Why are we so poor at home?

You've hit the nail on the head with everything there.

It's up to Hughes and Hodges to earn their corn and turn these wretched home performances and results around.

It's getting to be a chore watching these constant flat performances every home game.

 

Ability -- Tactics -- Mentality ... divide the blame in whatever proportions you see fit.

We have proven that we have the ability to be a good, if not great, side -- but we mostly do that away. We are nonetheless still a playoff-pace side, flirting with auto-promotion pace, but yes, we cannot expect the away form to remain at its current high level.

We have proven that our tactics work -- but not consistently, and again more away than home. Do the players fail to follow the plan at home, or are we too determined -- from the top -- to play only one way?

Do we have enough players who can handle playing in front of 18000+ demanding supporters? Do we need different players, better suited to such an atmosphere, or do we need to work on the mental toughness of the current ones? We need players who will both get us promoted and continue with us at a higher level, with the bigger crowds and added pressures that all will bring.

I wonder if the weighting shouldn't be Mentality ahead of Tactics ahead of Ability.

RCB

 

But our shite home form is nothing new! We've been woeful at home for a number of years now. We have a much better squad now and I agree that unfortunately at present we look more like play off contenders than challengers for the autos, but there's a long way to go. Biggest problem at home for me is the 2 deep lying central midfielders. Desperate to see East given a run and a returning Walker

 

Sorry but doncaster, Crewe and Swindon were absolutely garbage and we made Wimbledon look better than they were.

To say teams come here and play out of their skin is really over egging that pudding

 

Bottle jobs

 

They can’t hack the big crowd; simple as that. Too nervous to make a mistake, not that they don’t make one every 2 minutes.

And the defensive formation. got found out weeks ago an no lessons have been learned.

Chapman is good in the middle when he’s got space, but otherwise he’s the invisible man. We need Walker back urgently

 

Lots of good points already made in this thread.

I'll just add:

- Feels like the onus is on possession at home more than away. Seems we counter better and attack more incisively away. But we've seen multiple times in recent home games that these L2 players aren't up to it. Gilliead and Smallwood giving cheap goals away.
- Today, watching Halliday tell Platt multiple times to play a 'quick' free kick back to Songo'o right in front of us was baffling. It wasn't 'quick' by the time it was taken, so what was the insistence on it?
- I feel despite our excellent defensive record, we're overly reliant on Crichlow being mobile with the ball at his feet. In his absence, we're flat and even slower, with a lower pass accuracy.
- I don't think our full backs are anything special, but Halliday makes up for it with effort. Foulds is a poor attacking full back, better suited to away games than home as he adds nothing going forward or with his passing play.
- Smallwood and Gilliead feels 'make shift', which is ridiculous considering the number of signings we made in the Summer.
- Smallwood is on an awful run of form, but I've little doubt it will end at some point.
- Unfortunately, injuries and fitness has hampered our ability to play our best two wingers: Banks and Wright.

But yeah.

Too slow, too negative at times, and always looking backwards. I don't see this when we're away from home, so it's like it's a direct instruction to retain possession more at home - which doesn't work, as the players aren't good enough.

 

It’s quite simple really and yesterday highlighted the importance of having a quality midfield, We don’t have that. The worrying thing is that there are no other options available on the bench. Smallwood is a quality player but he needs a quality player at the side of him.
Away from home works well because we can hit teams on the counter. With a quality midfield this team would go far.

 

It’s down to the system and our slow play and nothing looks like changing going forward
Since the Stevenage game we’ve had

Wimbledon 2-2
Stockport 0-1
Swindon 1-1
Crawley 1-1
Harrogate ( cup) 0-1
Northampton 1-3
That’s 5 goals out of 6 games ......... I actually thought after the Harrogate game he would have actually change the way we set up at home ............. then the same happens again yesterday .......... I actually believe that this squad is good enough to get us up but one mans arrogance will end up costing us you can blame the crowd but this same group are performing away from home in front of full away ends ............. we actually set up to go after teams then we may end up with more points because from 3 points from a possible 15 is simply not good enough ........... and should our away form drop off then don’t be making plans on promotion this season ............... don’t get me wrong Northampton looked good but how many teams have looked good at Valley parade because our system makes them look that way ?????

 

Remember going unbeaten at home one season in the old days. Besides MH’s insistence on playing his way, over the years since Parky, we have been signing the wrong type of players. I thought we had looked at the characters before we signed them to see if the relish playing in front of big crowds. They simply freeze at home due to crowds and expectations. Gary Jones type players are needed to get out of this division.

 

the Harrogate game should have put an end to it but no yet again he does the same ...........will he change i sadly doubt it going on yesterday
Had he actually set us up to go after teams or just maybe stick two up top I’m sure that with the 15 points in offer over the last 5 games we would have got a lot more than the 3 ............ teams simply are not afraid of coming here because they know what’s coming there isn’t an element of surprise with us and why oh why Hughes cannot see it is baffling

 

I wish he would be a bit more bolder at home and go 4-3-3.

Playing 2 more or less sitting midfielders is fine away, but we need more fluidity at home.

Stubborn these managers aren't they

 

And yet we hardly ever see the opposition freeze in front of our 'big' crowds do we .. ? i'm not havin' it ....

 

He has 2 weeks of training to change the way we play at home. I would at least like to see him change the system.

 

There's been a pattern with them these last few years though hasn't there ?

 

It’s there cup final

 

Yes I get they want to come and give us a game in front of our big crowd. However, our players should be equipped to deal with it. They are here on probably above average pay to entertain their 18000 supporters. If they are soft in front of a big crowd them they should be dropped or not here!

 

6 years of awful ownership from the top. Despite big crowds, the underlying apathy and frustration is simmering away. The place feels so flat.