Tactics Under Maresca

[Lillehamring]

3 hours ago, STUHILL said:

Great win today but I really hate this from Enzo - "I told them at half-time to be very patient’ 

 

I have seen him gesturing for calmness and patience from the sidelines too during the game when we desperately need a goal.

 

I think this is why our team often looks so slow and lacking urgency.

 

Got it done late today, but it is definitely a pattern in Enzo’s style and I’d much prefer urgency when we need it and a more ruthless approach from him.
 

 

 

 

 

 

I fail to see how anyone could describe that second half 'slow and lacking urgency' we were relentless - 10 shots and 7 on target - what more could you ask for?

 

Whether you like it or not, 'patience' has served us well this season, especially with so many teams parking the bus.  As KDH has said, if you aren't patient it becomes a basketball game - and those are the types of games we struggle in.

[Filberts lovechild]

4 minutes ago, Lillehamring said:

I fail to see how anyone could describe that second half 'slow and lacking urgency' we were relentless - 10 shots and 7 on target - what more could you ask for?

 

Whether you like it or not, 'patience' has served us well this season, especially with so many teams parking the bus.  As KDH has said, if you aren't patient it becomes a basketball game - and those are the types of games we struggle in.

In context at the game, we pressured for 15 mins after half time. Slow and lethargic for most of the rest of the half. We don’t create enough good chances or pepper the oppo goal. That is concerning when we have so much on the line, how much we dominate etc. Bloody hope we go up but I don’t think Enzo is the man to keep us up with his rigidity tbh

[ACF]

2 hours ago, The Doctor said:

Yep. The calm down stuff isn't "don't attack, we don't need a goal", it's "keep composed and make sure we don't lose it on the transition because we've overcommitted"

1000% this.

 

Urgency isn’t the opposite to patience. You can move the ball quickly without taking a risk to structure, or ignoring game plan.

 

When you have 10 behind the ball, you have to let them make a mistake and open up space, or find the space yourself to allow chances to happen.

 

People can say we were slow/lethargic at times, that’s down to not making subs. But it is also impossible to play HIGH OCTANE SEXY FOOTBALL for 95 minutes. It’s going to come in waves. 

This tactic and plan does work. It’s just when we’re having an off day it looks real bad.

 

 

[westernpark]

Yeah it’s not great in the long term. But I see passion and an attitude that is not someone who believes they’re bigger than the club.

[Lillehamring]

30 minutes ago, Filberts lovechild said:

In context at the game, we pressured for 15 mins after half time. Slow and lethargic for most of the rest of the half. We don’t create enough good chances or pepper the oppo goal. That is concerning when we have so much on the line, how much we dominate etc. Bloody hope we go up but I don’t think Enzo is the man to keep us up with his rigidity tbh

Well, that's not how i remember it, felt to me like we totally dominated and were camped out on the edge of their box, birmingham were defending frantically at times.

 

It feels like people can't understand that when you have 75+% of the ball (as we had for the last 20 minutes) that you can't play a fast direct type of football, all you can do is to stay patient and focussed and keep creating, and that's exactly what we did.

 

As for lethargic, i'd like to see you go up to that squad of players, face to face, add accuse them of being lethargic. It's been a long season with a lot of games, and they're fighting every minute, very easy for fans to sit there and expect 100% for 90+ minutes every 3 or 4 days.  The lack of respect from some fans for what enzo has done, and what the players have put into this season, beggars belief.

[Lillehamring]

32 minutes ago, ACF said:

1000% this.

 

Urgency isn’t the opposite to patience. You can move the ball quickly without taking a risk to structure, or ignoring game plan.

 

When you have 10 behind the ball, you have to let them make a mistake and open up space, or find the space yourself to allow chances to happen.

 

People can say we were slow/lethargic at times, that’s down to not making subs. But it is also impossible to play HIGH OCTANE SEXY FOOTBALL for 95 minutes. It’s going to come in waves. 

