We should be using our normal play style from the kick off with proper build up play. There is no need to throw possession away straight away. He often boots it clear when he doesn't need to in other situations, but to be fair better safe than sorry in that area of the pitch especially with a target man up top
"Putting pressure on them" is another way of saying "Chasing the ball down" and by doing that you tire much, much quicker. If we have possession then we might as well keep it and look to tire out the opposition.
I think it is just a training ground routine that may one day actually work, just don't hold your breath waiting.
I'll explain again as I don't think people understand what I'm saying, this from kick-off only. Not during the game or from goal-kicks. During the game and goal kicks I want to see us play short and keep hold of the ball and dictate play, from kick-off I like what we do which puts immediate pressure on the defenders, within 10seconds of play they have to defend. No I am not saying 'chasing the ball down' as I am talking about being in possession of the ball.
Fox hoofs the ball a lot throughout games but if you want to talk about the first 10 seconds of play then I think there is even less reason to do it. If we kick off then we should be looking to knock the ball around, on the floor, and show the opposition that we will play the game the way we want to play. If you are talking about being in possession of the ball then hoofing it up field is not the best way to keep possession, I think if we boot the ball up field from the first min then it just shows we aren´t comfortable in possession ...and most of the time it will result in us giving the ball away and having to wait a while to get it back.
And another thing - why haven't Saints had one decent shot on target from outside the box at any freindlies? Seems strange that NA has ordained this!
It seems like Puncheon is the only one who is not scared to shoot from outside the box. The rest seem to want to walk it in or give it to someone else to shoot.
I know what your saying, I guess there's just a lot of ways of looking at it and some options depending on opposition will be better suited. Against Udinese we started with Fox playing the long ball and then for the next 12mins we held onto the ball better than Udinese, it just so happened that they scored a cracker which stifled us a bit. Against Ajax we struggled at the start but again we managed to take control of the ball and stifled how Ajax played, so I don't think showing the opposition were capable of keeping possession is a factor in whether we start with a long ball or not. Due to technology being a big part of football, the performance analyst will see how City or any other team play and the strengths and weaknesses of each player, if City start with the inexperienced and low in confidence Savic you would target him by getting Lambert on him straight away, its then up to Fox getting the right ball and Lambert winning the header which will then put a little bit of doubt in Savic mind.
Pantilimon couldn't keep hold of shots, as shown by Bertrand's goal. Get Puncheon to shoot and Sharp to score a tap in.
Pantilimon fumbled Bertrand's shot because it had poured down and the surface was slippery. If it rains before the game Sunday then we should be shooting left, right and centre.
My observation is that it is not only after we kick off.. The trouble with stats.. i.e. completed passes.. doesn't measure length of attempted pass.. Fox is excellent when it's a dead ball but I would bet he gives it away more often than the rest of the back four especially as he is more likely to attempt the ambitious.. may be good may be not so good, someone has to play the 'killer' pass, but should it Fox?
He does it because there's nothing else on. The central defenders pass to him when they're under pressure, probably because his long balls are more accurate than theirs. Whatever the reason, it's obviously something that is planned or he would have been told to stop it.
He does it straight after the kick off.The third touch is his and he just lumps it forward instead of passing it to a CB or the GK and keeping hold of the ball.
Alas, not obvious to everyone. Some people still appear to fail to make the connection that if Adkins didn't like it, Fox would have stopped it by now.
