Lowe post Rochdale match comments

[IPA]

Let's not forget that Lowe is still very much a rookie manager and learning his trade.

While he's also had relatively good backing from SH he's hardly had pots of money to spend and inherited most of his central defence (which is our achilles heel) from DA.

All the dreamers who had fantasies about the play offs or even more ridiculously automatic promotion need to wake up and smell the coffee.

Most of us realists said before the season started that staying up and consolidation would be a good achievement in the circumstances. Anything above that would exceed expectations in my humble opinion.

 

[Evilpilgrim]

Let's not forget that Lowe is still very much a rookie manager and learning his trade.

While he's also had relatively good backing from SH he's hardly had pots of money to spend and inherited most of his central defence (which is our achilles heel) from DA.

All the dreamers who had fantasies about the play offs or even more ridiculously automatic promotion need to wake up and smell the coffee.

Most of us realists said before the season started that staying up and consolidation would be a good achievement in the circumstances. Anything above that would exceed expectations in my humble opinion.

Yep. Its about getting the best out of what we have, not buying in what we don't. Its clear teams have worked us out and can beat us easily by getting in our faces, not letting us pass. Maybe we need to develop an ugly side, be a bit 'Wycombe' at times?

 

[Rush Goalie]

Good comments here, particularly from ChicagoGreen, though I disagree the message was mixed. Lowe clearly feels the players should shoulder the blame for that defeat. He tried to pull back from those comments but the cat was already out of the bag.

The difficulty regarding the defence is that he pulled Aimson in the first half at Fleetwood and then dropped Opoku on Saturday. Canavan and Wootton have now clearly let the side down, so Lowe is a bit snookered. Of the available centre-backs, it's only Watts who is potentially not fed up with the treatment meted out in recent weeks. It's starting to look like we could do with Sawyer back to help organise things and bring a bit of experience. Didn't think I would say that a couple of weeks back.

One of the issues with the way we play is that it is built on confidence on the ball more than other styles. When we ship early goals, it is then hard to get that fluidity, as the players will naturally be more nervous. The alternative long ball outlet to take pressure off isn't working consistently, as Nouble blows hot and cold as a target. I agree with others that although his application isn't in doubt, he isn't really up to scratch for what we require.

Would like to see Lowe pick a back 3 now and stick to it. Feels like that should be Aimson, Watts and Opoku in the absence of other options - though that doesn't account for any behind-the-scenes shenanigans. Also, Camara was our best player prior to Pompey, the game in which he went off the boil a bit. Yanking him after 10 minutes v Fleetwood is starting to look a mistake. Perhaps the guy needs to be allowed to play through a patch of bad form (ditto Aimson), rather than punished with a place on the bench. It's clear that without Camara and Mayor we have no-one who can switch the play quickly to get us up the pitch.

Worrying period. This could easily turn into a relegation battle.

 

[Lobster]

Good comments here, particularly from ChicagoGreen, though I disagree the message was mixed. Lowe clearly feels the players should shoulder the blame for that defeat. He tried to pull back from those comments but the cat was already out of the bag.

The difficulty regarding the defence is that he pulled Aimson in the first half at Fleetwood and then dropped Opoku on Saturday. Canavan and Wootton have now clearly let the side down, so Lowe is a bit snookered. Of the available centre-backs, it's only Watts who is potentially not fed up with the treatment meted out in recent weeks. It's starting to look like we could do with Sawyer back to help organise things and bring a bit of experience. Didn't think I would say that a couple of weeks back.

One of the issues with the way we play is that it is built on confidence on the ball more than other styles. When we ship early goals, it is then hard to get that fluidity, as the players will naturally be more nervous. The alternative long ball outlet to take pressure off isn't working consistently, as Nouble blows hot and cold as a target. I agree with others that although his application isn't in doubt, he isn't really up to scratch for what we require.

Would like to see Lowe pick a back 3 now and stick to it. Feels like that should be Aimson, Watts and Opoku in the absence of other options - though that doesn't account for any behind-the-scenes shenanigans. Also, Camara was our best player prior to Pompey, the game in which he went off the boil a bit. Yanking him after 10 minutes v Fleetwood is starting to look a mistake. Perhaps the guy needs to be allowed to play through a patch of bad form (ditto Aimson), rather than punished with a place on the bench. It's clear that without Camara and Mayor we have no-one who can switch the play quickly to get us up the pitch.

Worrying period. This could easily turn into a relegation battle.

Agree with almost all of this Goalie. Although I would say that none of Aimson, Opoku, Wootton or Canavan has a right to be fed up with their treatment - assuming Wootton and Canavan are dropped for Ipswich, all will have been dropped for poor performances. Agree that Lowe is a bit snookered now though.

