Pace...

[Paul Lake's Left Knee]

Get Huckerby back in the team... that or Ricky Holden now he was quick.

 

[Exeter Blue I am here]

Seems a tad like groundhog day as I remember starting a thread like this a few years ago.

IMO it's still our main issue and the biggest element of why teams are appearing to have worked out how to play against us.

We don't break at pace, we try and play our way up the pitch, the opposition gets all men back, our attack breaks down and they then fly up our end. Numerous times yesterday that CSKA waltzed up our end.

Until we remedy this we'll never be good in Europe.

Don't get me fucking started Rammy. I've been banging the drum for years. We can't press effectively, we can't counterattack effectively, and we can't get back and cover effectively, all staples of European football. Lack of pace (and mobility) has been the single biggest anchor on each of our 4 Chimps League campaigns, from the moment Cavani ran half the length of the field unmolested for Napoli at the Etihad, to last night. We seem to have taken perverse delight in signing a never ending string of midfielders and strikers with little or no pace.

Gaz Baz
Johnson
Tevez
De Jong
Robinho
Nasri
Silva
Dzeko
Garcia
Negredo
Fernando
Lampard
Milner
Jovetic
Adebayor

Not a flyer amongst them, and of those that have had half a yard in them, Balotelli was a saunterer, Toure a beast over 30 yards, but not built for shuttle running, Kun nippy rather than out and out fast, which pretty much leaves just Fernandinho, whose position means you seldom get to see his pace, and Navas, who's an irredeemable lightweight

 

[Kompany is King]

Tempo is the key. We need to speed up the passing all through the team.

 

[Papa Smurf]

I don't understand this thread. You modeled yourselves after Barcelona, brought in the management guys from Barcelona, you bought extremely good passers of the ball and hired a somewhat tiki-taka coach. Your approach in the planning of the season was one of buildup more than a "defend and counter strategy". If you where to insert some speedy people all you would get is a lack of cohesion throughout all your lines. Passing football doesn't need to be slow by any means, as someone else just said you have to up the tempo and the pressure on defense.

Choose the style you want to play and then bring in the players/management to make it a reality, don't just yell for faster players, look at United...

 

[Exeter Blue I am here]

I don't understand this thread. You modeled yourselves after Barcelona, brought in the management guys from Barcelona, you bought extremely good passers of the ball and hired a somewhat tiki-taka coach. Your approach in the planning of the season was one of buildup more than a "defend and counter strategy". If you where to insert some speedy people all you would get is a lack of cohesion throughout all your lines. Passing football doesn't need to be slow by any means, as someone else just said you have to up the tempo and the pressure on defense.

Choose the style you want to play and then bring in the players/management to make it a reality, don't just yell for faster players, look at United...

The point is playing one way has a limited shelf life, until other teams start to adapt. And in Europe, our 'one way' is already largely passé. Barcelona only still get away with it cos of Messi, and even then they are no longer top dog. Virtually every team in the CL either sits deep and counterattacks at lightning pace, or employs a high tempo press. We aren't able to either play like this or stop others doing it to us, with the personnel we've got, and the biggest reason is our abject lack of pace.
Crisp, accurate, quick passing is undoubtedly important as well, but it's very difficult to execute against packed narrow defences

 

[The-Dogs-Pollocks]

Last season we were smashing teams four or five at home on a regular basis with goals coming from all over the pitch. This time round we are struggling to create with Aguero being our only real goal threat.

Our build up play is slow and pedestrian, allowing organised defensive sides like Stoke and cska to allow us to play 20 sideways passes, intercept and expose our defence on the counter.

I am sure Pellegrini won't be happy with our slow build up play but I am not sure there are any quick fixes for the problem, Yaya and fernandinho are both playing poorly this season and it feels like the whole team is lacking confidence ( with the exception of Sergio who is bang on form).

I think pellers needs to sure things up and play 5 in midfield to get a few back to back wins and bring the confidence and snappy passing / inventiveness back in to our play. We need to dig out a few scrappy wins before we can start thinking about smashing teams with free flowing football again.

With a full strength squad:

Hart
Zab, Demichellis, vinnie, ak

Milner, fern

Silva, nasri

Yaya

Aguero


Stick Yaya behind aguero where he can do dome damage, get the full backs overlapping, with Milner and fern covering the defence. At least this would give us a some solidity with enough attacking talent to nick a goal or two.

 

[dom]

I also agree Rammy.

To me the best example of speed in transition is Real Madrid. Their movement and tempo enables them to destroy teams on the break. The other aspect of Madrid's game which stands out is the overall tempo of their game. Even if the ball is moved around the back line and midfield, it is moved very quickly with players darting in and out of holes, collecting the ball and then with one touch quickly moving the ball on.

Last season we scored over 100 goals. On many occasions it was because we played at a fast tempo and allowed the ball to do the work for us. So I don't necessarily subscribe to the view that we can't do it, it's just that we don't seem to have the hunger and desire to do it. I also think we miss a player like the Beast terribly. We weakened the squad over summer by losing him, and not replacing him.

I know that it's clutching at straws, but why not give a couple of our EDS players a go? They couldn't do any worse than some of the current crop.

Decent post

Plus .. some of our first team squad NEED A ROCKET UP THEIR ARSES !!

There is no excuse at their level for

Not tackling (that means ALL of you)

Not challenging for the first and second balls off long kicks (or any other kicks for that matter)

 

[robertsuki]

I agree wholeheartedly that we need pace in the team and counter at speed. We have tried to model ourselves on Barca, but they were a special generation and things have moved on.
My other concern is that we do not have a deep lying playmaker in the squad who can quickly turn defence into attack. What a difference a younger Pirlo style player would bring to the table.