It’s going to be a lot like when you first take golf lessons. Your game is struggling, your swing looks awful. But through good coaching, while your game might get worse initially, it will get better.
I don’t know why but I feel really fcukin pissed off and down about us at the minute. Bruce’s negligence has turned us into a crock of shit at the back with no spine whatsoever.
Quote from: villa `cross the mersey on October 24, 2018, 07:36:27 PMI find it astonishing that we are talking about highly paid "professional" footballers who are unable to make simple passes or even control the ball - how can it be that some players are " not comfortable on the ball " it's their job/ trade. They will have been kicking a ball from an early age - they train daily - how can each and every one of them not be adept at basic skills? It's like a builder turning up on site and not being able to use a hammer or an office worker not knowing how to use a PC.By all means they may take a while to be familiar with fresh tactics or coaching methods but basic stuff like ball retention and accurate passing is something they should have been comfortable with by the time they graduated from junior football let alone youth football. We should stop making excuses for them - if they aren't comfortable then ship em out I completely disagree with the view that they can't retain the ball. Our midfield isn't made up of cast aways and rejects - we went around picking off smaller clubs' best players - Hourihane - Barnsley captain; Lansbury - Forest captain; Jedinak - Palace captain; Adomah - virtual ever present the year Boro got promoted; Grealish - one of the most comfortable players on the ball most have ever seen.To say this lot aren't comfortable on the ball is frankly bollocks. What's more likely is that they've spent the last two year being "coached" by Bruce to not worry about that side of things and have got in to the wrong mindset. Give Deano some time with them and they'll be more than fine.
I find it astonishing that we are talking about highly paid "professional" footballers who are unable to make simple passes or even control the ball - how can it be that some players are " not comfortable on the ball " it's their job/ trade. They will have been kicking a ball from an early age - they train daily - how can each and every one of them not be adept at basic skills? It's like a builder turning up on site and not being able to use a hammer or an office worker not knowing how to use a PC.By all means they may take a while to be familiar with fresh tactics or coaching methods but basic stuff like ball retention and accurate passing is something they should have been comfortable with by the time they graduated from junior football let alone youth football. We should stop making excuses for them - if they aren't comfortable then ship em out
Quote from: Ad@m on October 24, 2018, 07:55:15 PMQuote from: villa `cross the mersey on October 24, 2018, 07:36:27 PMI find it astonishing that we are talking about highly paid "professional" footballers who are unable to make simple passes or even control the ball - how can it be that some players are " not comfortable on the ball " it's their job/ trade. They will have been kicking a ball from an early age - they train daily - how can each and every one of them not be adept at basic skills? It's like a builder turning up on site and not being able to use a hammer or an office worker not knowing how to use a PC.By all means they may take a while to be familiar with fresh tactics or coaching methods but basic stuff like ball retention and accurate passing is something they should have been comfortable with by the time they graduated from junior football let alone youth football. We should stop making excuses for them - if they aren't comfortable then ship em out I completely disagree with the view that they can't retain the ball. Our midfield isn't made up of cast aways and rejects - we went around picking off smaller clubs' best players - Hourihane - Barnsley captain; Lansbury - Forest captain; Jedinak - Palace captain; Adomah - virtual ever present the year Boro got promoted; Grealish - one of the most comfortable players on the ball most have ever seen.To say this lot aren't comfortable on the ball is frankly bollocks. What's more likely is that they've spent the last two year being "coached" by Bruce to not worry about that side of things and have got in to the wrong mindset. Give Deano some time with them and they'll be more than fine. Thanks for your reasoned response - could have done without "bollocks" comment - but each to his own - as for the "Wrong mind set" - we are talking about adults here and not young kids - given time I hope Smith can mould a decent side
Quote from: kippaxvilla2 on October 24, 2018, 07:16:31 PMI don’t know why but I feel really fcukin pissed off and down about us at the minute. Bruce’s negligence has turned us into a crock of shit at the back with no spine whatsoever.Make no mistake. Bruce left us with an unbalanced, incoherent,unfit squad. Deliberately imo. But we have been overhauled from the very top down. We have the structure and financial backing in place to return to the top echelons with a vengeance. It will come but we the fan base need to be patient and back Smith & co to the hilt.
Have we massively underachieved, had poor managers, just not very good, or a combination of all three?
Quote from: Three Spires Villa on October 25, 2018, 09:23:02 AMHave we massively underachieved, had poor managers, just not very good, or a combination of all three?We have been poorly run as a club over a number of years starting towards the end of MON’s time which has meant poor appointments at all levels with no coherent strategy. The optimist in me thinks that this time it looks as though we are going about things in the right way; the pessimist in me says it will all go to shit because it always does; the pragmatist in me is saying wait and see.