by chunkygull » 17 Feb 2014, 14:02
forevertufc wrote:Ball retention Chris, as a team we just do not hang on to the ball long enough, of late we seemed to have been sucked into whacking the ball long from the back (maybe the state of the pitch) and more often than not it goes no where or to no one, when we finally do get the ball down in midfield I despair at the number of times we fail to complete a 5-10 yrd pass ,
still wonder if it's the kit, said right from the start pale yellow against white stripes was disaster waiting to happen( Newcastle had a similar away kit a few seasons ago, ditched it very quickly) the number of times we've actually failed to complete short pass can't be all down to a general lack of ability, next time we play Chris have a look for yourself, see how many central midfielders we have in advanced positions and how times a CM player actually get up to the opposition penalty area, quite often you'll see our central midfield back behind the ball as it keeps coming back time and time again.
And that points towards why midfielders aren't scoring, and generally points towards another problem, service into the front players at times just isn't there, how many times when Hawley came on against Northampton did we see him go deep to get ball himself, one point he was even back in our area defending, and there's a confidence issue as well, defenders scoring naturally from set pieces,
and if we have to continue with this awful kit at least wear blue shorts, might help the players see each other.
Oh forgot will be up Ashmoor tonight, might see for a quick chat..
Especially like the highlighted bits.
A big problem with football in general nowadays is the lack of payers willing to have a go or shoot from any sort of distance. It is all part of the negativity that has crept into the game. Managers/coaches are more afraid of losing a game than trying to win it, so they set their teams up to contain and try not to concede, hence teams such as ourselves having no players with creativity in the midfield choosing instead to play the so called defensive midfielders (hate that expression) which then means your engine room, the area that should be pulling the strings, then consists of mainly of cloggers, hoofers, hard workers and huff and puff merchants (wonder who that could be).
Much has been said about creative or talented players either having all their flair, skill or attacking instincts coached out of them and It is ruining the game from a creativity and entertainment viewpoint. When you look at England recently with Andros Townsend playing on the wing, people were raving about him because he was having a go at teams and causing defences problems, yet I would say Townsend is an average top level player, this sort of player used to be 10 a penny.
Adnan Januzaj comes along ,he runs at defenders and has a go, he causes more problems than the pass, pass, pass, teasey weasey game that Moyes' negative tactics Man utd usually deploy this season, yet Januzaj is nothing out of the ordinary compared to past players in many teams its just that many players now are programmed to be a lot more conservative. Look at how defences now can give a backs to the wall, they shall not pass, block out and mop up everything performance for 90 minutes these days when the opposition are content to keep passing or crossing their way through to goal, rather than a player getting the ball and having a go. Look at the chaos and fear it causes when players run at defences and if it doesnt result in a goal it often results in a foul.
It doesnt help our forwards much either if balls are aimlessly and inaccurately hoofed up to them, giving them little chance to get hold of it and do something ( we all know who the main culprit is) . You can blame the pitch all you like, but the other teams are playing on it also. If you have to hit a long ball then just tease it up, aim for chest height, dont give the defenders an easy header or worse let the ball just run through and we have lost possession. Our coaches and players will know all this, but obviously during a game it isnt easy and things dont go to plan, but then if a player isnt performing or not doing their job, they should not play surely?
Going back quite a few years, I remember when the great Cyril Knowles was in charge and we had a very poor start to the season. Cyril quit - stating he had done as much as he could and had took us as far as he can. Dave Smith quickly took over and much was made in the media before his first game that the team which had been lacking confidence, creativity and firepower were going to have a shoot on sight, attacking policy. In his first match in the first half an hour it was blatantly obvious to see the massive difference, shot after shot rained in, Torquay won 2-0, a first win in quite some time, the policy continued and we rose from bottom of the table to a respectable mid-table finish. The following season that team with a few additions gained promotion, the early part of the season yielding record, wins, goals and points. Some problems behind the scenes brought about a drop in form and the table, we just about made the play-offs then got lucky. However I always remember Smiths football philosophy and the difference it made. I cant for the life of me understand why teams just dont have a go more.
