James Hanson

Quoted from Mendonca1995

Runs his heart out feeds off scraps all game watching long high balls come to him, if I was him I would be pretty p*%sed off with the lack of service, thrived off crosses into the box early season so what’s changed ?

We aren’t getting to the byline enough

Quoted from livosnose

We aren’t getting to the byline enough

Hit the nail on the head there, but playing the 433 the way we do we are never going to be getting to the byline enough. Too many triangle passes on the halfway line and not enough actual forwards passing. Hopefully Wright and Rose will have a bit more joy getting to the byline to bang some crosses in!

We've seen that there is a good striker in Hanson and I dont think his work ethic is ever in doubt we just need to be using his head to knock it into the net from crosses rather than lumping it up to him to flick on. Or if we do use lump ball the the other 2 forwards need to be running to get onto these flick ons.

It seems so obvious to all of us, so my question is, why can't our management and coaching staff see it, and sort it out?

I'm baffled!

Quoted from mimma

It seems so obvious to all of us, so my question is, why can't our management and coaching staff see it, and sort it out?

I'm baffled!

Because they follow there silly coaching badges and have to do things the way they are taught,, Someone once said that football is a simple game... no one seems to be able to play it that way nowa days

Quoted from Oly1987

We've seen that there is a good striker in Hanson and I dont think his work ethic is ever in doubt we just need to be using his head to knock it into the net from crosses rather than lumping it up to him to flick on. Or if we do use lump ball the the other 2 forwards need to be running to get onto these flick ons.

I've always understood that if you have the ball the opposition can't do much other than try to win it back or to stop you doing anything with it while you have it

Yet our main tactic seems to be to hit it long, for it to be " flicked on " which immediately relinquishes that possession

There is then a 50/50 chance that we keep the possession IF we have someone in support near to Hanson but 9 times out of 10 the ball in the air goes nowhere in particular and because the opposition usually have 2 or 3 players around they will mop up and then start to build up an attack of their own

We just don't learn.... putting the ball on Hanson's head in and around the six yard box is a different matter but just hoofing and hoping is so frustrating and even more than that, totally ineffective

I recall Glen Hoddle ( when he was Swindon manager ) having a dig at John Beck's Cambridge who favoured aerial bombardment.... he said the game is called FOOTBALL for a reason

I don't expect us to be Barcelona-esque because our players have limited ablilities but watching us play lately has been akin to watching a rugby team just punting it upfield and trying to gain some territorial advantage and nothing more

We have so little chance of scoring from this style of play.... surely AL must know this and the players themselves must be as frustrated at us just gifting the impetus to the opposition with every long ball forward

Attack is the best form of defence

Quoted from golfer

Attack is the best form of defence

Is it really attacking when all you are doing is speculatively and not spectacularly launching the ball forward?

I've been listening to the podcast Undr The Cosh (spelling mistake intentional). This week, they had Gary Taylor-Fletcher and his insights into life under Keith Alexander at Northwich and Lincoln is fascinating. What Keith did at Lincoln to Taylor-Fletcher left everyone speechless.

But regards tactics, Jon Parkin said he used to hate playing against Big Keith's teams because he had to sprint back to defend goal kicks as his teams used to send 2 centre halves up for goal kicks.

I've been listening to Top Flight Time Machine - tactics are for girl privates!