to see your thoughts...

 

Forest are sh*t, and we really didn't create that much before the sending off. Hammond had a dig from distance early on, purely because Forest were so slow to close down, then there was our goal, and not a whole lot more before the red card.

 

After the red card their heads dropped, we got a bit of luck with DC's goal, but we played some lovely stuff and had loads of room to get shots off. There aren't many teams in the league that will allow us anywhere near as much space as Forest did. If they did, we'd have scored from a lot more long shots and low balls into feet in the box over the season.

 

As Appy said, if Lambo had been playing I'm sure we'd have won by more.

[This Charming Man]

Forest are sh*t, and we really didn't create that much before the sending off. Hammond had a dig from distance early on, purely because Forest were so slow to close down, then there was our goal, and not a whole lot more before the red card.

 

After the red card their heads dropped, we got a bit of luck with DC's goal, but we played some lovely stuff and had loads of room to get shots off. There aren't many teams in the league that will allow us anywhere near as much space as Forest did. If they did, we'd have scored from a lot more long shots and low balls into feet in the box over the season.

 

As Appy said, if Lambo had been playing I'm sure we'd have won by more.

 

Exactly this.

 

After the sending off Lallana had a lot more room which really helped us going forward and you could see that Forest quite literally gave up and just wanted to get off that pitch. They were very, very poor in the 2nd half and as a few people have already said, it would've probably been 5 or 6 had Lambert been playing.

 

Whether you like it or not, he is absolutely key to our title/promotions chances.

[The9]

Forest are sh*t, and we really didn't create that much before the sending off. Hammond had a dig from distance early on, purely because Forest were so slow to close down, then there was our goal, and not a whole lot more before the red card.

 

After the red card their heads dropped, we got a bit of luck with DC's goal, but we played some lovely stuff and had loads of room to get shots off. There aren't many teams in the league that will allow us anywhere near as much space as Forest did. If they did, we'd have scored from a lot more long shots and low balls into feet in the box over the season.

 

As Appy said, if Lambo had been playing I'm sure we'd have won by more.

 

Fair enough, and this is probably separate from the Lambert issue altogether, but I think you're missing the point that we haven't been shooting from range at all this season. It hasn't been due to teams closing us down any better, it's been because we've been trying to keep possession rather than shooting. We even had a discussion about it on here before Xmas.

 

But after a certain time, like Arsenal wanting to walk it in, coaches notice teams who don't shoot, and their defences will ONLY be briefed to track their runners and stop passes, rather than rushing out to block shots. If they know you don't shoot, why risk breaking your defensive shape to stop it ?

 

A lot of space is created from teams desperately defending with blocks, as players go to ground and sometimes leave opponents free when they make blocks. If we're playing a passing game and want to open sides up, we have to mix it occasionally, and that means shooting from distance instead of passing it in just like it means the odd long ball or low cross... or being able to play without your obvious target man.

[alpine_saint]

I may as well, someone will :

 

So, we won 3-0 without Lambert, we seemed to be creating more, shooting more from distance, creating different kinds of chances to the ones we've become used to and generally playing a lot more effectively than we have done in the past month.

 

Also worth noting that Richardson was missing, so the overlap down the right with crosses into the box wasn't an option.

 

So, here are the questions : Do we look like a more difficult prospect without those two playing ? Had we become a little predictable and have those two injuries enabled us to provide a threat from unexpected areas ? The call to shoot more from distance was obviously being answered, but shouldn't we be doing that sometimes with Lambert in the team anyway ?

 

Interested to see your thoughts...

 

Lets see us play decent opposition before we think about letting Pardew have him, eh ?

 

On a serious note, maybe his absence has simply challenged NA and the team to find alternatives rather than take the lazy option of "get it to Rickie". Or maybe its Connolly being back. We were really lucky he returned to fitness when he did, you know...

[This Charming Man]

Lets see us play decent opposition before we think about letting Pardew have him, eh ?

