Minority Report - Blackburn Rovers

Nailed on red card in this day and age. Especially when you look at our recent dismissals.

As for not enjoying the game or victory achieved because we didn't have the ball more than the opposition, I'm the opposite. I can't stomach possession football. Passing it around the back, into midfield, then back into defence and repeat.

This, for me has been the best year of my 30 watching this club. I like winning and I love hard working folk.

Good read though Red Rain. As always. #YouReds

 

Look I do not want to get into fighting old battles, and Lee Johnson is one of those. I was one who always asked for patience and who never once called for his head. But what good would it do to revisit the old arguments that we went through time after time back then.

You do not up your possession statistic by passing across the back four, or passing back to the keeper. These are both signs of a team that has not gelled, of runners not taking up positions in front of a passer in space, of lack of confidence and of a team that is not functioning properly. I do not want to see the ball belted from front to back, and over the midfield. I do not want to see us drop so deep that the link between the midfield and forwards is broken. I want to see a team that can pass to feet and play on the front foot. Today we had only 43% possession, so I watch the opposition playing the game for 43% of the time. I would like to watch my team playing with the ball, and not just running around trying to stop them playing with the ball. That is my only criticism today, and yet everyone seems to think it heresy to make one tiny criticism after the team has won. In my experience, criticism is easier to take when it is positive criticism after a win rather than negative criticism after a heavy defeat.

By the way, how are Leicester City doing this season?

 

Thanks for the positive finish.

Why do people associate having the majority of possession with passing it around at the back. That is not what I mean at all, it is still possible to have good possession statistics without all the negative stuff. You simply have players moving into space so that there is always someone unmarked, you always have players wanting the ball, players with a good first touch which is 90% of retaining possession and players who can pass the ball accurately even when under pressure.

WHY HAS POSSESSION BECOME A DIRTY WORD.

 

Agree with the vast majority of that...... Blackburn were good, we worked hard and got lucky at very crucial times... The signs of a team full of confidence. We are excellent on the break and always looked threatening when doing so. Very wasteful today Blackburn but who cares?

 

Of course possession is important. How many teams do you know that can score when out of possession?

 

I don't think possession is a dirty word I do think to get a clearer idea of the ebb and flow of the game that possession stats should be calculated based on possession in the opponents half only it would give a much clearer idea of who controlled the game.

We passed the ball accurately and under pressure a lot today. Blackburn hoofed a lot from the back to a centre forward who held it up very well. I think it's a superficial reading of the game to equate this into that they were better than us in possession.

 

What do you think possession in opponents half statistics would show about the game today?

Given that we played the last 75 minutes mainly on the break, I suspect they would show Blackburn controlled the game to an even greater extent.

In the last two home games (I do not go to away games) I have watched us have 35% possession against Norwich City and 43% possession against Blackburn Rovers. We have won both games, so everything would seem to be fine, but what happen when good fortune deserts us, when the bounce begins to favour our opponents, when we begin to lose those close games. David Flitcroft had a period when everything went his way, but the team had deep and unresolved problems. Those who think winning is all said he was the man for the job permanently, and the board went with it. After all, winning is everything, is it not. But he was not the Messiah, he was just a very lucky boy, to misquote "Life of Brian". There is more to the game than winning, there is doing things in the right way. And controlling the game means controlling possession. We all know that it is possible to win games without controlling possession, but it is an exception that proves the rule. Just look at Leicester City this season for confirmation.

 

I am starting to repeat myself in this defence of my point about possession, so I will not be continuing for much longer. Of course possession is only one aspect of the statistical analysis of the game. But according to BBC besides 43% possession (to their 57%), we also had 15 shots with 4 on target v (19 - 7), 0 Corners v (9), and 17 fouls v (17). You would have to be fairly one-eyed to see those statistics as anything other than a match dominated by Blackburn.

 

I think you're looking for reasons to back up your thesis that we got promoted too soon and that it'll all come crashing down.

Do you not think that the manager and players are learning ? What about the games when we've had the majority of possession ?

If all 23 games thus far had been a battle and we'd scraped through by the skin of our teeth you may have a point. As it is you're extrapolating a full season from 2 games.


Sent from the darkest recesses of a poisoned mind.

 

You need to look at Leicester City for 38 games last season.

And appreciate the beauty of counter attacking football.

Cos that's largely what you're going to get from us.

It's the final score that counts.

And passing it about without threatening - "possession" - means nothing. Gudjon had us doing that and it was painful to watch.

And also there's nothing more boring than watching teams tap it around outside the opponents box. Even Barcelona can turn you off watching football.

Passion above possession.

 

Until the final paragraph I think the original poster, Mr Rain hits the nail on the head.

First half we started very brightly & they came back strongly after we scored. Could easily have been 2-2 at half time.

Unlike him (Mr Rain), Mr Peachy was really entertained by our quick breakaways in the second half & as the game drifted on I was convinced we'd score again & win, which we did.

Mr Peachy is a happy man tonight. Mr Rain, you are in a minority. Being in a minority isn't always bad, so maybe you will wake tomorrow a happy Mr Rain.

 

Wow.

I think I might just ignore you for a while.

 

What possesion stats do not show is how the game was poised when the possesion was held. Quite simply at 0-0 an away side will typically allow the home side the ball with the intent to play on the break. As soon as a goal is scored this will change the dynamic of the game. If it's the away side they will continue to play a counter attacking game allowing possesion but the opposite is true if the home side scores with the away side having to chase the game.

Possesion and indeed shots can be massively influenced by the scoring sequence of a game. The pure possesion stat in itself does not reflect dominance with the actual areas of possesion and the threat being far more influential than the overall percentage.

I'm more than happy with our progress over the last 12 months and, putting some perspective on it, where we have come from after our last stay in this league. Young players, attacking football and a manager who doesn't speak the usual BS. We can improve but I am a thoroughly happy Red tonight.

 

For all I agree with some points in the OP, stats and data can be used to back up or validate any argument. For example, recently Leicester beat Man City 4-2 whilst only having 27% of the ball. Anomaly maybe but it happened. Surely it's not about the amount of ball a team has, rather the quality on the ball, particularly in the final third.

 

I think today Blackburn were unlucky and had better possession than us. In terms of creating an attacking threat from that possession I'd say we were much more successful creating the best chances of the match from swift passing moves under pressure whilst Blackburns came from chucking balls into the box and hoping that they would hit one of their players or hoofing it from centre half to the impressive Graham. Again bare statistics tell you absolutely nothing in terms of football. Leicester to use the example have had more possession this season so stats would tell them to go back to what they were good at rather than apeing teams who couldn't live with it.

It's ridiculous to extrapolate from possession stats that our 30 wins this year have been somehow lucky. In real terms play tippy tippy possession football we were the most boring team I can ever remember and bottom of League 1. We abandoned it to play 4-4-2 and fast paced counter attacking football and we sit just outside the play offs in the championship. Sometimes it's just joyous to be wrong. Some games we will win some we will lose. It's never dull and always entertaining that'll do for me any day. I don't miss being bottom of League 1 but having 60% 'possession'.

 

Just calling things as I see them. As you apparently do.

 

I have not extrapolated any such thing, indeed in many away games we have had the majority of possession. I have never advocated tippy-tappy football either. I have simply advocated having more possession, which equates to not giving the ball away. And yet many seem to disagree, including yourself. I think that we have kicked this around for long enough now so I am blowing the final whistle.

 

I get the points you are trying to make (I think....).......

1) If you have more posession than your opponent it means they have less chance to score against you because they are seeing much less of the ball.

2) Having more posession doesn't have to mean it's tippy tappy.