Minority Report v Preston North End

A theory is developing on the BBS. The theory is that our style of play is a reaction to the way that our opponents play. That we are playing the ball high and long to forwards who are ill equipped to deal with it, simply because we are reacting to the style that our opponent is using. That we are a victim rather than being complicit. That the lack of entertainment in our recent games is none of our doing. As part of my brief for the Preston game, I want to investigate this theory.


There are two basic ways of playing the game. A team will either seek out the available space because its coach is confident that he has a team and players with the pace, the ability and the talent to use that space to their advantage. Or he will keep players close down the centre of the pitch, keep the ball in the air, keep the ball bouncing and compete strongly for anything loose, because he doesn’t think his team is good enough to play the open game. So which are we? Are we a Bournemouth, or are we a Wycombe. Are we a team that is willing to take the risk of playing out of defence, playing out wide where the space is, or are we a team that is unwilling to take the risk of taking players away from the action in the centre of the pitch because our coach fears the consequences of such a move? I will leave it there for now whilst I try to frame those questions in the light of the Preston game. I like to see us win, but I prefer to watch us win with a certain style.


Preston are neither a Bournemouth, nor a Wycombe. They are an established Championship club with are certain way of doing things under their competitive coach, former Red, Alex Neil. The last two Preston results were 3-0 v Middlesbrough (h), and 0-3 Luton Town (a). Which Preston will turn up tonight?


This week, I want to begin with a bit of honesty. I do not understand why or how the VI team is winning games using the current system and method of play. I have this nagging doubt at the back of my mind. The gremlin on my shoulder keeps telling me that our run will end. That we are in a false position in the league. That if our fortunes change, we will once again be in trouble. I try to shake him off, but he keeps insisting. My real problem is that all the signs that I look for in performances, for reassurance and confidence are missing. The results are great, but nothing else is. In the past, I stuck with Lee Johnson when no-one else did, because I followed his logic and I liked the way his team played. I knew what he was trying to achieve, and I had faith that he would get there in the end. I have none of that at the moment. It may well be that I am out of my depth, that VI is doing things that are beyond my comprehension, but I simply do not understand his way of doing things. Let us hope that he and I can turn a corner tonight.


I feel that I might be in for some adverse comment again tonight. Barnsley has won yet another game. The team has come from behind, when I have suggested in the past that that is just not possible. The team is sitting in 9th position before the games tomorrow. What the hell have I got to moan about? Well, it was an awful game (our two goals excepted). Neither team has played any football. They have both largely missed midfield and have hit aimless balls from back to front. Barnsley is not set up to win that sort of ball, but that is not really the point. I like to watch the game played on the floor. I like to see intelligent running and accurate passing. I like to see movement and I like to see pace. The way that VI choses to play the game, I see none of that. All I see is the ball knocked 50 yards in the air to players who cannot win the first ball, so they scrap for the second ball. Preston were no better than us, but I do not care. Preston are not my main concern, Barnsley are. I am not being entertained, and I am not happy about it. The game that I watched tonight was not beautiful game. It was the ugly, and for the most part, the boring game.


I am not going to describe the game tonight. I am not going to detail the tactics. The fact is, there is very little to describe anyway. I simply want to forget it, apart from the 2 excellent strikes.

 

I agree with you to some extent. However, I temper my concerns about the style of play with the fact that we are certainly not facing a relegation struggle. Which was the manager’s initial brief. He has always stated that we need to be safe early and take it from there. As far as I’m concerned he is achieving the first part of his objective. And, for now, I’m happy.

 

Have you forgotten league one and how dire that was?. I think you're over thinking a relatively simple game. Agree it weren't pretty but our work rate and desire to win was there for all to see. That's exactly what I want to see from my team. If we entertain then it's a bonus. Our 2 goals were a delight. I rest my case!

 

Very brave post.

Agree with a lot of it.

But.... I've started to get over the shocking transition from watching pretty football, to watching winning football.

It's nice enough no matter what, if we win. It is terrible if we play predominant hoofball and lose though. I thought we passed it about a fair bit too tonight, to be fair. At least it was a mix.

We seem a bit tighter in defence, and cancelling the Beckenbauer-play-it-out lookalike competition has helped the big boys at the back.

I'm not keen on Val's revolutionary tactic of giving the other side an immediate one goal lead though. Even though that seems to work too.

 

Who lives in a house like this?

 

It’s quite simple to me.

We used to concede a lot of goals as a result of pis5ing about in our own half. We don’t do that anymore.

We didn’t used to score many goals because we were forever pis5ing about with the ball in our own half rather than in areas that hurt the opposition. We don’t do that anymore.

Occam’s razor in action.

 

nonsense, we destroyed them with Val playing higher up and narrowing our shape,sorry your normally ok, but we built pressure the best I have seen in a while 2nd half

 

Red Rain, I share similar views on the directness of play, though I feel it's a lot more nuanced and calculated than you describe.

But do you not feel that the fact that we're grinding out wins like this consistently, that we've come from behind to win 3 times in 5 (after you said the 'first goal wins'), and that we've recently beaten sides that are often our achilles heal, that your joy of seeing Barnsley do well starts to outweigh your desire to analyse the game?

I made very similar points to what you've written above after Wycombe, but after seeing the team adapt on Saturday and again tonight there's an awful lot of credit due.

I guess it'd be interesting to know whether, in spite of your preference for tactical analysis, the final score and our subsequent league position brings you some joy?

