A Different Style

[canarychris 0]

It appears from the transfer activity and speculation that we may be seeing a different style of football at FCR in the coming months.

We have for a long time been a team renowned for passing the ball on the deck, building from the back and controlling the game by controlling the ball. One of the best exponents of this has been Saf who drops deep to collect the ball from the back four before starting attacks with his range of short and long passing. If as seems likely we lose the player who acts as a playmaker then who will fuilfill this role. Brellier looks an excellent signing signing but has said himself that he likes to win the ball and pass it short to a colleague, this needs therefore to be someone with a range of passing who can unlock a defense. As much as i am an Etuhu fan, he is not this type of player.

It would therefore appear that we will look to get the ball forward quicker and try and press the game higher up the pitch therefore utilising the strength and power in our midfield and playing to the strengths of JC as he plays of a target man.

I may have competely misread the signals coming from FCR but this is certainly my interpretation of it, and i''m not sure if i am in favour of it or not. I guess as long as it doesn''t turn into just playing hoofball and it does bring results then we will all be happy, won''t we? Discuss..... 

[First Jedi 0]

[quote user="canarychris"]We have for a long time been a team renowned for passing the ball on the deck[/quote]

FOR NO BLOODY GOOD REASON!

Considering we''ve been playing long balls over the top for a least the last 2 seasons - watching our defense play more passes than our midfield, our reputation is utterly false. At the moment we are playing long balls to no effect. I don''t care if we play long balls, direct passing or slow build up passing as long as we start doing whatever it is we do, well.

[Hardhouse44 261]

I hope not. Our best player is still Huckerby. As soon as we start the hoofball crap you take him out of the game completely. The hoofball style of football that some clubs play very effectively also requires good powerhouse midfielders to get on the end of targetman knock downs and we ain''t got a single one of them at the club. "Barbara" Dickson Etuhu wont run box to box for you all match powering in on the end of them that’s for sure.

[Master J-Do Pur 0]

It''s difficult to know exactly how we are going to play. Hopefully we will play a wing style more, which was the way we played in the ninties with fox. Have the centre strong so it gives the wingers more opportunity to attack. I believe we can play good football with Brellier in the side (Arsenal seemed to play alright football with Silva and Viera in the middle) but i do hope we don''t go towards the hoofball nature of the past couple of years

[The Walking Man 13]

[quote user="ob1"]

[quote user="canarychris"]We have for a long time been a team renowned for passing the ball on the deck[/quote]

FOR NO BLOODY GOOD REASON!

Considering we''ve been playing long balls over the top for a least the last 2 seasons - watching our defense play more passes than our midfield, our reputation is utterly false. At the moment we are playing long balls to no effect. I don''t care if we play long balls, direct passing or slow build up passing as long as we start doing whatever it is we do, well.

[/quote]

 

And get the right results. Frankly Passing the ball across your back four isn''t gonna score you many goals

[First Jedi 0]

[quote user="give it a rest"][quote user="ob1"]

[quote user="canarychris"]We have for a long time been a team renowned for passing the ball on the deck[/quote]

FOR NO BLOODY GOOD REASON!

Considering we''ve been playing long balls over the top for a least the last 2 seasons - watching our defense play more passes than our midfield, our reputation is utterly false. At the moment we are playing long balls to no effect. I don''t care if we play long balls, direct passing or slow build up passing as long as we start doing whatever it is we do, well.

[/quote]

 

And get the right results. Frankly Passing the ball across your back four isn''t gonna score you many goals

[/quote]

Well, quite. The whole point of football is "to score more goals than the other team". Doing anything "well" involves scoring more goals than the other team! Otherwise... you ain''t doing diddly squat "well"!

[Le Juge 0]

The season we won the league, we had Gary Holt, a strong, three lunged runner who ran the attackers of the oposition into dead ends and covered for Huckerby and Damien Francis a box to box, big strong, athletic player. Neither of them were particularly good passers (and I am being very kind to holt by calling him a ''not particularly good passer'') Ok so we had Mulryne who could pass (like a crab) but he was more of a bit part player, a luxury we didn''t really have to afford (Fotheringham anyone?)

For the past however many years we may have the reputation of a passing team in the same way that Jordan has the reputation for being good looking. We may have been in the past but we certainly aren''t anymore.

[canarychris 0]

So the general view seems to be that as long as we win it doesn''t matter how we play? I have to disagree, i want to see us with players who CAN pass a football weather it be short or long, do know the meaning of pass and move, can unlock a defence with a precise pass or by beating a player and most of all can find a way of scoring a goal WITHOUT a certain Darren Huckerby being involved (he won''t be here forever).

We can and we have over the past 2 years played some excellent football at times, but to often things breakdown in the last third when it comes to actually creating something. The 6 signings we have made (all of whom i am happy with) don''t even start to tackle this problem. I want to see us playing high tempo passing football WITH an end product, i do not pay £420 per year to watch hoofball even if it does guarantee a win, i would rather see us play ''the right way'', the myth of last 2 years should become the reality - NCFC should play passing football!!!!