 

[philevs]

Got a few observations.
Our crap run started with the five subs and in his pre-match interview before it came in, RL said he didn’t really have a clue how to handle it, so maybe put he’s gone and put the jinx on himself about it.
RL has started to use the phrase “we’re overachieving” (which I remember all too well from Derek Adams’s time!), and I think this is a very negative approach, primarily because it makes players feel they’re not really who the manager would have if he could afford better. Bad for their confidence. And what we see is a great lack of confidence in our players, even Jephers missed two sitters last night!
Both these things coincide with our poor run, and maybe they are not just unrelated coincidences.
RL seems to be blaming the players now, and that gets nowhere, because it destroys team spirit. I thought his body language and going and sitting on the bench last night was poor.
It all has to come from the manager, and so I believe RL has it all in his own hands. I have belief in him to change things round.

 

[Balham Green]

Lowe needs to take some responsibility. I don't hear it. Responsibility for the predictable and very naive tactics which are the same every week. Responsibility for a squad and a team which is unbalanced and very easy to pick off. Responsibility for being unable to change things when going wrong except making panicky ridiculous subs like taking Edwards off yesterday, Camara off after 10 minutes at Fleetwood.

 

[Princerock]

Remind me who actually are the defensive coaches ?

 

[The Doctor]

Got a few observations.
Our crap run started with the five subs and in his pre-match interview before it came in, RL said he didn’t really have a clue how to handle it, so maybe put he’s gone and put the jinx on himself about it.

One problem with the 5 subs rule is that it allows the manager to react more quickly if he is unhappy about how a player is performing and sometimes that will mean he reacts TOO quickly. I'd say that was the case at Fleetwood when he took Camara off after only 20 minutes or so. This gave the player no opportunity to knuckle down and bed into the game AND it sent out a signal to everyone else that you had better not make a single mistake because if you do then you're off the pitch... too much fear crept in then. [exactly the same thing happened in the first game of the season a few years back when Adams removed Lamieras at halftime and then left him out of the team for the first few months]

A second issue is that changing 5 players during the course of a game just disrupts the team too much especially as these changes are often made earlier than they otherwise would be. So there is always adjustment having to be made - who is marking who at set pieces, who take free-kicks and corners, who is making what kind of runs etc. The best teams are always settled sides but to get to a settled side you often have to suffer through some dodgy performances first.

Someone made the point that against Fleetwood - just 4 games ago - our back 3 was Aimson, Opoku and Watts, two of whom were removed by halftime of that game to be replaced by Wootton and Canavan - and then by the end of last night's game only Aimson and Opoku were on the pitch having themselves replaced Wootton and Canavan by halftime of the game. In the meantime Canavan had managed to get sent off, serve a one match suspension and get back into the team again. That's just far too much turnover of players in a short time. Were Aimson and Opoku really so bad at Fleetwood that they deserved to be hooked off so early - at the time I felt that at least they were getting stuck in, showing some determination and looking deeply unhappy with the way the game was going.

 

[Knibbsworth]

Lowe needs to take some responsibility. I don't hear it. Responsibility for the predictable and very naive tactics which are the same every week. Responsibility for a squad and a team which is unbalanced and very easy to pick off. Responsibility for being unable to change things when going wrong except making panicky ridiculous subs like taking Edwards off yesterday, Camara off after 10 minutes at Fleetwood.

Take responsibility for what?

The side was unchanged from the side which won 2-0 against Lincoln City (who are 4th in League One).

What do you want Lowe to hold his hands up and apologise to the fans for?

The players played poo and they need to examine that fact themselves.

 

[philevs]

Lowe needs to take some responsibility. I don't hear it. Responsibility for the predictable and very naive tactics which are the same every week. Responsibility for a squad and a team which is unbalanced and very easy to pick off. Responsibility for being unable to change things when going wrong except making panicky ridiculous subs like taking Edwards off yesterday, Camara off after 10 minutes at Fleetwood.

Take responsibility for what?

The side was unchanged from the side which won 2-0 against Lincoln City (who are 4th in League One).

What do you want Lowe to hold his hands up and apologise to the fans for?

The players played sh1te and they need to examine that fact themselves.

Responsibility for the performance of his team.

 

[Graham Clark]

I think the limitations of strict adherence of a 3-5-2 home or away are beginning to manifest themselves. Team after team in recent weeks know how to reduce its attacking effectiveness and expose the limitations of its defensive capability, particularly if you do not drop back into a 5-3-2 when under consistent defensive pressure through active or selective pressing by the opposition.

