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Rigidity and Chat.

Rigidity and Chat.

Libertine

Libertine

Thick Nomark
Joined
May 23, 2005
Messages
10,502
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Costa Del Leylando
Referee had to have a word with the huddersfield number 7 on Saturday for grabbing hold of Woodburn/Mikey O'Neil/ anyone who was going up against the keeper on corners. Why didn't one of the more experienced players or maybe the captain 🙂eek🙂 open their gob and tell Bambo to swap with them and let the lad try grappling with him. I understand that these days everything is very rigid and as with the zonal marking players are told which is their place to stand but surely if something is going on on the pitch the players should be given the freedom to use their initiative to sort it out. That's definitely what would have happened not so many years ago.

It seems like in some ways the game is trying to become American football with set plays and fixed patterns. Football shouldn't be like that, it should be fluid. Disciplined but fluid.

This brings me to another point, as a junior a massive emphasis was put on the importance of talking. Not just at North End but also on games I've watched on tele recently, you see players taking a ball off their own mans head or not leaving it to someone in a better position. Is the talking side of the game not coached as much as it used to be?
 
I'll ask this again.

Once again last night players clearly not putting their name on the ball, second half Brad not getting a "man on" shout as he ran towards goal and ended up on his arse.

From the get-go it was obvious that things weren't right with the shape. The captain/a more senior player should have been relaying this to the manager (if he wasn't seeing it). Usually when you're on the pitch you can get a better feel of where the problem is and where you're being over-run. Someone should have been talking to Best and trying to get him to stop bombing forward. Fine he's a wing back, but start off with the defensive side, get your men sussed out on that side and then go on the attack.

Just seem to be too many robots in the game with a "well that's what I was told to do attitude."
 
To be fair to Best, he had licence to get forwards in the wing back role as Hughes was there as covering defender, when on Saturday he was playing the Hughes role with Brady further forward as the more attacking outlet down the left side.
At least he tried to create something which was more than the rest of the team seemed to be doing.
They were content to pass it around across the back once again wit little or no creativity in midfield as both Browne and Holmes were not selected or available ( whichever applies).
 
I’d like to know Boro’s tackle success rate last night - it seemed virtually every time we had the ball it was taken off us with ease. I only remember Mads making one little run around the edge of the area and dodging two or three players.

We were second to everything and lost virtually every battle. They honestly looked like they’d given up, or were confused about what they were supposed to be doing. The image of Whiteman casually strolling around the edge of the area while a player runs past him was unacceptable, just looked like he couldn’t be arsed.
 
Gordon Bennett said:
I’d like to know Boro’s tackle success rate last night - it seemed virtually every time we had the ball it was taken off us with ease. I only remember Mads making one little run around the edge of the area and dodging two or three players.

We were second to everything and lost virtually every battle. They honestly looked like they’d given up, or were confused about what they were supposed to be doing. The image of Whiteman casually strolling around the edge of the area while a player runs past him was unacceptable, just looked like he couldn’t be arsed.
Click to expand...

Good description of Lowe too is that...... Regardless of his successes and failures here, one thing stands out a mile to me ............. He's learning Jack Shit from either. Which probably then projects onto the players.
 
Gordon Bennett said:
I’d like to know Boro’s tackle success rate last night - it seemed virtually every time we had the ball it was taken off us with ease. I only remember Mads making one little run around the edge of the area and dodging two or three players.

We were second to everything and lost virtually every battle. They honestly looked like they’d given up, or were confused about what they were supposed to be doing. The image of Whiteman casually strolling around the edge of the area while a player runs past him was unacceptable, just looked like he couldn’t be arsed.
Click to expand...
Because it was so cold and I couldn't be bothered banishing myself to an upstairs room (away from the log burner), my wife was forced to watch last night (instead of Bake Off and the new next door thing). She's no football fan (although accompanied me to Leicester) but she said straightaway 'they don't look like they're trying. The other side just seem to run past them' out of the mouths of ,well women...
 
They’ve not practiced being the team who are mainly in possession in training so they didn’t know how to do it in a game. Honestly it baggers belief that these boys can’t think for their self out there. The young uns say that the game is better now and the players are better physical specimens but they seem to be having the use of one of their biggest muscles removed from the game entirely. The old brain box.

 
This illustrates that players no longer have the tools to talk and react quickly on a pitch to a developing situation. Spains first goal can be taken care of simply by what we used to call “passing a player on.” The second goal seems to be a case of basic ball watching.

Any team that doesn’t maintain a rigid formation should cause most teams at the moment massive problems as it will make the opposition players have to think for themselves. Also the opposition coach will have to react and as we know some of these coaches only like to set up in one way.

 
Good chat on here about managers that are aligned to just one system, the current trend for centre backs both being in the 6 yard box for goal kicks and kids straight from Uni having too much influence due to the stat obsession.


 
Doc Brown said:
He’s crackers for accepting it.

Much easier to give an opinion in a studio.

Not so easy in practice.
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True. He’s good at his job.

On his podcast he talks a lot about never wanting to go into coaching and he’s always amazed when he interviews the likes of Lampard and Rooney who want to do it. Same with Carragher.
 
Libertine said:
True. He’s good at his job.

On his podcast he talks a lot about never wanting to go into coaching and he’s always amazed when he interviews the likes of Lampard and Rooney who want to do it. Same with Carragher.
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I have more respect for those that do. They know what it feels like.

His wider point about entertainment holds abstract value. But winning is more important in sport. If you find a way to win, the ends justify the means imo.

Getting the team to win is what the manager is employed to do. Whether every side playing Guardiola style football is the best way to achieve that is another issue…
 
Doc Brown said:
I have more respect for those that do. They know what it feels like.

His wider point about entertainment holds abstract value. But winning is more important in sport. If you find a way to win, the ends justify the means imo.

Getting the team to win is what the manager is employed to do. Whether every side playing Guardiola style football is the best way to achieve that is another issue…
Click to expand...

So you respect him then.
Neville and Carragher give expert analysis from a players perspective. Carragher knowledge of games and teams is encyclopaedic.

It’s made the modern game very sterile. The entertainment value is very often poor.
 
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