We're becoming more attractive to watch, insists Bristol City midfielder Liam Kelly.. please log in to view this image LIAM Kelly believes head coach Sean O'Driscoll's football philosophy will make Bristol City a more attractive side to watch in League One this season. And he reckons a possession-based style of play will, in turn, lead to more goals. Entertainment has been in short supply for City fans during two years of struggle at the wrong end of the Championship. But midfielder Kelly, pictured, feels that is about to change now O'Driscoll has had an opportunity to put his ideas across during pre-season. If the Robins were slow to adapt in friendly fixtures against Ashton & Backwell, Clevedon Town and Rangers, they produced a much-improved performance to win 1-0 at Forest Green Rovers last time out and Kelly and his team-mates will, no doubt, feel more confident in what they are doing when they host Reading at Ashton Gate tonight. Kelly said: "We have been working on this since the first day of pre-season training and we are adapting and picking it up as we go along. It is all about training the way you are going to play. "It is new for some of the boys, but I think we are improving all the time and the first half against Forest Green Rovers was probably the best we have played in pre-season. "I think the way we are trying to play suits quite a few of the boys and, personally, it is something I experienced under Kenny Shiels at Kilmarnock. "You could the benefit of what we are trying to do in the last game, because we created a lot more chances and, if we had taken more risks, we could have scored more than the one goal. This style of play definitely makes us more attractive to watch. "It gives us an opportunity to have a lot more possession of the ball and that, in turns, helps us create a lot more chances." Under the stewardship of manager Nigel Adkins, Reading are another possession-based team and O'Driscoll jumped at the opportunity to play a side that was in the Premier League last season. But for Kelly and his fellow players, it is all about ensuring they are ready for the opening day of the League One campaign and the visit of newly-promoted Bradford City to BS3 on Saturday week. He said: "We are getting fitter and sharper with every training session and every game, and playing Reading will be a step up and another big test for us. "They are a class side and we will have to step our game up again if we want to match them. "But the main aim has to be to make sure everyone is fit and ready to play in the first game against Bradford next week. Everything we do up until then will be about fitness and sharpness and the style of football we want to play."
There is proper football leading to possession and then there is passing the ball back and forward across the defence. I wonder which we will get ? We can only hope. I have had the pleasure of seeing Real Madrid murder Leeds a few years ago, Milan stuff MU, and Barca in action in a La Liga game at the Noucamp. Now that was "proper football". Something similar would be nice please SOD
Ive been crying out for this type of football for years. It will be frustrating at times but mesmerising at others. Watching Arsenal is the same. They want to pass the ball into the net when it would be better just to have a pop at goal and no doubt next season it will be the same for us but this style of play wins you games and has you at the top. Can see a lot of 1-0's next season
True we had none at all until S O'D had been at the club for a couple or 3 weeks although how he managed it with Fonts and Tango at the back god alone knows
