No Leaky...No Losey

[oakroader]

The teams with the better defence/keeper generally lose less matches and
therefore finish higher up the league than those with the most potent attack
so who do you reckon will have the lowest goals against record next season?

 

[shoddycollins]

Plymouth

Although they do sorely need a more potent attack.

 

[Judge Dredd]

Just looked at the league table to see the correlation between best defences and league positions. Suddenly realised just how incredibly shit every team was going forward last season.

Not a single team managing to score 70 goals in a 46 game season is pathetic.

 

[gashead88]

Think we had one of the best defences in the league when we got relegated it means nothing if u cannot score goals

 

[cufc17]

We scored quite a few goals last season (considering our league position), but our leaky defence conceded the 2nd highest in the division - 74 goals. So if we sort our defence out this season, we should be in a better position than last season.

I'll hazard a guess that Luton will have the best goals against record next season, providing they don't crumble like they did last season.

 

[oakroader]

Think we had one of the best defences in the league when we got relegated it means nothing if u cannot score goals

a bit of a contradiction there perhaps?
you wouldn't have been relegated if the defence was one of the best??
conceding 4 less goals would have kept you up ??

 

[Glasshalffullpools]

46 0-0s will get you relegated most seasons... One win in three plus a few draws keep you safe;, so a strike force is more important in my opinion..... of course , a good defence, attack AND midfield may be the way to go , just in case any managers are on here looking for tips !

 

[Gashead]

a bit of a contradiction there perhaps?
you wouldn't have been relegated if the defence was one of the best??
conceding 4 less goals would have kept you up ??

Football is made up of two parts though unfortunately.

To say it was 'one of the best' is a bit of a stretch, but we were top 10 for least goals conceded - so I don't feel that was the problem. We were however, 22nd for goals scored. We approached away games aiming 'not to lose' for the most part, which often lead to us losing 1-0, 2-0. We won two away games all season.

Some would argue if we'd had been more attacking away from home and had a better strikeforce, goal difference wouldn't have come into it

 

[BeesKnees]

Teams that defend better as a team lose less matches and concede fewer goals. You can have the best defence possible and still lose if the midfield can't win the ball and allow the opponents to stroll through them.

 

[Habbinalan]

Teams that defend better as a team lose less matches and concede fewer goals. You can have the best defence possible and still lose if the midfield can't win the ball and allow the opponents to stroll through them.

We have a manager who can set up a team to defend as well as any coach in the Division, as was shown when we needed to get results at Shrewsbury, Southend, Northampton (and against ManUre) last season. The same was evident with lower quality players in the Conference. He/we fell down when, to chase more goals, he put in wingers who didn't protect "average or lower" full backs and midfielders who did no work in their own half, exposing a good Conference holding midfielder. It was reflected in our home form in particular.

There were plenty of other factors involved but, with a new Assistant Manager and some higher quality signings, I'm hoping he can get the balance right at home more frequently next season.

 

[Moomin]

Definitely won't be us that's for sure. Only 4 clean sheets last season which is amazing considering we finished in the top 10.

We've got a great keeper now but our defence needs reinforcements!

 

[Vanni]

I have always believed that the the back four should be the strongest department in any side, but I've come to believe it even more this year. Imo, a lot of sides came to The Abbey to play for a point, however, they took their chances after seeing our back line was there for the taking.

I think this was one of the reasons why we struggled so much. We spent so many years in the conference, which is different as generally only a win is acceptable due to the fact that only 2 sides go up, that we forgot that a point is very valuable in League 2.

 

[ambernuts]

Afternoon all, new here so best make this a good'un. If you don't care about the Mighty U's past two seasons skip to paragraph 3 for the important bit.

Early on during our promotion season out of non-league abyss, we were the last professional team to remain unbeaten. 16 or 17 games our run was, I think. We had the tightest defence in the country, and we were doing quite well upfront with the help of loanee Kwesi Appiah. It is fair to say we lost our way when he departed mid-season.

Early on last season we were league two's highest goalscorers, with a very suspect back four. At that time, I think the play-offs were a possibility (hovering around 10th?). We weren't being out-played, we held our own in midfield however, teams that had anyone who could put a half decent ball in the box were punishing us time after time. It then happened again, our beloved Kwesi left us. At that point, I knew we had no chance of the play-offs, but a decent cup run was a welcome distraction (and perhaps another factor in why we finished so poorly?).

In conclusion, I believe it is definitely more important to have a goal-scoring attack if you want to be higher up the table. Although, I accept in football team you can win/defend doggedly, and limp over the line.

 

[Grecian O'Grecian]

Definitely won't be us that's for sure. Only 4 clean sheets last season which is amazing considering we finished in the top 10.

Eh? 6 clean sheets.

We're solid as f#ck.

 

[BeesKnees]

We have pretty much the same back five that we had in the second half of the season we were relegated. in 26 games they managed 11 clean sheets and conceded less than a goal a game. If they can repeat that for the whole of next season I'd be more than happy.

 

[3Loggerheads]

It won't be Yeovil if Chris Weale is in goal