gersnet article (image) Overloading The Wings

[ian1964 10,367]

13 minutes ago, Rousseau said:

Yes, but I hope his running can be focused in a constructive way. 

You can take a horse to water!, MOH for me runs into blind alleys, kick and run, compare him to Candeias

[Rousseau 9,270]

5 minutes ago, ian1964 said:

You can take a horse to water!, MOH for me runs into blind alleys, kick and run, compare him to Candeias

True, but I remain optimistic, despite there being little evidence to the contrary!  

[Uilleam 5,368]

9 minutes ago, Rousseau said:

True, but I remain optimistic, despite there being little evidence to the contrary!  

Hope springs eternal and all that.

 

MO'H does strike me as the type of 'winger' of whom, in the old days (sic),  we would say, 

"Paint a broad green stripe from the bye line to the top of the terracing (sic), and he would just keep running."

 

I hope that he can become more than that, but I cannot detect a lot of subtlety, or a killer final ball,  in his game. 

 

(Oh, and no Buffalo wings!!)

Edited January 18, 2018 by Uilleam

[MacK1950 2,226]

O'Halleron to some may be a headless chicken but if utilised properly culd be a strutting cockerel this was witnessed many years ago with Lovernkrands being used as a winger yet not long before he left us he was moved inside and revelled in the position.

[Rousseau 9,270]

Lovenkrands is a good example. It shows that players can appear worse than they are, if played in the wrong way. 

[Germinal 27]

The last time I saw O'Halloran (and this was obviously some time ago) he spent the whole time before being hooked either standing wide on the wing, waiting for the ball to attack his full back, or deeper, marked tightly by his full back, waiting for the ball to be played into space behind and to use his pace to get there first. On every occasion I can remember Tav would look up, see him, and pass inside.

 

Whether that says the players have no confidence in O'Halloran or Tav was just having a stinker I don't know. I thought it showed that he wasn't suited to Warburton's game plan and so I couldn't work out why he'd bought him.

[DMAA 3,592]

1 hour ago, Rousseau said:

Yes, but I hope his running can be focused in a constructive way. 

Yes that's what I mean. Clever tactics that focus on a player's strength can make him look like a completely different player. Who had a good word to say about Windass under Caixinha or Warburton?

I think headless chicken is harsh given he's demonstrated very good dribbling and finishing in a number of his goals. He's been player of the month once more than any of the rest of our players too. I'm just hoping Murty can turn him around like he did Windass.

[DMAA 3,592]

9 minutes ago, Rousseau said:

Lovenkrands is a good example. It shows that players can appear worse than they are, if played in the wrong way. 

Agreed

[DMAA 3,592]

11 minutes ago, Germinal said:

The last time I saw O'Halloran (and this was obviously some time ago) he spent the whole time before being hooked either standing wide on the wing, waiting for the ball to attack his full back, or deeper, marked tightly by his full back, waiting for the ball to be played into space behind and to use his pace to get there first. On every occasion I can remember Tav would look up, see him, and pass inside.

 

Whether that says the players have no confidence in O'Halloran or Tav was just having a stinker I don't know. I thought it showed that he wasn't suited to Warburton's game plan and so I couldn't work out why he'd bought him.

He was a very strange signing because it was obvious he wasn't Warburton's type of player. He is the total opposite of Barrie McKay, who was exactly Warburton's type of player. But I think a good manager can bring the best out of technical players and more raw players in the same team, and at different stages of the game.

Edited January 18, 2018 by DMAA

[Gaffer 1,665]

Great piece Rousseau, as usual.  The switching of play is key for me in this, because it's too easy to nullify our attacks by many of the teams who will play defensively against us.  7 teams in the SPL will sit back, with at least 8 of their players moving left and right across the pitch as we move the ball out to the wings.  Even if we attempt the overload, they will quickly identity this and get their numbers over quickly.  This is where the sudden switch of play creates the real opportunity.  My concern when I watch us in this system is that we don't seem to be able to achieve this quickly enough for it to be effective.  There is no doubt that Goss or Kranjcar can see and make this delivery with a single pass,  but only one of them is likely to play in our league games.  So, if the opposition covers this player, and matches our overload on the wings, what do we do?  The alternative is that we make the switch through a series of shorter passes (via Holt, Jack, Dorrans, McCrorie, etc), but this is the part that breaks down for me.  They just don't do it quickly enough, and my fear is that when's we try to do it faster, we give the ball away more often.  If we're overloaded on one wing and then lose it in the middle, we are exposed at the back.  For that, we need pace and organisation in defence, which is why I'd like to see McCrorie and Martin (or Alves) in partnership there.  However, we also need Jack because he's the ONLY player in our team who I have confidence in to hold up play enough for our defence (and midfield) to reorganise itself accordingly.  McCrorie is decent in that role, but just doesn't read the game as well as Jack does.  In summary, I'm all for this strategy,  but again there are key man dependencies we need to address.  Who can deputise for Jack?  Is Docherty that type of player?