Quote Originally Posted by the_anticlough View Post
IB wants us to keep the ball, control the game and is coaching the squad to execute this better all the time - to do it with purpose and intelligence.
I can't stand a long ball game which mean the opposition's coming back at you constantly. If you question the critics of IB's philosophy a bit further, it wouldn't be long before the words ''flick on'' are heard - the single-most useless strategy in football. I've said before, posts about basic playing style are a waste of time while IB's our Head Coach and IMO he's trying to play the right way and there's nothing wrong with it. And the idea that professional footballers in 2021, many coming through Premier and Championship academies, can't play a passing game is ridiculous.

Style is not our problem at all. Bravery, consistency, execution, experience. mental toughness were the question marks in those three defeats and they can apply to any playing style

Final point, players are trying to follow their training and instructions on the pitch - so anybody bawling 'gerritforward' from the Pavis needs to move to the away end
Nothing to disagree with but the comment I would make is that the sort of players we are going after by adopting the style we are trying to implement would perhaps be drastically different to for example the type that Sutton attracted last season. In that they are a perhaps more prone to exhibit a lack of mental toughness, bravey and experience for example. Of course this is where the need for a 'hard as nails' midfielder comes in......