Carrick Dave wrote: ↑Sun May 26, 2024 11:29 pm
Part of our problem today was playing the ball to feet, instead of into space a player is running into. To receive the ball to feet you need to be facing the player passing to you, often back to goal in our case, and how do you then progress it quickly? A risky flick, otherwise you hold it up and generally pass it back where it came, or at best move it sideways.
Southampton passed the ball forward with purpose at every opportunity, finding players running into space - they were much more positive without risking being left open at the back.
Downes and Smallbone played the sort of probing layoffs that Kamara and Gruev largely did not, and Harwood-Bellis carried it out of defence to tie up our midfield whenever he felt like it. Just like in the last game of the season, in fact.
The risk-averse sideways passing did my head in today. Who dares wins?
Someone on Waccoe made a huge post about this out of frustration few weeks ago.
A really in depth post .
I've deleted it but talked with another member about it so will send my breakdown of his post
He said what he's noticed is our players seem to be coached to play a very basic safety first style.
But the part that bothers him most is the way we play passes and the way our players receive passes.
The way we do it makes it very difficult to ever play quickly which we don't do.
We haven't really got fast passing moves etc it's very slow.
So what he said is if you watch our players always pass to where the teammate is. Not what top teams do the ones who play the fastest attacking football.
Where the teammate will be next?
So basically it's a pass at a player who has to stand still receive the ball face on, then take a touch, then turn look forward and see where he can pass.
And he said if you watch they all do it, bar the odd exception every pass is gunned at a player.
It's very rare a player is given a pass infront of him to run onto.
It's the safest way to pass, but it's also the most slow and therefore very difficult to progress.
And he said the fact they all do it means it's deliberate and coached.
If 1 or 2 did it then it's possible just a player trait, but they all do it.