 

It is a brave post, particularly when the BBS often sees things in very black and white terms - and tonight we won, so that excuses a lot. I do see where you’re coming from. It’s often not pretty but I think we have to earn the right to ‘play’ football and that means incremental development. Just for once, creating a bit of space, away from relegation, to allow us to to that.

You don’t win any medals for suggesting ‘this run will come to an end’. If I were guessing wildly, I’d suggest it will as well. But I think you give insufficient credit to these players, individually and collectively. They work extraordinarily hard and have an attitude of cussedness that some of our better past players/teams could have done with.

Let’s credit them, and their Coach, for that.

 

The way we play is about limiting an opposition team. Let them have the ball in areas they can't hurt us, press the ball after clearing to keep limiting their options. It's a mental game.
It's a bit like the current England rugby team, kick it long and apply pressure positionally. When you do get the ball on the deck inside their 18 yard box create a goal scoring chance using skill. It's not pretty on the eye but its effective.
On Saturday we have Swansea a young team built to knock it around. Do you meet fire with fire, or rough em up, chase them, put them in areas and scenarios they can't play their football? Bournemouth beat us easily doing this but we had chances, against a team worth over 100 million.
Playing out from the back and knocking it around is lovely but you get beat unless you're Barca or City. I got sick of kind words from journalists about our youthful free flowing team, that got beat nearly every week.
Nowt better than being battling Barnsley.

 

I'm not sure I give insufficient credit to these players - I've seen 'em bamboozle team after team last season, playing it around but not having a final product.

This lot can play, but if we had a more appropriate set of forwards to cope with how we now play, we'd do a hell of a lot better. Unless the tactic is to lose the first ball and hope we mop up from there - which our lot are not too bad at all at.

 

I get where you are coming from and I often watch and get annoyed with some of the seemingly hopeless punts forward they do. However, we are winning games and we are scoring some lovely goals through good play and doing it regularly. In an ideal world we would all love to see us play stunning passing football for 90 minutes each game but we all know that can't happen. So I am more than happy for things to continue just as they are seen as results are going our way.

If we can add some more quality up top too in the upcoming window then the system may work even better as one of the big issues we often have is getting the ball to stick up top when it's kicked long.

 

Mental deterioration due to stopping them playing. You could physically see them drain away after the equaliser.

 

In short. ‘Winning ugly, great 3 points. Cracking couple of goals’

 

As above, we are conceding fewer silly goals as not faffing at the back.

We are doing very well at winning second balls and when we do attack there are fewer defenders in front of us due to us having pushed the ball up the pitch more quickly, thus easier to attack, and therefore score.

I agree it’s less attractive to watch but it is not hit and hope as you possibly allude to, it’s more calculated than that I think.

he’s probably seen how many goals we conceded from stupid mistakes and cut that out, and it’s worked.

I think ppg will inevitably diminish but we look like neither a Wycombe or Bournemouth, but a Preston, an established championship team...

 

When we play it out from the back, people will say that we shouldn’t be messing about with it. Play more direct and people won’t like that either.

Can’t please everybody. But we’re winning games against the bottom 12 teams, not something we seemed capable of much last season.

I think we should be targeting a minimum of 4 points from the hudds / Rotherham games because January will see us play more of the top half teams

 

Just to add, though it's not pleasing on the eye I've noticed I'm less stressed watching games.

The acid test for this approach is when fans are back. Will fans jeer or get on the teams back? At the minute they just play to the whistle. Something to think about.

 

Interesting read this again tonight both from the OP and the resulting responses.

As alluded to above. Our team is now built on a solid foundation, no mucking about at the back with 40 passes before playing it into midfield and back to the defence again. We try to move the ball quickly, sometimes this is hit long, sometimes this is played wide and sometimes it comes through the interplay of Mowatt, James and Woodrow in a triangle through the middle.

Games like Wycombe, Wednesday and tonight are against sides that play long ball, try to pick up scraps and score from set plays. Now aside from two goalkeeping mistakes (maybe tonight is harsh to call it a mistake but the jury is out) and a very dubious penalty against Wycombe we’ve not looked under any real pressure to concede. We’ve won lots of second balls and we’ve out battled three of the biggest battling teams in the division. The players and manager deserve a huge amount of credit.

I’d love to see us playing a more swashbuckling style at times but the factors of opponent, fatigue, squad size, weather and pitch condition (not to mention a horrific ref tonight) also have to be taken into account amongst a myriad of other variables.

In short, could be prettier at times but I’m LOVING how rigid we’ve become and how hard these young lads are battling and fighting and scrapping for every ball. Oh and some of the goals we are scoring are flamin’ wonderful.

 

1. There’s nothing brave about posting an opinion about a football game.
2. It’s about winning.
3. In a league where outside of the relegated teams everyone is much of a muchness. Organisation and second balls are so important.
4. The only quality in the game was from us.

 

Respect for the honest frank opinion you have but I have to disagree, this time last year we watched young men get there arseholes tore to shreds week in week out.......we were young soldiers sent to battle with a spud gun wearing flip flops!! Fast forward 12 months we are a hungry team that attack like a pack of wolves and back each other up to the last second......one in all in!!! If we played the beautiful game you so desire we’d be sat top of the league laughing all the way to the promised land!!

After the Brentford and Bournemouth games I said we’d play worse this season and win, low and behold we’ve took 9 points from our last 3 games, 3 games we would’ve probably lost last season! The club/team are still a working process.

Beautiful football dosent always put 3 points on the board sadly......