Where will we finish 24/25?

Quoted from chaos33

Did you go or watch the highlights? We didn’t concede but were hugely lucky to get away with it when Rotherham missed a gaping goal after our keeper gave the ball straight to him.

My beef with this concept is that there’s just no evidence to show that trying to create and score goals with 27 pass moves that start with the keeper and two defenders standing on their own six yard line and passing sideways is a sensible main strategy for scoring goals. Unless you’re the very best. Don’t get me wrong - I want to see us pass it, and not not lump it and play the pure percentages game but we need to be pragmatic, realistic and mix it up.

You look at the Euros. There was one occasion when England had a corner. Rather than deliver it, they played 4 passes and got the ball back to Pickford! Lunacy when you know that the stats show that most goals in all levels of the game are scored from crosses, set pieces and errors. Any 4th division team being purists in this style are using a very high risk strategy and defying the data. Of course, the answer is trying to vary your style, but I’d be much more assured if you could see us trying to move the ball quickly, get it into dangerous areas and try to get crosses, attacking set pieces and force opposition errors.

The second goal against Boston was from us playing it out from the back, the first against Rotherham was from a corner that all come from us playing it out from the back. There's evidence in pre season to show it working as well as the odd mistake.

There are pros and cons, admittedly but even Premier League clubs concede goals playing this way, so what is the alternative, hoof ball?

Quoted from LocalLadGTFC

I think you are the first person i've ever hear say they prefer international over club football, outside tournaments international football is dull. The buzz of a big tournament is good but nothing will beat that big game feeling for Town as you walk down Grimsby Road for me.

Ask professional players and I think the majority would say winning a world cup would eclipse anything over club football. I do take your point though that some players/fans(especially)   club football over international means more .

Quoted from Ruuger

There are pros and cons, admittedly but even Premier League clubs concede goals playing this way, so what is the alternative, hoof ball?

Straw man alert.

Quoted from Rick12

Ask professional players and I think the majority would say winning a world cup would eclipse anything over club football. I do take your point though that some players/fans(especially)   club football over international means more .

I think a good litmus test is: which did you get over quicker, England's defeat to Spain in the final of the Euros or Town's defeat to Bristol Rovers in the 15/16 National League play-off final? One took me a full 12 months, the other about 12 minutes...

Quoted from Poojah

I think a good litmus test is: which did you get over quicker, England's defeat to Spain in the final of the Euros or Town's defeat to Bristol Rovers in the 15/16 National League play-off final? One took me a full 12 months, the other about 12 minutes...

For me international losses have always weighed more heavily . I always think to how international footballing success can unite a country whereas club football only affects some. Some of the scenes in Argentina for one were on another level when they won the recent World Cup in Qatar 2022 ; people desperate to see the winning victory parade and a lad falling off  a bridge to their death is one extreme point or  snip below :

An estimated 4 million people were in the streets by Tuesday afternoon, according to local media citing police sources.

"I celebrate the way the people took to the streets to honor our squad," President Alberto Fernández wrote on social media but the celebrations had to be cut short due to health and safety fears due to the crowds

Wrexham fan in peace. Not been on here for a good while and I kinda (oddly) check up on Grimsby now and again since you beat us in the horrific (for us) play off game. I think I'm just about over that game now  

Anyway this thread is an interesting read. My take for what its worth having watched many games in L2 last season.

From reading this thread alone it seems Artell has you trying to play the Notts County way, possession based. Assuming I'm correct with that, I have major doubts that without exceptional players for the league you are in that this will bring success. Bear with me.
The reasons I doubt this are:
I saw Notts destroy everyone bar us this way in the National League title race but bear in mind a lot of that division is dross and they had a very health budget and for the NL a great squad with Langstaff absolutely on fire. They got to League two last season and despite a good start quickly got found out. League two as you know is a different level and much stronger than the National League. As we found out on Day 1 last season.

And when did Notts get found out more? When the pitches started to turn to cow fields over winter. That's a big reason I think why you have to be able to play different ways and in some games have the ability to just go long into the channels. Notts could not and would not do this and they suffered as a result. Those pitches in League 2 whilst are much better than they used to be you still get absolute dross like Bradford's (which is a disgrace to be honest).

If its any consolation I think we're in for a reality dose this season against some League one giants like Birmingham, Huddersfield, Bolton etc.

Anyway good luck for the season ahead and would you like to sign Billy Waters?  

Quoted from Ruuger

There are pros and cons, admittedly but even Premier League clubs concede goals playing this way, so what is the alternative, hoof ball?

Both actually. Our GK was passed to by our back whilst the GK was being closed down. He left-footed to the opposition. Surely a clearance hoof should have been the option taken, no harm in that.

Quoted from chaos33

Straw man alert.

  Do you actually know what that means?

A straw man fallacy (sometimes written as strawman) is the informal fallacy of refuting an argument different from the one actually under discussion,

And it was you that first mentioned this in this very thread.

Quoted from GrimPol

Both actually. Our GK was passed to by our back whilst the GK was being closed down. He left-footed to the opposition. Surely a clearance hoof should have been the option taken, no harm in that.

That is not the point, of course if you are under pressure you hoof the ball clear,  what I asked to those who say we shouldn't play out from the back, is what is the alternative, hoof ball?