Time for change in the way we play?

[ATFC Seagull]

Generally the current crop of players from last season are not good enough to play the way we played last season against the much better players in the Championship. I recall Gus saying in the summer he wanted to give the players who got us promoted the chance to prove themselves at this level. With some exceptions (Noone, Dunk, Greer and Bridcutt) they haven't and need to go in January or at the end of the season.

See, I respect that point of view, but in my view we're not actually TRYING to play that way, and when we have, it's looked quite good.

 

[ees complicated no?]

You love the game we play of passing around the defence with the opposition attack waiting to pick us off and the opposition defence having a breather?

Yes, no one in the league plays the passing game like us!

No thats not what I think, It's what other people on here think and say, when people like myself moan.

 

[mune ni kamome]

When we went two down against Leeds I didn't feel down because we had goals in us everywhere. Now just 12 weeks later when we go one down it's game over, at least that's how it feels. How can it change so dramatically?

 

[huge]

We just aren't doing it well.

Playing out the back is great but I haven't seen a quick recycled ball from keeper making a save back out to a Brighton player since Harper left. By the time Casper Ankergren has decided to make his pass the opposition have regained their shape and are ready to start pressing.

The defenders seem intent on putting C. A. under pressure too by passing back to him too often. He clearly isn't the most comfortable with the ball at his feet he should be the last option. Adam El-Abd was guilty of this a couple of times today and Greer. Perhaps they have more faith in him than I do but it's upsetting to watch

I can't remember the last time I saw a game with a pass to the wings where the winger is running onto a ball going forward. It seems the square direct to the feet pass is all we see, giving so much time for the defense. Noon and Kaz can get past most players from a standing start but we'd all like to see them running on to a ball at pace. We're missing a trick here I think.
I suspect we are missing Elliot Bennet .There's a massive hole in the middle of the park. We are missing that play maker with a bit of vision. Diagonal balls, long shots, picking out CMS.

Procession, passing football also needs us to defend smarter. We just don't press in the same way the teams that break us down do. The teams that do it well track back and then go hunting in packs. 1-2-3 players relentless pressure until they cough up the ball. I'm not saying we could ever be Barcelona good but we seem to roll over fairly easily. We've conceded 3 goals in games way too often.

I think we have some cracking individuals though, and we are playing attractive football at times. I think we have to keep playing the way we are but doing it better. Start working as a team better. We'll be OK. I have faith.

Maybe Gus is looking to get the basics working first. We are in the championship because of him. Maybe he's got the best out of the players he has and this is going to be a struggle. Eees complicated!

 

[bn1&bn3 Albion]

Had our strikers actually took their chances we could have scored 3 or 4 goals and no one would be complaining about our play style..

 

[huge]

Had our strikers actually took their chances we could have scored 3 or 4 goals and no one would be complaining about our play style..

True. Also we had two development squad members with us today, that says a lot. Small squads allways suffer during the season with injury and suspension.

 

[e77]

The problem at the moment is not the style of play as such but more we are making silly mistakes that tend to get you punished at Championship level.

 

[trueblue]

The way we play is not working at this level with the players we have got.

Teams know how we play and just shut us down all the time or make us play the ball between our defence & Goalkeeper which dont get us nowhere.

Its easy to say.... but I love the way we play or no one else in the league plays the passing the game like us, but at the end of the day its not getting us the results & I'm getting stressed out just seeing Dunk, Greer and Casper passing the ball most of the game everygame.

If it means seeing us got more shots on target and getting more goals, Id much rather see us play normal football like everyone else not just 1 a game like atm!!!

Please, go ahead & give me abuse now

If you're suggesting we lump it long, waste of time. We haven't got an effective target man so what's the point?

 

[ees complicated no?]

If you're suggesting we lump it long, waste of time. We haven't got an effective target man so what's the point?

I just think we should mix it up more often & challenge the other team more instead of letting them run with the ball from there half all the way down to our box without 1 tackle, which then results in them taking a shot & going in most of the time due to Casper not diving in time or at all. I dont see why we do the same thing for 90 mins passing it back & forth with the goalkeepers and defenders which end up in disaster or just being lumped down the wing, we shouldnt be scared of playing it down the centre & passing more foward & less backwards, or go down the wings with the fullbacks over lapping the wingers which they dont do that often atm, we also need to hold the ball up make them chase it in the centre of the field (which I know where we need to buy a player for), but we just need to do anything to make us less predictable.

 

[trueblue]

I just think we should mix it up more often & challenge the other team more instead of letting them run with the ball from there half all the way down to our box without 1 tackle, which then results in them taking a shot & going in most of the time due to Casper not diving in time or at all. I dont see why we do the same thing for 90 mins passing it back & forth with the goalkeepers and defenders which end up in disaster or just being lumped down the wing, we shouldnt be scared of playing it down the centre & passing more foward & less backwards, or go down the wings with the fullbacks over lapping the wingers which they dont do that often atm, we also need to hold the ball up make them chase it in the centre of the field (which I know where we need to buy a player for), but we just need to do anything to make us less predictable.

I'm sure we'd like to do a lot of those things but wanting to and having the players to do it are very different things. I reckon everyone should stop panicking, give the team time to bed in and Gus another couple of summers to improve the squad. If we're struggling in our 3rd season in the Championship you would wonder whether a change of tack's required - until then perspective and patience may be required!

