Town have lessons to learn after sucker-punch (From Swindon Advertiser)
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Town have lessons to learn after sucker-punch
5:30am Thursday 6th September 2012 in Sport By Sam Morshead
LATE BLOW: Wes Foderingham is left floored by Oxford's winner
ANDY Williams believes Swindon Town need to learn how to adapt to deal with teams hanging deep and waiting for their chance to pounce after they were dumped out of the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy by Oxford last night.
Town held the lion’s share of possession for the majority of the game at the Kassam Stadium but, having failed to create a chance of any real note throughout 90 attritional minutes, fell victim to Alfie Potter’s 88th-minute strike as the U’s marched into round two.
Williams, who himself has yet to find the net for the Robins since his summer switch from Yeovil, stressed Swindon need to evolve as a team.
“The lads are gutted inside, I feel sorry for the fans as well – we brought a good gathering here and we dominated the game creating a few chances, we just didn’t take them,” he said. “We dominated possession without breaking through and I think we need to work a little bit better on breaking teams down.
“Teams seem to sit back now, they seem to know we’re going to dominate possession and unfortunately today we didn’t create the chances we needed to score the goals to win the game.
“It was the worst time to concede a goal right at the end but it was perfect for them.
“I felt during the game we were comfortable and it was more when we were going to score than if and unfortunately today the goal didn’t come and we got hit with a sucker-punch at the other end.
“The lads have done well all game and we haven’t given them a sniff. It’s just a lumped ball forward really and it’s created a chance for them and the lad’s taken it well. It’s just disappointing really.
“We wanted to progress in this competition, we wanted to do well and especially we wanted to beat our local rivals and we haven’t done any of the above so it’s disappointing – particularly after Preston.”
Williams admitted his own lack of goals is starting to bother him and, despite another committed effort at Oxford, the striker is desperate to find the net against Leyton Orient this weekend.
“I didn’t have too many chances on goal, I might have had a half chance when I ran through but I’d like to get a goal at the weekend, it’s getting a bit annoying now,” he said.
“I’ve been disappointed with my performances in the last two games and I think the gaffer will tell you that as well. When you’re not scoring as you would like you start to question your position in the team.
“I’ll just keep working hard, I’ll keep my head down and do the best I can for the team. I’m sure the goals will come.”
Comments(20)
Nassingtonred
says...
6:43am Thu 6 Sep 12
Swindon1984 wrote:TOTALLY AGREE.....
Score one and the floodgates will open
Psychedelic Syd
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8:28am Thu 6 Sep 12
old town robin
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8:38am Thu 6 Sep 12
London Red
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9:24am Thu 6 Sep 12
.
Had he been fit Ritchie missing wouldn't be such a blow as he can operate on either wing
.
Certainly looming forward to when we have both of them available
John Young's Grumpy
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10:06am Thu 6 Sep 12
There were positives from last night - but we were probably victims of to many changes and not enough gelling?
the wizard
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10:09am Thu 6 Sep 12
Up to this moment in time with the chances he has had, he is certainly worse than Connell, by a margin and then some.
Swindon1984
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10:25am Thu 6 Sep 12
the wizard wrote:In terms of goal return, maybe, but definitely looks a better striker. I seem to remember a certain Mr Jimmy Ffloyd Hasselbaink going to Chelsea and not being able to hit a barn door for his first few weeks, then ending up the highest scorer in the premiership that season.
While I have been impressed with Williams running, tracking back, interplay and so on, his inability to put the ball in the net could land up costing us, especially in tight games. I really feel that after the pre season and now several games he needs to get his act together, good will, effort and sentiment do not on their own score goals which win games, and that is what he needs to start doing, after all its what he is paid to do. Up to this moment in time with the chances he has had, he is certainly worse than Connell, by a margin and then some.
It would be a real worry if Williams looked like a flop from the word go, but he seems to offer more than just goals, and in time I'm sure the goals will come. No need to panic just yet.
