townend_owl Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 First off - best performance I can remember in a long time - definitely this year. No doubt a lot of that is down to players trying to impress under the new regime. Now a MASSIVE amount had changed in the first half - still a fair bit of long ball and pretty static movement, although the goal was well worked. Second half was just ridiculous though - what a difference. Clinical forward play, nice possession in midfield and composed at the back. The stand-out differences for me were: Comfortable in the lead. Passing it around defence and midfield - not heard the olay chants for a long time Bywater with obvious instructions to distribute to the defence. Almost every time he rolled it or passed it to the defenders When we attacked we seemed to overload Bury. There was always a pass on - always a through ball option. Madine and Lowe linked up brilliantly. Under Megson, the strikers always seemed a million miles away from each other. Tonight, whenever Madine held it up, Lowe was whipping it from him and making a run in no time. Shorter passing in midfield - backward passes were an option and were taken regularly. Yes, Jones and Batth still played longer passes, but they're league one cenntre backs. Everybody else looked to the wing backs and other midfield players instead of lumping it to COG under Megson. Just to state before I finish, this is not a megson bashing thread. He played his football and got us to 3rd in the table. Signs tonight however, are very positive. I was entertained at Hillsborough for the first time in years. UTO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dorian gray Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 (edited) we played with a certain freedom... the players looked as though they weren't shackled by a system... they seemed to respond to that perceived freedom, and play better... and one for me, the backline seemed to push 10 yards further upfield, the midfield didn't tow it's bo!!ox off, and lines and semedo had cracking games...also prutton when he came on... worried with buxton, didn't have his best game tonight... Edited March 7, 2012 by dnhc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
townend_owl Posted March 7, 2012 Author Share Posted March 7, 2012 YES! The defensive line was another comment I wanted to make! It looked very active which was great to see - pushing up and deeper all the time when required instead of just deep and under pressure. There was definitely a lot more freedom. Some great runs from midfield which we haven't seen for some time. Couple of flicks, backheels etc. It was just great to see Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gurujuan Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 Just got back from Amsterdam, all sounds very promising Looking forward to a potential cracker on Saturday Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikecass919 Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 Buxton didnt have the best game tonight, but hes just class. his awareness and decision making is unparrelled. there was one time he was sheilding the ball and was forced back to our touchline and somehow managed to get a pass away to antonio. best player in division for me. could play for england...gotta be better than glen johnson. also danny batth for england in a few years?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nebneeb Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 We were always looking for a positive, forward pass. Only went backwards when there wasn't an option to go forwards. Our play looked a lot more purposeful. When we got into good positions we tried to make the most of it (i.e. score) rather than dithering on the ball or playing a pointless pass and watching the opportunity vanish. I think we did see glimpses of that sort of performance, for example the first half against Tranmere. But the main difference today was we kept it going in the second half until we were 4-0 up. We haven't seen a performance that good, where we kept it going for practically the whole match in a long time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swissowl Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 we played Bury..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pgmetcalf Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 It was better, not great. Let's not not get carried away with ourselves. Our positional play and running off the ball was much better than it has been of late but some of our short passing was dreadful and put players under a lot of pressure; we still farted around with it at the back at times. Still, DJ has only been there 4 days so if he can have an affect like that in such a short time, things are looking up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
senwar Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 we played Bury..... Yes. And on Saturday we played Rochdale and didn't play anywhere near as good. And despite bury's position, they played some lovely stuff. You have to beat what's in front of you. And we did. Very well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
senwar Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 It was better, not great. Let's not not get carried away with ourselves. Our positional play and running off the ball was much better than it has been of late but some of our short passing was dreadful and put players under a lot of pressure; we still farted around with it at the back at times. Still, DJ has only been there 4 days so if he can have an affect like that in such a short time, things are looking up. Not great? Compared to the last few months it was like watching barcelona. It was a cracking performance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camffiti Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 It was better, not great. Let's not not get carried away with ourselves. Our positional play and running off the ball was much better than it has been of late but some of our short passing was dreadful and put players under a lot of pressure; we still farted around with it at the back at times. Still, DJ has only been there 4 days so if he can have an affect like that in such a short time, things are looking up. I prefer flatulence to hoofing great horse sh*t Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markowl Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 we played Bury..... So did Huddersfield on Saturday, what's your point? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pgmetcalf Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 Not great? Compared to the last few months it was like watching barcelona. It was a cracking performance. Barca who? You mean that 3rd rate football team from Spain. I thinking being 5 times better than them is the lowest I'd stoop to if I was a football manager. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swissowl Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 So did Huddersfield on Saturday, what's your point? Want to see us put in a performance again like that against a 'big' team in this league. We should be doing it over the lieks of Bury if we expect ot go up. Huddersfield will be the test. have the players got faith to play like that against them! I hope so! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M Royds Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 Just got back from Amsterdam, all sounds very promising Looking forward to a potential cracker on Saturday Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brian joicey Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 anyone else notice ...not a single long throw in the 2nd half!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
townend_owl Posted March 7, 2012 Author Share Posted March 7, 2012 anyone else notice ...not a single long throw in the 2nd half!! yeah - pro-active management it seems. Nothing was coming from them, so obviously they felt we'd have a better chance of getting an effort on goal by playing it shorter and looking for an opportunity Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
latemodelchild Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 When we were in possession and went sideways or backwards the crowd didn't get restless. Because we'd been passing it well people could see what was happening and showed patience. For too long there's been folk in the crowd who moan when we aren't hoofing then moan cos the hoof doesn't produce anything. Some people are going to have to learn to be patient if we are going to continue to play like this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Lita.swfc Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 Buxton didnt have the best game tonight, but hes just class. his awareness and decision making is unparrelled. there was one time he was sheilding the ball and was forced back to our touchline and somehow managed to get a pass away to antonio. best player in division for me. could play for england...gotta be better than glen johnson. also danny batth for england in a few years?? defo Wednesday tinted glasses saying Buxton is better than glen Johnson :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest totemowl Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 I didn't think the differences were as great as most on here. We got an early goal, then a second, and that is what made us look good. Ie. we didn't get nervous, the pressure was off, and so on. Next two matches will be a tougher challenge but at least we go into them on the back of a sizable win. Now that is different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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