Most teams deploy a front three against us to pressure our back three. The advanced wing backs are covered and anyone offering themselves short are soon engulfed by a collective press. In short, we are unable to play through the thirds as we have done successfully in the past. The number of times we have shuffled the ball between the back three and then launched it down the channels are countless. Not only that, look at the precision and pace of those passes along the back three - lackadaisical at best and careless at worst. Our opposition just says 'thank you very much' when we gift them possession with an aimless ball down the channel under pressure and then we are numerically exposed on the counter attack with runs behind the advanced wing backs or even straight through the back three.

I do wonder if our management team have realised the limitations of 3-5-2, particularly without someone like Danny Mayor to get the team up the field at pace. 3-5-2 has always been a higher risk system whereby the hope is that the attacking successes outweigh the defensive frailties. It has served Ryan Lowe and his team well over the last two seasons or so.

However, I have noticed that we have played 3-4-3 for the whole game v Newport and for at least three halves of games, albeit under duress when the game was against us or even lost. Southgate for England and other Premiership teams have morphed into a 3-4-3 over the last season or so. There may be a team but I cannot think of one at a high level that so regularly set up as a 3-5-2 - in the evolution of tactics in top mgrade football there must be a reason for this.

If the 3-5-2 is to be retained we need pace and not immobility. For me that means the Jephcott / Hardie combination up top running behind the lines or into the channels. We need the energy of Camara and the craft and guile of Mayor in midfield and Aimson, Opuku and Watts flanked by Edwards and Moore as wingbacks (Cooper looked worrying injured last night). To change it to a 3-4-3 I would put Mayor in the hole behind the front two. Unless we adapt I fear we will be looking more anxiously towards the relegation zone than the play-off places. Ipswich will certainly be a test of the management team's willingness or ability to adapt and improve.

 

[gaspargomez]

I think fans saw this coming at the start of the season. We have seen Canavan and Wooton play in front of a novice goalkeeper in League One before. Why did we give them new contracts ? Added to that Lowe plays a very open system of football. George Cooper is a terrific player at this level but I wouldn’t rely on him to defend solidly. He’s an attacker.

The goalkeeping situation is a concern- Argyle have the choice between a novice keeper and a past-it keeper. Either way its a downgrade on Alex Palmer. As others have said, Michael Cooper should have had a season on loan to develop.

I like Lowe but he sometimes shows his inexperience. This is a test to see if he can turn things around. Shipping 9 goals in 2 league games is something that needs to be addressed quickly. Hopefully we can cause a shock at Ipswich.

 

[Mark58]

Got a few observations.
Our crap run started with the five subs and in his pre-match interview before it came in, RL said he didn’t really have a clue how to handle it, so maybe put he’s gone and put the jinx on himself about it.

One problem with the 5 subs rule is that it allows the manager to react more quickly if he is unhappy about how a player is performing and sometimes that will mean he reacts TOO quickly. I'd say that was the case at Fleetwood when he took Camara off after only 20 minutes or so. This gave the player no opportunity to knuckle down and bed into the game AND it sent out a signal to everyone else that you had better not make a single mistake because if you do then you're off the pitch... too much fear crept in then. [exactly the same thing happened in the first game of the season a few years back when Adams removed Lamieras at halftime and then left him out of the team for the first few months]

A second issue is that changing 5 players during the course of a game just disrupts the team too much especially as these changes are often made earlier than they otherwise would be. So there is always adjustment having to be made - who is marking who at set pieces, who take free-kicks and corners, who is making what kind of runs etc. The best teams are always settled sides but to get to a settled side you often have to suffer through some dodgy performances first.

Someone made the point that against Fleetwood - just 4 games ago - our back 3 was Aimson, Opoku and Watts, two of whom were removed by halftime of that game to be replaced by Wootton and Canavan - and then by the end of last night's game only Aimson and Opoku were on the pitch having themselves replaced Wootton and Canavan by halftime of the game. In the meantime Canavan had managed to get sent off, serve a one match suspension and get back into the team again. That's just far too much turnover of players in a short time. Were Aimson and Opoku really so bad at Fleetwood that they deserved to be hooked off so early - at the time I felt that at least they were getting stuck in, showing some determination and looking deeply unhappy with the way the game was going.

Good points.

 

[PL2 3DQ]

During Lowe's second spell as caretaker manager at Bury (he was appointed in January 2018) his team never got thumped with the biggest margin of defeat just by two goals, often a defeat was by the odd goal.

After winning just twice in the last 16 games of the season Lowe couldn't prevent Bury from being relegated from League One but it shows his defence were never given a hammering, although I don't know if he used a back 3 or 4.

The good sides always sort the defence out first and form a solid base.

 

[Welwyn Pilgrim]

Win as a group lose as a group. It’s staggering that a team can perform so differently in the space of a few days and for that reason I’m hoping it’s a blip, it seems once we concede early we get thumped (Fleetwood) Fine margins as if we’d scored instead of hitting the post then who knows.