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1st half vs 2nd half


MAY-Z
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So finally decided to total this up as opposed to just assuming we are bad

 

1st halves: 5 wins 7 draws and only 2 losses (Chelsea and Liverpool both away). 
 

2nd halves: 1 win (Leeds home) 6 draws and 7 losses.

 

so if games only consisted of 1st halves 22 points, only second 9 points.

 

what stands out though is how immediate the change is after the breaks

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It isn't about the quality of our players, and I don't think it's about fitness - we finished pretty well today. We dominated both Watford and Norwich in the first half but things switched 180 right after half time. It's something else.

I'll re-post what I posted on the game day thread.

I’ve felt for some time that Ralph’s second half changes are not determined by what’s going on in front of him, but almost planned in advance. He seldom seems to respond to opposition changes that alter the momentum (e.g. Watford, Norwich), and he’s slow to see the resultant danger when players are underperforming (Tino, A. Armstrong), or when the opposition has sussed out a weakness (KWP on his wrong side).

I think Ralph does quite a lot right - more than he gets credit for, but this obstinate, arrogant side of him is infuriating.

No wonder we’re stuck in a groove of great starts and shit finishes.

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7 minutes ago, badgerx16 said:

It's been an issue for at least a year. I don't think it is a fitness issue because, as you have said above, whatever switch is flipped takes effect immediately the second half kicks off.

 

Yes that’s what most puzzling to me too

if I can be bothered I might do last season too, the other thing I should’ve added in was shots per half 

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To me it seems fairly obvious. No team can press well for 90mins and when you take away the high intensity we don't have much else.

Pressing well requires everyone to function together, to move in sync and not leave large gaps when someone else has pushed forward.

I think the longer the game goes, the harder it is to play this style and gaps open for the opponent where we aren't quite as sharp and also where they have gotten used to how we play and where the spaces are.

In midfield Romeu often tires and isnt often replaced (no viable alternstive today) and we arent a team setup to keep possession for long periods.

Aside from pressing we have little recognisable style and in the attacking third don't have the individual quality, and as the intensity drops we become a lot more basic.

In addition, because we rarely kill games off in the first half the opponent nearly always raises their level, especially if they have been woeful like Norwich were.

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Honestly, do we have any players capable of controlling the tempo of a game? Can Ward-Prowse or Romeu really control the tempo of a game? - I don’t think so, everything seems to be done in a panic or a rush constantly and that isn’t sustainable for 90 mins

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57 minutes ago, MAY-Z said:

Yes that’s what most puzzling to me too

if I can be bothered I might do last season too, the other thing I should’ve added in was shots per half 

 

Since we beat Sheff Utd on 13th December, ( 27 matches ), we have taken 9 points from the 18 games where we were not leading at half time. 2 wins, 3 draws, and 13 defeats. We have held onto a half time lead to win just 3 times in the same period. In the 11 matches where we were behind at half time we have failed to take a single point.

Under Ralph we simply don't do second halves. That has to be down to him.

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21 minutes ago, egg said:

I think it's as simple as the other team make changes that the players on the pitch can't adapt to, and neither can/does Ralph. 

Definitely not fitness cos we finished stronger after the two sitters Leicester missed to win the game .. Ralph plans it all before and is to stubborn to react to wot is happening infront of him during games .. it’s hard wired in him ! 

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On 02/12/2021 at 09:41, MAY-Z said:

So finally decided to total this up as opposed to just assuming we are bad

 

1st halves: 5 wins 7 draws and only 2 losses (Chelsea and Liverpool both away). 
 

2nd halves: 1 win (Leeds home) 6 draws and 7 losses.

 

so if games only consisted of 1st halves 22 points, only second 9 points.

 

what stands out though is how immediate the change is after the breaks

1st halves 6w, 7d, 2l, 25 points

2nd halves 1w, 6d, 8l, 9 points

 

and before people say today was only the last 2 mins that lost the win, again we had 11 shots first half, 3 shots second half against a team that needed to attack and should’ve left more chances for us out there

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On 02/12/2021 at 06:22, Give it to Ron said:

just give them a bit of orange, a fag and a Guinness it always worked with my Sunday team up the Sporty. 

yep, the time has come for us to start deploying Sunday league half time rituals. We can't really do any worse than we are currently.

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8 minutes ago, Chez said:

yep, the time has come for us to start deploying Sunday league half time rituals. We can't really do any worse than we are currently.


As Alf Ramsey said to Rodney Marsh "I'll be watching you for the first 45 minutes and if you don't work harder I'll pull you off at half time," to which Marsh replied: "Crikey, Alf, at Manchester City all we get is an orange and a cup of tea."

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On 01/12/2021 at 23:55, Nemi said:

Honestly, do we have any players capable of controlling the tempo of a game? Can Ward-Prowse or Romeu really control the tempo of a game? - I don’t think so, everything seems to be done in a panic or a rush constantly and that isn’t sustainable for 90 mins

True though our tactics and set up mean both Rom and JWP have too much to do.

Two up front is wasteful and often leaves us overrun in the second half. Tactically we need to enable more procession based build up play by reverting to one up front and building play with bodies in field who can join the attack when appropriate. Romeu in particular tires quickly. A much more sensible proposition yesterday was to replace one of the two up front with an extra central midfielder and possibly Romeu too.

Ralph’s tactics are too blinkered and his substitutions are bewildering if not just downright ridiculous. When it comes to managing games he is more often than not outthought by his peers. Ralph is more likely when we are losing control of the midfield to bring on a third attacker than shore up midfield. With two or three exceptions our players are better than the end results.
Ralph is far too autonomous and this does lead to poor decision making both tactically and picking his favourites first come what may; he has too much power which he doesn’t handle well…..

Well said Danny Murphy on MOTD by the way!
 

 

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