Keeper HOOFING it

[Icy Gull]

If I were you I would lower your expectations for Kuszczak then. His distribution is not his greatest asset...

Gus or someone at the club worked wonders with Brez who improved quite a bit through the season from the heart in the mouth early days of him passing the ball around at the back, so I don't expect him to be awful. As long as shot stopping is his best asset, I'd rather that than Ankergren's excellent distribution and dreadful punching. We are not gonna get a goalkeeper who is brilliant at everything.


I AM expecting great things of Kuz though

 

[Aadam]

Gus or someone at the club worked wonders with Brez who improved quite a bit through the season from the heart in the mouth early days of him passing the ball around at the back, so I don't expect him to be awful. As long as shot stopping is his best asset, I'd rather that than Ankergren's excellent distribution and dreadful punching. We are not gonna get a goalkeeper who is brilliant at everything.


I AM expecting great things of Kuz though

He is a fantastic shot stopper, there's no denying that.

 

[RowleyBirkinQ.C(deceased)]

How many others were watching England last night and imploring Joe Hart to gently stroke the ball out to Ashley Cole, or Glen Johnson, who were often stood in acres of space while Joe was hoofing it down field.

The ball would invariably be won by the Italian defenders and another attack would build against us.

Thank you Gus, I honestly sit there and watch football very differently for the education you have provided us. Possession is a wonderful thing, and as we've shown, defenders can do it, because actually they are regularly in ACRES of space, and as soon as a midfielder comes to close them down, then that should be leaving space for a pass to Bridcutt, or Sparrow. If Brighton can do it, it seems strange to watch such highly paid STARS unable to do it, or perhaps not even thinking of trying it.

Said pretty much the same things to my father-in-law last night. Ashley cole with all the time in the world, and it gets launched right to the feet of Pirlo. We had so little of the ball anyway, why not keep it in defence, and slow the play a little. MINDLESS

 

[HenryC]

Question: Would Albion have beaten England last night?

 

[JCL666]

England's most succesful passing combination last night was Joe Hart - to Andy Carroll which was completed 18 times.

Italy's best passer was Pirlo:

England's was Cole:

Great stats!! I have just downloaded that app.

 

[We're the Stripes]

Great stats!! I have just downloaded that app.

Wish they'd hurry up and make it compatible with Android. Just my sort of thing.

 

[Commander]

Question: Would Albion have beaten England last night?

Answer: No, we'd have lost 4 or 5 nil. Did you not see what Carrol did to El-Abd a few months ago?

 

[Gritt23]

If I were you I would lower your expectations for Kuszczak then. His distribution is not his greatest asset...

To be fair, if it was his GREATEST asset, he wouldn't be a goalkeeper.

 

[Bold Seagull]

England's was Cole:

I've got this app, Cole's pass completion rate has been constantly below 80%, and he rarely makes over 40 passes. Compare that to the Italy full back, or any of the other top teams and they're making 80 odd passes, 75 of which are completed. Lahm made 76 against Greece, only gave the ball away in their half, only 1 pass went more than 25 yards...

 

[Landgull]

The problem is with the FA coaching and is nothing new. This was never more evident in the 50's when Hungary gave us drubbing at Wembley.There was an outcry then and promisses of reform from hoof to passing style but it never happened. Gus stated just 14yrs to make a Barca style team from scratch.I think that is about right taking a 7yr old thro' to 21 should be capable. Will the FA give it go? I wont hold my breath.

 

[Aadam]

To be fair, if it was his GREATEST asset, he wouldn't be a goalkeeper.

Ha! Good point. But still, since a lot of play is built up from the back, and for a team that plays a lot of passing, possession football, it's a little important.

 

[Working class pride]

Some journos tweeted the stats. Joe Hart completed more passes than any other england player (45). The most frequent and/or successful passing partnership for England was Joe Hart to Andy Carroll.

This says all you need to know about the state that English coaches have left English football in. Keeper to the big lad up front had the most "passes" in our England side. Yet still there are a minority of Brighton fans screaming for "a big lad up front" for "another option" despite Poyet destroying the division below and finishing above his budget last season with passing football. You can lead some people to water but you cant make them drink I suppose.

 

[JCL666]

This says all you need to know about the state that English coaches have left English football in. Keeper to the big lad up front had the most "passes" in our England side. Yet still there are a minority of Brighton fans screaming for "a big lad up front" for "another option" despite Poyet destroying the division below and finishing above his budget last season with passing football. You can lead some people to water but you cant make them drink I suppose.

Roy Hodgson keeps going on about stats not being important. I think he's wrong.

 

[portslade seagull]

How many others were watching England last night and imploring Joe Hart to gently stroke the ball out to Ashley Cole, or Glen Johnson, who were often stood in acres of space while Joe was hoofing it down field.