[quote="forevertufc"]Ball retention Chris, as a team we just do not hang on to the ball long enough, of late we seemed to have been sucked into whacking the ball long from the back (maybe the state of the pitch) and more often than not it goes no where or to no one, when we finally do get the ball down in midfield I despair at the number of times we fail to complete a 5-10 yrd pass ,[b] still wonder if it's the kit, said right from the start pale yellow against white stripes was disaster waiting to happen( Newcastle had a similar away kit a few seasons ago, ditched it very quickly[/b]) the number of times we've actually failed to complete short pass can't be all down to a general lack of ability, next time we play Chris have a look for yourself, see how many central midfielders we have in advanced positions and how times a CM player actually get up to the opposition penalty area, quite often you'll see our central midfield back behind the ball as it keeps coming back time and time again.
And that points towards why midfielders aren't scoring, and generally points towards another problem, service into the front players at times just isn't there, how many times when Hawley came on against Northampton did we see him go deep to get ball himself, one point he was even back in our area defending, and there's a confidence issue as well, defenders scoring naturally from set pieces,[b] and if we have to continue with this awful kit at least wear blue shorts,[/b] might help the players see each other.
Oh forgot will be up Ashmoor tonight, might see for a quick chat.. :)[/quote]
:goodpost: :clap:
Especially like the highlighted bits. :whistle:
A big problem with football in general nowadays is the lack of payers willing to have a go or shoot from any sort of distance. It is all part of the negativity that has crept into the game. Managers/coaches are more afraid of losing a game than trying to win it, so they set their teams up to contain and try not to concede, hence teams such as ourselves having no players with creativity in the midfield choosing instead to play the so called defensive midfielders (hate that expression) which then means your engine room, the area that should be pulling the strings, then consists of mainly of cloggers, hoofers, hard workers and huff and puff merchants (wonder who that could be).
Much has been said about creative or talented players either having all their flair, skill or attacking instincts coached out of them and It is ruining the game from a creativity and entertainment viewpoint. When you look at England recently with Andros Townsend playing on the wing, people were raving about him because he was having a go at teams and causing defences problems, yet I would say Townsend is an average top level player, this sort of player used to be 10 a penny.
Adnan Januzaj comes along ,he runs at defenders and has a go, he causes more problems than the pass, pass, pass, teasey weasey game that Moyes' negative tactics Man utd usually deploy this season, yet Januzaj is nothing out of the ordinary compared to past players in many teams its just that many players now are programmed to be a lot more conservative. Look at how defences now can give a backs to the wall, they shall not pass, block out and mop up everything performance for 90 minutes these days when the opposition are content to keep passing or crossing their way through to goal, rather than a player getting the ball and having a go. Look at the chaos and fear it causes when players run at defences and if it doesnt result in a goal it often results in a foul.
It doesnt help our forwards much either if balls are aimlessly and inaccurately hoofed up to them, giving them little chance to get hold of it and do something ( we all know who the main culprit is) . You can blame the pitch all you like, but the other teams are playing on it also. If you have to hit a long ball then just tease it up, aim for chest height, dont give the defenders an easy header or worse let the ball just run through and we have lost possession. Our coaches and players will know all this, but obviously during a game it isnt easy and things dont go to plan, but then if a player isnt performing or not doing their job, they should not play surely?
Going back quite a few years, I remember when the great Cyril Knowles was in charge and we had a very poor start to the season. Cyril quit - stating he had done as much as he could and had took us as far as he can. Dave Smith quickly took over and much was made in the media before his first game that the team which had been lacking confidence, creativity and firepower were going to have a shoot on sight, attacking policy. In his first match in the first half an hour it was blatantly obvious to see the massive difference, shot after shot rained in, Torquay won 2-0, a first win in quite some time, the policy continued and we rose from bottom of the table to a respectable mid-table finish. The following season that team with a few additions gained promotion, the early part of the season yielding record, wins, goals and points. Some problems behind the scenes brought about a drop in form and the table, we just about made the play-offs then got lucky. However I always remember Smiths football philosophy and the difference it made. I cant for the life of me understand why teams just dont have a go more.