 

On a serious note, maybe his absence has simply challenged NA and the team to find alternatives rather than take the lazy option of "get it to Rickie". Or maybe its Connolly being back. We were really lucky he returned to fitness when he did, you know...

 

I didn't think he was that great on Saturday. Didn't hold the ball up and was shoved off the ball like he was a small child most of the time. Important goal from him though so can't grumble too much.

[alpine_saint]

I didn't think he was that great on Saturday. Didn't hold the ball up and was shoved off the ball like he was a small child most of the time. Important goal from him though so can't grumble too much.

 

Well I rate him because his off-the-ball running is intelligent. Even the most sceptical would admit he at least represented a warm body to play in that position.

[Jack]

I didn't think he was that great on Saturday. Didn't hold the ball up and was shoved off the ball like he was a small child most of the time. Important goal from him though so can't grumble too much.

 

Strange how we all see it differently. I thought DC was immense on saturday. Linked up well and never stopped making clever runs. He pulled their defence all over the place which opened up gaps. He was unlucky not to get played in a few more times than he did, but even when a run isn't seen it still makes space for others. Very clever forward IMO

[kpturner]

Did anyone else notice that against Forest, when Lambert was not on the pitch, Davis went long most of the time rather than play it out to the CMs or FBs? Seems a bit @rse about face to me. After Guly went off our front-line was one of the smallest you will see anywhere, and he still went long. Still, we won 3-0 so who cares.

[Saint Garrett]

This is we play with a back 2, 2 CM who generally play about level with the Full backs, and then both wingers + the 2 forwards are all very fluid which causes all sorts of problems for defences. It's very difficult to defend against as defenders are changing who they are marking every 5 minutes.

[This Charming Man]

Strange how we all see it differently. I thought DC was immense on saturday. Linked up well and never stopped making clever runs. He pulled their defence all over the place which opened up gaps. He was unlucky not to get played in a few more times than he did, but even when a run isn't seen it still makes space for others. Very clever forward IMO

 

Don't get me wrong, I think he's a great player. His off the ball movement is class and he has a great touch. Just thought he was a bit weak and got bullied a bit until the sending off, when he started finding a lot more space.

[This Charming Man]

Did anyone else notice that against Forest, when Lambert was not on the pitch, Davis went long most of the time rather than play it out to the CMs or FBs? Seems a bit @rse about face to me. After Guly went off our front-line was one of the smallest you will see anywhere, and he still went long. Still, we won 3-0 so who cares.

 

Davis has started kicking long a bit more recently. I prefer it when we mix that up a bit.

[up and away]

I may as well, someone will :

 

So, we won 3-0 without Lambert, we seemed to be creating more, shooting more from distance, creating different kinds of chances to the ones we've become used to and generally playing a lot more effectively than we have done in the past month.

 

Also worth noting that Richardson was missing, so the overlap down the right with crosses into the box wasn't an option.

 

So, here are the questions : Do we look like a more difficult prospect without those two playing ? Had we become a little predictable and have those two injuries enabled us to provide a threat from unexpected areas ? The call to shoot more from distance was obviously being answered, but shouldn't we be doing that sometimes with Lambert in the team anyway ?

 

Interested to see your thoughts...

 

I doubt Ricky will make the difference for the troubles we have been having, we need a different style of player. Whether you play Ricky or Guly leading the line up against their centre back is of little consequence, neither wants to be that far forward and both their games suffer when they have to play that far forward. Before his suspension Ricky has been the one forward who has kept any semblance of form, but that is just not enough to turn things around. If you have Connolly, Guly and Lallana on form to go with Ricky, then we are cooking by gas. The big problem is that all of these players have been off form with the exception of Ricky, but he alone is not sufficient to drag us out of the hole. The one really special player we did have was Lallana, he would make that difference and raise the team to another level. For what ever reason Lallana's form has dipped to such an extent the team performances are similar to when he was missing previously.

