You hear here Wood shout ANTHONY! afterwards, annoyed he didn't pull it back. Though I think it would have got cut out if he'd tried.
22 Aug 2024
85
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MGW was the ball to play at the back post anyway not Wood
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It's an area where Elanga could become frighteningly good if he improved slightly. The run from the halfway line was fantastic but trying to hit the ball hard and low past the goalkeeper from there while moving across the grass at full tilt is really hard.
Square ball and either Wood or Gibbs-White had a tap-in and game over. As it happened, it didn't matter but it might next time.
That said, and has previously been noted on here, we don't get to sign ready-elite players in our position. They will come with flaws which hopefully we can coach out of them. I think we're pretty lucky to have Elanga.
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I feel that it would have been cut out. I think the shot was the best option ... But it needed to be hard, low, and across the keeper IMHO.
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Correct, but it's hard to generate the requisite power when you're running with the ball at full speed. Not impossible, obviously, but the percentage decision is a square pass from there, for me.
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Even if the defender gets to it first there's still a reasonable chance of a deflection or ricochet that falls in our favour. I'm with BW on this one, it's the percentage play.
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www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwOU1Dp3Iic&t=300s
Nah, their 35 would have cut out any attempt to cross - it looks worse afterwards as he went to ground as Elanga shot. Lower shot would have made it harder for the keeper to bat it back to his defenders but otherwise, the shot was the only option (other than dummying the shot but he would have risked running the ball into touch).
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I just watched it again and the defenders are going in back towards the goal, at the time he hits it there's a square ball on to MGW that doesn't get cut out. It would taken a lot of composure and vision though.
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For me with the defenders momentum is taking him towards the goal anything cut back is a chance, albeit it's not easy ball to play and probably ends up a little behind MGW
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Elanga did really well to get free and get a chance. I understand the frustration of those in the middle...but the point at which they pulled off and were available for a pass was only really after he had wound up for the shot. Before that all the runs (attacking and defending) were very flat, with a high likelihood of being cut out.
I think I have a foot in both camps on this one. Generally I'm in team "change the angle", because it leads to higher percentage finishes......but you also have to factor in the attrition rate arising from not great passes, as correctly angled and weighted passes are also difficult at pace, combined with additional percentage failure modes. If he'd scored, then this conversation doesn't exist. There is a presumption that a different course of action would have yielded a better outcome. But experience teaches us that doesn't always come to pass. As it were. On balance I think he should have just twatted it better. Low and hard across the keeper.
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"Just twat it better" feels like the Trickiest advice ever. (I agree with everything in that post.)