This tactic and plan does work. It’s just when we’re having an off day it looks real bad.

 

 

And more often than not those off days come when we're trying to force the issue and rushing and panicking - the result being bad decision making, poor execution and errors leading to counter attacks.

[RumbleFox]

45 minutes ago, Filberts lovechild said:

In context at the game, we pressured for 15 mins after half time. Slow and lethargic for most of the rest of the half. We don’t create enough good chances or pepper the oppo goal. That is concerning when we have so much on the line, how much we dominate etc. Bloody hope we go up but I don’t think Enzo is the man to keep us up with his rigidity tbh

Statistically, depending on which site you use, we’ve created the first or second most good chances in the league so far this season?

[Lillehamring]

4 hours ago, STUHILL said:

Great win today but I really hate this from Enzo - "I told them at half-time to be very patient’ 

 

I have seen him gesturing for calmness and patience from the sidelines too during the game when we desperately need a goal.

 

I think this is why our team often looks so slow and lacking urgency.

 

Got it done late today, but it is definitely a pattern in Enzo’s style and I’d much prefer urgency when we need it and a more ruthless approach from him.
 

Quote

Patience to attack against a team sitting deep and defending for their lives?

EM: “One of my mentors always says the same, when they press you higher, it’s when you have to attack quick. When they sit back, it’s when you have to attack slow. But it’s a concept that sometimes we struggle to see because we want to attack quick, quick, quick. But when they sit back, you need to be patient and you need to slow down, try to create space and chances.”

Q: Who is the mentor?

EM: “My dad. He’s a fisherman but he loves football!”

Birmingham, without question, sat back.

[FLAN]

Another stupid avoidable goal due to the philosophy today. Ok most play it short now but not backwards to the keeper!  Also the team as a whole ply at a slow pace because everything drilled into them is slowly slowly slowly. Keeper had so much time to play it out but dwells on it again 

[CosbehFox]

I’m one of the biggest critics of him and other than keeping Wilf on about twenty minutes too long, was good management 

[CosbehFox]

5 hours ago, sm1 said:

 

He was angry with Doyle in the 1st half because he played a long pass and he was gesturing to play short. Slow monotonous play is his thing and that will never change. Hopefully the fact that the subs had a really positive effect will encourage him to use them more.

He’d have a point cos whacking balls in the air today with the wind particularly first half was pointless 

[casablancas]

Where’s @StriderHiryu these days?

[coolhandfox]

9 hours ago, CosbehFox said:

I’m one of the biggest critics of him and other than keeping Wilf on about twenty minutes too long, was good management 

Looked knackered, imagine he still got a way to go to get match fit.

[coolhandfox]

10 hours ago, FLAN said:

Another stupid avoidable goal due to the philosophy today. Ok most play it short now but not backwards to the keeper!  Also the team as a whole ply at a slow pace because everything drilled into them is slowly slowly slowly. Keeper had so much time to play it out but dwells on it again 

Nothing to do with the philosophy, it's an individual error and on Mads.

[Chelmofox]

10 hours ago, FLAN said:

Another stupid avoidable goal due to the philosophy today. Ok most play it short now but not backwards to the keeper!  Also the team as a whole ply at a slow pace because everything drilled into them is slowly slowly slowly. Keeper had so much time to play it out but dwells on it again 

It wasn't played backwards. It was played short sideways from Faes and when Faes played it in a way that defences and keepers do countless times a game. This wasn't any 'philosophy' in action. It was a mistake from Mads who didn't clock the danger correctly. Mads had plenty of time and Stansfied was in his line of site. He messed up.

 

But great mentality all around from Mads and the defence, as they didn't let this get to them at all.

[CosbehFox]

That goal kick routine has been done hundred times. Keeper make a couple of errors a season. For some of them it’s dropping a catch etc. Only criticism is you don’t do it with so little time left on clock before half time 

[Nod.E]

15 hours ago, The Doctor said:

Yep. The calm down stuff isn't "don't attack, we don't need a goal", it's "keep composed and make sure we don't lose it on the transition because we've overcommitted"

And anyone that can't see this is, frankly, limited. 

