Diagrammatical stuff

Just dumped this on TiFF in an attempt to make a point, so here it is here too.  One of the discussions you probably need to have in person; I have to exaggerate to get a point across, but still it seems to get lost.  Ho hum.  Better to have ideas, right?

Again following up on a point below, there’s no doubt in my mind that away from home our forwards have been too isolated, meaning that their opportunities, when they have come, have not really been good ones.

I’ve tried using words to get this opinion across, but here’s a diagram. In the top half we see two isolated strikers and an entire defence to stop them. This means that, when the forwards get the ball, the defence can concentrate on getting in their way.

The bottom diagram shows more players in attack, and the difficulty this gives defenders. Makes sense: the more players to cover, the harder it is to stop them all. The defenders can’t all cover Zamora because they have to be wary of the other players. If there are no other players then they’ll all be in position, all well stationed to stop our shots, or at least impede/rush them. You get good shots by pulling defenders out of position; you do this with slick play and men in attack, and it’s hard to do with two men alone.

This is a very crude example – don’t take the positions too literally – but makes the point. Away from home we have remained unusually compact and defensive, so that in the event of lost possession we always have two banks of four to defend. This has isolated our forwards. It’s been less evident at home, but we are still very, very disciplined.

So while Fulham have been mixtures of the two above, most teams have been nearer to the bottom approach, making it much easier for their forwards.

I’m defending Zamora not because I think he’s been good, but because I think he’s been unfairly maligned. He should have scored more goals than he has, but it’s not all his fault.

It does, incidentally, look like we’ve opened up quite a lot lately, so I would expect more and better chances to come Zamora’s way as the season runs down. We’ll see.

I am starting to sound like HC when Dickson signed, so I’ll leave it now; forgive my persistence… supposed to be sorting out the house…