Gary Speed: Style and Formation

[SteelCity Blade]

As a new member to the forum and with everything going on at the moment, I thought I would stick my neck out and start a new thread (be gentle with the virgin) . To avoid being repetitive in regard to other Gary Speed related threads, I thought it may give fellow Blades good food for thought to have a look at how Gary might set the team out in his vision.

Having read posts on this forum before I had noticed that although opinion on Kevin Blackwell was mixed, there was a strong core of criticism in regard to his style of football. Admittedly I would have to agree that the football on display had become ugly and unimaginative some time ago and was leaving many supporters feeling numb. One would hope that Gary can change the approach and get us playing a brand of football which resembles how he himself once played the game.

The most interesting thing about this appointment for me is trying to figure out what his selection policy might be and which type of player he is likely to opt for. Clearly it is difficult to tell at this stage and he doesn’t have the biggest squad at his disposal but he does have a core of good players that will allow him to change the playing style. Will he play Monty or will he opt for the more cultured Ertl in the middle of the park? Will he play Jamie Ward out wide or will he use him as a striker to give us more pace up top? Will he persist with an out of sorts Stephen Quinn? Or will he give youth its chance?....all really interesting questions.

At a guess, I think we are likely to see a change of shape, change of selection and change of approach. It will be interesting also to see if Speedo opts for the 4-4-2 of his Newcastle and Everton days....or the 4-5-1 of his Bolton days (that formation doesn’t seem to work for us to be fair).

Rather than discuss whether Gary Speed will be a good manager or not (that’s getting hammered in other threads) I thought it would be good to get people’s views on how they think he will set the team out. Do you see anyone getting moved on? Or will he have to stick until January?

Interesting times :thumbup:

UTB

 

[TonyAgana]

Good post, SCB. I did start to wonder if people were getting their hopes up regarding how Speed will change the playing style - I do look at his spell with Bolton and think isn't that the type of football we've been playing for the last 18 months? I would hope he'll try his best to inject some culture into our play but I'm not sure he has the squad at the moment. I think we need to consider patience first and look forward to January.

 

[Jim Chimmerney]

Re the personnel, I suppose it depends on the conspiracy theories and how much Speedo was involved in the recruitment. His hands are tied pretty much but there's probably 8 or 9 players he's quite happy with in the starting XI with everyone fit.

I agree that there's often too much talked about systems and style but for me, what he needs to do first and foremost is get them playing together as a team with a smile on their faces, everything that was missing on Saturday. Time will tell but there's enough people praising his coaching abilities in the last couple of days to believe that he's got a chance. Just to see a 4 or 5 pass move with a shot at the end would be a start !

 

[Worksop II]

All I want to see to start with, is them competing, front to back, no rolling over, ala Hartlepool and Peterboro`

 

[SteelCity Blade]

All I want to see to start with, is them competing, front to back, no rolling over, ala Hartlepool and Peterboro`

I agree with that but ive always felt that they did compete. The trouble was that our style of play never allowed us to build any sustained pressure in games like that and you know what happens if you dont keep the ball....the pressure will start coming back the other way and you get hemmed in yourself. I agree with you and Jim though, its important to get the basics right first.

 

[beechblade]

Re the personnel, I suppose it depends on the conspiracy theories and how much Speedo was involved in the recruitment. His hands are tied pretty much but there's probably 8 or 9 players he's quite happy with in the starting XI with everyone fit.

I agree that there's often too much talked about systems and style but for me, what he needs to do first and foremost is get them playing together as a team with a smile on their faces, everything that was missing on Saturday. Time will tell but there's enough people praising his coaching abilities in the last couple of days to believe that he's got a chance. Just to see a 4 or 5 pass move with a shot at the end would be a start !

