Scoring goals

[Cjay]

The most important thing in football.

You need to score goals, you need players that score goals.

You can have 70% of the ball, 20 shots every week but at the end of the day that means nothing if you dont score.

So i did a bit of reading, the last 3 teams to win this league.

Newcastle, Wolves and Norwich.

Between them they averaged 86 goals, thats a goals per game of 1.86.

Last season we scored 73 goals, 9 less then Wolves who scored the least of the 3.

This season we have scored 13 goals in 9 games, thats a goals per game average of 1.44 per game.

Over a season thats 66 goals roughly.

Far below the average of the previous 3 league champions and 16 below the lowest of those teams.

Norwich had Pukki banging in 20 odd goals, Newcastle had Gayle getting 20 with Mirtovic, Murphy and Perez chipping in over 20 goals between them, Matt Ritchie scoring 15 goals etc.

Wolves had no 20 goal striker but they had Jota getting close, Cavaleiro, Costa, Bonatini chipping in, the 2 wing backs scoring nearly 10 between them, Neves and the cbs to.

How many of our players can we rely on?

Unless Paddy becomes a 20 goal man then we are relying on Eddie.

If that cant work then we need to be like Wolves, we need lots chipping in.

But how many of ours have that final quality? Genuine question.

Our cbs arent going to score many at set pieces so thats them out.

Phillips is never going to rifle in shots from 30 yards like Neves used to so thats him.

Forshaw hasnt scored for years, thats no accident.

Dallas and Ali may chip in with a few.

Harrison ? Roberts? Shacks?

Hernandez had the season of his life last year, at 34 can he do that again?

Klich the same, can he repeat last seasons explots?

Can Costa find the form he showed in the past?

The problem is that unless Paddy scores 20 goals we are relying on Eddie and i actually think some may be disappointed if we did.

We need lots to chip in and atm i cant see where those goals will come from.

[gotagetz]

Personally I don't think Bamford is quite the finished article. We could do with a proven striker who can score 20 plus, even 30 with the chances we are making.

[Irish Ian]

You raise some very valid points Cjay.
I recently watched some footage from early last season. One game i forget who it was a Douglas corner headed in by Roberts. Simple goal but it seems so far that there just isn’t enough players in this squad with an eye for goal.

I think we could get by scoring less if we manage to keep on conceding as few as we have, but it means grinding out the 1-0s.

[Irish Ian]

You raise some very valid points Cjay.
I recently watched some footage from early last season. One game i forget who it was a Douglas corner headed in by Roberts. Simple goal but it seems so far that there just isn’t enough players in this squad with an eye for goal. Roberts is a striker being converted into a midfielder, is that a mistake?

I think we could get by scoring less if we manage to keep on conceding as few as we have, but it means grinding out the 1-0s.

[Sara]

Bamford and Nketiah have shown that they are both capable, when in form.

Beyond that, Klich, Hernandez, Alioski, Costa, Dallas, Ayling, Harrison should all be capable of chipping in.

Then we're looking to Roberts, Clarke, Bogusz, Edmondson.

That's no shortage of personnel or talent.

Marcelo has stated that we are creating so many chances, it should be enough to win games, and he can do no more. I think it has to come back to him though, and the way he is instructing players in the final third.

He has coached the ability to control the game all over the rest of the pitch into them, surely he can do something to improve their positioning, technique and decision making in front of goal.

[Cjay]

Bamford and Nketiah have shown that they are both capable, when in form.

Beyond that, Klich, Hernandez, Alioski, Costa, Dallas, Ayling, Harrison should all be capable of chipping in.

Then we're looking to Roberts, Clarke, Bogusz, Edmondson.

That's no shortage of personnel or talent.

Marcelo has stated that we are creating so many chances, it should be enough to win games, and he can do no more. I think it has to come back to him though, and the way he is instructing players in the final third.

He has coached the ability to control the game all over the rest of the pitch into them, surely he can do something to improve their positioning, technique and decision making in front of goal.

Think with repetition you can teach a side to press and pass and move and stuff to a degree, will always be limited to the talent level of the players though.

Not much you can do about scoring goals, i believe a goalscoring ability is natural, it cant be taught.

You can coach players to bring it out of them more (Sterling at City for example)

But if a player hasnt got that natural instinct, technique, composure then not a lot you can do imo.

[Sara]

Fair enough, just a thought. To the extent that it relies on confidence and mental fortitude, though, maybe that can be influenced.

The only analogy I have from personal experience is playing an instrument, where anyone can learn technique to a certain level, with the right application. Then there is expression, phrasing, tone, etc, which are the areas of natural ability. Beyond that, there's the performance itself, which is a combination of practice and state of mind.

