Holmes_and_Watson

FInally a nice bread and butter cross... into the centre where we've actually got someone who can finish in there... first time shot and it's in. If only there were tactics in the world where more of that could be generated... 🙂

Yeeeees!!!!!!!!

Baz with a nice, quick direct and middle distance pass, getting us moving...

Adams... gah.... given away...

Manning... blocked. Decent move though (nice to find something positive to type)

Martin will look at Smallbone's effort as one from his tactic. But it actually took a direct run from someone to create it. As usual, with plenty of their players back. In a previous game, I thought Smallbone did well to get a good effort in. Today, in a better posisiton, it ws the same technique and had it fallen to a more natural finisher that might have been a better outcome. Smallbone is asked to cover a lot of roles.

10 minutes ago I received a telegraph that read Hull player will pass to number 7. Stop. I wondered what it was. When it actually happened our whole defence managed to get them sucked into the wrong posistion and miss that pass. I guess they didn;t get that message.. or the smoke signals.. or the carrier pigeons... meanwhile, any Hull attack can take advantage of huge gaps in the same position our tactic always leaves. No attacking advantage of numbers tucked in, when we can;t construct any incisive passing moves form them, and knacker ourselves running back to cover any remotely direct opponents.

We are moving the ball into the box. Now, you'd think haveing removed all the direct, physical players form the squad and trained them to pass, pass and pass... that was the way that would go. But nope. Today, we've implemented the hitting-it-to-people-who-will-never-win-an-aerial-challenge tactic. Wasted. We are getting more up, byt the looks of it. Which could mean anything can happen really. Disapointed to see them paly it sharply out from the back. I'm sure they don;t have our levels of training or such a capable goalkeeper for that. Next time, they won;t be so lucky, surely. 🙂

I heard they were investigating to see if his hair gives him an unfair advantage in winning those.

A playing legend. Thoughts are with family, friends and his generations of fans.

Another blasting shot from outside the box. The same spot as at least two previous efforts. If that's the optimal shooting spot for Martin's passing/ possession game, then it's broken.

I thought that should have been a yellow against Manning there. Mind you, the ref probably saw Manning about to make a direct run and Martin's finger on the explosive implant to stop it, and thought the Hull player was doing Manning a favour.

We got the ball wide a couple of mins back. Most teams would have people get into the box as it was crying out for a cross. We have Arma in there, the least likely to win a header. I can only hope Stweart offers us something, anything from that sort of position. We offer no physical threat.

Corner... Alcaraz working hard.

Nearly another for Hull. Again. Meanwhile ...after another Hull attack. Baz looks up...doesn;t see anything...waits...waits... our 4 defenders move up...and then he lumps it long anyway. It was accurate, but allowed them to get back into positions so any chance we ahd form it came to nothing.

It was nearly... little handshake between Alcaraz and their keeper.

Smallbone with two attemtps to pass it forward. Immediately chose the safe backward option. FIne, if that's all that was on. But he was in a lot of space, didn;t think about moving into the space to draw anyone out. Just safe and back.

Arma with a shot form exactly the same spot as Stu a minute or two back. If our passing allows them to set up their defence, and then we don;t bother trying to pass through it, but just shoot then it's not working. Hull getting all the space in the world behind where fullbacks normally are. 30 secs later...exactly the same... cut back across this time gfor a corner. same old, same old. frustrating.

Stu's touch just a bit heavy runnign onto that in the middle... Hull sort of on the break. We have improved in that respsect. We now have as many back as they have forward, which is an improvement of 1 person running back to cover every attacker. But Hull's direct running into space looks for likely than our hitting form outside the box against a set defence. That's somethign that hasn;t changed, sadly.

Stu trying to take on 3 there... he should know better... always have that moment when there's a chance of a break agianst us... but I'm sure Russ has it sorted >gulp<

"Southampton look to try and break..." sideways pass...backwards pass... go us!

Very much on the back foot here.

Jail

Big

Editor