I have often been bemused by various poster’s evaluation of an individual player’s performance when their opinion is so very different to mine and it set me thinking about how people watch match to try and understand why this might be. I can only assume that some people watch a match by following the ball and they as a consequence miss out on the many subtle ways in which individual players can contribute to a game. It could also be why many fans cheer for an offside goal when the Referee’s Assistant has been waving like mad. I know people who like to contrast the two teams in terms of how they line up and what their strengths are and how each tries to cope with the other’s strengths. Another spectator told me that he likes to spend a few minutes just focusing on an individual player during the game even if he doesn’t have the ball so that he can get a measure of his reading of the game, his positioning and his off the ball contribution. I tend to do a mix of these things and I do make a point of focusing on a player who may not have been involved on the ball for a while to see what he is doing. I say this because a number of people have commented on and been worried that Lambert has not been scoring that many goals lately yet his contribution to our games has been just as important in other ways. It would be interesting to know how others “watch” our games.
in relation to your first point, I think people stop being subjective in players performances - some have their favourites and maybe don't look beyond that... therefore people who don't like Harding would never admit or realise if he suddenly became better than Ashley Cole its not a criticism just an observation that some players cant do right for doing wrong In relation to the point of how people watch games - I guess I have a mixture of all the above just at different times during a game. The real analysis would come as a debrief that the team would go through from NA the next day to look at areas that can be improved. I was rather impressed on Tues night when he focussed on reviewing and learning lessons from the 20 spell Ipswich had at 50mins in - this is demonstrating ensuring we are not stagnant, keeping players on top of their game and making them constantly think about their performance during games. I'm getting a feeling Wenger could be correct when he said a few years back NA was a potential national manager.
I do a mixture of all of the above as well. I used to play at LB (albeit I was terrible), but I rate Dan Harding as well. He works, and is so consistent. He is also constantly pegging back the opposition, rather than being "overrun". Another one of my mates is a semi-pro RB, I dragged him to a saints game, (hes a reading fan) and he pointed out how good he thought Danny Harding was after about 10 minutes. I also think Rickie has been sensational this season, although that is just judged on the Leeds game and highlights of the others. Anyone that thinks these two are bad must seriously not understand football. Lambo adds so much to our team. His first touch out of the air, passing and movement is all premier league quality. Someone pointed out that heskey had 62 caps for england and has been in the top tier almost his whole career. Lambert has only just reached the championship. I honestly would take Lambert over Heskey any day. He is better in every department, and people will only realise that now he is up in the championship, where he will get more space and time on the ball.
Sometimes in football you've got to be lucky and in the right place and Lambert with his talent has sadly missed out. He became lucky when Saints came in for him and he has a chance to move up the leagues with us. No one in the Premiership would have taken a chance on him, but with Nigel's guidance Lambert will get his big chance.
Great Article Shows why Managers still get in there cars and watch matches live even when they're on TV I'm a bit of a ball follower in the main especially when the football has been so good and exciting recently. I can't remember any recent boring tactical stalemates. Naturally I concentrate on the Southampton players in the main. Defenders positioning and efforts to close down without the ball and look for movement and options for the ball carrier. of course a lot of Southampton fans keep a look out on the away fans and the bar opening times too
I have to admit I am a bit of a ball watcher, especially after having had a couple of pre-match 'shandies'. However, a mate of mine convinced me to watch Rickie for a while (think it may have been when some people were getting on his back during last seasons 'lean' period) and I came away with a changed view of the man. His movement off the ball, dragging defenders away and general hold up play is second to none - so much more to him than I realised. Since then, I do try to watch players rather than ball watching - it does make a refreshing change to following the ball!
Being in the crowd is a great way to be able to view players, because you can view on-the-ball action and running-off-ball, player positioning, the lot. But I've seen many people I know who have afterwards given their comments and marks on a particular player and I know full well that they are giving this critique having consumed about 4 - 8 pints of strong lager, or they have been in the concourses for much of the match, or they have arrived late and left early, or a combination of all three. Now, tbh, if you recognise anything of yourself in this description, I wouldn't count your opinion as valid, even if you told me that you'd seen enough.
I agree. I really do not enjoy watching football on the TV or listening to a game on the radio. It is like watching only half of the game.
Lets face it, we all can get carried away and do a bit of ball watching during a game. Especially if things aren't going quite the way you want it. However what puzzles me more at times is some peoples view of a game after wards. More to the point perhaps is their view on how an individual played. The number of times I have said, "are you sure you were at the same game as me"? I agree that opinions can vary but the realms of reality at times for me are pushed to the limits! Especially when it comes to a player or players having a blinder. Yet a minority saying he/they was useless. Harding in particular comes to mind here. Perhaps this is because mostly they have been ball watching. I would agree he has his bad days but on others he has been outstanding yet still heavily criticised. This is not intended to join the debate on who is the best left back, just an observation of others views on this particular player. The same can be said about Lallana.....a very popular player. There have been games last season when you didn't know he was on the field.....not many granted....but a few. For some though he was man of the match!! So the author is right an awful lot do "ball watch" most of the game and miss some subtleties of various players. They also seem to watch certain players through rose coloured glasses I suspect, but seem to change them when looking at others!!
Interesting reading. I've found myself watching players off the ball a lot more recently than I ever used to. It gives you more of an overall picture of how good a player actually is. I have to say that Thierry Henry is probably the best player i've ever seen at a live match, not because of what he could do on the ball but very much what he did off it - he is a very intelligent footballer off the ball, always 2 steps ahead of everybody else. However, most people only ever speak about what he can do while the ball is at his feet.
Just rewatched the Ipswich highlights and could see all the running off the ball the players were doing. Lambert said recently that the team don't really practice the goals, but they instinctively know what their team mates will do. Certainly Lambert and Lallana were acting in tandem and it looked fantastic. Can't see any striker just walking into this team. As Adkins said even a player like Schneiderlin has to wait his chance. Happy days.
I never watch the ball, but i'm always aware of where it is on the pitch. I couldn't tell you what I watch as there are so many different variables so it's constantly changing.
I like watching the refs. Spotting when they guess something/have no idea what is going on is always amusing. Like for Ipswich's second goal on Tuesday, ref had no idea whether to give a penalty or not, fortunately for him they scored anyway.
As we all know men are naturally tunnel visioned and is in our genes hense the majority ball watch,,but those that have the ability to have a wider poriferal view can take in more of the overall game ,,but as long as you enjoy it then who cares,,, I tend to watch what's going on off the ball too and was a great fan of Nick Holmes as he did so much un noticed work off the ball ,, seems as though Cork may have that role in present team ,
