Rudders
Enjoining agressivity
Just watching this season has been so depressing. Since we were last in the Premier League the gulf in standard has become massive. Here I will attempt to explain 5 ways in which we have failed to keep up with modern football and hence cannot adapt to the step up:
1. - Pace, power, strength and athleticism. Most premier league teams are full of athletes, our midfield is stocked with 5 foot 5 inch midgets in Osborn; Hamer and MacAtee. We have the statuesque Fleck and Norwood and even Basham has had a go. Its laughable. Blades fans hope Arblaster will help. He wont, he is smaller and slighter than Osborn. We have a defence who can't win headers, lose physical battles and is outpaced by most premier forward lines. Only Osula, Souza, McBurnie and Brooks could compete in the physical stakes. Luton have gone big on this thanks to Jay's scouting, so it can be done cheaply, we have gone in the opposite direction and at greater cost which is bizarre and we should probably sack our scouting department for it.
2 - High pressing and winning the ball back high up the pitch. Most succesful prem teams do this very well. Man City and Liverpool especially. We don't do this and instead try and do a low block. Since N'diaye left we haven't done high pressing. MGW was also good at this. McAtee and Archer are decent at this but we need to improve a lot. Some managers it is their thing (Bielsa; Iraeola; guardiola; klopp etc)
3. - Press Resistant Defenders and Central Midfielders. Most of our defence cannot evade a high press and just hoof the ball or pass it back or lose it when under pressure. Norwood really struggles with the press. Berge was good at evading it but got sold. Souza is okay at it but is lax with his passing instead.
4. - Keepers being good with feet and passing. Almost all modern keepers in good teams can pass the ball well. Wes is the opposite, is awful and regularly costs us goals through howlers made with ball at feet.
5. Buying fouls and diving. The level of cheating in the premier league has stepped up a notch led by woeful world class cheats like Grealish; Madison and Harry Kane. Even poundland cheats like Pedro; Longstaff and Harry Wilson repeatedly con referees and get huge match altering decisions from it. Brighton, Bournemouth and Newcastle work extremely hard at diving, sourrounding the ref, tactical fouls, sharing bookings around and it is embeded within their teams and ethos. They must get an extra 10-15 points at least per season through it. Maybe we should start doing this?
Addressing some of these issues will take huge amounts of cash which the prince hasn't got. But some dont.
Wilder has improved the awful injury issue we had under Heckingbottom and also we pass the ball better and are a bit more composed. Until today he had binned off the awful back 5 tactical set up. So there has been some progress.
But I do worry that if we dont ever want to succeed in the premier we need a brand new approach with a manager that can see and address the above with the constraints that the club has.
1. - Pace, power, strength and athleticism. Most premier league teams are full of athletes, our midfield is stocked with 5 foot 5 inch midgets in Osborn; Hamer and MacAtee. We have the statuesque Fleck and Norwood and even Basham has had a go. Its laughable. Blades fans hope Arblaster will help. He wont, he is smaller and slighter than Osborn. We have a defence who can't win headers, lose physical battles and is outpaced by most premier forward lines. Only Osula, Souza, McBurnie and Brooks could compete in the physical stakes. Luton have gone big on this thanks to Jay's scouting, so it can be done cheaply, we have gone in the opposite direction and at greater cost which is bizarre and we should probably sack our scouting department for it.
2 - High pressing and winning the ball back high up the pitch. Most succesful prem teams do this very well. Man City and Liverpool especially. We don't do this and instead try and do a low block. Since N'diaye left we haven't done high pressing. MGW was also good at this. McAtee and Archer are decent at this but we need to improve a lot. Some managers it is their thing (Bielsa; Iraeola; guardiola; klopp etc)
3. - Press Resistant Defenders and Central Midfielders. Most of our defence cannot evade a high press and just hoof the ball or pass it back or lose it when under pressure. Norwood really struggles with the press. Berge was good at evading it but got sold. Souza is okay at it but is lax with his passing instead.
4. - Keepers being good with feet and passing. Almost all modern keepers in good teams can pass the ball well. Wes is the opposite, is awful and regularly costs us goals through howlers made with ball at feet.
5. Buying fouls and diving. The level of cheating in the premier league has stepped up a notch led by woeful world class cheats like Grealish; Madison and Harry Kane. Even poundland cheats like Pedro; Longstaff and Harry Wilson repeatedly con referees and get huge match altering decisions from it. Brighton, Bournemouth and Newcastle work extremely hard at diving, sourrounding the ref, tactical fouls, sharing bookings around and it is embeded within their teams and ethos. They must get an extra 10-15 points at least per season through it. Maybe we should start doing this?
Addressing some of these issues will take huge amounts of cash which the prince hasn't got. But some dont.
Wilder has improved the awful injury issue we had under Heckingbottom and also we pass the ball better and are a bit more composed. Until today he had binned off the awful back 5 tactical set up. So there has been some progress.
But I do worry that if we dont ever want to succeed in the premier we need a brand new approach with a manager that can see and address the above with the constraints that the club has.
