Quote Originally Posted by SmiffyPie View Post
Possession became a bit of a millstone around our necks last season and at times became a negative. The Newport game and Thursdays game are examples of how possession with an attacking emphasis should be used. All this passing around the corners, back to the keeper, across the middle with the sole intent of retaining possession is not hard to counter and I am glad that, as far as I can see, SM is looking for a quicker forward ball to players who aren't shackled by being in the right place to simply retain possession.
I thought the first half against Fleetwood was like Ardleyball where, although we were dominating possession, we didn't look like scoring and the feeling was that we could concede a silly goal if Fleetwood got a chance, which is what happened.

Thursday against Grimsby was totally different. We still dominated possession but the passing was crisper, faster and the clear intent was to move the ball into the opposition's half as soon as we could, not keep possession for the sake of it with no forward momentum. If we play with formation and the intent we did on Thursday in most/all games this season, a lot of teams in this league won't be able to cope with us. It set the bar for the way we should aim to play all the time. Plus we look a much bigger, more physically aggressive team this season too. More robust in winning the ball back, and more difficult to knock off it.