Match of the Day

[ToffeeTim]

Really enjoyed that world cup show

International football is a bit crap usually but world cups are still the best thing in sport

 

[mrb85]

I watched the Everton vs Sunderland game on the official youtube channel last night.

One of the things that struck me from watching that match was the amount of long, high balls from John Bailey at LB in particular but others as well towards Andy Gray and Graeme Sharp for them to knock down and to build the play from that.

The amount of crosses both near and far post seemed high as well.

My perception may be incorrect, was just hoping to see nicer football.

I recognise what you're getting at, but you have to bear in mind that football then did not involve taking 40 passes (most of them meaningless) when trying to score. What made the 1984-5 side a great one was that they got the ball into the last third as quickly as possible, be that with clever midfield play or the longer stuff to the front 2, who would pull any defensive line apart with skill, tenacity and strength. Many of the moves we produced in scoring our goals were only half a dozen or so passes long. -- as you'd have seen in the Sunderland game.