Sorry, I'm rambling, just trying to get my head round it.

[1964white]

Personally I don't think Bamford is quite the finished article. We could do with a proven striker who can score 20 plus, even 30 with the chances we are making.

Was saying that in the summer but was informed we have strikers capable of scoring 20 to 30 goals a season

Right now our squad of players seem incapable of hitting the target let alone scoring goals.

When I was young playing for my school teams we were taught to hold your body forward over the ball when shooting at goal, our players are generally leaning backwards or off-balance hence our shots flying high & wide. Poor technique....how the hell Bielsa & his coaches haven't resolved this obvious problem is beyond belief

[weasel]

Think with repetition you can teach a side to press and pass and move and stuff to a degree, will always be limited to the talent level of the players though.

Not much you can do about scoring goals, i believe a goalscoring ability is natural, it cant be taught.

This is key and the hard work the team puts in is amazing but no team of grafters will win anything unless you also have some players who have real talent.

Bamford and Eddie are fine in terms of that they will get 20-30 goals between them playing as a lone striker. But then you are still reliant on 50-60 goals from the rest of the team and can anyone honestly see us getting that many? The worry I have is that we don't have people scoring from all over the pitch but what makes it even worse is that it isn't like the opposition goalkeeper is having to make decent saves. Not a single shot on target today that you wouldn't expect the keeper to save, same last week with the Derby keeper only making a couple of saves. The only keeper I can recall making a decent save against us was Federici's save, for Stoke, when Costa shot.

Is the answer Bamford and Eddie both starting? Hard to say really as we didn't really look any more like scoring when they were both on together today.

[BGwhite]

Cjay and others are spot on here. Leeds don't possess consistent scorers anywhere in the squad - at this level I might add - and the few that we rely on are not 20 goals a season quality. Eddie is still finding his feet but he may deliver if he has a run in the team which he should now do imo. PB has had his chance but failed however it's not just down to these two to score the goals but the rest of the team don't have goals in them. It's clean sheets or stay in the championship .

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[1964white]

Cjay and others are spot on here. Leeds don't possess consistent scorers anywhere in the squad - at this level I might add - and the few that we rely on are not 20 goals a season quality. Eddie is still finding his feet but he may deliver if he has a run in the team which he should now do imo. PB has had his chance but failed however it's not just down to these two to score the goals but the rest of the team don't have goals in them. It's clean sheets or stay in the championship .

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We are pathetic in front of goal, becoming a joke to be honest

[Irish Ian]

MB in his press conference.

" I say nothing new because nothing new happened"

If we want to stay top six something new needs to happen.

[BGwhite]

MB in his press conference.

" I say nothing new because nothing new happened"

If we want to stay top six something new needs to happen.

Exactly ! If nothing new is happening who's fault is that ? MB needs to get a grip now . Only a fool keeps making the same mistakes.

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[WhiteRose]

I think we need to lower expectations and appreciate that we are just not that good. We have a well drilled team who can control games with nice passing but that's about it.

We have clear weaknesses that are exploited week after week both in defence and attack. Yet the solution seems to be keep doing the same thing and hopefully it will come good. We have had 2 games in a row where a leeds player has failed to score and I think we could have played all day yesterday and not scored. It's the same issue that blighted last year and it wasnt fixed in the summer.

I have no ideas how to fix it I just hope those paid alot to find the answers do so soon or we could find ourselves out of the running for auto, which in a championship as poor as this one would be a real missed opportunity.

[SG90]

If Radz is serious about promotion, then we need to go all out to get Gayle on loan in January, no excuses.

[Clacton White]

Scoring goals . I think its a very good idea . Maybe they should try it .

[SG90]

MB in his press conference.

" I say nothing new because nothing new happened"

If we want to stay top six something new needs to happen.

Nothing new happened as you pick the same team every week and then wonder why the same thing keeps happening.

[SG90]

Why not give Ryan Edmondson a chance? Are you telling me he couldn't have scored at least one of the chances Bamford has spurned? I get the feeling he'd be one of those players who'd come alive when given the chance.

[Sara]

Nketiah's got to have a run of games, surely. Maybe Edmondson off the bench if we're struggling.

[1964white]

If Radz is serious about promotion, then we need to go all out to get Gayle on loan in January, no excuses.

At this rate we'll need him, won't happen though then once again Marcelo can bemoan the 250 chances we missed though out the season.

Goals is what football is about not just playing in pretty patterns around the pitch then looking totally clueless in the box