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Post by luke45 on Aug 18, 2013 10:26:53 GMT
One of our greatest attributes under Pulis over the years was our ability to press the ball quickly and stop the opponents creative players from having time on the ball to dictate the game, yesterday that was our main undoing. When we beat Liverpool on Boxing Day last year the key to our success was our high pressing and ability to stop them from getting out of their half, you need to press higher up the pitch against Liverpool than any other team in the league because they will play it out from the back more than anything else.
I lost count of the number of times Countinho was allowed the space to pick passes out through the middle, in my mind we should've designated someone to man mark him from start to finish and follow him everywhere he went because the majority of their best attacking moves came through him. Our shape with and without the ball is something that needs working on as well, if we are playing a 4-3-3 with the ball and a 4-5-1 without the ball it is vitally important the two wide players get forward quickly and support the front man as soon as we regain possession. The lack of pace of Walters and Etherington meant that they couldn't get forward quick enough a lot of the time when we won the ball back and Crouch was left isolated, I really hope we are going to add some pace to the side in the next few weeks.
Plenty of positives to take from the game though, 400+ passes made compared to 200+ last season, an 80% pass completion this season compared to 66% last season, and crucially 11 shots at goal and 6 on target compared to 2 shots at goal and 1 on target last season. We are definitely keeping the ball better and creating more opportunities in games, we just need someone who can convert them now. The next few weeks will make or break our season, fingers crossed we can get the right players in.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 18, 2013 10:32:40 GMT
The intensity and closing down we saw on boxing day was a rarity last season
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Post by luke45 on Aug 18, 2013 10:36:39 GMT
The intensity and closing down we saw on boxing day was a rarity last season In the second half of the season it was yes, but that's exactly how we should approach a game against Liverpool. |
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