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League One and Time on the ball / Tempo

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Having been to the Brentford game last Saturday, one of the things that struck me was the amount of time that our lot had to pick out passes, it seemed to be very easy to keep possession until we hit their defensive line.  Holt in particular made a couple of very nice 50 yarders over to the wing, so that he could get into positions to attack the cross.  I''m wondering if the regular visitors to Carrow Road might be able to tell me, is this one of the reasons that we are winning so regularly at this level, that we are closing down the opposition, while our opposition don''t ?I''m also wondering where people think that our team might fit in the Championship, where play tends to be of a higher tempo.  Mid-table ?

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Haha I''ll give yer question a go Blah, but I''m sure somebody will give it better go than me, I haven''t seen many games this year.The tempo is definitely slower in league 1 than in the ccc. Probably for a few reasons, the obvious one of a lower level of talent (on average) and a lower level of fitness. I think we have won many of the games due to our significantly better fitness level, it does feel rather reminiscent of the Worthy days when we used to wear a team down and grab goals when we needed them. I think a particular reason many teams back off is because we have some pace up front (Martin, Hoolahan, even Holt is quite speedy for a big lad) and we have the players with the ability to pick out the pass. It''s rather a fitting question I feel considering that we played Walsall last night. The only team since Lambert has taken over to really make us struggle at home. They definitely push a high line and hassle teams into opting for the long ball, which is something we do to other teams. What probably (I didn''t go or listen last night) was the case yesterday was that we just kept running all game and it''s certainly clear the difference in the levels of fitness between the top group of teams and the rest.As to whether we can do it in the championship. Well I feel Forster is very good goalkeeper, the Doc and Drury have played at premiership level, and though they have aged, they don''t seem to worse for it. Upfront I feel Holt and Martin and Hoolahan are good enough to make the grade, all bar Holt have performed at that level capably. Holt might have to work on his speed and fitness but I feel he has the fundamental skill and strength set to play higher than he is right now. The midfield could be the problem. Smith is still young, but I''m unsure on the ability of the other midfielder at club (bar Hughes probably) to be able to squeeze another team out games.

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I was at the Walsall game and I did think that they chased every ball and marked very tightly. It was, by no means, a pushover at all. If it had stayed at 1-0 to them, I don''t think that we could have complained.

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from what ive seen from a personal playing level is the better the league the faster the tempo. All professional footballers are completly underated by the public people may say oh hes shit he plays league 2 and doesnt shine but trust me that player would piss all anyone who doesnt play everyday at a good level and look like pele. Its the pace of the premiership or higher division wich means that they cannot play well and cope against players from other leagues thus making them look shit. You get less time on the ball in higher divisions making all technichal skills a lot harder but mainly the thought process involved to perform the technichal skill that cuts the cream from the crop.

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Blah, on a serious note, I cannot offer current input to your point as I don''t attend the matches. However, if you''ll forgive this old codger a distant memory, when we were last in the third level we had played like a lot of other average/poor teams in that division for a number of seasons. Then, in 58/59 as the team began to have success under another Scot, Archie Macaulay, not only did we begin to play at a better tempo but it seemed like things had become much easier for us. I can see those players on that team in my head at this very moment. It was like everyone not only knew their job but they also had confidence that everyone else would do their job too. There was nothing outstanding about the full-backs, Bryan Thurlow and Ron Ashman, other than they were solid and could be relied upon. Of course, Barry Butler was solid as a rock at centre half but, again, the midfield players Roy McCrohan and Matt Crowe ( good penalty taker ) were not outstanding footballers, but they were competent at their job, McCrohan usually in a more enegetic manner and Crowe in a more skilful way. Regarding the inside forwards, Terry Alcock had a fair amount of skill, having come from Bolton, Jimmy Hill was wonderful to watch ( for the young fans he was the closest perhaps to Hoolihan today ). On the wings, Errol Crossan had pace and Bobby Brennan trickery. Terry Bly was there to put the goals in.

Now, I did not list the names just for the sake of another old time story but, just to reiterate, I can actually see the flow from these players even today. The improvement to the team at that time, in my opinion, was the growing belief and confidence of each individual in the rest of the team members. I believe that confidence gave them half a yard extra versus their opponents which began to yield the success. It looked like we were always going to do what we had to do because the players believed it, and you could see it game in game out. perhaps that''s a little of what is happening right now. 

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Yankee, I would forgive anyone memories of that time, as it would have been around then that my dad would have started going to games, a couple of his brothers played for the reserve team at that time, in fact one of them went on to play for England Under 18s, but sadly never got to the first team. I wish I could have been around to see these players for myself.  Without the enthusiasm these players instilled in my dad for the game, I would never have gone to subsequent games starting in 1980, as my dad wouldn''t have gone.  My dad and his brother England have sadly passed on now, but I hope to pass on the enthusiasm for the game that stemmed from my dad, and through me, to my son when he is old enough not to get bored over 90 minutes.Regarding tempo, I do wander if the squad we have now would be closed down too easily in the league above.  Russell, Doherty, Drury, and to an extent Martin have been able to cut it at championship level, Lappin struggled last time but that may have been down to the manager.  Hopefully most of the rest of the squad can remain competitive, but it''s arguably inevitable with a change of division status that improved models might be brought in to the squad in several positions if we promote.  Bristol Citys'' promotion winning squad managed to get close to the play-off places in their first season in the championship however, I''d like to think that we could emulate that.

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Excellent post Fellas, thanks.[quote]The midfield could be the problem. Smith is still young, but I''m unsure

on the ability of the other midfielder at club (bar Hughes probably) to

be able to squeeze another team out games.[/quote]I''d agree here.  Russell breaks play up very well in this league, and was involved with Stoke when they were a top 8 side, but does he have the distribution for the top end of the championship ?  But look at Dickson Etuhu while he was here - last time I checked he was holding down a first team place in the Premiership, Fulham I think ?  Is Russell in Etuhus'' ball-park ?Hughes is a tough call, he hasn''t had that much match time I suppose.  Lappin and Hoolihan are quite small, although if they are wingers this shouldn''t neccesarily work against them.With all this said, I come back to Yankees'' team confidence.  A team that is well organised, motivated, fit and confident can punch well above their weight when all cogs in the machine work.  I look forward to seeing what they can do in the Championship - if that''s not getting too far ahead of ourselves...

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Blah, in my opinion you have answered your own question a bit when you mention how it was easy ''until we got to the defence.'' Neil Adams mentions it quite regularly and it can be seen at games that teams are often willing to let us have alot of the ball further back, and sitting off making it difficult to break down. In my opinion this is a bit silly as the man you need to close down in our team is not really Wes but Rusty. Everything goes through him so close him down and the supply line to folks like Wes, Martin and Holt is cut off, forcing them to drop a bit deeper to get the ball. I think a few teams see Wes, who is undoubtedly the most creative player in the team, and think ''close him down we can shut them out'' when in my opinion they need to shut down the supply line to him.

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[quote] In my opinion this is a bit silly as the man you need to close down in our team is not really Wes but Rusty.[/quote]Good answer !  Lets'' hope league 1 scouts don''t read this board [:)]

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