 

Looking back at the Forest game, I thought we played better against Brighton in the first half and I did not see enough to change things against the likes of Bristol City. When we had the space against Forest we looked total class, but compare that with the first half where although totally in control, we created little. Replace Forest with Bristol City and I am struggling to see a significant difference to change the result around. We need to recreate our 2 points average returns for auto and we are just not near that at present.

 

The best I have seen us play against quality opposition was the Middlesbrough game, a walk over without the 6 goals, total domination. The main reasons for that being strikers in shape, not neccessarily top form, Guly up front with Lambert, Chaplow providing the energy and solidarity to the midfield and Jos at the back. One excellent point about the Forest game was that we got the midfield working, mainly down to Cork on the right. That is definitely something to build upon but we were no real threat in their box early doors. Teams have worked us out now and I doubt we will be getting the easy ride we had previously and we need that extra special player again from some where to make a difference or we need a different type of frontman to give us other options.

 

Listening to some of the other managers it has been noticeble that they could not work out what had just unraveled in front of their eyes, thinking particularly about Freedman and Mowbray. Well Bristol City has put that into perspective now but what other teams boast of Adomah and Maynard? The biggest problem we face is believing Ricky is the answer, we need a different style of forward then he can be the answer as part of a package.

[Appy]

I seem to remember The9 being someone who said Lambert wouldn't cut it at the start of the season.

 

Anything to try and redeem yourself hey?

[Deano6]

I would say the linking factor is that we were playing Coventry and Nottingham Forest, as opposed to Championship quality teams.

[Jack]

Did anyone else notice that against Forest, when Lambert was not on the pitch, Davis went long most of the time rather than play it out to the CMs or FBs? Seems a bit @rse about face to me. After Guly went off our front-line was one of the smallest you will see anywhere, and he still went long. Still, we won 3-0 so who cares.

 

It had nothing to do with Lambert being out. Forest weren't letting us play out from the back early on, they were pressing high up the pitch. That, and Guly was winning a lot of headers up there and making it stick, so we stayed with that approach

[S-Clarke]

Let's not get carried away by our last two results, especially Saturday.

 

We played well but we had so much room to operate in, and we used it so well. Forest were diabolical in the 2nd half, 10 men or not...you usually see more of an effort from the opposition.

 

Games away at places like Doncaster are more telling. When you don't have that time and space, you need another option, and a cross field ball to the head of Lambert is sometimes that option.

[shurlock]

Not sure the changes made THAT much difference

 

Richardson was out; but Harding did his job to get forward and provide width (2 of the 3 goals indeed came from crosses). Similarly Guly was tasked with the Lambert role of holding up the ball/linking up play but I know who I would rather have doing that - see Donny.

 

Yes, we took a few more gambles from distance; but until Schneiderlin scored, I was reminded why we rarely do. Just before the goal Schneiderlin had lollipopped one to Camp which must have bounced 3 or 4 times. Our shooting from distance in the first half was poor, especially as we had better options down the right.

 

Key difference was not Lambert/Richardson's absence but Connolly's inclusion, even if he ran out of steam as the game went on. And lets not underestimate the quality of the opposition - Forest were a shower of sh*te. And until the sending off, for all the control we had, we ere hardly carving them open. Indeed, I thought our first half performance at Brighton was actually better.

[up and away]

Not sure the changes made THAT much difference

 

Richardson was out; but Harding did his job to get forward and provide width (2 of the 3 goals indeed came from crosses). Similarly Guly was tasked with the Lambert role of holding up the ball/linking up play but I know who I would rather have doing that - see Donny.

 

Yes, we took a few more gambles from distance; but until Schneiderlin scored, I was reminded why we rarely do. Just before the goal Schneiderlin had lollipopped one to Camp which must have bounced 3 or 4 times. Our shooting from distance in the first half was poor, especially as we had better options down the right.

 

Key difference was not Lambert/Richardson's absence but Connolly's inclusion, even if he ran out of steam as the game went on. And lets not underestimate the quality of the opposition - Forest were a shower of sh*te. And until the sending off, for all the control we had, we ere hardly carving them open. Indeed, I thought our first half performance at Brighton was actually better.