Getting back to the basics and enjoying the football they playing is a massive key to developing confidence in the styles you can play, the basics of movement and the ability to find space has been lacking for the most part of what we have seen. How many times do we see it when there is a throwing, the team go look for a position and almost stay rooted to the spot, offering little to the taker of the trowing? The basics of passing can't really work without the team moving and finding space, its not all about pace as some suggest (though that helps) its the ability to use the pitch and find space that will help us get out of the longball tactic. Its a basic of the game that we really need to have a good look of course this isnt the only area but it will improve our short ball game massively.

 

[Jim Chimmerney]

I agree with that but ive always felt that they did compete. The trouble was that our style of play never allowed us to build any sustained pressure in games like that and you know what happens if you dont keep the ball....the pressure will start coming back the other way and you get hemmed in yourself. I agree with you and Jim though, its important to get the basics right first.

I remember in days of old, you always knew at home that we'd pummel the opposition for the 1st ten minutes, it wasn't always successful but that's been lacking for many years. Maybe it's a sign of the times and teams generally are much more cautious these days but we need to get back to teams worrying about us, particularly at home.

 

[LardSardine]

I remember in days of old, you always knew at home that we'd pummel the opposition for the 1st ten minutes, it wasn't always successful but that's been lacking for many years. Maybe it's a sign of the times and teams generally are much more cautious these days but we need to get back to teams worrying about us, particularly at home.

I remember those days and its true that they've not been around for a long time. How many early goals have we scored in the last few seasons? Also if we needed to get something out of the game you would expect them to go for it in the last 10 minutes, that seems to have died away too.

 

[SBSP]

get back to teams worrying about us, particularly at home.

This is one thing that has disappointed me for long time now, we always seem to set up to stop them playing and just hope we don't lose.
As with most people I would just be happy if, particulary at home, we just tried to keep the ball and play a passing attacking game.
I know we haven't got superstar midfielders to produce magic every week but we should be able to at least hold he ball and keep some pressure on them.

 

[ghandi]

The first sign I'll look for in a change of approach is the first kick off we execute. Hopefully it won't be pass 1 yard to the first person and then boot it out towards the wing with the usual result of a throw-in to the opposition.

 

[Sensiblade]

The first sign I'll look for in a change of approach is the first kick off we execute. Hopefully it won't be pass 1 yard to the first person and then boot it out towards the wing with the usual result of a throw-in to the opposition.

I always thought the Pass it back to the keeper and let him kick it worked slightly (only slightly) better

 

[Railway Blade]

Tough one this , will his influences come from the sports science, statistics and percentage football he saw under big Sam and to some respects us, or the more flowing football of some of his earlier managers ?

If I had to guess it will probably be a bit of both. I cant imagine we are going to go straight to 20 and 30 passes and keeping possession, but he might at least try and get us to start playing some football in the right areas.

The press conference will hopefully give us an inkling of his general philosophy.

 

[raul]

The first sign I'll look for in a change of approach is the first kick off we execute. Hopefully it won't be pass 1 yard to the first person and then boot it out towards the wing with the usual result of a throw-in to the opposition.

First step would be to let Squinny take them - at least has some track record other than blasting it stright into the wall a la Wardy and £3m.

 

[Jim Chimmerney]

First step would be to let Squinny take them - at least has some track record other than blasting it stright into the wall a la Wardy and £3m.

Must admit, I've never seen a wall in front of a kick off

 

[2ndtenorblade]

Did they not change the kick off rule a few years back? In that you can have a shot on goal direct from the ko., never seen it tried though, could catch a keeper napping.

 

[bricktop]

2658348 points

 

[Pinchy]

First step would be to let Squinny take them - at least has some track record other than blasting it stright into the wall a la Wardy and £3m.

First step is to ensure Elpiton is not on the pitch but in Graves Park with The Maestro. I well remember the hapless twosome passing the ball straight to the opposition within two seconds of kicking off. I can't remember the opposition but we were 'attacking' the Kop.

 

[raul]

Must admit, I've never seen a wall in front of a kick off

That's right Fleety - pick on the bloke that can't read...

