Attractive football in a relegation battle

[Guest elbee909]

It's a ludicrous myth that because you're down the bottom, you have to make some sort of concerted effort to play shite and kick lumps out of people. It doesn't even make sense.

 

Not really.  The reason they're down there is because they can't play good football.

 

West Ham weren't saved last season by Lee Bowyer kicking people and snarling but the class of Carlos Tevez. Perhaps they'd have been safer earlier if they'd bought Alan Smith and played him instead, we'll never know.

 

We're down at the bottom because of players like Smith with zero ability other than "effort" and lunging into tackles. These players will get us in deeper, not save us. The pundits peddle lines like "he's the type of player you need at the bottom" and it usually refers to the players who got you down there in the first place by being absolute bollocks.

 

Yup.

[1878]

Playing as a team and with a bit of passion & will is the most important thing.

 

Whether that goes with positive, attacking tactics or negative ones isn't the be all and end all.

[TRon]

It's a ludicrous myth that because you're down the bottom, you have to make some sort of concerted effort to play shite and kick lumps out of people. It doesn't even make sense.

 

Not really.  The reason they're down there is because they can't play good football.

 

West Ham weren't saved last season by Lee Bowyer kicking people and snarling but the class of Carlos Tevez. Perhaps they'd have been safer earlier if they'd bought Alan Smith and played him instead, we'll never know.

 

We're down at the bottom because of players like Smith with zero ability other than "effort" and lunging into tackles. These players will get us in deeper, not save us. The pundits peddle lines like "he's the type of player you need at the bottom" and it usually refers to the players who got you down there in the first place by being absolute bollocks.

 

I agree. That's why I said we really need to make our minds up which way to go. If the likes of Smith and Butt are going to be our main players then we need to adopt a defence first priority as we aren't going to score goals with these type of players making up the side. When we face Sunderland, Reading and Birmingham in the crunch games, who would they like to face on the pitch:

 

Butt, Barton, Carr and Smith in a physical battle where they can compete at their preferred level?

 

or

 

The Zog, Martins, Emre or Carroll even? Players who can out-gun them one on one at every level where it counts?

[NE5]

Something that concerns me a bit. Keegan's brand of attacking football was exactly what was needed earlier in the season against Derby, Reading and the like. Easier to play free-flowing stuff when there is no pressure. In a relegation struggle, with confidence low it's less easy to produce, and it's usually the struggling sides who try to play football that suffer most. With forwards and midfielders struggling to get goals is it the right approach at this stage in the season? If Martins and Viduka figure more, then probably yes. If we stick to Smith up top then I'd say no.

 

you've been reading my post on howaythetoon 

[Wullie]

Divvn't knaa about Carroll like but the rest definitely. No-brainer.

[Baggio]

Smith has had his chance and been fucking terrible, I'd give Martins and Owen another go since the team played well when they played together against Spurs, I don't think Keegan will start Oba on Saturday though.

[TRon]

Divvn't knaa about Carroll like but the rest definitely. No-brainer.

 

Carroll is a battering ram option, nothing more. Just as Kenwyn Jones will give us problems it's conceivable Carroll could give other struggling defences a hard time and create space for the likes of Owen or Martins. Not my first choice, but worth considering if only on the bench.

 

NE5, I don't know anything about Howaythetoon, I have sometimes posted on TT as you know. I've been concerned about this for a while, if you wrote something along the same lines obviously I'm not the only one.

 

 

[Karjala]

West Ham        32 44 -4   

Tottenham       32 39 6

Newcastle      32 35 -21

Middlesbrough 32 34 -17

Sunderland      32 33 -20   

Reading           32 32 -21 

Wigan              32 31 -19   

Birmingham     32 30 -11   

 

Bolton             32 26 -18   

Fulham            32 24 -24

Derby              32 11 -51