Winning is Winning

Hope you’re all enjoying the game lads. A quick half-time read for you all. Do check it out on my blog please. Would very much appreciate the support.
http://the-beautiful-game.org/

---

A lot has been made of Swansea’s breakthrough season in the Premier League. Sitting comfortably in 11th place with 10 wins, credit is certainly due to Brendan Rodgers in getting success by playing football ‘the right way’.
Well, supposedly the ‘right way’. I never received the memo that football had to be played a particular way. If you have the players of a certain type, then utilise them. Barcelona play the way they do to suit their best players; it’s the reason why Zlatan Ibrahimovic never fitted into their team. If that is supposedly ‘attractive football’ then so be it; I’m more of a believer that a win is better looking than playing ‘sexy football’ and throwing the game away – Arsenal are major culprits of that in recent times.

On the flip side, Stoke play a certain brand of football that is effective for them. And all merit to Stoke manager Tony Pulis; he has achieved continuous solid league positions, taken them to an FA Cup final and guided them into Europe. All by playing ‘ugly football’.

What some football fans fail to see is that ‘long ball’ isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Most sides ten years ago used a formula of a big target man, partnered with a small nippy striker. Think Shearer and Bellamy. Think Heskey and Owen. That consisted of mainly ‘over-the-top’ football that entailed of wide play and crosses rather than one touch football.

Even some of our top sides play a more direct game. Yes Manchester United and Chelsea play a certain brand of football; they like to pass the ball. But at the right times, the direct game is utilised. And why not? If you have Didier Drogba up front, who could out-muscle a bull, put it up to him and see what happens. More times than not, a positive output will be achieved.

This leads me to the point that many people think that by watching Athletic Bilbao beat Manchester United with ease, in a style of play that is alien to much of our domestic league, they can make the assumption that all Spanish football is played as such. It isn’t. Most teams, like most of the Premiership sides, make most of what they have. Whether that means “long-ball” or “direct play”, it isn’t “tika taka” as many would think. Stop watching only the Barcelona and Real Madrid games and you’ll see it’s a lot more about tactics than flair.

At the end of the day, I don’t disrespect any team’s brand of football, whatever that may be. Purists may find that difficult to digest seeing a game that isn’t easy on the eye. From Stoke to Swansea, as long as it is effective, who cares?
Comments welcome.

---

http://the-beautiful-game.org/

 

Unless you're Charlie Sheen!

 

Hey?

 

Go on YouTube and search 'Charlie sheen winning'...

The laugh of your life mate... The interview he does is class...

 

Hahaha quality.

 

Charlie Sheen get's everything Clean.

 

Its great to see him off the drugs! Not....

 

I couldn't agree with this sentiment. While I'd defend the right of the likes of Pulis and Allardyce to play football however they see fit, football should be played on the deck with the feet. The clue is in the name, football. Over time people have thought outside the box and found different approaches. All are valid but I'd always choose to watch one that didn't involve 50/50 aerial duels. I don't want to see the Pulis/Allardyce type football in our PL.

The fact is the most effective football happens to be the most attractive. Possession football with the ball kept on the deck the majority of the time. Barcelona and Spain have shown us the way. I want us to have a successful national team, and the only way we'll achieve that is by improving our techniques with better coaching (the process has now started). The more teams we have in our national league playing this kind of football, the more our players will develop an understanding of it. The way we play football in this country over the last 20 years has had a bad effect on our national team. Its taken a long time to admit this. We became obsessed with big, strong athletes. We all know a sob story or two of a lad who we went to school with who was easily the most talented, but got discarded as being too small. We arrive at national tournaments and regularly lose out in terms of possession. We'll chase all day. The players look lethargic because their physical league with no winter break, has broken the players so they have nothing left. The only way to change all this is change our approach to the game.

I'm not saying you shouldn't allow any form of football. Indeed I do look fondly on those who find ways of levelling the playing field with better teams with greater resources. Porto under Mourinho, the Greek side under Otto Rehhagel are great examples. But I'd hate to have to watch Stoke every week and good results wouldn't help that. Football is about entertainment as much as winning, or at least it should be.