27 May 2023 21:45:11
Congratulations to Rob Edwards and Luton Town on reaching the premiership I bet the Pozzo's are feeling pretty sick right now.
We had a discussion a couple of weeks ago around the type of football currently being played, and that anything other than playing out from the back, with either one up top or a false nine was outdated and doomed to failure. Well Luton certainly burst that myth playing direct with two physical forwards and if they didn't win the first ball they certainly we're in position to challenge for the knockdowns and by pressing high they turned over a lot of ball in the oppositions half. Who says you can only play the beautiful game one way.
27 May 2023 22:44:11
They also had the most points lost from winning positions Lord which means the turnover in possessions regularly cost them later in games.
They will either be punished regularly in the prem or at best be like Bielsa's Leeds and have 1 season of taking teams by surprise before being found out.
They are a hard working team and deserve the plaudits for that but that was one of the most shocking finals for a long time and they just don't have the structure or resources to stick around at the top end like a Brighton or Brentford.
28 May 2023 08:13:41
My bet is we get them away first game
28 May 2023 08:44:16
It doesn’t matter a jot Luton lost most points from winning positions rk they got promoted based on a sound financial business model, and playing a brand of football that suited the players they could afford. In my opinion they should be lauded for that. Will they succeed in the premiership? probably not, however that wasn’t my point, my point was you don’t have to subscribe to this insane view that football can only be played one way for a club to be successful.
28 May 2023 09:39:03
It shouldn't matter how you play aslong as you get results that's the main thing that counts
28 May 2023 09:54:07
It does matter though, at the top level you can't play that way because it will cost you. I can't really think of a team in the last 10 years that has even survived relegation playing hoofball to a big striker.
Sure, success can be relative. Luton falling over the line against a Coventry team that didn't turn up is a huge deal for them.
Relative success and actual success are completely different though. Even with a mega budget you cannot put a team together that can overcome giving up control of the ball that regularly.
28 May 2023 12:46:47
Why is playing direct described as hoofball? in the past a Man City centre back like Kompany plays a long diagonal ball out wide it’s a magnificent pass, Ben Mee when he was at Burnley plays the same ball it’s described as being lumped forward it’s all football snobbery perpetuated by the media and people buy into it for some reason. It’s the same thing when it comes to the argument about possession of the ball you must have control of the ball for most of the game. B*******. It’s about what you do with the ball when you have it, so if you look at the teams who have had most possession this season Newcastle are ranked 15th Villa 16th and Brighton 17th! And irrespective of what happens today, those three teams haven’t done too bad. For me football is a relatively simple game it’s all about playing to the strengths of your players if that means going direct then so be it.
28 May 2023 13:51:57
Playing a diagonal to a winger in space isn't the same as lumping it centrally to someone like Chris Wood though, is it?
Doing it once when it's the right thing to do is also different to regularly doing it. Luton constantly lump it forward and rely on the forwards to outrun and outmuscle the defence which is unsustainable.
Burnley had 1 good season doing it, but again, doing fairly well and achieving actual success (trophies) are not the same thing.
I'm also not sure where you are getting your possession stats from, Brighton, Newcastle and Villa are all top 10 in the average possession stats for the season.
Brentford are the only team massively above their possession position and, although direct, it is more that they play fewer passes sideways and backwards rather than pinging it high and long for it to bounce back.
28 May 2023 15:08:38
As usual you and I will have to disagree