Reed comes across very well. Nice to hear a footballer not mumble the whole way and pile out cliché after cliché.
Thanks for those FML and I've liked most of the NCFC player interviews - SOOOO unlike those that Beckham used to give!!!!
What a difference a month makes - last month, we were 4th from bottom of the 'form table' - this month we're 3rd!!!!!
Due to the wonders of modern transport and a Son who lives in London I was able to see the game. Breakfast in Nice, flight to Gatwick, lunch game and evening meal with my son, flight to Nice and back in my own bed on Saturday night. Not much I can add to what has already been said. A bit short on quality at times but there can be no doubt that this Manager has got the dressing room behind him. Very encouraging indeed.
That's great to hear, especially after some of the comments that have appeared on here and on Canary Call!!!
Didn't see the game but a Bees friend said we 'parked the bus' - do you think that was the case? I wasn't sure we could
I can understand a Brentford fan saying that, but it was a very open game through the first half. In the second half we concentrated on keeping our shape and counter-attacking when possible. Most teams, given the same situation, would do the same. Is that parking the bus? I don't think so.
You can dress it up as wisened away tactics that many others use if you like, but ultimately it is parking the bus, at least second half it sounds like it was. We substituted our only true striker for a failed utility forward who works hard and brought on a midfielder for Murphy our best outlet for attacking on the break given his pace and eye for goal. To not park the bus could be argued to be tactically naive, that said, if our default is to park the bus when 1 goal to the good, it is unsurprising that we never seem to win games by more than the odd goal. Bah!
It is a balance certainly, but to me 'parking the bus' is keeping 8-9 players back and punting hopeful long balls forward to a lone striker. We're better than that.
Not sure I agree here Rick. To me it means sitting on a narrow 1 - 0 lead at all costs, including reshaping the team which virtually eradicates the possibility of that all-important second goal, which would settle nerves on the pitch, in the dugout, and certainly in the terraces. This is not to say we should be looking to win by a rugby score every week, that's just cavalier and stupid, but why not strive for a second goal before battening down the hatches?
Parking the bus: expression used when all the players on a team play defensively, usually when the team is intending to draw the game or defending a narrow margin. The term was coined by Chelsea manager José Mourinho, referring to Tottenham Hotspour during a game against Chelsea in 2004. I don't think this is what we did against Brentford. Clearly each game we play will require different tactics depending where we're playing, who we're playing and what players we have available. So for example at home against a mid or low table team or even against top table teams table teams where we are well on top players with decent on form attacking players we may well play as you say Cromer and push forward for a second or third goal. On other occasions i.e. away to a team who have excellent home form where we are fortunate to go 1 nil up we may well be more conservative and change the way we set up to for example set up to play counter attacking football or indeed 'park the bus'.. So against Brentford who were on an excellent run of home form we went 1 up and then adapted our tactics away from a balance of an attacking / defensive football to a more defensive / counter attacking tactic, this is not the same as 'parking the bus' as attacking was still part of our game play. With Zimmerman and Hanley at least now we have the option.
For me, that's part of the balance involved. Oliveira and Murphy had 70 minutes on the pitch to score and hadn't. We didn't change the shape dramatically, just kept the WBs a bit deeper to tighten up the flanks until a counterattack was on. IMO, Watkins, with his pace, is a better counterattacking threat than Oliveira, especially with fresh legs. Leitner is an experienced CM whose strength is link-up passing as well as playing a holding role. Both substitutions made sense to me, even though it meant doing without Murphy's counter-attacking abilities.
But are we really better than that? I think better asthetically? Perhaps. Better results wise? I'm not sure thats bourne out by our results. When was the last time we turned this defensive mindset into a second decisive game ending goal? By law of averages, you would think we might have done that by now whether we are just hoofing it or trying this more cultured approach. I think its got to be considered parking the bus. we are starting with 3 CB's and if we are sitting our fullbacks deeper with 2 deep lying midfielders you are not truely looking to score a second, more hopeing for a break away goal. We may be trying for something better, but our ball retention is letting us down and so we retreat and park said bus. You don't concede 20+ shots at goal if you are trying to move the game up the pitch! Bah!
In truth it doesn't matter whether you consider we 'parked the bus' or not on the day DF got the tactics right hence 3 more points against a Brentford team with a very good home record ( I think it was 10 games unbeaten). We do not have the players to play an all out attacking game. The days of it doesn't matter how many goals the opposition get because we'll get 1 more left with Paul Lambert.
Yes, I'm sure there are still those who long for a 4-4-2 or Lambert's 'diamond' variation of it. In recent years we've often been caught out by overcommitting to attack only to be defeated by a long ball over the top for the goal that beats us. We created 9 shots, 3 on target, including the winner, while Brentford struggled to create any serious threat until late in the game. Good tactics, well executed. It was actually 14 games unbeaten at home for Brentford.
But that is a tactical decision made by the manager and recruitment team. Lambert and his predacessors put that team together on a shoe string. You can argue about the disparity that is growing in the championship making more difficult, but if you recruit and coach an attacking game you can still achieve if you do it well. I agree, it matters not whether i view it as a parked bus and someone else doesn't, 3 points is all important. But its still parking the bus! Bah!
Who wouldn't hanker after those days, the football was consistently more watchable than Farke's. You can argue that long term Farkes methods may be more successful, but that has as yet to be proved. Its pretty hard to beat what Lambert did with even less money than Farke and from a lower ebb. Different problems mind. Its one of the great things about football, so many ways to potential success, just got to be glad its not the Pulis/Colin way! Bah!
