Playing the gus way

[pauli cee]

I agree. Movement in midfield is an essential component of possession football. Familiarity of players makes it work (plus the skill too). It is no surprise that Swansea, Newcastle, Spurs and City have all played with a core of midfield players this season and look very comfortable in the middle. Playing fast pass and move style waiting for an opportunity to break. Great to see.

this, it has been the movement, (lack of), of the attacking players that has been the downfall of the style of football we want to play, but when it happens, (buckley, sparrow of late, jfc vs stains), this seems to be when it all comes together.
hopefully we are turning the corner, and finding the style/system that will work...

 

[Mellotron]

Just because people want the ball to be passed quicker does not mean they are advocating a game of hoofball. The complaints tend to relate to the stodgy nature of some of the team's passing, which leads to potential openings not being exploited and the opposition being given time to regain their shape. Arguably, if we were able to pass the ball around accurately with more zip, we will get less hoof ball, not more, due to less panicky pass backs for Brezovan to punt forward.

Understood, but those people are effectively just asking for us to have better players. Not that simple really is it?

 

[Spiros]

I thought Saturday was a bit of a throwback to how we beat a lot of teams last season. First half we concentrated on possession and made them chase us around - their players worked hard to try and close us down. Towards the end of the first half and into the second we created much more and had more space because they were tired out from chasing the ball all the time.

 

[aolstudios]

I thought Saturday was a bit of a throwback to how we beat a lot of teams last season. First half we concentrated on possession and made them chase us around - their players worked hard to try and close us down. Towards the end of the first half and into the second we created much more and had more space because they were tired out from chasing the ball all the time.

yep. Beginning of this season too. Think it's just confidence returning

 

[Moshe Gariani]

I go to The Amex to have a fun afternoon with family/friends and to hopefully enjoy an entertaining game of football.

Gus's way (i.e using the players we currently have in a style that allows us to dominate possession) can be extremely frustrating to sit and watch.

As a mature bloke, who is not completely obsessed by the result, I would prefer us to play a more exciting brand of football, win some and lose some, than watch us eke out results due to a solid performance and the occasional flash of inspiration.

I personally keep these thoughts to myself during the game but I am not at all surprised that some people don't. Calde's wonder-strike came just in time to save the first-half from being completely turgid against a team who were not very good and against whom we could have been much more positive in our play with relative impunity.

 

[Wozza]

I think the rumblings were based on the fact that Bristol seemed there for the taking and on one or two occasions we gave up the chance to break by just passing it around among ourselves

Exactly this. It's a little odd seeing a midfielder pass back to defence when were are THREE Albion players on the edge of the box. Happened a few times.

Still, in Gus we trust and all that.

 

[Moshe Gariani]

WHAT!? We were playing great football. If people are moaning because of that they simply don't like football! The passing before Calderon's goal was great.

The passing sequence immediately before Calde's goal was good to watch in that it went on for so long and eventually made it forward... the net result was the opportunity for our fullback to take a potshot attempt on goal as we hadn't managed one in the previous 15 minutes...

The football before the goal was definitely not "great" unless you are using some esoteric technical criteria with which I am unfamiliar. A large and bouyant Amex crowd had been rendered almost mute by the preceding action.

I don't want to get into a position where I am the one doing the slagging off. My simple point of view is that the exaggerated possession football which is our "identity" is often not very exciting to watch.

All very disloyal and blasphemous I know but an honestly held opinion with some basis in fact.

 

[sir albion]

You can't compare our football to swansea,we play much much slower and create very few chances,we really need to speed things up a tab as the opponents have all the players behind the ball by the time we hit the half way line.Any club can pass around the back time and time again,once we get moving faster it will be much better.

 

[Husty]

What and then the defender heads it away as he is much taller!? Yeah, great football that, we will be top of the league in no time

Christ on a bike there are some utter mongs on this forum arnt there.

 

[goldstone]

The passing sequence immediately before Calde's goal was good to watch in that it went on for so long and eventually made it forward... the net result was the opportunity for our fullback to take a potshot attempt on goal as we hadn't managed one in the previous 15 minutes...

