Watching the Spurs game yesterday, we started exactly as expected, with 4 at the back and 4 in front of them and, on the whole, I though we were pretty solid. The problem, as ever, is scoring when you set up like that. Hitting teams on the break works (we scored), but the set-up basically says that we're not as good as you and we're going to play accordingly. This gets to the heart of the problem for me. If we want to progress we're going to have to change our approach and that change is going to be painful. The issue was summed up by the fact that we were a very creditable (on paper) 1-1 at half-time, after playing the old warhorses O'Shea and Brown (combined age 70), but as soon as we changed things round and brought Kirchhoff on, we got absolutely twatted. Now, I want to see players like him come in and the older (Brown), slower (O'Shea) and crapper (Jones) move out. So, do we stick with plan A, go with the old guard and hope to grind out enough results to stay up by the skin of our teeth? Again. Or do we bite the bullet, bring in the new players and actually aim to go out and win games, accepting the inevitable hammering the new approach will entail? Personally, I go for the latter. If Kirchhoff and Kone can get up to speed we'll have a centre-half pairing that can (a) play and (b) move about quickly and that has to be an upgrade. We have forwards and so should be looking at FB a lot harder than we seem to and if we can get some pace there too, we should be able to set up like a proper football team, rather than one that is scared of getting beat. Go for it Sam!
It's working alright for Leicester, mate. The tactics aren't the problem, it's the lack of quality in the playing staff that's the problem. I watched Kone for Lorient yesterday and he was all over the shop, on that performance only, he wouldn't make our team. It would be a massive risk, to start trying out players and partnerships, if it goes tits up we could be down in double quick time. I'd rather stick with what Sam knows and grind through to the rest of the season, before looking at wholesale changes. Give partnerships a full pre-season to develop, not in the middle of a relegation fight. Tactics are evolving all the time in football, like never before. We went from 4-4-2 to possession football, which made a change in tactics from teams always having two main forwards, to largely just using one, with an extra man in midfield to allow for the new system to work. Already we are seeing the possession football being counteracted, by new tactics of sitting back and letting the opposing team have the ball, before hitting them fast on the counter attack, and it's working... Teams that had most of the possession in a match, generally went on to win the game. That is changing now and possession of the football is becoming a more and more, useless statistic.
Play to your strengths. Something I was always told as a bairn & the principal doesn't really change. Look at Poyet, tried to play pretty possession football, which got him sacked because it wasn't what the team he had were good at. Right now the counter attacking football is best for our squad.
My take on the game was that we suffered when Graham went off , up to being taken off he had plugged that left side in front of PvA and did the donkey work. The lack of cover in the left area led to their second goal.
DG is supposed to be a forward. How many goals? He.s supposed to move ovet the halfway line. Hes not david beckham, lobbing them in from his own half.
Left footed player, he operated deep left against Swansea when he came on there as well. Maybes Sam sees things others don't.
I wouldn't compare Rodwell with Catts Nostalgic. Not in a 1,000 years. I know you meant like for like position and not player, but Rodders just doesn't have the influence of Catts in our midfield. I forgot Rodders was on the pitch after 5 minutes.
If the Kone signing comes off as well we might have a CB pertnership, or James T Kirkoff and YK, we desperately need more ball players, more mobile types that people like Arsenal have in spades when they are all fit, pass, move, attack but for now at least counter-attack looks like the way to go
Would have been better to play a left back tho' instead of a supposed striker in that position, Rev never let us down but was sent packing big mistake imo.
