RE Carrick and Westwood, Carrick's range of passing was/is on a complete different level to Westwood's.
When Sven G-E was England manager he was asked why he never picked Gazza Bazza: he answered "I just don't like him".Barry went on to win dozens of caps, later.Why was TSM so fixated on buying NZog? - he'd hardly been a consistent performer, yet TSM tried to buy him at the Sty and then immediately did so when at our place.Managers convince themselves about the pros and cons of certain players, almost without rationale.
If westwood plays tomorrow I hope he's at least relieved of corner duties. They are infuriating.
There is a big difference between (i) just moving the ball around for the sake of it and (ii) probing for openings. I think Westwood is more inclined towards the former.
Quote from: silhillvilla on September 25, 2015, 08:25:21 PMIf westwood plays tomorrow I hope he's at least relieved of corner duties. They are infuriating. Everton use Baines (when he is fit) for most dead ball kicks. I wonder what Amavi would be like or put it another way, he couldn't be much worse than we have had to put up with the last couple of years. From memory, through the haze of crapness last year, our best corners were by Grealish and Gill, so why not now?
Quote from: old man villa fan on September 25, 2015, 07:31:23 PMThere is a big difference between (i) just moving the ball around for the sake of it and (ii) probing for openings. I think Westwood is more inclined towards the former.Except (i) is still a useful skill, which you have to do when (ii) is not on, especially when the other team is pressing and trying to win the ball back in a hurry. Maybe Westwood doesn't do enough of (ii), but that doesn't mean he's worthless because he's more inclined towards (i)
To be fair, sometimes the lack of movement from the forward players has restricted passing options for a lot of the players
Quote from: villan from luton on September 26, 2015, 12:00:57 AMTo be fair, sometimes the lack of movement from the forward players has restricted passing options for a lot of the playersMovement is the key to creating space and openings all over the pitch. It also makes passing so much easier.
Quote from: old man villa fan on September 26, 2015, 12:05:29 AMQuote from: villan from luton on September 26, 2015, 12:00:57 AMTo be fair, sometimes the lack of movement from the forward players has restricted passing options for a lot of the playersMovement is the key to creating space and openings all over the pitch. It also makes passing so much easier.Couldn't agree more.
Quote from: villan from luton on September 26, 2015, 12:13:27 AMQuote from: old man villa fan on September 26, 2015, 12:05:29 AMQuote from: villan from luton on September 26, 2015, 12:00:57 AMTo be fair, sometimes the lack of movement from the forward players has restricted passing options for a lot of the playersMovement is the key to creating space and openings all over the pitch. It also makes passing so much easier.Couldn't agree more. Movement - the lack of it off the ball - has been our most chronic failing for most of the last twenty years or so. It drives me absolutely nuts.
Quote from: passitsideways on September 25, 2015, 11:37:26 PMQuote from: old man villa fan on September 25, 2015, 07:31:23 PMThere is a big difference between (i) just moving the ball around for the sake of it and (ii) probing for openings. I think Westwood is more inclined towards the former.Except (i) is still a useful skill, which you have to do when (ii) is not on, especially when the other team is pressing and trying to win the ball back in a hurry. Maybe Westwood doesn't do enough of (ii), but that doesn't mean he's worthless because he's more inclined towards (i)No, you should only use (i) if you are trying to waste time. You should always be looking to do (ii), which involves moving the ball around to draw players out and creates the openings. If the opposition is pressing, you use short passes to get behind them and past the first line of defence. If you are doing (i), you are just using energy for no reward.Perhaps our lack of chances created last season was due to too much of (i).