Quote Originally Posted by Tuerto View Post
Pretty much agree with all of this. It's about sucking the opposition in, creating pockets, angles etc, and breaking through a defensive line, basically turning the opposition, which is good as when that happens the game ceases to be infront of them and they are on the back foot. It's all about getting your opponents facing their own goal. We aren't very good at it at the moment, but Bulut isn't that puerile in respect of not allowing his players the 'out' ball, basically a long ball. Which is good news for us, and it allows the players to learn. I hope that we stick with it. With better players, hopefully we become better at doing it. Doesn't mean we can't mix it up though, and i think that we will. Winning the ball back quickly is as important. Good post though, can't argue with anything that you have said
You make a good point about winning the ball back as quick as possible. It just made me reflect... that is what we had been doing since the start of Bullit's tenure, and I would say to great success.

However, in recent games I see that we have been letting the opposition have the ball more, and not press them so much. Probably understandable against teams like West Brom and Southampton, what with their better players.

However, yesterday against Millwall we stood off them and let them get all the momentum in the first half. It reminded me of the type of performance that is usually needed away from home at the end of the season, where we might need to dig in and get a point against the odds, towards promotion, against a team up for the fight. That type of away result usually also proves that the character of the players in such circumstance.

Unfortunately we weren't playing Millwall away near the end of the season, we were at home and surely we should be dictating the tempo of play.

In the end, the players did well to gradually get back into the game, through sheer will power, and once the crowd had something to cheer about, I could detect the Millwall players getting less confident when defending.

In the end it was three points, and to get three points when playing so badly shows the character of the players.

Just before we scored, I said to my grandson, if we win this, we are going up. Not (only) because I am stupid, but as we all know, we look back at certain promotion seasons and see results like this as the ones where this or that point was vital. Also, last season we would have lost that game without so much as a whimper.

I don't know why we have been pressing less of late, but we were good at it against Bristol and Swansea Town, so I can't understand why we wouldn't do it against Millwall. Especially after our manager expressed his opinion that Millwall are a more direct team, thereby hinting that they would be less comfortable in possession.