Firstly let me say that I had a thoroughly good day on Sat, but as usual the match spoiled it...........Well the result anyway as I didn't actually think we played all that badly. Beaten by a fluke cross (yes Weaver should have claimed it) and a very good volley, but as Pards said we did boss the game for large portions.
Well that's all well and good, but if we're not getting anything like a quality ball into the front players then we're not going to put the oppo under sustained portions of pressure with balls being crossed in and shots raining in then its no good having the ball but doing f**k all with it.
When was the last time we did this? When we had a spell of 15mins + of pressure and we all knew it was just a matter of time until we scored. When you could say to yourself that you knew a goal was coming?
Now I understand that Reid going has put a dent in our creativity and ability to play killer balls, but if we're playing 442 (rather than 451 which better suited his game) then its all down to the wingers to supply quality balls for the attacking players to get on to.
On Saturday you had Thomas, who was typically all tricks and step overs and little or no end product, constantly being shown inside (and taking it) and then putting in balls that didn't beat the 1st man. Ambrose will naturally cut inside cos he doesn't have the pace to beat people, and again this just slows up delivery.
What happened to proper wingers, such as Robinson, who got to the byline and crossed? This makes it difficult to a retreating defence to deal with the ball as they are running onto it and therefore having to clear in the opposite direction to the way they're travelling, rather than our wingers cutting back allowing the defenders to catch up, form a line and stand their ground, meaning the momentum is now the defenders to dictate rather than an on-running attacker?
I think that Thomas and especially Ambrose can be very effective at this level, but not together if they both insist on cutting inside and looping in a hopeful ball into static attackers or playing a square ball to say Holland or ZZ, who again face the problem of a defence that its no longer on the back foot.
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LOL! That was just all part of the service mate........
That or the fact he's bigger than you ;-)
Why oh why they can't get to the byline and deliver a ball back is the big question, these kind of balls (if they beat the first man) would be bread and butter to the likes of Iwelumo, Lita and Gray. Beats delivering cross field balls into the keepers hands.
It wasn't rocket science, explained my Dad. By taking the ball to the line and pulling it back across the face of goal,it made it easy for our forwards to attack the cross on the run, often without breaking stride, FACING THE GOAL.
Defenders, of course, are also running facing towards their own goal, often inducing panic and own goals if they got to the cross first. But very difficult to defend.
IF Thomas played on the right and got to the byeline AND put in the cross ........
Exactly!! Cut out the step overs (it loses us momentum) and whip the ball in
i think this art of the game is slowly disappearing mainly due to the fact that players like beckham (david bentley to a lesser extent) can whip a cross in from deeper with such good effect, that players with lesser ability are getting lazy and trying to do the same thing, when realistically they shouldn't be crossing from that deep IMO
Exactly, Oooaaah.
Although the early deep cross can be effective if you've got an alert striker who's one step ahead of his marker and also hugely effective in the air under aggressive challenge from usually more than one defender.
It's a tall order (pun intended .....?) for the striker to effectively accomplish, especially if it's the main 'creative' tactic of his team. Remember, normally not only would he be outnumbered by defenders, but it's easier for those defenders who would be facing the on-coming high ball.
Big Chris Iwellooomo is about 6 foot 14 inches tall, but even he rarely stands a chance against 2 or 3 defenders reading, jumping and already facing towards the ball.
But for a winger to get to the byeline and pull the ball back to Big Chris already charging TOWARDS the opponents goal,
should be a chance on a plate. And so difficult to defend.
I knew you were old, Oggy, but confirming it???
As you guessed by my reference to Sir Stanley Matthews, I was actually coaching Stan way back in 1927 and taught him everything he knew .......
In 1938, it was me that tipped off Sir Jimmy Seed to try and buy him for Charlton.
The 1953 FA Cup 'Matthews Final' ?
Pah! It should have been the 'Oggy Final' - credit where it's due, surely ....... ;o)
It also meant that most clubs in this division still think of us as a Premier club - and
treat every game against us as a Cup Final.
No wonder our bunch of big time Charlies are often out-fought ............
Crosses from deep should come from full backs. What is the point of using a bag of tricks to shunt the ball back inside? I know we keep possession but it defeats the object of having a player like Thomas who I would say is nothing other than a wide player (not a dig at his weight).