Eddie's presser

[Zippity]

What he said worried me.

He said he considers us a 'passing team'.

Now, we've barely strung more than a handful of passes together all season and some of our passing has been worse than under Bruce, McClaren, et al.

The other thing that jarred was when he said we certainly don't intend to pass sideways or backwards-which is something we've done all season. Are the players ignoring him or are they just incapable of following what he's asking them to do? Either is a big worry.

Now, this isn't having a go at Eddie per se. As i've said, I want him here next season but only if he can change the way he's been coaching us this season. How big that 'but' is (stop sniggering at the back) remains to be seen. We know what he's capable of but we;ve only seen glimpses of it for longer than a season now.

We've veered betweem, in the main, ordinary, poor and very poor this season so does Eddie really believe we're a 'passing team' whose intention is to attack because that's what he's saying.

Does he not see it? Is he hiding his head in the sand? And my worry is because, if he doesn't see it, what's going to change next season?

[Cannylad]

Dear me, I've whined about how pathetic our passing has been ever since Eddie arrived, I think he lives in a dual world his and the real one. I watched an old video when Cabaye, Ben Arfa etc. were here, what a refreshing difference in attitude.

[Jammy89]

Aye - that is a concern.

Equally - he can hardly say "yeh we're **** at passing, pressing and crossing"

[Zippity]

Aye - that is a concern.

Equally - he can hardly say "yeh we're **** at passing, pressing and crossing"

Well, no, this is true.

[OwdBillCook]

Dear me, I've whined about how pathetic our passing has been ever since Eddie arrived, I think he lives in a dual world his and the real one. I watched an old video when Cabaye, Ben Arfa etc. were here, what a refreshing difference in attitude.

Is this possibly a result of how the Prem has changed? A lot more man-marking, slowing the game down, negative tactics?
I can't afford to watch a lot on the TV now, but it seems to me that negativity is a big thing now, and difficult to break down.
Thoughts??

[Zippity]

Is this possibly a result of how the Prem has changed? A lot more man-marking, slowing the game down, negative tactics?
I can't afford to watch a lot on the TV now, but it seems to me that negativity is a big thing now, and difficult to break down.
Thoughts??

Yep, that's a very fair point.

We're not the only ones who recycle possession because teams have set up defensilvely or are very well organised. Our problem is that , firstly, we do it poorly because our passing is so shit so when we go backwards and teams press us, we invariably just twat it long and lose possession. And secondly, it's at odds with the style of play that brought us success in the first place. We're the antithesis of the team we used to be-brave on the ball, dynamic, forward-thinking, quick passing, strong in possession.

We're none of those things now.

[Marat18]

Aye - that is a concern.

Equally - he can hardly say "yeh we're **** at passing, pressing and crossing"

Well, he did say intensity is our identity 3 seasons ago.
Now it is passing, but I dont know how its supposed to work. I think may be like PSG or Man City and who else?

Im no expert in football tactics and may be Im wrong, but I have an impression that something changed in the way we play after first CL campaign.
Was it that Howe understood that his system didnt work there. Or it just didnt work with 2 games a week?

Now most of the games I see is in energy save mode with passing sideways just hoping that there will be 2-3 moments of brilliance from this skillfull set of players.
To be honest, today they kinda put some effort in in 2nd half, but it looked like they forgot how to do it.

[Nufcian]

What he said worried me.

He said he considers us a 'passing team'.

Now, we've barely strung more than a handful of passes together all season and some of our passing has been worse than under Bruce, McClaren, et al.

The other thing that jarred was when he said we certainly don't intend to pass sideways or backwards-which is something we've done all season. Are the players ignoring him or are they just incapable of following what he's asking them to do? Either is a big worry.

Now, this isn't having a go at Eddie per se. As i've said, I want him here next season but only if he can change the way he's been coaching us this season. How big that 'but' is (stop sniggering at the back) remains to be seen. We know what he's capable of but we;ve only seen glimpses of it for longer than a season now.

We've veered betweem, in the main, ordinary, poor and very poor this season so does Eddie really believe we're a 'passing team' whose intention is to attack because that's what he's saying.

Does he not see it? Is he hiding his head in the sand? And my worry is because, if he doesn't see it, what's going to change next season?

We lose the ball whenever passing with anyone around us, so I?m kinda sceptical about that