 

[munksyb]

I want Speedo to tell his players not to worry what your opponents will do,
go out there & make them worry about what we do.

And to some extent , I want a Kevin Keegan attitude, go out & score goals , lets have a 5 -4 or a 7-1 , forget the cautious , while ever we aren't losing we may just snatch it,

go out with the aim of scoring 5 goals or more, and let our defence keep it as tight as they can

 

[Jim Chimmerney]

One of the more accurate articles written this week;

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2010/aug/17/sheffield-united-gary-speed?

 

[Grecian2000]

Indeed.

Hope Lou didn't see this:

"Speed, then, has to do something not seen at Bramall Lane since the mid-1990s, when Howard Kendall's arrival heralded an immediate and, crucially, successful change of approach."

There'll be a "bollocks to that" letter in the post if he did.

 

[Micalijo]

Indeed.

Hope Lou didn't see this:

"Speed, then, has to do something not seen at Bramall Lane since the mid-1990s, when Howard Kendall's arrival heralded an immediate and, crucially, successful change of approach."

There'll be a "bollocks to that" letter in the post if he did.

Sorry Grecian but I thought we established together with Lou that under Kendall the style didn't change immediately, only the general approach?

 

[Ollessendro]

I want Speedo to tell his players not to worry what your opponents will do,
go out there & make them worry about what we do.

And to some extent , I want a Kevin Keegan attitude, go out & score goals , lets have a 5 -4 or a 7-1 , forget the cautious , while ever we aren't losing we may just snatch it,

go out with the aim of scoring 5 goals or more, and let our defence keep it as tight as they can

This is key for me and also where Blackwell fell down. I expect United to go out and try to win every single game. This comes first for me. Warnock had a lot of success (promotion season) when he changed his style to not worry about other teams. We went out and attacked teams and panned a lot of them. Ironically this is what tripped NW up as he reverted to 4-5-1 away from home and respecting too much/worrying about opposition. I think it is vital that Speed`s team goes out and does everything to win the game. They attack and play to their strengths (not worrying about the opposition). I`ll give him a break and am less worried about football if he addresses this first.

Saying that it is not unreasonable to expect Speed to change our style dramatically and I hope he does. Kendall did it, so why can`t Speed? We`ve got a decent bunch of players, so getting it on the deck and playing is not an unreasonable suggestion. The defence is a bit weak and squad small, but we`ve got guys who can play so let`s hope Speed changes it.

I personally am willing to give him time if he shows positivity and some signs of addressing the 2 above issues.

 

[Rudders]

This is key for me and also where Blackwell fell down. I expect United to go out and try to win every single game. This comes first for me.

You're dead right about that. If we are not trying to win then why bother. We might as well pack in as a club. One thing I enjoyed with Bassett and Warnock was the spirit and 'having a go'. Quite often we would 'take' unbelievable scalps of 'big' clubs in their own backyard. There isn't a finer feeling than that in my eyes, particularly after you get written off..

Anyway, I also think that our current crop of players are better equipped for passing football being smaller and nimbler than many other sides.

On Saturday it was quite soul destroying to see Blackwells 4-5-1 set up (at home) and then watching Simmo blast it down the centre of the field time and time again just for 'One Size' to head it back into midfield, as Ched/Cressy stood no chance.

In the 2nd half, with 4-4-2 and when Simmo looked to throw it to the full backs we actually created more.

From small acorns and all that....

 

[shorehamview]

The approach should be this one - it doesn't matter if we are playing Real Madrid or Doncaster Papergirls, we should go out to try and score more goals than them. I'd rather watch us lose 5 -3 and have a good go at it than scrape a turgid 1 - 0 or even worse, play for the draw. The excitement and entertainment is what has been missing for quite a while. I hope Gary Speed can bring it back, otherwise if the style and the entertainment stay the same we have sacked a manager for no reason.