 

We had Birmingham penned in all second half, probing and pressing for a winner. We weren't slow, it genuinely had an urgent feel to it. But that doesn't mean we threw caution to the wind and over committed, leaving ourselves exposed to the counter. 

 

That was our downfall last year, so how our fans are incapable of understanding the merits of guarding against such a cavalier approach is beyond me.

Edited 7 April by Nod.E

[Tuna]

2 hours ago, casablancas said:

Where’s @StriderHiryu these days?

Click on his profile maybe?

[Fear Of The Fox]

2 hours ago, Chelmofox said:

It wasn't played backwards. It was played short sideways from Faes and when Faes played it in a way that defences and keepers do countless times a game. This wasn't any 'philosophy' in action. It was a mistake from Mads who didn't clock the danger correctly. Mads had plenty of time and Stansfied was in his line of site. He messed up.

 

But great mentality all around from Mads and the defence, as they didn't let this get to them at all.

I might be wrong but the whole procedure indicates it's a manager's instruction. We've done it several times before with an opposition player closer to our GK. I can understand the benefits of the approach but imo it's way too risky. That goal changed the game. Season's coming to the end, we don't have the luxury to afford slip ups, we need to take fewer risks at the back and obviously our CBs aren't world class. 

[casablancas]

49 minutes ago, Tuna said:

Click on his profile maybe?

Thanks 

[Trav Le Bleu]

3 hours ago, casablancas said:

Where’s @StriderHiryu these days?

We've had to let him go due to PSR.

Edited 7 April by Trav Le Bleu

[davieG]

11 minutes ago, Trav Le Bleu said:

We've had to let him go due to PSR.

Is that why there were no kids flag waving before KO or have they been blamed post review as the cause of our decline.

[Nod.E]

4 hours ago, casablancas said:

Where’s @StriderHiryu these days?

I think he gave up reasoning with morons, which is a shame, as the morons appear to have unrelenting staying power. 

[CheeseHead]

Just now, Nod.E said:

I think he gave up reasoning with morons, which is a shame, as the morons appear to have unrelenting staying power. 

The golden rule, you can't win an argument with a moron!

[StriderHiryu]

6 hours ago, casablancas said:

Where’s @StriderHiryu these days?

Still around! Busy with work but also bricking it due to us collapsing and the heavy FFP fine on our shoulders.

 

Tactically we haven't changed too much, but some differences I would say we've seen are:
- More subs being used, with some of these unsurpsingly making the difference. Ndidi had a good first half but was clearly tired in the second. Fatawu not so good against a deep block, so ultimately the Praet / Yunus changes won the game.

- I feel like after we go ahead we aren't sitting back as much, though still not as aggressive as I'd like us to be.
- Off the ball work much better in the last two games

- Going a bit more direct. We looked for the ball over the top a lot against Birmingham, Mavididi been great in the air over the last two games.

 

 

But to be honest the biggest difference for me in the last two games has been... the fans! Got behind the team after going behind to Norwich, didn't get on Mads back following the error against Brum. There's a good atmosphere and in the second half against Brum, the atmosphere was the loudest I've heard on the TV since maybe pre-Covid! Maybe the PSR stuff got the whol club united again!?

 

Let's not take anything for granted though, this is a brutal league that is super competitive.

 

For me my criticism of Maresca's tactics is that I don't think we turn on the heat enough. We make high quality chances but don't make enough of them. After we get on top in a game, I think I would get the team to be more direct and go for more 50/50s and trying to win the indiviudal duels. For example, the Yunus chance where he somehow didnt shoot from one yard out was a proper scramble, but I would embrace that chaos at times. Not for the entire game, but after the team is thoroughly on top. Man for man we are better than any team in this division, and we'd even have half a chance against some of the teams in the Premier League too.