Will "grinding" out results help us in the long run?

[JOLovegrove]

I heard someone, can't remember who, saying when teams walk the championship, bossing every game, winning most by 3 or so goal, they find the step up in quality to the Premier League a lot harder where they don't have the ball and have to play differently. The weekend's result aside, Bournemouth are a prime example of this. They were the best attacking team last season, and not many would disagree with that. But with the step up, their gung ho, let's just out score the oppession, simply won't cut it in the top flight as teams aren't as naive and know how to defend.

However, if, and I am well aware it is still a massive IF, we get promoted, will the fact we aren't smashing teams actually be an advantage. We are having to hang on to slender leads. We know when we have to "grind" out a nil nil. We are learning to counter and don't just have all the ball. Teams struggle to break us down when we have the lead. We rarely concede first.

Again, I know we still have a lot of football to play, and we may end up mid table come May, but will be intersting to hear people's thoughts.

(Before I get shoutd down, I hate the term grind, and think it completely down plays our football, and what we have achieved so far. Yes, we are only winning by a goal, but we haven't had many 1-0s, and don't just score and shut up shop.)

 

[GT49er]

Long may we go on grinding out results (unless we can suddenly find a way of thrashing teams 3-0), but in terms of what effect it'll have in the PL, IF we get there, it is completely irrelevant.

 

[One hot tub one ambition]

If we have an entertaining, enthralling value-for-money match every six or seven games, and the other matches we try and grind out results, that's fine with me. I suggested this at the start of the season when I was watching the Sevilla Game; although we were very solid and cautious, we could still unleash moments of flair and brilliance and this kept Sevilla - incidentally the current Europa League Winners and retainers - guessing our game plan. Ultimately, we won that game, but it proved that our new squad depth allows our a wider range of different playing styles other than the tippy-tappy patient build-up play under Gus (which if we conceded first the maximum points which could be salvaged was a draw). This year we have versatility and team-spirit, so I am fine seeing us play out games such as Burnley, Sheffield Wednesday Reading and MK Dons, but then have entertaining games against Birmingham and Charlton. That said, we still can't win by more than one goal! But if we're playing good football, to me that statistic is irrelevant.

 

[dangull]

It would be better to be 2 up half way through the 2nd half in some of our games, allowing the players to coast to the end of these games.

All these tense exciting games may catch up with us later in the season.

Its been great season so far though, better than anyone expected, and I hope I'm wrong.

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

If we get promoted we will have 6 or 7 new players in the starting line up next season, so how we do it this season probably counts for little.

 

[warmleyseagull]

First point is that 11 one goal victory margins is a bit of a statistical quirk. Teams don't got out to win by one goal and can think of several games - MKD, Rotherham, for example - where we could have won by a greater margin. True, CH has tended to put up shop in a few games, but that is more a reflection of the narrowness of the margin than a cause of it.

Have not done any analysis of how well the champions do in Prem as against 2nd or PO winners; anecdotally Reading & Cardiff recently have come straight back down, and Leicester struggled until the light went on in February. My instinct is that once the three promoted teams are known, then practically it makes no difference how they got there, the key is buying well in the close season.

 

[Tony Meolas Loan Spell]

Yes. Im glad we are learning to dig in.

 

[beorhthelm]

yes, it brings the players together to fight for each other, which doesnt make you brilliant but can make the difference in a few games.

 

[Da Man Clay]

If we get promoted we will have 6 or 7 new players in the starting line up next season, so how we do it this season probably counts for little.

Isn't that the truth. Only Stockdale, Dunk(?), Bong, Kayal, Stephens and March (on current form) would be starting in the Pl. Even that is pushing it a bit.

 

[Big G]

When it comes to getting promoted from this division, I'll take 'grinding', 'scraping' or any other descriptive if it gets us the points for the game!
'Points mean prizes'!!!! Hopefully!!

 

[Pavilionaire]

I actually think the reverse is true. Bournemouth have a chance of survival precisely because they know they have a goal in them, their attacking football is in their DNA. Scraping one goal wins in the Championship is a way of getting to the Premier but if you carry on playing that way you'll struggle to win any games there because the fine margins of the Championship don't exist in the top flight.

Hughton has set a platform and I hope that the bigger wins will come in the second half of the season as teams have to start going for it a bit more to make something of their season. We have the talent to exploit the more open football we'll encounter. I still fancy we need to sign a striker in the window, and I think we will.