 

That's pretty much as I saw things, but I reckon Ricky could have filled his boots against Forest on reflection, not sure against some of the other teams. What I am having a hard time is pin pointing where things were going wrong previously, compared with the start of the season. Connolly is a big part in that, as he changed the team around when he came in late last season. He was instrumental for us going on that exceptional run that won us promotion, but he could not have done it without Lambert, Lallana and Guly. I just get the feeling we are looking like the period where Lallana was out of the side, basically because he is not producing the goods at the moment. Ricky is the only forward who has any form at the moment (although Guly keeps scoring) but it can hardly of done Lallana any harm with running at that 10 man Forest defence and the problems he was creating.

 

It looks a simple case of having too many players off form at the same time combined with the other variable, the midfield. The best midfield I have seen was Lallana Hammond Cork and Chaplow, although the combination against Forest looked the business with Cork on the right. Against Brighton Adkins just gave away the midfield when we were down to 10 men and without control of the midfield, we are just a pale shade of everything good about us. Bristol City and Doncaster I thought were a different case where they stopped us passing through them without the ability to really punish us, until we tried forcing the issue and leaving the holes. The only way I could imagine us breaking down Bristol City would have been to use someone like Fonte up front as a battering ram and picking up the peices behind. There must be a simple answer to Bristol City when you look at their losses to other teams.

[The9]

I seem to remember The9 being someone who said Lambert wouldn't cut it at the start of the season.

 

Anything to try and redeem yourself hey?

 

You might want to read the post, rather than just make assumptions. For what it's worth, I think Grant Holt has since proven that barely mobile target men who can pass the ball pretty well have a place in the upper echelons of English football, and Lambert's got such prolific supply most of the time that it doesn't matter that he has no pace. We play to his strengths most of the time. His lack of pace mattered a bit at Fratton when Lallana overhit a through ball which could have put him in, but it hasn't mattered much. He's scored a shedload of goals, and done much better than I thought. We have been overreliant on him, and I wouldn't want him to be our only option this season, never mind next. But he's done very well, unexpectedly so even considering Holt's Championship season last year.

 

I thought Beattie was shat for all but about 6 months as well, for the record.

[The9]

That's pretty much as I saw things, but I reckon Ricky could have filled his boots against Forest on reflection, not sure against some of the other teams. What I am having a hard time is pin pointing where things were going wrong previously, compared with the start of the season. Connolly is a big part in that, as he changed the team around when he came in late last season. He was instrumental for us going on that exceptional run that won us promotion, but he could not have done it without Lambert, Lallana and Guly. I just get the feeling we are looking like the period where Lallana was out of the side, basically because he is not producing the goods at the moment. Ricky is the only forward who has any form at the moment (although Guly keeps scoring) but it can hardly of done Lallana any harm with running at that 10 man Forest defence and the problems he was creating.

 

It looks a simple case of having too many players off form at the same time combined with the other variable, the midfield. The best midfield I have seen was Lallana Hammond Cork and Chaplow, although the combination against Forest looked the business with Cork on the right. Against Brighton Adkins just gave away the midfield when we were down to 10 men and without control of the midfield, we are just a pale shade of everything good about us. Bristol City and Doncaster I thought were a different case where they stopped us passing through them without the ability to really punish us, until we tried forcing the issue and leaving the holes. The only way I could imagine us breaking down Bristol City would have been to use someone like Fonte up front as a battering ram and picking up the peices behind. There must be a simple answer to Bristol City when you look at their losses to other teams.

 

One feature of our very early season play was the rapidity with which we moved the ball, and the tireless support play of the midfield - Cork in particular was always 10 yards away in space for anyone who was getting closed down in midfield, and when he got it he moved it on swiftly. That slowed down into September, but we still managed it in places for most home games (especially against Middlesbrough).

