Yes but for long periods of games we played the pointless passing just to retain possession game. I have never been a fan of the extreme possession style , I prefer the passing fast, accurate and with express intent of attacking the opposition goal, not slow ,sideways with the fear of losing possession the overriding ethos.
Perhaps so, however if they're the only players currently at his disposal it would be wise to utilise them until we can bring in reinforcements.
it wasn't passing for passing sake. If it was prolonged then that means that the team weren't moving at the required speed or intelligence to find an open position, or that those with the ball at their feet didn't spot an opening. Poor execution.
Get Geri and Davies in the team for tomorrow.
Yes I understand that, but for me it's a sterile style, it prioritises possession over attacking intent, leading to long periods of unexciting passing waiting for a mistake or a flash of inspiration. It is predominantly risk averse , and for me, no risk no gain.
It's not about that at all. Possession in your own half or just inside your opponent's half can last as short or long as the time it takes for intelligent runs ahead of the player in possession. If there is no such movement what do you do, hand it to the opposition?
If the game is played at a high enough tempo there should always be a pass on, the problem is the chance of success dictated whether to attempt it, under Martinez it had to have a high chance of completion to attempt it or a back or sideways 'safety pass' was the preferred option. You should never be afraid of losing possession if you can defend as a team as well as attack. Which is probably why Koeman has prioritised our defending first
I think it's more likely players with the ball at their feet weren't confident enough in their own ability to thread a pass through traffic ahead of them. Another reason why us having no Bona fide playmaker since Arteta makes absolutely no sense.
Agree with the playmaker absolutely. However by Martinez own admission he valued a high rate of pass completion as the first aim and for me this encouraged players to choose conservative over adventurous passing. As in life you need to take a risk and not fear but be prepared for the consequences.
We have to be realistic and if we do win, 2 points off 5th is an excellent return imo. Utd have spent hundreds of millions in the past two seasons and have arguably one of the best managers around and we are level on points with them, not bad really after the last couple of seasons. I think one of the things that annoys fans is the attitude and commitment of the players, a lot of the time they just don't seem arsed enough.
This is where the "sin miedo" (without fear) bit came in but it just faded away over time and got safe and therefore hurt the opponents less and less.
I know we were [Poor language removed] against Swansea but Barkley was the key to everything we did well. When he plays well we do. Get him on the ball facing the opposition and we can do things, some of the stick he gets is madness.
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