[Salopian 1]

We shall have in Brown and Strihavka two tall players, and with three or four wingers at least, I expect us to score more headed goals. In fact in the videos we saw of David S a lot of his goals were scored with his head, some of them reminiscent of Ashton.Of course the tall players are there to knock down high balls for Jamie and Hux, but they needn''t be from hoofballs from defence, they can be from crosses from the wing. We can still attack along the ground, both Brown and David have good control and reasonable pace, and Brellier has shown that he can run at defences and then slide the ball through for others.Even if Fozzy does not prove to be as good as PG thinks he will become, I dont''t think it is possible to say that we shall be any less of a passing side than we were, and Ernie was not a great passer - in fact he was not a passer at all.I hope that we shall play more as a team, with passes made accurately to players who have run into space and who can control the ball instantly. If so, your fears will prove groundless.

[canarychris 0]

I certainly hope you are right Salopian, but i have my doubts and fear we may be overly reliant in the last third on Mr Huckerby which in turn will make us to predictable

[UEA Canary 0]

i cudnt care less how we play nxt season as long as we win. if that means sitting thru 90 mins of tedious long ball football every week then i wont mind if we win. and if we play attractive football at a quick tempo and keep losing and drawing then i wont be impressed. footballs all about results and thats all i reli care about at the end of the day.

[Carlos Valderrama 0]

I think the football will be attractive.  I think we will play a fast, direct, physical attacking game making the best use of width.  Lots of counter attacks, lots of held up long balls and lots of wing play.  I also think the boys will be a lot more aggressive and physical next season.  Pretty passing football isn''t really that effective unless you have the exceptional quality to pull it off, ala Arsenal.

[albyella 0]

I think PG is gradually building a team which can build from the back - Brellier is known to be an intelligent player who has vision. With Hucks and Croft wide, they can take on defences or pull them out of position, leaving a target man (Dave the Striker) to feed JC. There''s nothing wrong with "Hoofball" if it is used occasionally to advantage, and I think we have the makings of a team who would be able to go forward playing attractive football, or "Hoof" - whichever suits at the time....

[Syteanric 1]

[quote user="give it a rest"][quote user="ob1"]

[quote user="canarychris"]We have for a long time been a team renowned for passing the ball on the deck[/quote]

FOR NO BLOODY GOOD REASON!

Considering we''ve been playing long balls over the top for a least the last 2 seasons - watching our defense play more passes than our midfield, our reputation is utterly false. At the moment we are playing long balls to no effect. I don''t care if we play long balls, direct passing or slow build up passing as long as we start doing whatever it is we do, well.

[/quote]

 

And get the right results. Frankly Passing the ball across your back four isn''t gonna score you many goals

[/quote]

Argentina vs Serbia at the world cup anyone?? how many passes was it?

 

jas :)

[Graham Humphrey 13]

[quote user="jas the barclay king"]Argentina vs Serbia at the world cup anyone?? how many passes was it?[/quote]

Indeed but they didn''t pass the ball along the back four with no purpose.

[Indy_Bones 441]

[quote user="Graham Humphrey"]Indeed but they didn''t pass the ball along the back four with no purpose.[/quote]The whole purpose of playing the ball along the back four is to keep possession and get the opposition to shift around more to cover this.Arsenal play like this, as do Barcelona, and I hardly think either of them can be classed as ''lacking purpose''.Simple rule, if the opposition don''t have the ball, it''s virtually impossible for them to win, so at worst by keeping possession you nearly guarantee a draw, but by also maintaining the possession, you also control the attacking flow.I''d love to see us playing like Arsenal, and despite having nowhere near the individual quality that they do, I do feel that we have the players able to play in this manner. Let''s face it, you don''t see Senderos playing inch perfect through balls so Shackells and Doherty''s distribution shouldn''t be as much of an issue. Both Drury and particularly Otsemobor will play as attacking full backs just like Eboue and Clichy. Brellier or Etuhu could play the Gilberto role, and Fozzy, Chadwick or even Croft can play the creative role that Fabregas does. Hucks/Lappin on the left, Croft/Chadwick on the right and a whole host of attacking options gives us everything we need, with the added benefit that because we have players who can actually head a ball in the area (unlike Henry), we have a greater range of attacking options, with crosses and corners being good chances.Don''t get me wrong, I''m not saying we''ll ever be as good as Arsenal, or that our players directly compare to their quality, however their style of play could really suit our current squad, and being fair, if we tried it, it could hardly be worse than how we''ve played in recent seasons.

[Tetteys Jig 830]

[quote user="canarychris"]I certainly hope you are right Salopian, but i have my doubts and fear we may be overly reliant in the last third on Mr Huckerby which in turn will make us to predictable[/quote]

I still think the real reason for our promotion was the fact that hucks was new for us, and proved too unpredictable for the opposition time and time again, it was clear they had sussed our tactics with him when we were back down again, although despite this, he continues to do well there nevertheless, hope brellier can dictate play and strihavka can adapt quickly tho.

[chicken 0]

No but the Italians did and they won the world cup!

[Saint Canary 0]

Firstly, let’s stop kidding ourselves that we are East Anglia’s answer to Brazil.  The type of football we are “renowned” for has not been seen over a prolonged period of time at Carrow Road for nearly a decade now, lets at least be honest about it.  So I doubt we will see a move “away” from passing football because I haven’t really seen any.  Long balls to Ashton, long balls to Earnie, have we all forgotten?

It appears to me that Grant is building a squad which is capable or playing both passing, attacking football as well as a defensive, direct style of play.  Most successful teams have the ability to play more than one style and change it when needed.  The potential strike partnerships are quite interesting and there seems to be a diversity there that will allow Grant to change things round during games as well there being competition for places.