Most liked posts in thread: Why are we so poor at home?

I am getting very fed up with reading this tripe from you. So people who have difficulty walking and their money aren't welcome at our club?
Supporters who have followed City for decades and are dedicated fans are not welcome?
So is there a cut off point age wise??
People attend for all sorts of reasons. All should be welcome.

 

Come on Fordy, you're better than that. Lets cut out the abusive stuff, there will be a fair few fans both young and old who struggle with their mobility.

 

Due to age doesn't make your comment any less demeaning. They are still fans of this club regardless of their mobility or lack of.

 

Couldn’t agree more.
Normally just ignore his inane club bashing drivel but this is too far.To single out a group of fans who just happen to be older than the rest of us is just downright offensive.
My old man was going to city right up until he physically couldn’t go any more and was the reason I went to my first game all those years ago.
He nearly ended up with frostbite at the Walsall home game a few seasons ago because he ignored
our pleas to stay at home due to the predicted weather that night.
I suspect the majority of elderly fans who read his comments will be rightly offended and I applaud the mods for taking action.

 

You're probably alright but maybe we 59s ought to start worrying, and as for the 69s, well, ...

(At least when we were young and stupid there wasn't an internet around to let us prove it to a worldwide audience.)

Charlie Harper (UK Subs) is still gigging and he's got just about another 20 years on me. I think I'll stick around -- just to spite Fordy if nothing else!

RCB

 

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

 

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.

 

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

 

So it’s Stefan Rupp fault that we lose at home? What about our away form is that because Stefan Rupp gets that right? Of all the reasons for being poor at home that has to be the strangest. All an owner can do is not interfere with team selection and transfers which nobody could accuse Rupp of doing ,and making sure that the manager has the best budget available. I don’t think Hughes can complain about financial backing despite various managers being totally incapable of producing a cup run since 2015. Something Rhodes and Lawn totally relied upon. 18600 fans who want to be entertained and are left disappointed are not apathetic because of Rupp, more likely they are flat because Hughes plays a cautious conservative game with just 1 up front, midfield players who are not natural goal scorers and we just don’t create enough excitement in a home game.

 

So why can't the so called fit and able hardcore fans be heard now then? You don't half talk nonsense at times Fordy.

By the way, I find your comment about fans who struggle to walk very offensive

 

We're not set up to play on the front foot

Completely agree with this. We’re lulled into the pretence of being a possession based side but its without urgency and purpose. We’re not set up to play on the front foot, so at home we flounder. I’m all for keeping the ball and sometimes a backwards or square pass is the right thing to keep the ball and enable you to move forward. But far too often our midfielders receive the ball from the defenders with decent time and space but rather than turn and look to play forward, they go backwards or sideways. Case in point, the first goal yesterday.

 

You are bang on.
Possession is nothing if it’s not got any purpose.
Just had a quick look at a couple of stats for recent games.
56% possession yesterday and created very little.
57% against against Harrogate and created even less.
65% against Crawley 1-1 draw.
37% against Salford away 2-1 win
37% against Mansfield(admittedly the sending off makes a massive difference) 2-1 win.

I mentioned the same as you about the first goal in another post earlier and as you say,Smallwoods first thought is backwards to keep possession rather than move in to a few yards of space and move us forward.
If you keep going backwards(just to keep possession) as your preferred option sooner or later something like yesterdays *@?$ up is going to happen.

 

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

 

It's the lack of excitement that does for me. How many times have we actually looked like we might score in recent home games? Our football at home is slow, predictable and very boring and that has killed the optimism of many I suspect. Watching City at VP this season has been an endurance test so far rather than an enjoyable experience and that's an indictment of those responsible. The Northampton fans chant of 'Is this a library?' yesterday was fully justified. There's no atmosphere because the product on display is so incredibly dull.

 

Don't feed the troll.

 

If ever there was a reason to bring back the pile of sh!t emoji.

 

Never had a fellow poster on ignore but he amazes me with some of his comments, the latest aren't even debatable.

 

I'm still in denial ...

 

Although both Chapman and Banks have scored some cracking goas they have a tendancy not to look up and see if there is a better option than having a go themselves, having said that no doubt if they did and nothing came of the assist they would be accused of not having confidence in their own ability, its so easy from the stands.