Britt Assombalonga

is that attacking football?

 

Yes as long as you perceive the act of pressing away from your box as positive. Buzz word in football is transition. City can (do) win the ball and transition quickly into attack relatively close to the opponents goal.

 

Isn’t that the philosophy of ‘long ball’?
Make the ball do the work....... hit it long.

 

I think Clifton means you play it out..short, sharp one/two touch football..Players themselves need to create space to play in to. That's my understanding, anyway!!

 

I think he means ...on the break!

 

That has certainly made me think ..

Transitions can relate to short and long football. Its the period of time shortly after gaining possession from the opponent. In this short timescale the opposition will be defensively out shape. A significantly high proportion of goals are scored this way. Mourinho's Chelsea were brilliant at this but also Guardiola teams are as well. Warnock's Cardiff hit teams last season by aggressively crowding possession quickly then going forward (virtually always instantly forward) very quickly last season.

Long ball teams normally use low bocks e.g. Leicester sat deep, Burnley do and so do did Mourinho Chelsea in a variety of approaches.

Teams using high presses normally pass the ball short because this relates to having lots of players around the ball if they lose it, the team moves up in a unit together making them more compact and it cuts down on the distances they have to cover attempting to win back possession. High pressing is very challenging for players physically, tactically, technically and mentally for short passing teams which is why many teams do not truly go down this road.

And the philosophy of the long ball is frequently based up on %. Pomo = Positions of maximum opportunity. Put the ball into pomo's and eventually a chance will occur if you have the right personnel to employ it.

 

When I was young, all my football coaches used to bang on about making the ball do the hard work - you can’t outrun the ball etc etc.
It’s not very entertaining to watch, but it can be effective - as the teams Cliftonville mentioned proved - but Joe Kinnear’s Wimbledon perfected the art.
I admit, sometimes our players bunch too much for my liking and, whilst it’s nice to see pretty little triangles being played, it only boosts our possession stats, not our goals.
I recognise that I sound like an advocate of ‘long ball’ - well, I suppose I am to a point - it’s a valid tactic to employ when it’s 80 minutes and we haven’t managed to break down a stubborn opposition defence yet - it allows the midfield to split, with 2 dropping back to bolster the defence in the event of a counterattack, and the other 2 joining the strikers to receive the long ‘direct’ passes (assuming a 4-4-2 formation).
Horrible to watch but hey, at this stage of the season if it brings home the points I’d be happy!

 

I agree the long ball game is a good alternative if used effectively & skilfully , but I hate the boot and hope, to the big centre forward game. (unless it's the last 5 minutes and we are losing)

 

That’s kind of what I was trying to say Onefor - although I would employ it with 10 minutes to go rather than 5 (only if necessary).
It seems to be 8l00dy effective when used against us!!!!

 

Patterns of play using triangle and diamonds mathematically creates greater passing angles than playing in straight sight lines. It allows easier retention of the football. That can be used to increase tempo and decrease it. It also creates space - If players are narrow and you have control of the football the opportunity is there to switch the ball to the space if the players are competent enough to do it.

Bristol City don't have high possession stats. City do play quite a lot of long balls already. Yesterday City played quite direct particularly from O'Leary and lost.

 

Love all this tactical stuff but in my day it was so simple - just score more than your opponent.

 

is not the actual object of the game? ...providing of course it is in their net!

 

[QUOTE="Reliant Robin TC2, post: 12701203, member: 1045329

Despite the players we have, we seem to struggle at times because of the high pressing game we aim for, which, over a period of time, takes its toll on individuals. After 18 days off, and therefore a significant rest, we got back to winning ways against high end opposition. I think this in itself shows that we haven't yet got the strength in depth that is required at this level.

As such, I would go for him as a really useful and accomplished Championship quality addition to the squad.[/QUOTE]

We already have a big squad but a load of them aren't on LJ's trusted list.

We could've rotated a lot more but the likes of Eisa, Adelakun, Walsh, Morrell, Semenyo, Watkins etc haven't been used.

If lack of rest is the issue then LJ should be making better use of all the players he has already brought into the club.

 

This guy would be a cracking signing and would score goals in our side without doubt.

 

Whilst I agree to a point, most of the names quoted are relatively young and inexperienced at this level. I know you'll say that they will never get the necessary experience unless they play, but I think LJ has a decent record in nurturing raw talent at the club. When you get to a point when you're challenging for promotion from probably the most competitive league in the world, you sometimes need more of those players that have been there and got the t-shirt!!

 

It’s a catch 22 situation really though , before the break our midfield in particular looked knackered, whilst I appreciate we had injuries to both Walsh and most significantly Smith, I wonder whether Walsh would have been used even if fit, there was also an opportunity to give Morrell some game time, and unless you start to give these players an opportunity they’ll never get experience, in which case why bother having them block the path for others. We’ll never know if they are good enough if they aren’t given an opportunity.

 

If the player is knackered and unable to deliver an acceptable performance then surely it makes no sense to keep picking him.

If you start losing because they're knackered you can't make it much worse by giving one of the squad players a game.