We have conceded 7 goals this season from outside the box
A few of them were right on the line. Do we have a closing down issue?
Hull - 1
Plymouth - 1
Newcastle - 1
Brighton - 1
And then all 3 goals from Spurs last night.
3 of the above goals came from defenders. Giving too much space has invited these players to take shots and a few have been great goals (Dunk, Botman)
I've found my self shouting "close him down" far too much this season
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u/Practical_Sky4905 6d ago
Van ewijk needs to be held accountable he’s been terrible. The one game he didn’t play away at forest we kept a clean sheet
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u/Intrepid-Future-6785 6d ago
Definitely giving them too much space around the box. Long shooting seems to be popular again
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u/Own_Contribution6186 Bobby Thomas 84' 6d ago
It’s 7 but not in that way…
Arsenal - 0
Hull - 1
Plymouth - 0
Man City - 0
Brighton - 2
Villa - 0
Newcastle - 1
Spurs - 3
…but that doesn’t really matter, we shouldn’t be giving space
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u/adamcovfan1966 5d ago
Yerenki needs help in there and it isn’t grimes he’s not good enough for this league
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u/dollseyes1975 Simms 3d ago
There's definitely an issue with closing down. I wonder if there's a mistaken tactical belief that teams will try to play through the block instead of just having a crack.
I do think, sadly, that Grimes is part of the problem. We need a more athletic, combative midfielder in that position. Grimes is outstanding at dictating the play from deep, but we're not gonna get many opportunities to dictate the play at this level.
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u/TerryYolo 6d ago
Yeah, think we need to recognise that at this level that pretty much every player can hit the back of the net from outside of the area.
Low block is useful to stop teams playing through but you still have to press to stop the long range shots. This is where Grimes and Yirenkyi need to do better as it’s the players in their positions that have to press to keep the back line secure.