The football before the goal was definitely not "great" unless you are using some esoteric technical criteria with which I am unfamiliar. A large and bouyant Amex crowd had been rendered almost mute by the preceding action.

I don't want to get into a position where I am the one doing the slagging off. My simple point of view is that the exaggerated possession football which is our "identity" is often not very exciting to watch.

All very disloyal and blasphemous I know but an honestly held opinion with some basis in fact.

Agree with most of that.

No problem with passing back to Brez, but ideally not from the half-way line, and definitely less than we are seeing now.

There was an occasion late in the 1st half on Sat (which I commented on earlier) when the ball was passed back to Brez from a free-kick just inside our half. He then kicked it long upfield to the head of a BC player. My point is that there surely were better options available that involved forward progress.

 

[CHAPPERS]

Some of the passing at times is not ahead of the player for them to run onto but directly to where they are at the time, that is when I get a tad riled. It slows the attack down, but I don't suppose that's a bad thing when we play one up to.

 

[Scoffers]

excellent point, matched with us having no players with the vision or ability to make a defence splitting pass (bring back Danny Wilson?) .

The timing of Calderon's goal justified our style of play, however we played the same style against West Ham (a better team that City) and got nowhere.

This is exactly the point. The passing game works well against certain sides, and less well against others. At times it has seen us create lots of chances, on other occasions we've hardly had a shot on goal. Punting the ball upfront gives you the possibility to create something out of nothing, but also is the fastest way to give the ball away, so both passing and punting have their risks and benefits. To me it's about balance and not being too predictable!

 

[JCL666]

I guess it depends if you appreciate tactical elements as well as free flowing passing. For example, West Ham at the Amex were bloody boring but tactically superb.

I love the style of football encouraged by Gus. Yes it can be frustrating when players don't "see" the defence splitting through ball or miss the great run of another player, but I'm not surprised sometimes if they don't take a risk, considering the amount of ill informed, shitty criticism they have to endure from morons who appear to spend their Saturdays paying to moan/shout abuse EVEN WHEN WE ARE WINNING.


It looks to me like things are getting better because of confidence, which manifests itself in things like a willingness to have a crack from outside the box (see Caldes goal and also Sparrows effort against Bristol City).

just my 0.02$

 

[marshy68]

Expect Dunk got a severe tongue lashing for his hoof from the free kick which Hoskins flicked on for Buckleys goal.
Nothing wrong with getting the ball forward quick when players are free. That is the only time I heard criticism yesterday.... when players made runs but were ignored. It is easy to see all this from the WSU though.

this

 

[leigull]

Some of the passing at times is not ahead of the player for them to run onto but directly to where they are at the time, that is when I get a tad riled. It slows the attack down, but I don't suppose that's a bad thing when we play one up to.

Only a couple of our players have the ability to play passes accurately enough for team mates to run onto - Bridcutt, Vicente and Harley are probably the best at it

 

[Husty]

Only a couple of our players have the ability to play passes accurately enough for team mates to run onto - Bridcutt, Vicente and Harley are probably the best at it

Dicker is being missed too.

 

[Bexhillian]

I think there is a bit of a misconception that we play free flowing attacking football, I actually think we play a very defensive style based primarily on not conceding. Hence I think most of our wins will be by a single goal, this isn't a complaint as I think it sets us apart from other teams & makes us very difficult to play against!

 

[Husty]

I think there is a bit of a misconception that we play free flowing attacking football, I actually think we play a very defensive style based primarily on not conceding. Hence I think most of our wins will be by a single goal, this isn't a complaint as I think it sets us apart from other teams & makes us very difficult to play against!

But then you only have to look at the number of teams that have smashed 3 past us this season to realise that it doesn't work particularly well.

 

[Gary Gurr]

Isn't the clue in the name of the game. It's not called hoofball or airball. I enjoy the slick passing game and have been impressed with how the team plays at time, however, I do agree also with one of the earlier comments which seemed to suggest we could play with a little more urgency when we get near the opposition goal, after all you can't win if you don't score more goals than the opposition.

 

[Husty]

slick passing game