At last, we have a 'keeper lauded for his good distribution!

[splott parker]

Re: At last, we have a 'keeper lauded for his good distribution!

Is the Royal Oak still going (I'd imagine it is)?
If so, when I'm able to break the shackles here in China and I can visit home, I'd happily let you buy me a pint!

It certainly is and I certainly will

[KingOfSiamIAm]

Re: At last, we have a 'keeper lauded for his good distribution!

If you are looking for an approach that builds from the back and beats the press then you need a keeper that can hit wing backs or a central defensive midfielder with a 40 yard pass.

That is all well and good if that is the approach.

But a lot of this building from the back begins with a goal kick, where the goalie actually passes it backwards to one of his centre halves. That is fine if you are Man City, but we see it loads of times with middling championship sides.

They tend to get pressed quickly, pass it around three or four times (getting nowhere), gradually losing control of the ball, panic and it ends up going back to the keeper, resulting in a goal conceded or the ball being hoofed towards row Z.
We did it against the Derby goalie last season, if I remember correctly.

[jon1959]

Re: At last, we have a 'keeper lauded for his good distribution!

That is all well and good if that is the approach.

But a lot of this building from the back begins with a goal kick, where the goalie actually passes it backwards to one of his centre halves. That is fine if you are Man City, but we see it loads of times with middling championship sides.

They tend to get pressed quickly, pass it around three or four times (getting nowhere), gradually losing control of the ball, panic and it ends up going back to the keeper, resulting in a goal conceded or the ball being hoofed towards row Z.
We did it against the Derby goalie last season, if I remember correctly.

Now our goalie.

[KingOfSiamIAm]

Re: At last, we have a 'keeper lauded for his good distribution!

Now our goalie.

Yup.
However, I will say that he did look like a good goalie though, and I remember that he was able to accurately ping/pass the ball to a team mate.

I will just be disappointed if, just cos we suddenly have a goalie who is comfortable passing the ball, we suddenly start passing backwards from a goal kick.

[Sloop_Jon_Bee]

Re: At last, we have a 'keeper lauded for his good distribution!

Not in a swimming pool I wouldn’t

[J R Hartley]

Re: At last, we have a 'keeper lauded for his good distribution!

Very, very few teams are able to play short from goal kicks and beat the press. Few teams in the PL can do it successfully and even less in the championship, let alone a team that has played hoofball for the last decade.

I’d rather see our midfielders comfortable in possession first.

Let’s walk before we can run.