Current playing style and identity

[N0rtherner]

Some options overlapping a bit there... was torn between defensive, cautious and counter-attacking. It was as the QPR commentators said on the weekend, "they [Sheffield Wednesday] play a bit like they're the away team here..."

 

A lot of passing at the back, little possession and looking to strike on counter attacks. Too cautious for my taste really, and Mourinho's joke quote spring to mind "If the opposition cannot score, you cannot lose..." but really, football shouldn't be so intent on defending and not conceding that it hurts your offensive game. Games are won by scoring goals, you cannot simply focus on preventing the others from scoring and then occasionally try a stab at going forward. Which seems like us these days...

[N0rtherner]

On 04/10/2020 at 20:12, S36 OWL said:

OTHER - Clueless, disorganised and spineless  

 

Fixed that for you - the way we're organised defensively and hardly ever pressing the opponent, it's far from disorganised. But that defensive unit is clueless going forward, and Monk's tactics are spineless for not trying to do more about it.

[Inspector Lestrade]

Don't see how you can have a style or identity without any forwards.   

[Hack-Abusi]

Other*

 

TURGID

[Beauchief Owl]

Our current identity includes conceding goals in stoppage time, losing most points from winning positions bar Wigan last season , scoring least goals at home in the first half and having virtually no chance of winning a match from a losing position (we managed it once last season and then about 2018 before that).

[adelphi1867]

On 04/10/2020 at 19:31, areNOTwhatTHEYseem said:

To me, it's pretty clear that one of our main tactics at the moment is to win the ball back from our opponents as high up the pitch as possible and launch a quick counter attack from there.

 

Only Bournemouth have made more interceptions than us at this very early stage of the season, and Brown and Luongo have been central to this approach.

 

It didn't result in a second goal, but after we went ahead in yesterday's game and settled back into a more solid defensive shape (until the loss of Lees), we actually created our two most clearcut chances (Reach and Luongo's) by taking advantage of QPR's increasing desperation to get back on level terms.

 

Our squad is one of the most changed in the Championship, so it's going to take a while to fully click. Hopefully we'll develop other ways of playing as the squad begins to gel and the players have more time to work on attacking plays etc.

Stop talking common sense.

[brando]

On 06/10/2020 at 15:17, adelphi1867 said:

Stop talking common sense.

You mean lump it up....with no target man 

Were in trouble..

 

 

 

[airborne_rat_of_s6]

Ineffective hoofball.

[davetherivelinowl]

It's clear that Monk wants us to press high up the pitch and he thinks players like Windass, Patterson, Kachunga, Brown, Harris and Luongo are a better fit for that than the likes of Nuhiu and Rhodes.

 

I read an article somewhere about a stat called something like PBDI - Passes Before Defensive Intervention ie how many passes the opposites are allowed to make before we get a touch. It said this figure had come down considerably this season to something like 7. We were at our worst last season when it was high eg something like 25 against Brentford. So a high press is clearly what Monk has in mind and for a while it seemed to be working. But then it fell apart in the second half against Bristol City and we struggled to maintain it against QPR. 

 

To me it seems like a great idea but I don't think we are fit enough to keep it going. That's when our lack of quality gives us no other option and we seem clueless.

 

I expect we'll do fine for the next 3 games after the break and then get rubbish again when we tire.