The ball would invariably be won by the Italian defenders and another attack would build against us.

Thank you Gus, I honestly sit there and watch football very differently for the education you have provided us. Possession is a wonderful thing, and as we've shown, defenders can do it, because actually they are regularly in ACRES of space, and as soon as a midfielder comes to close them down, then that should be leaving space for a pass to Bridcutt, or Sparrow. If Brighton can do it, it seems strange to watch such highly paid STARS unable to do it, or perhaps not even thinking of trying it.

I agree... the England team are light yrs behind the top European teams and will be for yrs to come i'm afraid because there is no incentive to bring on young English talent

 

[Gilliver's Travels]

Glad you started this thread, Gritt23! It takes something to reduce me to shouting at footballers on the telly, so well done Joe Hart.

As you say, Albion fans have become so accustomed to hoofball-free football that seeing any team – let alone England – do this recalls the days when footballers all had centre partings and soggy brown boots.

That modern players can receive £300,000 a week for doing this is an absolute obscenity.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

It always strikes me as odd that defenders spend an age keeping possession,then pass to the keeper who lumps it up the field.The player with the ball in the movement initially could probably do the same thing from further upfield.98 passes in possession ,then BANG,up the field to the other side.

So,yes,thank heavens for our manager who has tried to cut this out (and to several other managers who share his views)

You don't remember the final season at Withdean then when the eternal triangle of Angergren - Elphick - ElAbd did exactly that. And the half-bright celebrated it as some kind of glorious passing game? And if you dared suggest otherwise then you obviously didnt 'understand football'.

 

[peterward]

How many others were watching England last night and imploring Joe Hart to gently stroke the ball out to Ashley Cole, or Glen Johnson, who were often stood in acres of space while Joe was hoofing it down field.

The ball would invariably be won by the Italian defenders and another attack would build against us.

Thank you Gus, I honestly sit there and watch football very differently for the education you have provided us. Possession is a wonderful thing, and as we've shown, defenders can do it, because actually they are regularly in ACRES of space, and as soon as a midfielder comes to close them down, then that should be leaving space for a pass to Bridcutt, or Sparrow. If Brighton can do it, it seems strange to watch such highly paid STARS unable to do it, or perhaps not even thinking of trying it.

on the 5 live debate this evening it said the England player with the most kicks/passes on the evening was Joe Hart and his most passed to player was Andy Carroll........ tells its own story

 

[perseus]

Question: Would Albion have beaten England last night?

It would have been like playing against West Ham.

 

[Mendoza]

Brighton could only play how we play because we had loads of training sessions over months and months.

Hodgson has been in the job a matter of 7 weeks including a major tournament. Training sessions have been limited, with lots of his first choice players not available.

Gus didnt turn things around over night, like it seems England fans are expecting Roy to do. Infact Gus' record in his first few games wasn't that great. He said himself that it took until Plymouth away for the players to buy into his philosophy. That was some 40 games into his reign and how many training sessions? Roy had ages to do it with Fulham, so in the words of Gary Barlow, have a little patience

 

[Acker79]

Brighton could only play how we play because we had loads of training sessions over months and months.

Hodgson has been in the job a matter of 7 weeks including a major tournament. Training sessions have been limited, with lots of his first choice players not available.

Gus didnt turn things around over night, like it seems England fans are expecting Roy to do. Infact Gus' record in his first few games wasn't that great. He said himself that it took until Plymouth away for the players to buy into his philosophy. That was some 40 games into his reign and how many training sessions? Roy had ages to do it with Fulham, so in the words of Gary Barlow, have a little patience

I don't think it's england fans wanting the passing style. I think large portions of them prefer the more industrial English style. I think it's brighton, arsenal, swansea fans on the whole, with sprinklings from each club wanting the more advanced, spanish/german/etc passing style.

I also think the excuse of not enough time to train them isn't going to go away. National coaches don't have that time that club coaches have. Roy had from the end of the season, he had the full pre-tournament time to dill the players in the passing style we want. That's all he ever would have had. With friendlies and qualifiers so few and far between, players will come to england for a couple of training sessions, a match, then it's back to club level, back to doing exactly what they do with their clubs, forgetting everything they did with england, then it's starting again when they go back for the next international a couple of months later. The most prolonged time an England manager will have with his squad is from the end of the season until they are eliminated from that summer's tournament. Roy had that.

The problem is that the players that need to don't generally play that passing/comfort in possession style at club levels that needs to change. We need more swanseas, more arsenals, more brightons at all levels (and I don't mean to suggest brighton are as good at it as arsenal or swansea, but as an example of a team trying to play it and improve at it).