 

[British Bulldog]

I'm not convinced it's a change of style we need it's a change of personel that can play the style thats more important, The big difference between this season and last is that last season we had the players who could do it but unfortunately we lost some key players over the summer who have yet to be replaced. A lot of fans seem to forget that we lost a very successful front line of Bennett, Murray and Wood who if still together would've done well in this division imo, If you look at the players Gus has signed to try and replace them ( CMS, Buckley, Hoskins, Vicente, Lua Lua ) It's only CMS who has been fit enough to play constantly so it's left us weaker up front than we were last season. Another player we really miss from last season who has'nt been replaced and barely gets a mention is Kishishev, Not allways a regular starter but there were a number of games where we were under the cosh and hanging onto a slender lead where he would come on and use his experience to shut the opposition out and help us get the 3 points. Unfortunately we have also got a few players who are proving not to be good enough for this division as well so if you add it all up given the circumstances I dont think we're doing quite so bad as a lot of our fans think we are looking at the players Gus has had available to him.
Just my take on it.

 

[sir albion]

We spend roughly 90% of our time in our own half doing what?every team we play knows this and they know we are not much of a threat,its very frustrating to watch aswell.

I thought the swift passing game also mean't attacking,well we hardly see any of that.Time gus had a plan b and c as we will get knowhere like this.

 

[BUTTERBALL]

As before, i really think (and Burnley proved it) we need to mix it up a bit dependent on what is happening in the game at any particular time or circumstance. We cannot play tippy tappy football 100% of the time if it is getting us nowhere.

 

[Vegas Seagull]

Gus saying he doesn't like 3-3s, 4-3s etc sounds worse & worse with every defeat to zero. We can't defend & win so we may as well use our best talent from the start & ATTACK

 

[SICKASAGULL]

Our present position in the table is about what i had expected however the games are low on entertainment, our opponents are allowed plenty of possession whilst our possession often is limited to our defense.
We possess an international striker who works his socks off but receives few balls that he could score from, the manager must put this right and also improve our disciplinary record.

 

[Silent Bob]

When we went two down against Leeds I didn't feel down because we had goals in us everywhere. Now just 12 weeks later when we go one down it's game over, at least that's how it feels. How can it change so dramatically?

I've thought the same thing, and come up with a few possible reasons.

Firstly momentum, confidence, belief, whatever you want to call it. I know confidence can be a bit of a cliche catch all excuse for any failing, but in this case I think it's true, early in the season we were playing with the style and swager of last season, we thought we could beat anyone. Fans, and I think players. We've lost that now obviously. The turning point you'd have to say looks like it was the Palace game, that knocked the wind out of everyone's sails. You could also say teams have 'worked us out' or at least know what they're going to be dealing with when they play us, which maybe wasn't the case early in the season.

The other thing is our squad being worn down by injuries. Players like Dicker, Calderon, Painter have been criticised by some and no doubt they're not as dominant now as last season, but they're all relatively inexperienced at this level, and we are arguably a worse team and definitely a worse squad without them. Also the game you mention Leeds, we started with Barnes and CMS up front and Noone and LuaLua playing on the wings, at half time we brought on Vicente and we also had Hoskins on the bench.
Compare that to recent games and we haven't started with so many attacking players and therefore not had so many options for changing it if we've had to. Partly injuries and partly tactical I suppose.

I think at full strength and at the top of our game we're a very good team in this league, but all these things have contributed to our decline since the early part of the season.

I'm not convinced it's a change of style we need it's a change of personel that can play the style thats more important, The big difference between this season and last is that last season we had the players who could do it but unfortunately we lost some key players over the summer who have yet to be replaced. A lot of fans seem to forget that we lost a very successful front line of Bennett, Murray and Wood who if still together would've done well in this division imo, If you look at the players Gus has signed to try and replace them ( CMS, Buckley, Hoskins, Vicente, Lua Lua ) It's only CMS who has been fit enough to play constantly so it's left us weaker up front than we were last season. Another player we really miss from last season who has'nt been replaced and barely gets a mention is Kishishev, Not allways a regular starter but there were a number of games where we were under the cosh and hanging onto a slender lead where he would come on and use his experience to shut the opposition out and help us get the 3 points. Unfortunately we have also got a few players who are proving not to be good enough for this division as well so if you add it all up given the circumstances I dont think we're doing quite so bad as a lot of our fans think we are looking at the players Gus has had available to him.
Just my take on it.

A very good take on it imo.
As you say there was a bigger change to the team than maybe some people appreciate in the summer, we've not signed like for like replacements either and that hasn't helped, because we have to change our pattern of play for a striker like CMS as opposed to Murray (I'm not going to join in with some people starting to get on CMS back, he shouldn't have missed the chances he has in the last few games but when a striker is going a few games without a sniff of a chance I think that's damaging for him), and Bennett, well the players that could fill his boots are Vicente or Harley.

Kishishev is a good call, one I've thought about too. I always felt we should keep him on in some capacity, and at the moment there's a good chance he'd be starting games.

 

[mune ni kamome]

As I remember last year Gus said other teams may keep us at bay for a while but our possesion game would tire the opposition so much that the chances would come in the end.

 

[Mutts Nuts]

You can play whatever style you want, if you have a midfield made up from Navarro, Sparrow, and Harley, you will not beat ANYONE in this league. That's the problem, so many injuries and suspensions mean we have to play players who aren't good enough.

pretty much agree with this

 

[Perkino]

No, Barcelona seem to win games by passing the ball and shattering the opposition.