My biggest concern is the lack of a cutting egde up front. We rely too heavily on SWD. Danny Davidson and Marc Newsham have disappointed with their goal returns this season.
I, probably like everyone else, thought that the number of goals our existing strikers would score this season would be fewer than last season, because of the promotion and the assumed better standard of defending, but I did think that all of last seasons strikers would continue to score reasonably regularly, but fewer than last seasons efforts brought.
However that hasn't happened. Newsham looks short of confidence, and is out of the team more regularly than he is in it, and Danny has struggled despite playing a large percentage of the games.
Until Boyes was signed, we still had the same attacking options as last season, but they were misfiring.
In 23 league games this season we have scored a total of 38 goals. Only Nuneaton, Alfreton and Blythe have scored more, and so at face value, we haven't done badly, and comparable to most in the upper part of the league. However remember that nine were scored in one game, and six in another.
If we disregard those games for a moment as freak scores, we have scored only 23 goals in the remaining 21 games played. To a point that was fine earlier in the season as we did not concede goals and had a number of 1-0 wins. Now we can't keep clean sheets, and are losing games because of the lack of goals scored.
The teams at the bottom of the league have had the sort of return goalswise that we have had if we discount those two games mentioned above.
We need to start creating and taking more chances, the fact that we have not had a penalty yet suggests that we are not in the opposition box often enough to me. Defenders make mistakes, and foul attackers all of the time - surely if you spend more time in the opposition penalty area then the chances of getting a penalty are increased.
I have been happy with the season so far, my fear is that all the good work from early season is going to go to waste because if you cannot score then you are not going to win games, and the pack is beginning to close in a bit.
Anyone agree?
