High Intensity

Red_Pete_in_Dubai

I heard an interview with Mick McCarthy on SSN last week. He said that you had to play every game in this division with high intensity or you would lose, as all the other teams DO play with a high intensity. To me, this is what is missing from our game at the moment. We are trying to play clever football, looking for the perfect pass & generally slowing the whole game down. Meanwhile our opponents are swarming all over us, closing us down & winning the physical battles all over the pitch. We have to forget trying to play Premiership football & start getting stuck into the physical battle that is Championship football.

LenGlover

Agreed.

We have a major problem though in that too many of our players have little or no physical presence and are too easily out muscled.

I give you Luke Varney today as Exhibit A.

AllLeftFoot

Our workrate and effort etc were probably one of the big factors that helped us maintain our Premiership status for so long.

Then we were often the underdogs, so what we perhaps lacked in comparative quality, we had to make up in working to prevent others being able to play.

Maybe the mentality is different now - we as fans expect us to dominate the game (especially at home), and we're going to be a scalp for most other teams.

Nug

AllLeftFoot....spot on mate, I definitely think teams coming here see our stadium, number of years in the Premiership and are right up for it.

northstandsteve

great post red

jimmymelrose

I have to partly disagree. I agree to playing with high intensity but I'll never agreed to the playing down to other team's level principle (i.e kicking lumps out of the opposition and playing the long ball). If you can play good, crisp, passing football then you should stick to it. It will beat 'physical' football if done effectively. The reason for us losing isn't that we play nice passing football but that we aren't doing it well. We aren't making enough chances and then putting them away.
In my opinion, we lost our footballing principles today with too many hoofs upfield.
We need to continue to play clever football and play the perfect pass, but I agree to doing it quicker and more importantly effectively.
Finally, although many of you hate to admit it, Golfie was right. And he isn't on here 'moaning' today, by the looks of it, probably because many of you don't respect his right to give his, often negative but true, opinion.

Charltonparklane

My son noticed it on Tuesday, he said ' how comes when either keeper has the ball our midfield has their back to it??????????????

Watched it happen time after time today, every other team attacks quick with gusto, our lazy bstards are still looking for the missus in the stand when the keeper gets the ball.

Hope the midfield is just in a 'blip' and can get out of it.