The dark art of defending

[DaveInSA]

Have I missed something? Or has the dark art of defending been banished?

The humble 0-0 or 1-0 seems a rarity. I have no facts on this but just a feeling about it.

If you don’t have to quality players in the team, conceding none gives you a chance of at least a point. in 2016/17 Huddersfield won 11 games 1-0. 

I think Pearson knew we didn’t have many goals in us. Hence an approach to hit teams on the break and be rock solid at the back. 

I wonder if this is the best strategy to get out of the Championship without the parachute payments? I guess we’ll never know.

[Clutton Caveman]

15 hours ago, DaveInSA said:

Have I missed something? Or has the dark art of defending been banished?

The humble 0-0 or 1-0 seems a rarity. I have no facts on this but just a feeling about it.

If you don’t have to quality players in the team, conceding none gives you a chance of at least a point. in 2016/17 Huddersfield won 11 games 1-0. 

I think Pearson knew we didn’t have many goals in us. Hence an approach to hit teams on the break and be rock solid at the back. 

I wonder if this is the best strategy to get out of the Championship without the parachute payments? I guess we’ll never know.

Attacking mainly consists or robbing the ball close to the penalty area from teams who are obsessed with playing out from the back. Defending means not giving the ball away in those areas. Football is becoming so predictable. How many times per game do we see goalkeepers kicking the ball to a player wide on the halfway line and it sails over his head. Then you get 10 passes close to your own box until some player gets closed down and hits it long anyway. It would be interesting to learn how many goals are scored each year when teams over play close to their goal, why are we so obsessed with this? It works only for teams with players who can receive the ball under pressure and not panic and lose it, and where the whole team wants the ball and is constantly moving into space.. Frankly at our level there are not too many of those. I consider Luton at the moment. They have fast wingers and big forwards and get the ball in the box as often as they can. It seems they frighten defences more used to a slower build up and at least they entertain. 

I sort of understand LM's thoughts on possession but when our forwards need so many chances to score 1 and our possession takes place mainly well away from the opposition goal something doesn't add up. The most worrying thing is when LM ball is not working, there does not seem to be a plan B like for instance the radical idea of playing to together up front.