Grinding out the wins

[Stuliasz]

Now I know it probably doesn't need statistics to tell us how bad we are this season, but one of our primary problems looking through the results so far this season is our complete inability to grind out wins by the odd goal.

Discounting cup fixtures, in the Championship the amount of games we have won by the odd goal: TWO!

In fact, we never won a match by the odd goal until the Crystal Palace hoof extravaganza in January. All of our other wins have been by at least two goals or more.

Put that up against the amount of Championship games that we have lost by the odd goal: TEN!

And when you think about it, how many times have we sat at the Walkers watching teams who are as bad as we are do exactly just that. It's all well and good getting these odd wins by two three or four goals but if you can't grind out 1-0 wins against teams who are as bad as you, then you just don't deserve to stay in the division.

This stat worries me even more when we have home games against the likes of Sheff Wed, Scunny and Colchester, all of whom will be desperate not to lose and they are bound to be very close games with both sides playing desperately not to lose. These are the types of games we have been getting done over by this odd goal and not taking it ourselves. I can't imagine that anyone else in the league has a record as poor as this in terms of the odd goal wins. And not even Megson could muster a single one goal win, something which he is famed for! At least Holloway has a couple but it's just not enough.

[Cheese Me]

I agree, we are particularly poor when it is tight but do OK when things click.

It worries me that we've let several wins turn in to draws and draws turn into defeats, particularly through late goals and its something that has been a problem for a while now. I can't think of many games in recent years that we've nicked in the last ten minutes but there are plenty that we've let slip.

I don't really understand why this could be. Perhaps the players are too lacking in confidence for one final push in a game (or to hold out against one) or maybe the fans are too nervous and don't give them the push they need. Whatever the problem is this is a definite issue and I agree, we need to try to sort it before those important, tight home games come up and bite us.

[Fez of Mahrez]

Been saying a similar thing for weeks, particularly about the three home games we have left. This bunch of players don't seem to react well to pressure and Holloway doesn't seem to have a clue tactically. We shall see. I'm still convinced we're going down but there are loads of awful teams near us in the table, we just need to grind out three wins like you say.

[davieG]

It is pretty much the norm that the longer the game runs the further back we fall until we have 10 men in the box, whether we're winning 1-0 or drawing it's inevitable therefore simply on the law of averages that we going to concede goals late on.

[Flynny]

I'd say a lot of this might be down to Holloway favouring an attacking style but not really being able to coach the players into playing one. But having said that, I'd have expected us to have got a few more "grinded out" results under Megson - and we haven't.

[The Stig]

The players clearly can't cope with pressure. Which would suggest to me that the manager is doing something wrong if he can't get anything out of his players in games when we're expected to. Take the Albion game for example, no non expects us to win, the players don't apply any pressure to themselves, we win 4-1.

[Ultra]

The West Brom game was a one-off. Several of their key players were either injured or rested, then they had a man sent off.

I can't see those circumstances reappearing too often in the remaining games of the season.

[Thracian]

The players clearly can't cope with pressure. Which would suggest to me that the manager is doing something wrong if he can't get anything out of his players in games when we're expected to. Take the Albion game for example, no non expects us to win, the players don't apply any pressure to themselves, we win 4-1.

An important part of the manager's job is to get players to anticipate and deal with pressure.

The home draw against Charlton was a good example.

We've played pretty well, go 1-0 up, our normal play is steering us to victory when stupidly, we start doing something completely different and wasting time by trying to run the ball dead into one corner.

The players had no right to take that attitude upon themselves. They didn't suddenly become bad or incapable players they suddenly tried to be managers and to decide their own tactics.

Holloway should have forewarned them about what is a commonplce situation in football and he should have dictated exactly what their approach should be if ahead in the closing stages.

That game cost us two points and I thought at the time they might well cost us our league place in the end.

In Holloway's defence it has never happened the same way since but in so many instances the caution still remains and that caution transmits itself to the team.

What worries me is that, unlike some managers who don't have much in the way of communication skillls, Holloway is blessed in that department yet still he fails to get the right messages across. That suggests he's not sure himself what those messages should be. I hope I'm wrong.

[Dr The Singh]

An important part of the manager's job is to get players to anticipate and deal with pressure.

The home draw against Charlton was a good example.

We've played pretty well, go 1-0 up, our normal play is steering us to victory when stupidly, we start doing something completely different and wasting time by trying to run the ball dead into one corner.

The players had no right to take that attitude upon themselves. They didn't suddenly become bad or incapable players they suddenly tried to be managers and to decide their own tactics.

Holloway should have forewarned them about what is a commonplce situation in football and he should have dictated exactly what their approach should be if ahead in the closing stages.

That game cost us two points and I thought at the time they might well cost us our league place in the end.

In Holloway's defence it has never happened the same way since but in so many instances the caution still remains and that caution transmits itself to the team.

What worries me is that, unlike some managers who don't have much in the way of communication skillls, Holloway is blessed in that department yet still he fails to get the right messages across. That suggests he's not sure himself what those messages should be. I hope I'm wrong.

I just feel that the players after a win think they have 'turned a corner' and expect to go out and win the next game, showing utter compliancancy. Whether that comes from the manager, i have no idea!!

Unfortunately\fortunately I was not at the Hull game, but at West Brom, the players showed plenty of grit, even after going a goal down!!

The players and the manager need to smell the gravy, we are in the shit, and Holloway should stop his shit media interviews and columns and concentrate on the job at hand!!!

[DanTheFoxBhoy]

Now I know it probably doesn't need statistics to tell us how bad we are this season, but one of our primary problems looking through the results so far this season is our complete inability to grind out wins by the odd goal.

Discounting cup fixtures, in the Championship the amount of games we have won by the odd goal: TWO!

In fact, we never won a match by the odd goal until the Crystal Palace hoof extravaganza in January. All of our other wins have been by at least two goals or more.

Put that up against the amount of Championship games that we have lost by the odd goal: TEN!

And when you think about it, how many times have we sat at the Walkers watching teams who are as bad as we are do exactly just that. It's all well and good getting these odd wins by two three or four goals but if you can't grind out 1-0 wins against teams who are as bad as you, then you just don't deserve to stay in the division.

This stat worries me even more when we have home games against the likes of Sheff Wed, Scunny and Colchester, all of whom will be desperate not to lose and they are bound to be very close games with both sides playing desperately not to lose. These are the types of games we have been getting done over by this odd goal and not taking it ourselves. I can't imagine that anyone else in the league has a record as poor as this in terms of the odd goal wins. And not even Megson could muster a single one goal win, something which he is famed for! At least Holloway has a couple but it's just not enough.

Just means we have to win those home games by 4 goals instead of 1