Jump to content
Sign in to follow this  

Recommended Posts

Watching the analysis of Liverpool vs Arsenal, the difference between the effectiveness of playing a high tempo pressing game, and backing off allowing the opposition time and space was stark. In the Man City game at the Etihad, we backed off the entire game and allowed world class players the time and space to draw and execute their plans against us. Today, we did the opposite. We got in their faces and didnt let them play (like we did away to Stoke), and look at the difference. We always look so much better when we press instead of backing off with fear in our eyes. I so hope we stick to doing what we did today instead of what we did at the Etihad and at Whitehart Lane. Well done the team and well done Chris Hughton. Keep it up and dont p*ss it all down the toilet

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
We didn''t actually press that much this game, certainally not to the extent you''re suggesting. As Hughton mentioned the most important aspect to this game was our defensive shape, our compactness without the ball, rather than any agressive pressing:
"We knew we had to work on the defensive shape and that is what we worked on most of the week"
The defensive shape today was indeed excellent and was key to earning the point. The players were constantly checking their spaces and their positions in relation to each other and adjusting themselves accordingly. Any pressing that took place in this system tended to involve pressing when the ball was in your zone, and even then we only pressed very aggressively when the ball was deep in our half. 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
The reality is it was the complete opposite to the OP. We didn''t press high, we did allow them space but we kept a disciplined, compact formation that came into effect in the final third.

Man City had plenty of the ball (68%) but created very little as we were very effective in the final third. Time and time again the crowd were shouting for the team to ''get out'' once we cleared the ball, or for Hooper/pilks/Redmond to chase a hopeless ball in the hope of a mistake and against a lesser team yes we will need to do that but I was impressed with the discipline we showed in keeping our shape - everyone knew their job and executed in perfectly.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Discipline is exactly right. Any of Tettey, Johnson or Fer could have taken the MOTM plaudits today, but for me, Tettey bossed in there, he''s been a huge miss.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
ditto for Pilkington .... having pace now on both wings allowed us to switch to counter attack very effectively ...

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
We were fantastic yesterday,the only thing letting us down is the decision making in the final 3rd which has been our problem all season.So many times players who should be passing shoot when others are in acres of space,and often crosses come in either ahead or behind inrushing forwards,unless we sort this issue out we will continue to fire blanks .

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
We didnt press them high up the pitch in the way we did against stoke, or the way Liverpool did against arsenal. But we didnt spend the whole game running towards our own goal and afraid to put in a challenge in case we got exposed. Players were also not afraid to leave their positions. The defensive shape was good, but not restrictive. We seem obsessed with defensive shape in every game, to the point it becomes restrictive and detrimental, and players seem to be worrying too much about their positioning than challenging for the ball. I thought a big difference today was that the players were fighting for every ball. Something we''ve not seen for a fair while. But I agree, we didnt press high up the pitch like we did against stoke. But we also didnt sit back and allow man city to do whatever they wanted with the ball like we did in the away game

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
I didn''t think we pressed that hard, we did sit back a bit and let them have the ball, one of the key differences yesterday was the continuity between mid field and defence. There was not the space that there has been just in front of the back four which so many teams exploit. The three in CM did a great job and Tetty deserves great praise for the way he has slotted back in. I think he is able read a game defensively really well.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Hughton''s tactics are set up for playing Man City every week. He prefers 5 across midfield, with 2 very defensive minded midfielders. Hughton''s tactics plus the effort and commitment of the players (no doubt with a point to prove after the previous humiliation) lead to a good result yesterday, and a bonus point!!

The acid test will be if we can take this small bit of momentum and carry it into the next games? Games where a more balanced approach between defensive and offensive play is required, games where we would require more than 30-35% of the ball, games where we will not be so pleased with a goalless outcome.

That''s all for the coming weeks, a good effort and a good result yesterday, so well done to all players & management :-)

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...