Steve Cotterill wants a more patient approach from his Bristol City players. please log in to view this image BRISTOL City boss Steve Cotterill believes patience is a virtue. Having had time to assess his players after three months in the Ashton Gate hot seat, the former Nottingham Forest and Burnley boss reckons his team would benefit from a more measured approach. In or around the relegation zone for the entire season, the Robins have suffered from an inability to retain possession for long enough in games. And Cotterill insists one of the biggest tasks facing him between now and the end of the season is to teach his players to be patient. City beat Gillingham 2-1 at the weekend to climb out of the League One relegation zone, but Cotterill admitted a lack of composure had made life difficult for his team in the second half. Cotterill said: "Because I want my team to play football, the players and the supporters have to understand that there are times when you cannot always go forward with the ball. "If you are constantly trying to go forward and to do it quickly, you are going to turn over the ball. "Sometimes you have to be patient. Sometimes that means you have to pass the ball back to the centre-half or even the goalkeeper. "All the good footballing teams you see are patient and we need to try to get that into our game. "We need to be mentally tougher when we are out on that pitch. But we also need our supporters to understand what we are trying to do. "We cannot afford to keep turning the ball over. Sometimes you have no option because you are under pressure and the ball may have to go from back to front quickly if the striker is closing down one of our defenders. "But we need to understand as a team that we cannot keep turning the ball over. "It is a matter of me trying to educate the lads and teach them to stay patient." Meanwhile, City will today conclude a deal with Birmingham to extend Wade Elliott's loan until the end of the season. The midfielder signed on for a month initially, but has done well during his time at Ashton Gate and is eager to stay in the West. Talks between the two clubs are at an advanced stage and Elliott, whose loan deal expired after Saturday's 2-1 win over Gillingham, should now be back on board in time for Saturday's key relegation scrap at Shrewsbury. http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/Steve-...oach-Bristol/story-20749623-detail/story.html Wade to stay until season end. http://www.bcfc.com/news/article/201...s-1395896.aspx They can't be as patient as the fans have been all season..
this made me choke on my asparagus with laughter and fall off my chair! Up until mid December that is what we were good at, hence so many draws? we didn't give it away most games, it was city 55% or more possession...... isn't that what we had we SOD? don't panic be patient whilst we have it they cant do a lot! makes me want to puke sometimes.................... urrrrrgh carrots and tomatoes !
yes JGF2, and we would have the ball for 55% possession until the last 5 minutes when someone would give away a penalty, or misplace a back pass and we would lose 0-1. It is interesting that before Cotterill, Baldock could only get on the scoresheet if we were given a penalty. We relied on some wonder strikes from JET. Since Cotterill, Baldock scores a good goal every game, and JET huffs and puffs (sometimes) but doesn't seem to have the same influence on games. It is intriguing how managers all talk about possession, and steady build-up, and patience, and passing football, but the results are often different. The managers with the best CV's in the last 20 years are Big Sam and Graham Taylor, getting teams promoted, and they had none of the above.
Allardyce and Taylor CV's are hardly glittering. Taylor was a total failure for England and poor with Villa and his Watford POMO tactics would be next to useless now. The best teams anywhere be it England to Germany to Spain play a possession based game. Most teams in this division attempt to play to feet through the thirds.
Indeed Clif, I was not advocating their style of play. Just that for all the talk about possession, sometimes managers resorting to hoof tend to get decent results, which does help. Certainly in the lower divisions. "high tempo" I think it is referred to nowadays. I did laugh when the West Ham supporters were asked, a month ago, which manager, if he were available, would they most like to come in and give them the best chance of staying up.....and the result was that Sam Allardyce was probably the best manager to bring in, of those available. Mind you, they would have to sack him first!
A few managers got very good results e.g Graham and Wilkinson, Beck to Francis. Their like has disappeared at every level or changed e.g Pullis and Holloway. Its easy to combat, easy to beat, easy to starve of the ball. I would have described Brentford and Wolves as high tempo and the crafty buggers were going down the sides. Remains to be seen what the Cotterill narrative is.
