Hughes tactics for corners...........

[HammersmithR]

Hughes made the decision to get all 11 players inside our box for corners to mark 5 players. That is all they would have in their box and on every occasion bar one they won the header. There were 2 occasions in the first half where 2 were left unmarked! Only in the final minute did Mackie stay up the pitch! I cannot understand Hughes and his logic sometimes. I go back to my point at the start of the season. Conceding goals was our biggest problem last season. Always sort out a defence first. He bought 100 midfielders and he can't even work out how to play them! The defenders who he did bring in actually cannot defend bat Nelsen who I still think was brought into be a squad player and is now the first name on the team sheet! Sums it up to be honest.

[theblackmafia.]

I don't know if he is playing zonal, man marking or a mixture of both! I too cannot understand how if we win a header he cannot see that it'll come straight back at us if we have everyone in the box!

[lymehoop]

Hughes made the decision to get all 11 players inside our box for corners to mark 5 players. That is all they would have in their box and on every occasion bar one they won the header. There were 2 occasions in the first half where 2 were left unmarked! Only in the final minute did Mackie stay up the pitch! I cannot understand Hughes and his logic sometimes. I go back to my point at the start of the season. Conceding goals was our biggest problem last season. Always sort out a defence first. He bought 100 midfielders and he can't even work out how to play them! The defenders who he did bring in actually cannot defend bat Nelsen who I still think was brought into be a squad player and is now the first name on the team sheet! Sums it up to be honest.

I commented about having all the players back at the game, never seen that before unless you are in the dying minutes protecting a lead, His negativity encourages the opposition, when it becomes evident you pose no threat they gain in confidence, like another poster said, we made Southampton look like Barcelona.

[Rangers77]

I don't know if he is playing zonal, man marking or a mixture of both! I too cannot understand how if we win a header he cannot see that it'll come straight back at us if we have everyone in the box!

Anal more like. And all season. For their first goal Adel was marking their No 6...... Hughes hasn't a clue.

[theblackmafia.]

Anal more like. And all season. For their first goal Adel was marking their No 6...... Hughes hasn't a clue.

HELLO, that sounds fun

[brightonr]

Clearly a ridiculous tactic. But then again, when you look at 3 of the 4 defenders, you are going to need all the help you can get.

[theblackmafia.]

Clearly a ridiculous tactic. But then again, when you look at 3 of the 4 defenders, you are going to need all the help you can get.

His decision to bring in those he did and not get rid of those he didn't, so he needs to either try youth or stick by his players and play a formation/tactic which means not all 11 players are in our box!

[brightonr]

His decision to bring in those he did and not get rid of those he didn't, so he needs to either try youth or stick by his players and play a formation/tactic which means not all 11 players are in our box!

I'm with you mate. It wasn't meant to be taken as a crazy attempt at justification.

[TW7R]

We've been clueless from corners and crosses. It's where pretty much all the goals conceded have come from.

At one point yesterday, Adel was back marking and one of our coaches (couldn't see which one) was waving him out to pick up someone else outside the box. Adel did just that, then no more than a second later waved to him to go back into the box, at which point the corner has come in, and a player has obviously been left un marked! It's clueless.

Even players that have played only Sunday league standard are drilled in defending set pieces.

Zonal or man marking, you should all be drilled so you know your job. If its zonal get in and defend your area. If its man marking, get on your player and don't let him go.

When were defending you just can't make out what we're trying to do?

It's almost as if during training we do no defensive work. There's just no sign there of any organisation.

I thought when MH came in this would be a strong point of his. A tight defense and good tactical nous, but god was I wrong.

Maybe if TF insists on keeping him, at Old Trafford we could use the "11 players lined up on the goal line" tactic whereby the players do just that???? Couldn't be any worse. Could it????

[BUSHRANGER1982]

That annoys the **** out of me, that does.
Every ****** back in his own penalty area defending a corner, and when by some miracle one of our lot manages to head the ball away, where does it go?
Yep, straight back to the opposition.
And we do this time, and time again.

[TW7R]

Ok.

So when a defender hoofs a ball straight out or back up the pitch, your team gets the chance to "re group" as it were, that's just a waste of time is it?

I don't seriously mean it, but Christ it can't be worse than what's happening at the moment.

Just out of interest though, on the odd chance we do win a defensive header, or any header for that matter, how many times has the loose ball not fallen to an opposition player? Not very often from what I see.

We never win any 2nd balls. Near on every time when a ball is half cleared it drops to an opposition player under absolutely no pressure lurking on the edge of the box just waiting to stick it back into the danger area.

But back to the original point, our tactics (or lack of) are what's costing us.

How many games have we thrown away from not clearing crosses or corners? Just off the top of my head yesterday, Reading, Stoke West Ham..... It's the main weak point, yet it's not getting addressed