Is it wrong to moan when your top??

[southchurch]

I really get annoyed when people say you can't play football in this league.
Like in this league you have to hump it long at every opportunity. How many times is it humped long and possession is lost straight away or through to the opposite keeper. Every time our midfield do get it down and play or push it wide for a decent cross is when we look the most dangerous. Lucky Barcelona don't play in league 2 because they would have no chance of ever getting promoted what with their complete lack of humping an all. At the Daggers game we did not even use the midfield for large parts of the match. The ball was flying over their heads in both directions. Only when Moshni and a couple of others put some passes together, then we opened them up each time. But I don't think PS says to the boys 'Hump it lads, dont take a touch or look for an opening just hump it.' No. I think mainly they do that because thats the standard they play. Lucky for us the rest of league 2 in general do the same. Hey ! thats why there in league 2. Am I moaning , you bet I am because I think we can win like we have and even better if we played more attractive football. Good football does not equal losing. And please, none of that we are top so stop moaning. If you say our players are not good enough to pass it around and humping is our only hope . That is another debate, but 'you cant play football in this league' please dont tell me that.

 

[Bromley Blue]

I agree in part to what you are saying. I do think we're at our most effective when we string a few passes together on the floor. However as we are in league 2 we do have players who are quite limited in their range of passing when in possession. I don't really want to name names but its probably going to help to illustrate the point. Players like Gilbert and Kalala don't have the confidence on the ball that a Ryan Hall or a Michael Timlin do. Therefore to encourage them to play their way out of trouble in your own half could lose to giving away possession in key areas and ultimately cost us more goals.

The Tilson team that got promoted from this league had similarly limited players on the ball. People like Super Cheese and Juppy. However they had Kevin Maher who was fantastic at being aware of their limitations and was never more than 10 yards away from them. Maher would literally follow possession around the pitch always giving these players the easy ball and was why for me, he was such a key player for us and unfairly criticised on here at times.

I personally don't think our current midfielders offer that and so Sturrock prefers for his defenders to get the ball forward to those that are more comfortable in possession, and also further up the pitch, and build our attacks from there. I would say that once Dicko or Harris win the header we do start to play football in the final third now and I'll take anything to get of out of this league anyway.

 

[Cricko]

" I would say that once Dicko or Harris win the header "

In fairness that hardly ever happens as Dicko does not jump and rarely wins a header.

 

[Ayrshire Blue]

In fairness that hardly ever happens as Dicko does not jump and rarely wins a header.

Can't be easy to get a good leap with those flippers on though!

 

[Cricko]

Can't be easy to get a good leap with those flippers on though!

 

[jtsouthend]

i personally don't mind a defender who will put the ball in row Z to concede a throw or "hoofs" the ball into the right channels in the oppositions half...but when it is "on" to play the ball from the back then they must do so but I think lately we have got into the "hoof" mentality too often and aimlessly "hoofed" as well. Also I think we saw a bit of it on Saturday but Sturrock is our most effective forward with back to goal and holding the ball up to give others a chance to come in to play. I think Dickinson is great when the ball in played on he ground and into space in the channels, anyone who saw him at Rotherham...he bossed them that day...i am not convinced about him with balls fired at his head or feet with back to goal.

Last season the number of times we lost concreation in and around the box (markers not picking up players, trying to play it out from the back only to be disposed 20-25 yards out from our own goal) was incredible...so in that respect we have improve greatly this season and that it is probably the only reason we are further up the table.

Apart from that I think the midfield and forwards are performing pretty much as the team did last season, although I think Leonard does add "shape" to the team when he plays and also his throw are a real asset in getting the ball consistently into the danger area's. Also Hall has stepped up a gear on his finishing this season.

To get promoted you need to be hard to score against....and we are....we are always likely to "nick" a goal so the receipe is working.

 

[SARF]

Yes at this level loads of goals come from errors, balls given away in your own half etc..
sure put togther some fancy passing but do it in the right areas or when your 4 up ..
even more so when the weather turns to crap ..

 

[Hawkwell Blue]

The title of this thread is so nearly a question to a porn magazine's agony aunt........so I'm told.

 

[dodgeblue]

The title of this thread is so nearly a question to a porn magazine's agony aunt........so I'm told.

Spot on, but what's the answer?

 

[BrettieAngell]

I remember when i was a steward in the East Black there was a guy who sat there who was moaning when we were top of L2 with Freddy in the team! :nope:

 

[BrettieAngell]

" I would say that once Dicko or Harris win the header "

In fairness that hardly ever happens as Dicko does not jump and rarely wins a header.

Erm he wins quite alot of headers!

 

[maninasuitcase]

I haven't seen every game, but we seem to play a mixture of long and short passing that is difficult to play against. Certainly we are not playing the ugly, bullying hoofball that Martin Allen employed at Brentford that ultimately failed to get them promoted out of league 1.

If you look at the Crewe game, our first was a neat interchange of passes to set up Timlin, followed up by Ferdinand. The second was from a Hall cross, the third from a long ball flicked on. It was a similar story at Rotherham where we scored from long throws, a corner and a sweeping move to set up Harris.

A variety of goals, hardly one dimensional long ball tactics in my opinion.

 

[southchurch]

I haven't seen every game, but we seem to play a mixture of long and short passing that is difficult to play against. Certainly we are not playing the ugly, bullying hoofball that Martin Allen employed at Brentford that ultimately failed to get them promoted out of league 1.

If you look at the Crewe game, our first was a neat interchange of passes to set up Timlin, followed up by Ferdinand. The second was from a Hall cross, the third from a long ball flicked on. It was a similar story at Rotherham where we scored from long throws, a corner and a sweeping move to set up Harris.

A variety of goals, hardly one dimensional long ball tactics in my opinion.

Ok. I am convinced.:stupidme:

 

[Brett Angle]

In answer to your question YES.

 

[RochdaleShrimper]

In any league you've got to mix it up a bit to be successful. There are teams you can beat easier by playing the ball long, being more physical or playing a neat passing game. Any team worth their salt should have a variety of styles in their locker depending on the opposition and the run of the game. From what i've seen of us this season i think we've shown a capability to display variety in our play and that's a good thing. I think it's perfectly acceptable to have a bit of a moan that's a football supporters prerogative as long as your backing the team. But look at Chelski, Abramovich has gone through manager after manager because he want's to see them play like Barcelona but sometimes its better to be satisfied with what you have. Philosopher Boethius said; [h=3]Boethius's Wheel[/h]

"It's my belief that history is a wheel. 'Inconstancy is my very essence,' says the wheel. Rise up on my spokes if you like but don't complain when you're cast back down into the depths. Good times pass away, but then so do the bad. Mutability is our tragedy, but it's also our hope. The worst of times, like the best, are always passing away."

Enjoy our relative success while its here i say.

 

[silentshrimper]

" I would say that once Dicko or Harris win the header "

In fairness that hardly ever happens as Dicko does not jump and rarely wins a header.

He wins his fair share, complete rubbish.

I like how we mix our play up, alot of our goals come from playing along the floor, but we are still effective with the ball in the air.

 

[bazzashrimper]

Against bristol rovers, with every long ball to moshni who was up against a shortish left back, moshni hardly won a header. A defender has a massive advantage as they tend to leap early and hitch a lift on the attacker. The attacker is then routed to the ground. Fouls are rarely given for this