I would like to know how people feel about the complete reversal of our football. Many of you wanted NP and NB out... primarily because the football was boring. we were tight at the back but scored very few and created very few clear cut chances... Now we are scoring more than we have in a long time but losing games 1-2, 1-3 and 2-3... Are those fans happier now? Do they feel the cost of seeing us play is finally covering itself because even though we are losing at least the games are "exciting". I think it's quite odd how our defense is so loose now and we are conceding a lot. I didn't think we were boring under Nicky barmby and didn't want him to go, especially for that reason. Yes scoring more, increases our chances of winning but how long before we start regretting the "boring" comments once we become the leakiest defense.
Pearson - did a very capable job with limited resources, not great to watch but solid enough Barmby - inherited the same players, kept us tight, was building a good side but wasn't backed Bruce - has been backed, has brought back more attacking football but his defence is leaky It's due to confidence, it ebbs and flows, it's also down to if the players really trust the manager's tactics. Once you've lost 3 on the bounce it will be harder to come back. Leicester I wasn't surprised, but the last two have been home games, the fortress we were building has now been knocked down.. Chester & Hobbs being out is a big factor too - the combination of Faye, Bruce & McShane is too new.
There were many games under Nige where 'boring' would've been a fair adjective to use when describing the games. Probably under Nick too, although Barmby had inherited Nige's players and never got the opportunity to build his own team, like Bruce has. Therefore, it's hard to say in terms of Nick, I actually think, given a summer window, he'd have made us use that 4-2-3-1 in a more expansive, attacking way. In terms of Bruce I can see what he's trying to do. People saying the defense has gone from being the best in the league to a poor one, look at the actual defense. Rosey, Chester, Hobbs and Daws last season. Only one of them has featured regularly this season and he was out today. I think we'll bring in a centre-back on loan, hopefully before Saturday. I'm willing to give Bruce time and am far more positive now than I was after Saturday. The goals we're conceding are too easy, and that has to be addressed but at times we are brilliant. Between our first and second we played some great football. It's just confusing that it went from being such a flowing, easy-on-the-eye kind of expansive play at times to being so laboured later in the game. I don't know whether that's because the players are tired or just sat back. Either way, that is a worry. I think we'll beat Wednesday though and once Hobbs and Chezzy are back hopefully we'll have the best of both worlds.
I personally would rather still have barmby, his football was effective and worked we were just too sloppy in front of goal. Saying that though barmby would probably have never got in the same calibre of players Bruce has, but I think this squad would have absolutely suited barmbys style to the ground it's a shame he never inherited this squad. It's not as bad as it may seem, we have goals in the team and create a plethora of chances each game, it's easier to fix a leaky defence than to get an impotent team scoring for fun. And even if we continue to leak goals, we always have it in us to score a few ourselves and I can't see us keep gifting so many poor goals as we have in our last few matches. Just look at Leeds the season we came down, their defence was like Eliza's bucket but they scored enough to plant them in 7th (I think). We have the same players that were close to being the tightest defence in the division last season to come back from injury, that will only make us better. However we are always going to concede more no matter who's at the back because our midfield is a lot looser and more forward thinking than the past few seasons, yet we're scoring more in return. I don't think well continue to concede so many but there will be games we ship 4 in then games we bang in 4 ourselves. What we need is for Bruce to be tactically clever and dare to change a winning team which he's failed to do so far. Football is horses for courses and you need to balance countering the opponents strengths and playing to your own. I wish Bruce would emulate barmbys system of last season as I think nick had the balance spot on we just lacked the quality and service out wide and clinical finishing at times, all of which Bruce has available to him this season.
We are desperately missing Jack Hobbs. Best centre half at the club and in my opinion probably the best in the league.....
I appreciate all the interest info but not sure my question has been answered. would you rather have boring watch but consistent results( lots of draws but with wins) or exciting watch but with form dips and clusters of losses (despite scoring 1,2,3 goals ourselves)
I watch football to be entertained. I would much rather lose in a 3-2 game then be put to the brink of gauging my own eyes out because we play sideways/backwards football.
Would anyone go for the first one? To be honest, it doesn't have to be one of the two, but if it did, the latter. You can play attacking, expansive football and still not have extreme patches of form.
The people saying the football was effective under Barmby were the ones also slating him last season, during that poor run of games where we couldn't score or win.
I'm enjoying the attacking stuff but frustrated like hell by the defensive mistakes. If Faye hadn't dropped 2 clangers things would be looking a lot better tonight.
ive always been one of those who thought football was all about winning, anyway, anyhow..so im surprised at myself for feeling this way, but im still happier now then i ever was under Pearson and Barmby i enjoyed tonights game more then most of Pearsons wins, especially games like ipswich at home when we won 1-0 thanks to a Koren 20 yarder, but the rest of the game was such painful viewing i almost wanted to die just to have an excuse to leave. even Barmby after a bright start , which looked might it might bring a glorious mix of results and entertainment soon faded, and nearly every game during that "mad march" it felt like decades passed between efforts at goal. i would probably get sick of losing eventually, but im still confident playing how we are now will bring the results , as at the moment it is mainly down to basic individual errors- which can easily be cut out. maybe a few tweaks and fresh legs here and there might be needed and a bit more luck with injuries, but for me i hope the current philosophy doesnt change too much
Got to go with results over nice football but Circa has a point in that when we ground results with Pearson a lot of people hated it even though we were solid in the play-offs.
We weren't though were we? City started poorly and had the headache of relegation over us, until we finally shook it off in December. But, even though our away results got better, our home form was crap, and we never even looked like breaking into the playoffs that season. Hos departure last season didn't help us neither, and that's why changing managers isn't always the right thing to do.
I think that at the moment, it's easy to pick our current football because games like the leeds one are still fresh in the memory but if this carries on and we lose silly points despite scoring plenty, I think people may start to see the point in "the result is the most important thing". You'd think we could have found a middle ground and had last seasons defence, but doesn't look like it at the moment. We have conceded 12 in the last 5 games and that is joint worst record with bristol... Hopefully SB can tighten up a bit, I don't think it would take away too much up front... I just really worry that this visually exciting football may cost us a playoff spot and that sticking with well fought out draws or 1-0 wins would have been more successful. Personally I think if NB or NP had Aluko and quinn, just those two, we'd be the strongest team.
Pearson has us playing great pacy attackig football, so no idea why he didnt do the same with your lot. I assume he felt the players were not upto it and very limited! Nothing has changed then! lol
I like SB style of play better, if we wouldn't have made stupid avoidable mistakes we would only have 1 loss.
