Neil Lennon

Again, you're picking the best run of the entire season to compare Lenny's time against.
Just as importantly, Brendan Rodgers had Boyata and Lenny mostly hasn't (and he it seems he was nursing a strain even before he was out). He's a * and a bombscare playing out from the back; but purely in terms of defending, he's by far our best defender.

 

I’m picking the most relevant time to compare whether we’re more solid now than we were.

So we’re not more solid because Boyata’s missing? Or we are more solid without him?

 

We are definitely more solid with Boyata...... Why do you think you are comparing it to the most relevant time? I strongly disagree, I think it's the least relevant time: it's literally the only such run we've had so far.

 

The least relevant would be to compare it to the start of the season when Hendry was at CB and Gordon was in goal.

 

Well that's complete bollocks.

So our first 10/15 games of the season are more relevant than the last 10/15 games? How does that make any sense at all?

If Bain has made more saves against Killie at home than he did in the 7 games directly after the winter break then it literally proves that we've not been as solid defensively.

 

How about we do what I've been doing all along and compare it with the whole season? Can you really not see the work Lenny has done with the defence, mate? Genuine question.

Bear in mind it must be very much a work in progress given the limited time so far.

 

Eye watering stats them mate..

Jeez..

 

You think it's fairest to compare a team in transition that just lost its manager with the absolute peak of the whole season?

That's just not a fair comparison.

 

We're not 'picking' the peak of the season to compare against because it was the peak. We're 'picking' it because it was the set of matches directly before Lennon came in. That's what form is.

I think it's fair to compare results and performances within a reasonable space of time. It's more relevant to compare how we're doing now to how we were doing in January/February. As opposed to comparing now and September/October.

Your point was that you think we look more solid now. Well the stats don't back that up.

We should have been a goal down against Killie at half time. We could and should have been a goal or two down at Aberdeen in the first 30 minutes. Thankfully James Wilson is abysmal.

 

You could also take into account that Lenny has benched "our" best defender for what is ultimately the good of the club. We were nice a solid playing with two defenders who will be gone next season. At least now we are building on what we will have and we should benefit from this come the qualifiers next season.

Perhaps it highlights the difference between a manager who only wants to better himself and a manager who is has more interest in the club quite possibly jeprodising his own position and his career prospects

 

So we’re more solid at the back under Lennon.

But we’re also not solid because Lennon doesn’t have Boyata and he’s also benched the best defender at the club.

 

Didn't something happen between those two periods? Didn't our manager leave without telling the players except perhaps by text and take half the coaching and sports science staff with him.

It's like comparing your mood the week after and the week before you lose your job and deciding it's having to catch the bus that's making you depressed.

 

So do you honestly think there is a contradiction in thinking we look more solidly organised at the back (look at how much less "bombscary" Lustig and Simunovic are for example) but not having our best (defensively) central defender available and having to play Izzy or an unfit KT at LB will tend to make us less solid?

I mean, I don't see the contradiction there. I genuinely don't.

 

You either think we’re more solid or we don’t.

Changing your point when people start part pointing out stats that say we aren’t any more solid and then making excuses for us not actually being more solid kind of makes a mockery of your own opinion.

 

So what you're saying is "ah never mind when our defence was solid, let's compare it to when we conceded a few goals because it fits my argument more". Fantastic.

On one hand you're saying Rodgers leaving had an affect on the players which has hurt us. On the other you're saying since he left, we've actually been better defensively...so it didn't have that bad an affect after all? I have no idea what your point is.

Again, your original statement was that we look more solid defensively now than we did before. The stats prove otherwise. I understand that Rodgers left and the affects it could/had. But, that's not the argument.

 

You see, mate, life doesn't actually work like that. It looks that way, sometimes.

So, yeah, I watch us play and I think we look more solid. I really do. I can see the work that Lenny has been doing on squeezing up the backline when the opposition has to hit it long and on closing down the target man. For example, Ajer and Simunovic recently handled Cosgrove better than I have seen us do before. That is quite interesting given that Boyata is probably stronger than Cosgrove and Simunovic probably isn't.

This is the Neil Lennon thread, so I posted that I agree with Devlin, in the context of discussing Neil Lennon's impact so far.


I also think Boyata is a better defender than Simunovic, that KT looks a shadow of his former sense and that (sadly), Izzy is now a bombscare and that this has an effect.

There isn't a contradiction here, mate.

 

It is, though. You are comparing a team in transition (and with a lot of injuries at the back) to a team at the absolute peak of its season (by a distance!). There's all sorts going on, for example when you have the ball the other team can't attack you.

What are the stats on opposition shots on target per minutes of possession in our defensive third?

 

I hate to leave the discussion at this stage; but I can see it's going to go on a while, it's after midnight here and I have work tomorrow.

I'll get back to any further replies tomorrow.

 

The argument wasn’t about Boyata or Simunovic. You said we were more solid, then when someone posted stats saying otherwise suddenly we weren’t as solid under Lennon because he doesn’t have Boyata. But now the stats are meaningless because they’re compared to a time when we were more solid under Rodgers.

I can’t ever remember Cosgrove giving us a hard game in all honesty. I was more worried about how probably the worst striker in the league time and time again had clear goal scoring opportunities any competent striker would’ve buried.

No doubt you’ll tell us that was all part of some grand master plan from Lennon now.

 

Sorry now, not that I disagree with you, but... how is 6 saves in a game a sign of defensive frailty? Surely the 2 in 7 is the freak event? I bet there's many a team would be delighted to only have 6 saves in a game they played poorly and their opponents played well...

Personally, on top of the all the * this season I think we're just running on fumes... it's impressive we keep pushing ourselves over the line again and again