Has anyone noticed how often our players pass from central play to the wings? Our forward momentum often involves two or three players intricately passing very close to the side lines and a lot of throw-ins. The players also pass backwards a lot in the build up to any attack and if they pass to a lone forward it more often results in a free-kick to us rather than a shot on goal (not that I'm suggesting any diving takes place!). It seems to me that SB has a safety first policy when it comes to attacking. The team move forward as a unit rather than individual players reacting to each opportunity. We play to the wings so any territory gained can be held by winning a throw-in and the unit advances up field each time we get one. We pass backwards frequently because the aim is to gradually get enough players into forward positions before committing to an attack and of course the free-kicks allow the unit to advance and support the attack with less risk. It's all a bit like a game of chess and I wonder whether Bruce has made a mental note that we don't currently have the players capable of playing free-flowing football and defending properly at the same time. The system supports the limitations of his players and enables the team to keep a fair amount of possession and manufacture enough chances to win a game while maintaining a strong defence. I don't blame SB at all for these tactics. He has to work with what he has and so far he's doing a bloody good job, but until he feels confident enough to take the shackles off we are unlikely to score a lot of goals and our much maligned strikers aren't going to look like world-beaters.
Nowt wrong with SB tactics normally but he got it all wrong in the first half half @ Southampton. Hence why we were given the run-a-round. Made all too easy for them. Starting Rosie @ left back and leaving Elmo so exposed was suicide. The 2nd half proved that point. Hopefully Steve Bruce will Never play Elmo as a full back again. He needs the cover that Rosie brings. Elmo is a winger so use him as one.
I'm talking about general team tactics rather than strategies added to deal with the qualities of a specific opponent. There is nowt wrong with SB's tactics. He's engineered a way for a group of average, hard-working players to compete with some of the best players in the world. Hats off to him.
I think we're playing in a way which enables us to be competitive. We'd all like to see us dominate games and scoring great team goals for fun but we just don't have the quality to chop defences to confetti at this level. The 2nd half against Slumberland proved this. We have to rely on scoring from set pieces and counter attacks where the undoing of defences has already been done for us by the opposition having too many men pressed forward. That said it would be nice if we didn't rely on wing play so much and saw a bit more attacking movement down the middle.
Indeed. Steve Bruce needs two more transfer windows to get the squad he really wants. Then watch us go. Aluko could well be done for the season. So if he wont sign for us and Palace want him then deal. imo.
Brucey incorporates a system in which the group is better than the sum of its individual parts. We don't have the go-to men that other teams have so we use a system in which the flaws of some players are hidden by playing off others that excel there. A lot of our success comes from Livermore and Huddlestone being the two key players in our team that do almost completely different jobs. All pieces of a jigsaw are different, but they all fit together well.
It's as you said, Bruce is working with what he's got and in order to keep us in the prem this season he'll have specific tactics that are based around a strong, organised defence. Once he's able to bring in more quality players, then bit by bit the players will be allowed to be more creative and take a few more risks. Bruce's game plan is spot on so far and I do believe we'll stay up this season.
He alluded to this after the Sunderland game when he said we needed someone like Aluko to do something different. When Brady is missing also, we become very predictable.
I think Southampton were a good enough team, that the slightest fault in the tactics meant that it was over quickly. The match at St. Mary's would be the only one I'd have said Bruce got wrong so far, and I've been pretty pleased and impressed with how the team's gone about some matches. We could quite easily have gone to Club's like Chelsea and Manchester City, parked the bus and got our bellies tickled but we actually played with enthusiasm and pride. What's more impressive, is the fact that we are playing as a team rather than having standout individuals (Aluko is a vital player, but we don't entirely depend upon him) which makes the team morale and work rate increase.
