It's what I've heard from the same people I hear most the things from. It may all be rubbish and all just a huge coincidence, But I don't believe in them so.....
Have you watched any of Pep or Cruyff's teams play? They dont/didnt play the ball around at the back endlessly all the time They prefer incisive passes that split defences
Before saturday City would pass the ball around at the back eventually give it to a winger who would move forward, see there werent any opportunities and pass to the full back.
But their mantra is keep possession. Pass sideways or back if it risks l https://www.facebook.com/1000635952...NFEfLuFr4UGJ3JVVRwvj4m4Sy7iBBLsT63BSHQYSAcl/?
It is a great example! In that phase, our keeper and defenders weren't hanging onto the ball. They passed it quickly and with real purpose. The commentator even said "there's a great energy to the passing". It's so noticeably different to what we've had to endure.
Askewshair said: “But their mantra is keep possession. Pass sideways or back if it risks l” Nobody is suggesting we should try to lose possession. Just passing around at the back for extended periods wastes time and has no purpose. Askewshair linked to a facebook post: “players also get tired faster out of possession. Continuously chasing the ball can lead to frustration, lapses in concentration, and eventual mistakes that the team in possession can exploit.” ... “Players use more energy when they are not in possession, constantly moving to close down spaces, intercept passes, and press the player with the ball.” Our opponents don’t usually chase the ball. They stand back and watch us pass the ball around at the back aimlessly.
As a team we are a work in progress and pretty inconsistent , I just don't buy the narrative that only now the owner or whoever has had a word so we are getting the ball forward more quickly
We've had other games, e.g. Swansea at home where we've looked similarly poor where Liam's been pretty scathing of the performance, so I don't really buy that it was only the Stoke performance where he suddenly realised things needed to change.
We do love an argument on here though. It could both be true that Liam’s philosophy / training / a settled team are now giving us the confidence to do what Liam always wanted AND that Liam has been given the Gypsy’s warning by Acun / Tan / the players that he needs to let them play with more freedom. Neither necessarily contradicts the other and the logical end point of most training in or out of football is for the trainees to make the learning implicit in how they operate afterwards and not need a manager barking instructions all the time. Whatever it is it’s clearly working!
You may be right. Personally I can't decide whether I think the slow ponderous stuff is down to Liam or the players, simply because I don't know. One thing is for certain though, we're definitely playing differently now to how we were previously - and it needs to continue. That's 8 goals in three, and it could/should have been more. But some will think that's purely down to the opposition having a go... Because obviously our opponents never tried to score in the games we had 60+% possession and zero shots on target where we've ended up losing 1-0.
