I remember the exact sequence and people around me were screaming for Cody to close him down. Then Dom and Macca had to do his job and the midfield was empty.
That’s squarely on Cody. I thought Macca overall did very well! The best league match I’ve seen him play all season
I have zero issue with Mac going there, but I do with Dom. He left a huge hole.
But yeah one player not filling in, and panic ensues. Not great.
We’ve just been a totally disorganised side for most of the season, it’s bad enough when 1 player is out of sync nevermind multiple players and all of Grav Mac Gakpo and Mo have to take account, it’s simply not been good enough out of possession.
As well it’s hard to fault Dom for his efforts because he does leave it all out there but not every phase of play requires exerting maximum effort running up and down or side to side towards the ball, sensing danger and positional awareness is arguably far more important.
Except Dom is pretty ineffective except at right back. Despite all the effort and covering space that doesn’t need covering.
Defensively our midfield has no balance and noone doing what we need. Just leaving the opposition to transition faster than we can keep up with.
Of course there’s other factors, like the defence backing off too fast, however the major problem is still the midfield and how it defends.
A well drilled unit moves in concert, and they all know the triggers for various situations, the gaps to close, and the positions to take up. It is a sight to behold and when it is like that it is a lot more solid.
Unfortunately we are some way short of it.
The temptation is to think about new signings, and while many of us are hoping for say, an Anderson or a Wharton to boost the midfield, it’s not enough if the coaching is insufficient.
A 5-2 win is something for plus column, so I don’t want to rip it apart, but it came with issues!
This thread gets worse.
“Dom is pretty ineffective bar at right back”… Hmmm
Not watched him a lot this season have we?
Apparently it is. Would be lovely for him to go out with another big ears and he’s been wonderful for us but really can’t wait to see the back of him. He’s much more undeserving of pitch time than Cody - and that’s not a complement to Cody like it would have been 2 years ago.