What's happened to the pressing game...

I like stendell.....a lot......i think the players play for him too.
Our squad at the moment is looking for leadership to encourage and manage games on the pitch.
There is not one single Player in our current squad who can do that...young players are more prone to dips in form and that is very evident at the moment.
We have some very good footballers at this club....who can out play most teams on our day. However other clubs have grasped they can "out manage" our style.....and are doing.
We dont need 20 minute footballers ....we need a squad who can dig in and get the ball much quicker to our 2 strikers.....(that doesnt mean hoof it either). We are more than capable of this....however there are flaws. Mcgeehan who has been asked to do the dmf duties is not the man....as his passing is neither good enough or quick enough....he has actually improved of late but i would be tempted to try Fryers....until we get Duggie back in or a jan loan player.
We are crying out for experience in the side to manage our young uns.....we have tried and now must admit the plan looks like it has come off the rails. To have neigh on 60% posession in most matches and not win tells you we are not productive enough in the final third and poor at the other attributes. Midfield seems to be area of immediate concern at the moment.
We seem to be far more potent with corners....now its game time we must improve.....i have faith in our coach .....this is still early doors.
Pompy on saturday will be a massive test....im told their game management and overall play is first class.....think this will be a yard stick for us....fingers crossed weve done our homework.

 

Interesting stats came out last week that showed Bahre has covered more ground than any other player in the squad this season. That to me suggests he is capable of playing a pressing style. I also think you also have to take fatigue into account, for example Potts had looked knackered the last few games.

 

From watching him play, rather than looking at the stats, do you think Bahre is good at pressing the opposition?

I don't. I don't think it's his game at all. When the opposition are in possession it's almost like he's not there. Having said that, that's better than him having the ball in his own half when he often appears to be actively playing for the opposition.

 

How much ground somebody covers largely means nothing. if you aren't in the right place at the right time then you have to run further to get to where a smarter player would already be.

A player stood on the shoulder of the opposition putting them under pressure is far more pressing than one who goes 'bloody hell that bloke over there has got the ball' and jogs over to him but the stats say the second one has covered more ground

 

I think he presses well yes. But not consistently. Much same as our other forwards. Im not sure he's a winger though.

 

I agree to an extent. However, would argue it is an indicator of fitness and willing at least. Both of which are required to play a pressing game. I also think when I jave seen him play he has pressed quite well this season. The problem is if we want to press we need to do it as a team, otherwise it's pretty ineffective. We haven't been doing that lately.

 

Bahre to me plays as though he has been given a free role and I don`t believe this to be true. He`s like a schoolboy lacking in positional discipline and is as fluffy as Issy when it comes to challenges far too easy knocked of the ball.

 

One or two posters on here have mentioned Bradshaw & I agree with them , when his transfer was being muted I argued on here until I was blue in the face that it was foolish to sell him but there were a number who took me to task & were quite pleased to see him go . I still maintain that he brought a lot of qualities to the team & certainly defending from the front & taking the pressure off Moore were two of his attributes . It would have been great to have added Chaplin or Woodrow to compliment the front two , however it wasn"t to be but despite what Woodrow brings , which is great , Bradshaw has not been replaced .

 

We’re missing Dougall and we have to start Potts every game.

 

He's been replaced by Woodrow. Who looks a much better striker. I agree, it would've been handy to have both. I don't believe results would be drastically different if he stayed though. The whole team has looked a bit poor of late, both in and out of possession.

 

We will never know if results would have been any different if a fit Bradshaw had stayed , but the discussion has been about the pressing game ,to which we started the season so effectively , & in my opinion Bradshaw was a key component , his work rate & closing down was excellent , however , it is only my opinion & I respect others will disagree with that.