We played well, better than in some of the games we won

Playing this way Helen no one will ever be error free, but despite my comments on Brittain he is in my top three today.

 

Best side we've played this season?...... Didn't you watch the Bournemouth game?

 

His pass that put Brittain in during the first half was pure class. I think he’ll turn out to be a good acquisition.

 

The idea is for the opposition to have the ball near their goal.

Norwich today, in a sense, beat us by playing on the break. Whenever they got over the half way line, beyond our press, they looked dangerous.

This strategy might be dodgy in itself, but the thing is that we can actually play with the ball with the players we have. So ours is too absolute a strategy to me at the moment.

I understand though that he says he's trying to get us to a safe position before the ugly duckling turns into a swan.

The swan is a gorgeous creature. I hope we can see a swan like performance down the Well, under VI.

 

everything happening too quick for our lads at this level, scrambled and harried and went down fighting, Thomas unlucky, we was playing Ref too so up against it from start

 

Totally disagree, there's nowt some Barnsley fans like more than writing a player off before he even settles in. I think he's got good qualities with the ball and will only get better as he grows into the team, but I do know fek all

 

Kane ran himself into the ground, without ever being spectacular, but he rarely gave the ball away. Just sometimes took one touch too many when we were going forward, which took the impetus out of the attack. Personally, I think he's going to be a massive asset once he settles in.

 

I hope you're right, in that this style of play is to get us safe (it almost has to be fair) and then we'll flourish, but I'm far from convinced we have a swan lurking in the background. We've played every second of every game in exactly the same formation adopting exactly the same tactics. There hasn't been a fraction of a degree pivot from that. I'm sceptical that we're suddenly going to change beyond recognition. Not that we have to at the moment, we genuinely could get in the play-offs playing like this, performing much better than the sum of our parts. It's unlikely but it's possible and a hell of a lot more probable than it has been for years. But this won't happen next season, even with better players to suit the system. We're one dimensional, and in every aspect of life that is found out, no matter how good you are adopting that one true way. There isn't a one true way, in anything.

 

Funny thing is they did the same with Mowatt...

 

What Jay said. Sorted your boiler out, mate.?

 

Harsh..

 

He hasn't turned out too bad

 

Over the last few years, many, many times we have left the ground or switched off our streams, and immediately started commenting to our friends about how we had been much the better side, but had been comfortably beaten 1-0 or 2-0 by an established Championship team. One who looked pretty limited, but had a little bit of quality when it mattered, and a hell of a lot more nous than we did when it came to game management. Once these sorts of teams took the lead against us, we were very unlikely to get anything. These teams would finish anywhere from lower mid-table (ten or so points ahead of us, so mediocre but never in danger of going down), to getting in the playoffs. We are now looking like one of those sides.

 

You do know different people have different opinions on different players, right? It’s not just the same few people who uniformly don’t rate everyone?

 

We are tactically straightjacketed at the moment.

And it comes from the coach - he hasn't looked at the playing staff at all and thought about playing any different to the ideas he came with.

But it's worked. And he says he just needs to get us safe.

I can't see him coming up with anything better than his present plan for us, for now. And then you start thinking about whether you want him to. We're OK where we are.

Being a man of few principles, I want him to have us play decent football when we're mid table, and have us play scrappy survival football when we're about to go down.

But I do think we've got at the moment defensive base camp sorted, with a decent midfield ascent more than able, but we lack those with up forward able to push us any higher.

 

Can I start by saying that I am a big fan of his but I thought that Brittain got into a lot of quality positions today but none of his final balls got anywhere near a red shirt.

 

I’ve no problem at all with not changing the system, but he has to find a way to get points in the next few games. We’ve scored a 30 yard screamer against Watford and that’s all we’ve got against top opposition so far.

I’d settle for the wing backs being a bit more reserved and staying wide rather than bombing into the box. Swansea will just play balls in behind for Lowe and hope for something off that, or off subsequent set pieces. We’ll need to tweak something in our approach to make it more difficult for them

 

I have not seen the game today and my comments are general comments only.

The system played by VI is one that encompasses the whole team. It is very difficult to change any one element, and expect the rest to function as it did. For example, the press works because the whole team joins in. OK, it is the front 3 that are doing the running, the blocking and the tackling, but the 4 players in midfield are pushing higher in order to limit the space the the front 3 have to patrol with their press. If that did not happen, there would be more space for the opposition to pass through the press. Similarly, the high line at the back is there to cut down the amount of space between the midfield players and the defensive line. Of course, that means that there is room behind the defensive line, and it is important that no opposition player is allowed the time and space to pass accurately into that space. The whole thing is a cat's cradle, with one thing conditional on the success of something else. When a player begins to tire, he cannot do his job as well, and often a different part of the system suffers a breakdown.

I am very interested in how the whole thing works together, and it is fair to say that I have not worked out all the details yet, but I am already sure that you cannot change one part of the system without there being a knock-on effect elsewhere.

 

I hope the board back Valerie this month. His system would work with better wide forwards.

 

For all your interest, your obsession really, for all your thought and due consideration upon the tactics of BFC, I cannot believe that for you there could be a tenner better spent than watching the match.

Today you are commenting upon something that you have not seen. Which is thus I'm afraid a commentary without merit.

Generalizations do not help in a football context to any great degree. You need to see it.