Is this the style of play we want to see?

[Pinchy]

'playing the right way' - if used in a serious debate about football styles, it's a careless and simplistic expression used by fools or people who think they are speaking to fools.

There are, then, a great many foolish players and managers in professional football. The expression is used there all the time. The truth may be uncomfortable for you, but it remains the truth.

 

[Bergen Blade]

There are, then, a great many foolish players and managers in professional football. The expression is used there all the time. The truth may be uncomfortable for you, but it remains the truth.

I know they use it all the time. I reckon most of the time they think their audience are fools.

We should look to Germany for inspiration, not England's world cup teams, nothing uncomfortable about it, you fool.

 

[Pinchy]

I know they use it all the time. I reckon most of the time they think their audience are fools.

We should look to Germany for inspiration, not England's world cup teams, nothing uncomfortable about it, you fool.

I don't look to England at all. I never even watch them.

As for being a fool, well I've been going to Jurassic Lane for 50 years so I suppose you've got me there!

 

[blade too long]

win ugly , win horrible , win hideously , prefer all of those to losing tip tappingly

 

[GRUMPY BLADE]

There are, then, a great many foolish players and managers in professional football. The expression is used there all the time. The truth may be uncomfortable for you, but it remains the truth.

And we keep employing them

 

[blade too long]

is it me, I enjoyed having big lumps up front , Whitehirst Windass , Henderson they did this thing , whats it called again oh aye scoring goals

 

[oldblade]

It's clearly not working at the moment. It may be that DW will pay for that with his job. Any manager can only withstand a run of bad results for a limited time. I happen to think he can turn it round. He has recruited some very good players though a couple have yet to show us the form that made them favourites at previous clubs. The major deficiency, and he must rectify it quickly, lies in the 'lone striker' dilemma. Unless we can get support, in numbers, both from central and wide areas to said striker then we will simply not score enough goals. One remedy would be to play two strikers. There is ample scope to play proper football within a 4-4-2 line up. But the strikers have to be good enough - ours are not. It would have been very different had we managed (and we did try) to bring in Wilson and Clarke from Coventry.

I can understand (though not agree with) people giving up on DW. That's a far cry, though, from advocating a return to the dark ages of anti-football. Not only is it aesthetically repugnant but, much more importantly, it doesn't work any more. If it did, everyone would do it.

Can you please define what you mean by the dark ages and anti-football, because it seems to me that the dark age for our club was 2nd May 1981, and that is where we are returning.

You might not like hoof (whatever that is), but you sure as hell love losing.

 

[Darren]

Serious question. If "hoof" doesn't work and we played "hoof" under NW and KB can someone please explain to me how, under their regimes, we were more or less always around at least the play off places in the 2nd tier, whereas under the non-hoof regimes of Speed, Wilson and Weir we have never done better than being 2nd tier strugglers.

 

[Darren]

Another thing I don't get. The argument that we need to change the "culture" so that we can play "proper football" in the PL. The problem with this argument is (a) we now about as likely to get to the PL in the foreseeable future as I am to vote Tory in the next election and (b) why can't we play one way in the 3rd division and a different way in the unlikely event that we get to the PL. After all, does anyone think the current lot of players would get within a million miles of a PL team? We will have different players if we ever get there and can play a different style to suit those players.

 

[alcoblade]

Another thing I don't get. The argument that we need to change the "culture" so that we can play "proper football" in the PL. The problem with this argument is (a) we now about as likely to get to the PL in the foreseeable future as I am to vote Tory in the next election and (b) why can't we play one way in the 3rd division and a different way in the unlikely event that we get to the PL. After all, does anyone think the current lot of players would get within a million miles of a PL team? We will have different players if we ever get there and can play a different style to suit those players.

It's not rocket science, is it?

UTB

 

[GRUMPY BLADE]

Gerrard's cross field pass to Sturrage leading to the Suarez goal would be classed as hoof by some on here


God help us

Get it in the box and cause chaos

 

[oldblade]

Then Hoof is the obvious solution. No thought required; no ability either. Perfect. I can't imagine why successful clubs would do it any other way, can you? Passing? Not in S2 you don't. We love to watch those aimless punts into the box. The great thing is: so do opposing defences, so everyone's happy, aren't we?............,,..aren't we?

If what we're currently experiencing is thought and ability, God help us.

Also, it would be nice if once in a while we'd actually put the ball in the box. If that happened on a regular basis we might actually get that spherical thing over the line between those two posts beneath the bar attached to them. Then we might stand a chance of doing something quite remarkable - winning a game.

 

[Toronto Blade]

Why is it that the board will replace a losing manager with one that will hoof.Is Weir the only manager that plays passing football .
From the position of a club sitting rock bottom of League One ,any manager that can get the club out of this disgraceful position should be welcomed not matter what his style.

 

[alcoblade]

Why is it that the board will replace a losing manager with one that will hoof.Is Weir the only manager that plays passing football .
From the position of a club sitting rock bottom of League One ,any manager that can get the club out of this disgraceful position should be welcomed not matter what his style.

I haven't seen a hoofball team this season, if I recall correctly. Just generally a bit less tippy tappy than us. They're ALL better than us.

UTB

 

[vorpal blade]

Sorry its lazy of me, but I didn't particularly want to be made more depressed than I already am by reading right through the 5 preceding pages.

and Sorry, but I haven't been to many matches this season. I thought I had only attended the Notts. County match and had to be reminded by a friend that I had actually watched the Colchester game too, such was the impression the encounter left on my capacious memory.

So, I have heard it mentioned (if not in this thread) that we are dropping off in the second half, that we may not be fit enough. If we want to imitate Barcelona's style of play and in itself that is laudable after all, over the last 5 years they have been the world's best team; the players must be fitter than they need to be to play 'ordinary' football.

Barcelona players wear the opposition out. They seem to be frequently held by their opponents until about halfway through the second half when the pace of their passing play knackers the opposition and they concede goals as much through tiredness and the clumsiness that creates as anything else.

I cannot remember how many seconds the Barça players have before they are meant to win the ball back but it all suggests that they have to be fitter than the opposition. It would seem we are not.

No surprise really because, apart from the youngest players, to have ended up in the third division bespeaks a lack of application in a player. They won't be 'self-starters' but they CAN, MUST and WILL learn the level of commitment needed to play fast, possession football with its concomitant perpetual motion. It shan't happen all of a sudden.

Oddly one of Barcelona's problems always seemed to be lack of a 'plan-B' if they were losing late on in a match, isn't this a criticism of Weir? So imbued with tippy-tappy are Iniesta, Xavi, Messi et al that the idea of slinging a hopeful cross over in the 93minute doesn't occur to them. I always thought they needed a Drogba to lead the line when the chips were down. This highlights another problem we have, the aforementioned 'Catalans' have been playing together since school haven't they? Our lot probably still forget each others' names but they will eventually start to understand each other, question is, when will that happen? and will it happen in time to save our season?

So if we need a Plan-B, why don't we just go and buy Didier Drogba?*

*Mind you even he had a crap first season at Chelsea.