Psychedelic Syd
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10:25am Thu 6 Sep 12
the wizard wrote:I think that's a bit harsh Wiz. I liked Connell but he was always a bit lightweight and pushed from pillar to post by big defenders. Williams is tough, has good first touch and is hard to knock off the ball. He might not be scoring yet but he causes opposing defenders all kinds of problems with his speed and skill which creates space for other players. I don't read his comments about "not worrying if he doesn't score as long as the team wins" as a positive, although I'm sure some would say you need to be greedy to be a prolific scorer. I would sooner have a guy for whom team comes first, ego second, than vice versa.
While I have been impressed with Williams running, tracking back, interplay and so on, his inability to put the ball in the net could land up costing us, especially in tight games. I really feel that after the pre season and now several games he needs to get his act together, good will, effort and sentiment do not on their own score goals which win games, and that is what he needs to start doing, after all its what he is paid to do.
Up to this moment in time with the chances he has had, he is certainly worse than Connell, by a margin and then some.
the wizard
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10:38am Thu 6 Sep 12
Hopefully Saturday matters will be resolved, but PDC needs to shoulder the blame for last nights result, he picked the team with four rookies in it, but I doubt if he is man enough.
Stilloyal
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10:46am Thu 6 Sep 12
Think Williams has caught Jan Agge Fjortoft syndrome, just hope it doesn't take too long to wear off.
Strikers go through these phases, Torres, Carrol etc, these people cost millions , at least Williams was a freebe.
Keep working Willo it will come !
Psychedelic Syd
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11:02am Thu 6 Sep 12
Stilloyal wrote:Hi Stilloyal, Connell seems to be having another bench warming season which is a shame. He came on late for Bradford in their 4-0 defeat at Rotherham but I don't think he has scored yet this season. Hope he does well because he always had such a good positive attitude and showed some nice touches. Although I wasn't sure about letting him go at the time, maybe it was for the best. I think the Williams/Collins partnership looks much more dynamic than anything we saw last season. I think Benno is going to struggle for his place.
Agree Syd, very harsh how is Connel doing now ?
Think Williams has caught Jan Agge Fjortoft syndrome, just hope it doesn't take too long to wear off.
Strikers go through these phases, Torres, Carrol etc, these people cost millions , at least Williams was a freebe.
Keep working Willo it will come !
PS in my post above I meant to put "..... as a negative", not positive!!!
MARK TITCOMBE
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11:16am Thu 6 Sep 12
Swindon1984 wrote:Hi 1984
the wizard wrote:In terms of goal return, maybe, but definitely looks a better striker. I seem to remember a certain Mr Jimmy Ffloyd Hasselbaink going to Chelsea and not being able to hit a barn door for his first few weeks, then ending up the highest scorer in the premiership that season.
While I have been impressed with Williams running, tracking back, interplay and so on, his inability to put the ball in the net could land up costing us, especially in tight games. I really feel that after the pre season and now several games he needs to get his act together, good will, effort and sentiment do not on their own score goals which win games, and that is what he needs to start doing, after all its what he is paid to do. Up to this moment in time with the chances he has had, he is certainly worse than Connell, by a margin and then some.
It would be a real worry if Williams looked like a flop from the word go, but he seems to offer more than just goals, and in time I'm sure the goals will come. No need to panic just yet.
