ucandomagic
Well-Known Member
When we started our run teams treated us normally and our high pressing and level of ability were enough for us to go unbeaten for 15. But from the middle to the end of the run teams progressively realised that they wouldn’t beat us like that and became increasingly defensive. We all know that defending is easier than attacking and breaking down 2 lines of 4 is very difficult at any level. There are 3 ways to beat it – go round it, go over it or go through it.
Going over it or going round it requires real pace – which we haven’t got, and going through it requires a higher level of ability than you will ever normally find in League 1 – and which we are seeing that we lack. So you have to have pace to beat it – and there we stutter. Going over and exploiting pace in the middle requires a clinical striker with pace – very unlikely to get one in League 1. So that leaves pace out wide to go round it. Again, getting genuine pace with an ability to put in perfect crosses to head is probably beyond League 1, but getting real pace with a simple instruction to get round the back and hammer it across the 6 yard line is possible. This achieves 2 things – with strikers instructed to anticipate and make near and far post runs it creates chances and goals. But crucially, seeing that this is happening stretches the opposition and creates more space in the centre and increases your ability to play through the middle as well.
Freeman with an instruction to stay wider and Coutts and Fleck with instruction to get it to him early can just about do this. Neither of our left-side options looks capable of this. So for me, getting real pace in both wing backs and keeping them wide is fundamental to the way that we are trying to play. In American football if you want to play the passing game you have to keep the opposition honest by showing that you can run the ball. For us it is exactly the same – to be able to play through teams we have to show that we can and will go round them. There has to be a Plan B and the resources in place to play it.
Onwards and Upwards and We Will Do Magic Again
UTB
Going over it or going round it requires real pace – which we haven’t got, and going through it requires a higher level of ability than you will ever normally find in League 1 – and which we are seeing that we lack. So you have to have pace to beat it – and there we stutter. Going over and exploiting pace in the middle requires a clinical striker with pace – very unlikely to get one in League 1. So that leaves pace out wide to go round it. Again, getting genuine pace with an ability to put in perfect crosses to head is probably beyond League 1, but getting real pace with a simple instruction to get round the back and hammer it across the 6 yard line is possible. This achieves 2 things – with strikers instructed to anticipate and make near and far post runs it creates chances and goals. But crucially, seeing that this is happening stretches the opposition and creates more space in the centre and increases your ability to play through the middle as well.
Freeman with an instruction to stay wider and Coutts and Fleck with instruction to get it to him early can just about do this. Neither of our left-side options looks capable of this. So for me, getting real pace in both wing backs and keeping them wide is fundamental to the way that we are trying to play. In American football if you want to play the passing game you have to keep the opposition honest by showing that you can run the ball. For us it is exactly the same – to be able to play through teams we have to show that we can and will go round them. There has to be a Plan B and the resources in place to play it.
Onwards and Upwards and We Will Do Magic Again
UTB
