Post by stingray06 on Aug 9, 2012 14:09:07 GMT 7
I'm not bothered that we lost away at Suphanburi. A home victory was the likeliest result for a side which throws money around like a Thai Man City and will very likely be playing in the TPL next season.
What bothers me is that soft goals were again conceded by a weak defence which hasn't been strengthened all season and now can't be strengthened because the transfer window has closed. The defence has looked the weakest area of the team all season, and yet we bring in four strikers and two midfielders but no defenders in the transfer window.
We've become a Jekyll & Hyde side. We've scored five and won both of our last two homes games whilst we've conceded five and lost both of our last two away games, and I can offer a theory as to why. Away from home we naturally play a more defensive game looking for a draw or a breakaway goal, but our defence isn't strong enough to withstand sitting back and hitting teams on the break; it's just not good enough to hold out. At home, we're on the offensive and less pressure is put on the defence. Look at the Sriracha game. We kept a clean sheet not because of any particular proficiency at the back, but because we were nearly always on the attack or looking to get on the attack.
So the only solution is to play the same game away from home as at home – something which won't happen as coaches are historically reluctant to do it, and yet, logically, there's no good reason why a team can't set up away from home the same way they do at home.
On the personnel side, I think the coach should bring back centre back Thansit Tong-In. A 34-year-old with stacks of top-flight experience, he was my man-of-the-match in the two league games he's played this season (Rajpracha and Bangkok FC away) and was at the heart of the team's revival which actually started just before the old coach left.
What bothers me is that soft goals were again conceded by a weak defence which hasn't been strengthened all season and now can't be strengthened because the transfer window has closed. The defence has looked the weakest area of the team all season, and yet we bring in four strikers and two midfielders but no defenders in the transfer window.
We've become a Jekyll & Hyde side. We've scored five and won both of our last two homes games whilst we've conceded five and lost both of our last two away games, and I can offer a theory as to why. Away from home we naturally play a more defensive game looking for a draw or a breakaway goal, but our defence isn't strong enough to withstand sitting back and hitting teams on the break; it's just not good enough to hold out. At home, we're on the offensive and less pressure is put on the defence. Look at the Sriracha game. We kept a clean sheet not because of any particular proficiency at the back, but because we were nearly always on the attack or looking to get on the attack.
So the only solution is to play the same game away from home as at home – something which won't happen as coaches are historically reluctant to do it, and yet, logically, there's no good reason why a team can't set up away from home the same way they do at home.
On the personnel side, I think the coach should bring back centre back Thansit Tong-In. A 34-year-old with stacks of top-flight experience, he was my man-of-the-match in the two league games he's played this season (Rajpracha and Bangkok FC away) and was at the heart of the team's revival which actually started just before the old coach left.