There have been a number of derisory comments on Wendies direct style of football.
It is just a style of football, Wimbledon (rip) used it to great effect and most teams when they need a goal In the final 10 minutes resort to the direct style. It isn't pretty and I don't like it but for a team of overgrown schoolboys it can be effective. We proved yesterday that our way is better, but we do use the direct style ourselves at times so don't criticise the Wendies for their lack of style as they know no better.
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We've seen plenty of teams this season chucking balls into the box against us and we've been very good at dealing with it and generally gone on to win the game.
Mixing things up is always going to come out on top in the long run.
Megsons's pre-match team talk yesterday must have been along the lines............
"Keeper, when in possesion, just lump it up to the front two"
"full backs, when in possesion, just lump it up to the front two"
"midfield, when in possesion, just lump it up to the front two"
"forwards, when in possesion, don't just lump it up to the front two, try backing into their defenders and hope the ball drops nicely for you to shoot, if it doesn't and they win possession, ALL whinge, and get our clueless crowd to cheer by winning corners and throw ins near their box"
"if they are in possesion, try to stop them, if the referee thinks that elbowing, shirt pulling and taking the man out after the ball has gone is against the rules, just whinge"
"now get out there and show them how MASSIVE we are.
What I saw yesterday from the first minute to the last was either weaver kicking up to the front 2 or weaver rolling out to the fullbacks who would lump it up to the front two.
Theirs times when we need to go direct and we can do it. There were times yesterday where we would curl one down the line behind their full backs and times yesterday when we played some top drawer footy on the deck. Down in the right hand corners in the 2nd half to be precise.
Wednesday don't have a plan b. All they can do is hoof hoof hoof and it must be awful to watch every week but is obviously effective against teams with weaker defences
At their home ground - Abbey Road? - they used to dump loads of sand into the corners of the pitch to slow the ball down and trap their opponents in their own penalty areas.
I had a mate who played for Charlton against the U's in the early 90's, he described it as being like no other game of football he had played in because of their heavily drilled long-ball tactics.
As for hoof ball, there's nothing wrong with it as part of mixing things up, when things aren't working out or as a particular tactic for a particular game/situation. We've certainly been doing far more of it since Yann joined us. However it isn't our default style and to just have that as your first style of football, especially for a big club like Wednesday is pathetic.
Apparently Wednesday have been playing more on the floor recently but you can tell by the players in their team and the way they immediately reverted to type in a big game, that their default setting is long ball.
They (and us if it was us) would argue anything within the rules is acceptable for success. I just say it's signs of a poor manager taking the easy option.