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Neil Lennon believes he must have the most wasteful side in front of goal in the Championship – and he is completely right.
No other side in the Football League has found the net on fewer occasions than Wanderers this season, but to make matters worse, they have not been clinical with the attempts they have mustered.
While the Whites compare favourably with teams in the lower reaches of the division in the number of shots they have at goal, getting them on target and making them count has been a completely different matter.
It is a fact not lost on Neil Lennon, who complained after the game that the lack of incision in his attack is looking like costing his team dearly.
“We’re the lowest scorers in the league but I think we’re 10th in terms of attempts on goal. That says a lot,” he told The Bolton News.
“Our conversion rate must be the lowest, surely.
“The kind of chances we created against Cardiff were the best you’ll get in football and if you don’t take them then you don’t deserve to win games.”
Statistics show that Wanderers have averaged 13.1 shots per game in the Championship this season, so that is 250 attempts at goal but only 14 strikes that have counted.
On average, 4.1 hit the target – which also compares quite favourably with teams in the lower half of the division and suggests Lennon’s side may have come up against a few keepers in good form. The woodwork has also played it’s part, as Gary Madine would attest, having hit it three times already this term.
But when broken down into their individual constituents it is clear to see how the team has struggled to make their superiority count at times.
Currently Shola Ameobi is the only player in the Wanderers squad to average one full shot on target per game this season, among those who have played at least 300 minutes of football.
Darren Pratley, Liam Feeney, Zach Clough and Wellington Silva (0.6) all share second spot.
Gary Madine leads the way with shots off target, averaging 1.4 per game, with Pratley (1.1), Clough (1) and Ameobi (0.8 ) next up.
Lennon came across as a man who could do little more than despair after watching another wasteful afternoon unfold on Saturday.
“We have got to win games – do we look like winning them? Yes. Are we winning them? No,” he complained. “We’re battering teams athletically, physically but showing nothing for it.
“I can’t put the ball in the net for them when we’re on top. We created lots of good chances against Cardiff but it’s inexcusable that they were missed.
“I can’t remember the last time we took the lead in a game as well.”
Lennon could look to switch round a few players for next weekend’s trip to Hull City, themselves coming off the back of a demoralising defeat to Leeds United.
But without the suspended Jose Manuel Casado, it is clear the Wanderers boss is reaching the end of his tether.
“That’s two games, Brentford and Cardiff, that were very winnable that we let go,” he said after the game. “Maybe I look at a change in personnel – but I don’t want to keep doing that.
“You try to be consistent with your choices and particularly in your back four but if you keep conceding the goals we are conceding then you have to look at improving that.”
Lennon had clearly said his piece after the final whistle at the Macron as he emerged to speak with the local media – but signed off with a quip that suggests he has retained his sense of humour in trying circumstances.
“They are professional footballers – some are paid to score goals,” he said after being asked if he had given the players a dressing down. “Some are paid to keep goals out. If they don’t do those jobs properly then they need to be reminded of their duties.
“That’s what they are paid for, or at the minute not paid for!”
Source
No other side in the Football League has found the net on fewer occasions than Wanderers this season, but to make matters worse, they have not been clinical with the attempts they have mustered.
While the Whites compare favourably with teams in the lower reaches of the division in the number of shots they have at goal, getting them on target and making them count has been a completely different matter.
It is a fact not lost on Neil Lennon, who complained after the game that the lack of incision in his attack is looking like costing his team dearly.
“We’re the lowest scorers in the league but I think we’re 10th in terms of attempts on goal. That says a lot,” he told The Bolton News.
“Our conversion rate must be the lowest, surely.
“The kind of chances we created against Cardiff were the best you’ll get in football and if you don’t take them then you don’t deserve to win games.”
Statistics show that Wanderers have averaged 13.1 shots per game in the Championship this season, so that is 250 attempts at goal but only 14 strikes that have counted.
On average, 4.1 hit the target – which also compares quite favourably with teams in the lower half of the division and suggests Lennon’s side may have come up against a few keepers in good form. The woodwork has also played it’s part, as Gary Madine would attest, having hit it three times already this term.
But when broken down into their individual constituents it is clear to see how the team has struggled to make their superiority count at times.
Currently Shola Ameobi is the only player in the Wanderers squad to average one full shot on target per game this season, among those who have played at least 300 minutes of football.
Darren Pratley, Liam Feeney, Zach Clough and Wellington Silva (0.6) all share second spot.
Gary Madine leads the way with shots off target, averaging 1.4 per game, with Pratley (1.1), Clough (1) and Ameobi (0.8 ) next up.
Lennon came across as a man who could do little more than despair after watching another wasteful afternoon unfold on Saturday.
“We have got to win games – do we look like winning them? Yes. Are we winning them? No,” he complained. “We’re battering teams athletically, physically but showing nothing for it.
“I can’t put the ball in the net for them when we’re on top. We created lots of good chances against Cardiff but it’s inexcusable that they were missed.
“I can’t remember the last time we took the lead in a game as well.”
Lennon could look to switch round a few players for next weekend’s trip to Hull City, themselves coming off the back of a demoralising defeat to Leeds United.
But without the suspended Jose Manuel Casado, it is clear the Wanderers boss is reaching the end of his tether.
“That’s two games, Brentford and Cardiff, that were very winnable that we let go,” he said after the game. “Maybe I look at a change in personnel – but I don’t want to keep doing that.
“You try to be consistent with your choices and particularly in your back four but if you keep conceding the goals we are conceding then you have to look at improving that.”
Lennon had clearly said his piece after the final whistle at the Macron as he emerged to speak with the local media – but signed off with a quip that suggests he has retained his sense of humour in trying circumstances.
“They are professional footballers – some are paid to score goals,” he said after being asked if he had given the players a dressing down. “Some are paid to keep goals out. If they don’t do those jobs properly then they need to be reminded of their duties.
“That’s what they are paid for, or at the minute not paid for!”
Source
Last edited by karlypants on Tue Dec 08 2015, 10:29; edited 1 time in total
