There seems to be a perception that we are a bit wobbly defensively, but we have only conceded 10 goals in 11 league games. Only Ipswich (5) and Burton (9) have conceded fewer in our division. It is interesting that Doncaster think they have a really sound defence and are only missing a striker to replace Marquis to give them a real chance of promotion, and they have conceded 13 goals in the same number of games played as us.
Are we really vulnerable defensively?
I think that we have a selection of defenders who are all very good players at this level. We have had to chop and change a bit more than is usual with a back four through various injuries, but we seem to have got out of the bad habit of conceding from set pieces and are starting to look pretty solid. We all have our personal preferences for some individuals over others, but whoever plays we look like a pretty strong unit. On Saturday we play Oxford who are full of goals at the moment so it looks like we might be tested.
I'd be interested to know what anyone else thinks.
-- Edited by smiler on Monday 14th of October 2019 02:39:53 PM
I think there are several reasons why our defence looks better this season and has only let ten goals in. The obvious one is the quality of opposition is way below that of last season. There is not the creativity or the quality of finishers in opposition and if we just look at the last two games our opposition had numerous chances to score but didn't take them.
You also have to say in my opinion that our goalkeeper this season is quite a bit better than last seasons. He is superb on one v ones and also commands his area much better. We also have a fair bit of cover along the back four. Olosunde has done very well for an inexperienced full back and in Billy Jones have an experienced cover who came on late on Saturday and showed his worth. I would be tempted to play Jones away from home if the opposition had a dangerous left sided player. Mattock seems to be out of favour with some but i still believe he is easily our best left back and as good as most in this league. The central pairing has seen Ihiekwe play on the right with wood and Robertson sharing the left central role. No doubt about it Robertson is the best long term prospect but how people fail to see Woods worth to our team is beyond me. On Saturday he was forever shouting out orders and is the only leader at the club.
Without Ajayi and Vaulks in front of our back four this season i feared the worse, but Lindsay is developing into the role and now we have more bodies in the midfield ( not so in 4.3.3.) i think it has tightened it up a fair bit. I still fear we are vulnerable to a bit of pace down the centre and we do leave a lot of space in the midfield at times. I also think we have to give credit to the coaching staff who have tightened us up a bit from set pieces. As you say Smiler Oxford are full of goals and in form so we will no more about us after Saturday. If we can keep them out then i think it would be fair to say, our defence has very little to fear in this league.
In terms of measuring the quality of our defence you can only really go on the stats. Conceding less than one per game is a great return and confirms my opinion that the defence is the least of our problems!
