Pete Martin (CTID)
Very well known Exeweb poster
Stuart James has a track record of accurate and perceptive reporting of all things City......
http://www.westbriton.co.uk/City-spend-wisely/story-11428214-detail/story.html
and.....
http://www.westbriton.co.uk/Crunch-time-Exeter-face-running-credits/story-11481666-detail/story.html
That second story is particularly interesting as it was written at a time (September 2009) when were in League One, yet he identifies failings that we are still talking about today....
"Are the tactics right? Two of Exeter's more creative players are Ryan Harley and Marcus Stewart, they are often deployed wide in midfield in a 4-5-1 formation. Stewart is not a wide player and his tackle on Barry Fuller on Saturday smacked of a "striker's challenge". Harley was so anonymous he may as well have stayed at home, but what can a creative midfield player do when stuck on the flank? Surely a wide position is a role for a winger, not a midfielder or striker.
As a result, City are struggling to create chances. They literally had only one attempt on target at Leeds, which they scored from, one at Carlisle, a penalty that they also scored from, but nothing on target at Gillingham, hence no goals. In three away games, it is a worrying statistic, but then, the strikers are hardly being given any kind of service, especially from out wide, from where the quality of crosses that are coming into the box are so, so poor."
http://www.westbriton.co.uk/City-spend-wisely/story-11428214-detail/story.html
and.....
http://www.westbriton.co.uk/Crunch-time-Exeter-face-running-credits/story-11481666-detail/story.html
That second story is particularly interesting as it was written at a time (September 2009) when were in League One, yet he identifies failings that we are still talking about today....
"Are the tactics right? Two of Exeter's more creative players are Ryan Harley and Marcus Stewart, they are often deployed wide in midfield in a 4-5-1 formation. Stewart is not a wide player and his tackle on Barry Fuller on Saturday smacked of a "striker's challenge". Harley was so anonymous he may as well have stayed at home, but what can a creative midfield player do when stuck on the flank? Surely a wide position is a role for a winger, not a midfielder or striker.
As a result, City are struggling to create chances. They literally had only one attempt on target at Leeds, which they scored from, one at Carlisle, a penalty that they also scored from, but nothing on target at Gillingham, hence no goals. In three away games, it is a worrying statistic, but then, the strikers are hardly being given any kind of service, especially from out wide, from where the quality of crosses that are coming into the box are so, so poor."