"Playing out from the back"

[norfolk white]

Put meslier, cooper and firpo together, as we sometimes do and it’s a goal headstart for the opposition.

[hopelesslyoptimistic]

We are shocking at it too. Mellier puts us in danger and hasn’t improved one jot. Gives me the eebie jeebies every time he attempts to pass out- seems to have no sense of an oncoming striker and gets caught in possession too often.

When we played Arsenal in the cup when we were in the championship I seem to recall his distribution and passing was excellent but several seasons of playing with a back 4 (not least Cooper) who often pass back when they shouldn’t seems to have made him regress - I also get worried when we constantly pass it back to him against high pressing teams

[WTF11]

Will be of interest to see how Klaesson will distribute the ball today as he does'nt normally want the ball near his goal as he prefers to clear the ball away "traditional style".

When we bought him he was not renowned for his ball playing capabilities & to be fair
his progression has been hit & miss but his determination to build on his own particular style strengths which is naturally to play the ball long is an interesting contrast to Mesliers attributes & it appears to have worked well for him, so far.

Klaesson’s incredibly bouncy on his feet with his hands by his sides & quickly split-steps well into a good balanced position, so he manages to cover a lot of his goal when diving using the power he gets when pushing off from his feet, particularly his left favoured side if you ever study clips of him in action.
This powerful & effective "set position" is Klaesson’s biggest strength as a keeper, namely his excellent footwork position & rapid speed across his goal.

But he is "not clever" with the ball at his feet when playing out so it'll be interesting to see his game plan & how Farke can integrate his direct distribution strengths into our tactical approach today against the Posh who will no doubt "work" on him.

Thought he did well today, and shows we don't need a gk to play as an outfielder.