Main improvements required Passing on the ground especially to the strikers Watch the match today and count how many passes our strikers receive below waist height. Against Palace in the first half every pass dropped like doodlebugs from the heavens. In the second we played proper football and looked far better. Possession The ball doesn't explode into deadly shrapnel after 6 passes. There is no need to welly it forward or pass it back to the goalie to do the same after this interval. Defenders must try to pass forward and midfielders the same whenever possible. Tapping it around in our half only encourages the opposition to press and force the next big punt. The goalie should throw or pass the ball to our players if he can to ensure we can build moves rather than our strikers hoping to get hold of the next V2 rocket pass. The middle of the pitch It's a lovely place lads, you can run around there and pass the ball without having to cluster around the side lines and turn the game into a series of throw-ins. It is also possible to attack through the centre without switching to Elmo to put in an aimless Scud cross - Just a thought. Set pieces Corners; BEAT THE FIRST f**kING MAN!! Preferably with a low trajectory Exocet at head height that only needs a slight flick to burst the net. Throw ins; They should go to one of our players and not just the maximum distance into their half. Free kicks; Have we scored from one directly this season? A bit of imagination like Palace showed wouldn't go amiss. Also our defence of free-kicks needs a complete over-haul. Pressing and territory Granted it's not always easy, but our forward players need to press the opposition more and force them to lose possession. Huddlestone needs to venture further forward and stop contributing to the team being compacted into our own penalty area. In addition to these points Elmo needs to try and get to the bi-line more often before crossing. Huddlestone needs to give us more than two accurate attacking passes in a match. Meyler needs to be told he can pass to OUR players and the strikers need to SCORE GOALS!!
Good analysis. I couldn't believe the hoofball we played against Palace. It looked like they had decided to try booting it straight to the £14m pair and sod the superb ball movement to date. Maybe appropriate if you have a few mins to score in desperation, but the whole sodding match, stupid!
I don't know whether to laugh or cry when I see people posting stuff like this. I just hope Brucie reads it.
**** sake, we just drew with Spurs, and should arguably have won the game. Will people on here never stop moaning?
The thread was posted before the match. Anyway it was nice to see a few big improvements today, especially the way the strikers pressed and the general forward momentum of the team. Just wish Hudd would come out of his shell and regain the form he had when he was hairy.
The frustrating thing is we've all seen how he can dominate a match. Apart from one good free-kick he was anonymous again today.
What struck me about the free-kick was the fact that we didn't (and never) have a 'door' in the wall - one which opens as the ball is kicked. Why is that?
Spot on Craig. Bit harsh on Meyler though and Hudd certainly hasn't been the same since he got his hair cut. He and Figueroa had poor games today but Long and Jelavic looked like they are forming a good partnership and could be the answer to our lack of goals.
This thread is embarrassing, in my view. Armchair punditry from some Hull Tigers ****. I hate people who think they can simply pick a team apart based on **** they've heard Jamie Redknapp say on Sky. When you've been stood there yourself for the afternoon watching the real, physical application of the players and the momentous effort that's put in every week, the immense discipline and battling all over the pitch - you realise what an embarrassment something like this is. I can already tell from Craig's post history that he thinks he's a ****ing genius or something, but his panicking appraisal from south of Sheffield is not necessary, and in fact is a joke. Support, rather than criticise.
What a ****ing idiot. Today was a great performance against a team pushing for top 4, Brady back brought more creativity in the midfield, Aluko back soon, worry not.