Surely if we are going to win the league we need to start putting the ball in the net now? We have only beaten Crawley and Mk Dons so far so maybe we should be looking at those games and trying to emulate them in some way. Beating big teams always comes from the extra desire to perform on the big stage and not from the way we will play generally in league 1. We need Ferry, Caddis Ritchie and obviously a prolific goal scorer if we want to progress but at the moment we have a manager who's ego is causing us problems. Don't get me wrong, he has also been fantastic for us in many ways and I actually like his style most of the time but there is no set team pattern. We are feilding completely the same team next match if we win and then a new team all together if DiCanio gets angry and goes on a power trip. This might be fun for the press but I can see it costing us an automatic promotion place or even a top 6 place if we don't get it sorted soon. I know there is a long way to go and I really hope I am wrong but where are the goals going to come from this season? Ritchie? Flint? Maybe Benson? How long can we wait for a striker to start scoring League goals? I agree Williams looks strong on the ball and technically is a better player than Connell but Goals mean prizes and a good display is just a good display. The teams above us are nothing special in terms of quality in fact we beat Crawley and Mk Dons but up front most of them have more firepower (Tranmere on 11 goals) so it speaks for itself. Swindon will probably prove me wrong?? Lets hope so eh!
Come on You Reds
dreamofacleansheet2
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11:36am Thu 6 Sep 12
Only thing I'd like to see from most attempts at goal is hit it low, generally makes it difficult for keeper to get down.
As for Connell, can't get a start for Bradford who are 12th in Division 2. Top bloke, top professional, wish him well, hope he's top scorer in Div 2 but the suggestion we shouldn't have let him go is made ridiculous by the fact he can't start for Bradford.
Swindon1984
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12:59pm Thu 6 Sep 12
Yes, it would be nice to have a player who is guaranteed to get us goals, but there's no such thing - just have to pick the players based on what the manager thinks is best and see what happens. I'm convinced Williams will break his duck, and think him and Collins up front is a great looking forward pairing, but that notwithstanding people seem to be panicking a bit too early. If Williams is playing regularly and hasn't picked up at least a few in a month or so then yes, there's a problem there, but after the first few games, it's too early to judge.
Also, anyone looking through rose tinted specs at Connell or anyone else who's left the club -
1. it's pointless to even think about what they would have done if they were here still and
2. how good were they really?
Seems some fans can slag a player off when he's playing for us and then get all mopey and reminiscent once they've gone. If the mananger thought enough of the player (barring them being snapped up by a bigger club) they'd still be here.
On paper we've got a very good team. That doesn't change after two bad results. What really riles me is once we get on a good run this will all be forgotten, until the next time somone wants to get the knives out. It's boring.
SeanG92
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1:06pm Thu 6 Sep 12
Once that happens im sure we will push on and progress up the league and in the cups. Its defiantly not the end of the world losing the last 2 games, look at how bad our start to last season was and look at where we ended up!! League winners and JPT finalist. I'll happily take just the 1st one this season!
Im positive we will bounce back on saturday, lets get the place bouncing and back the lads all the way to 3 points!
Swindon1984
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2:29pm Thu 6 Sep 12
1:06pm Thu 6 Sep 12
We have to be honest with ourselfs. We almost have a brand new team again. Its going to take time for the players to gel together and get a bit of a feel for each other again.
Once that happens im sure we will push on and progress up the league and in the cups. Its defiantly not the end of the world losing the last 2 games, look at how bad our start to last season was and look at where we ended up!! League winners and JPT finalist. I'll happily take just the 1st one this season!
Im positive we will bounce back on saturday, lets get the place bouncing and back the lads all the way to 3 points!"
Spot on - early days, plenty of time to put things right, starting better than last season which really shows how far we've come. Think after last season some are getting carried away and want miracles - we were never going to go unbeaten all season or go a whole season not playing a single bad game. We're spoilt I think :-)
mallorca
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7:55pm Thu 6 Sep 12
As for the defeat against Oxford let's face it several new faces plus all the press hype with Pdc it was not a surprise,just glad it did not cost us 3 points.
As for pdv saying it was down to Flint we lost is the start of yet another saga.
It's getting beyond a joke, why does our Manager carry out the teams problems in private.
flynners1962
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8:53pm Thu 6 Sep 12
smirg kcab
says...
11:05pm Thu 6 Sep 12
get your money on the willo.
onwards and upwards
Swindon1984 says...
6:13am Thu 6 Sep 12