 

Lallana got a foot injury and lost form, and by early December that rapidity of movement, flowing football and availability of options from all over has all but disappeared - aside from the lack of support for the man with the ball, we seemed to have lost the ability to inject a high tempo into the match (something Chaplow is excellent at) - and the drop in tempo and the predictability of our full backs almost always crossing it to Lambert made us easier to defend against, whilst retaining the handicap of pushing the full backs right up and leaving gaps. Bristol City exploited the gaps well, we lost some matches.

 

At Brighton losing Lambert was a hammer blow because we hadn't been working out how to play without him, but against Forest we seemed to be moving the ball much better (especially Cork) and created enough even without Lambert - by playing much more like we did at the start of the season. Ironically, having lost form partially due to injuries, getting MORE injuries (and Lambert's suspension) meant we were more unpredictable, and less easy to defend against.

 

When Lambert comes back, his enthusiasm will be tangible, and I wouldn't be surprised if Cardiff feel the backlash from his lay-off.

[up and away]

One feature of our very early season play was the rapidity with which we moved the ball, and the tireless support play of the midfield - Cork in particular was always 10 yards away in space for anyone who was getting closed down in midfield, and when he got it he moved it on swiftly. That slowed down into September, but we still managed it in places for most home games (especially against Middlesbrough).

 

Lallana got a foot injury and lost form, and by early December that rapidity of movement, flowing football and availability of options from all over has all but disappeared - aside from the lack of support for the man with the ball, we seemed to have lost the ability to inject a high tempo into the match (something Chaplow is excellent at) - and the drop in tempo and the predictability of our full backs almost always crossing it to Lambert made us easier to defend against, whilst retaining the handicap of pushing the full backs right up and leaving gaps. Bristol City exploited the gaps well, we lost some matches.

 

At Brighton losing Lambert was a hammer blow because we hadn't been working out how to play without him, but against Forest we seemed to be moving the ball much better (especially Cork) and created enough even without Lambert - by playing much more like we did at the start of the season. Ironically, having lost form partially due to injuries, getting MORE injuries (and Lambert's suspension) meant we were more unpredictable, and less easy to defend against.

 

When Lambert comes back, his enthusiasm will be tangible, and I wouldn't be surprised if Cardiff feel the backlash from his lay-off.

 

My underlying feeling as to why we have been playing so badly is exactly as you explained, I just cannot get my head round the fact that we just fell off the side of a cliff with some of those performance. Totally exacerbated by the fact we had the perfect line up and tactics against Middlesbrough, Saints nirvana.

 

The midfield has always stuttered occasionally, either due to Adkins tactics or more often fatigue. You just cannot put in shift after shift of high tempo football in this league and why we arrived at giving Hammond, Cork or Schneiderlin 1-1/2 games each before changing them out. That worked and why I don't feel the same 3 who did so well against Forest will keep getting repeat performances, the system has to have fresh legs to function.

 

Against Brighton we just gave the midfield up when Lambert got sent off, that I will put down to Adkins. We should have just left Forte up on his own to get what ever scrap he could find and just made sure a team even worse than Forest could not just walk through us. I don't know how good that performance against Forest was because of how bad I felt Forest played, but it certainly is not going to dent the confidence. The next few games will tell us how things are progressing with that added bonus of new signings, players returning from injury and suspension. Get through the Leicester game with a result and it's not difficult to imagine a good run coming up.

[ART]

I have often posted in the past that when a team aren't playing up to standard, leaving out their best player, whether deliberately, by resting or by match bans, the rest of the team will up their game. Too often teams tend to relie too much on certain players and gradually form falls away little by little. I'm hoping when Ricky returns we'll be well and truly back to our best with everyone playing 100%

[SFC Forever]

If we don't lose over the next four games we will have a great chance of succeeding in our aims. Being able to change systems in any given match has to be something to work on. With the injured starting to return and with new players we should be able to make better use of our system and show the rest of this league we won't be beaten. I agree that player switches is a must with our high pressure game