EXACTLY.... WE WERE ONLY HALF WAY THERE.... unfortunately we will never know how many points or where we would be now! bear in mind most of our points till game 18 came from draws!..15 2 wins and 9 draws
The weekend before last, I was in Barcelona with family. Unfortunately FCB were not at home so I could not enjoy an evening at the Nou Camp, but late in the evenings I watched Barca TV, the club's own TV channel and saw three recent games the whole way through. It is the first time I have watched three complete Barca matches in such a short time and I believe I know what Steve Cotterill is driving at. No, I am not saying City are anywhere near the skill and thought levels of Messi and co, but at our own level, there isn't any reason why we cannot play in a similar way because our opponents are also not at Barca's standard. Barca do push the ball around the back four, not slowly and without purpose like City under SO'D but at pace with continual movement from everyone in front of them. They do move it forward quickly, not with hoofball, but with passes to team-mates nearby, one touch and pass. They go forward, sideways and backwards with one purpose. To keep the ball away from the opposition and probe and wait for openings to appear. British teams and players continually attempt to play a miraculous, defence splitting pass almost every time they have the ball - a mentality of one pass to feed the scorer of a spectacular goal! The top European clubs and Barca in particular, prefer to keep the ball and wait for the other team to switch off. Rarely does Messi run fast with the ball and mostly plays short passes to team mates and then moves for a return or as a decoy. Oh that JET used his team mates like that rather than always trying to dribble round two, three or four. Most of the Barca possession play is in the area between half way line and opposition penalty area, rather than across the back four. Getting the ball forward is done by mostly short passes to feet, not long hopeful balls to a big striker as British teams do. Football players without the ball lose concentration. That is what Barca wait for. When the openings do appear, the pace of everyone in running speed and speed of thought is amazing as they go for the jugular. That is when you see the pace of Messi and his colleagues. And if they lose the ball, they immediately hunt in little packs of two to four around the opponent with the ball. I must admit that I was not an admirer of SC when he arrived here, but I am beginning to warm to him. If he wants us to play possession football with purpose and sense, then I am all for it. Not aimlessly across our back four. Not long balls to a front man surrounded by three defenders. But one/two touch and pass at pace. Continually moving to unsettle opponents. Patience for one quality opening on goal than half a dozen half chances that go begging. Swansea have done it successfully over the last few years so what is there to stop Bristol City? It has to be possible and at the same time entertaining and with a good chance of success. Create three or four high quality goal chances per game, keep the ball away from the other team and never lose concentration at the back because we would have so much possession. I can dream, can't I?
Barcelona certainly do pass the ball across the back four slowly. They do this regularly in matches to give their three in a 4-3-3 a rest, and bring the opposition onto them. Dortmund do similar as they feel even with a team of young runners, and that is a strategic long term they can't press and play a high tempo for an entire ninety minutes. Hunting in packs etc. Its called counter pressing. Barcelona go into a six second press then drop off, it isn't relentless. Counter pressing relies on technique City players do not have. It has to be based upon a long term strategy. The team passes the ball fluently up the pitch as a team. If they lose it, the team is already in a set position as a team to aggressively counter press for seconds then drop as necessary. It requires fitness, technique and drilling not just as a team but as a club through youth teams to XI. Time in other words. It is vague at best what Mr Cottrrill wants his side to be.
When took over he wanted the players to play it forward quicker. It should have been apparent months ago that players who are not two footed, dont have good technique and dont dribble with ball glued to their feet need to slow it down. Away from home City give the ball away constantly and not suprisingly the opposition score frequently. There have been games very recently where City simply couldn't keep it for even a few passes because they had been told to go forwards and forward quickly. At Orient City found a defence and keeper in pieces so quick, quick, in the mixer worked. Most of the time its not.
I can dream can't I ... I dream loads. Years back I knocked an opponent spark out with my first punch. Lordy I dreamt all sorts after that Friller in Manilla, Maddison square gardens, Albert Hall but even if Mars lands on my head in no dream will I have Citys centre hoofs sweeping the ball about over the half way line.The thought of that ONE at that gives me a bad jolt.
