Jump to content
Sign in to follow this  
Splendid Rush

Hoof!

Recommended Posts

The reason that we cannot play Huckerby upfront with McKenzie is that we rely too much on the direct ball into the last third.

When you look at other teams, they can play perfectly well with 2 flair players up front (look at Real, Arsenal, even Owen and Rooney for England). You don''t tend to see good passing, flowing teams needing a big man up front.

Maybe the way to look at it is not to question whether Sven or Roberts should play with Huckerby, but how we can adjust our game to accommodate our 2 in-form strikers.

Don''t get me wrong, Worthy''s system is obviously doing something right, hence our league position, but it has been frustrating in the last few games seeing posession given away so easily with a hoof up to Svensson who misses the ball completely or immediately loses it. It was plain to see against Palace that despite the neccessity to keep the ball on the deck, due to the windy conditions, we struggled, and constantly felt the need to whack the ball to Svensson, watching it fly into touch, or straight to a Palace defender.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Well said - a man after my own heart.

There is a place for the long ball in the game - Manure & the gooners use it very effectively - Manure less so since Becks has left. However what these teams are doing that we arent is mixing our approach up - the can play the long ball but they keep the opposition guessing by also having the ability to pass the ball through midfield, or pass to the feet of the striker rather than lofted passes 7 feet from the ground. Add players who will run with the ball at defenders and it becomes a nightmare to play against because as a defender you have to be aware of all options rather than simply marking space on your right because you know 9 time out of 10 norwich are going to launch the long ball there.

If we can get back to basics and learn to pass to our strikers as well as use the McHoof when needed then Hux will get more space as defenders wont know what is coming next. and we will win games. Any two of our three strikers (Hux with either Leon or Sven) will shine IF our midfield learn to pass again. Hopefully the signing of Cooper will help. As I have repeatedly said Leon and Hux will scare most Premier defences if we can get our passing to feet or chest rather than hoofing.

OTBC



Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites


After watching recent matches from the quiet new stand i want to make a point! Despite Huckerby being the difference between going up and stayin in this league i do think that since he has been here permanently our style of football has changed for the worse. Before Hucks our football was attractive and we were winning well.

Now as your title suggests we HOOF it constantly bypassing the midfield which is why Mulryne aint been performing, when he came on vs the gills he changed the game! I am starting to worry that we are over relying on DH and becoming a bit one dimensional!

OTBC

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
It''s the ''Where''s Iwan?'' factor - bang it up, he knocks it down, Hucks runs on to it. It''s worked against some clubs but is too easy an option for us. We must start interplaying between midfield and attack again. Francis on his day is an excellent attacking midfielder, and Mcveigh has had nothing to do since we forgot how to get him into the game. We play best when Hucks runs all over the place and Mcveigh/Brennan and Francis back up the attack. We should start letting Svensson pass the ball (that''s what he''s good at) and getting on the end of crosses. Too many panic balls are coming out of defence, and not having anyone reliable on right midfield is a worry.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
The comments on this post has been spot on. Although I don''t want to criticise too much given the pleasure City have given me this season, I was amazed at the stupidity of the team on Saturday. How difficult was it to realise that in those conditions the ball would have to be played on the deck? Even after 50 minutes of hoofing the ball up field to no avail and into touch, City didn''t respond.

End the panic balls and let''s start playing again.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Absolutley. Problem against Bradford wasn''t that Hucks and Leon weren''t playing well together but that we insteaded on playing high balls down the middle time and time again, throughout the match. I think they would terrify any defence in Div 1 (except of course our friends at Ipsh*t who as we know from Fabian and Mr Royle are pure quality). I think they would do the business providing the est of the team were patient and played the ball around a bit to feet like we know they can.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
I would like to know whether the players are being told to hoof it up front by the coaching staff. There have been times recently when Fleming and McKay have had time in defence to play the ball out, but they are always looking to hoof it to the runner up front. I am convinced that the players are told exactly how they are to play leaving no option for individual flair.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

i have to agree with most of what has been said here, especially zipper, couldn''t put it better myself. What on earth do they work at in training? Passing, i wonder?

The hoofing stuff has to stop, it just loses possession and gives us no variety, as has also been said. If the team really can''t pass the ball effectively then i suggest they spend more time on practising it. We hear worthy constantly going on about the passing game, so when are we going to revert to it nige?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
Sign in to follow this  

×
×
  • Create New...