Hoof Ball Tendency's/ Thommo

[Sidarlo]

Morning everyone, well after the disappointment of last night the inevitable day after analysis comes from all areas.

I posted my match blog/report on the NPL page of facebook, which received a response from a Farsley fan.


He did however make an interesting point, from the game.

He stated, he didnt no why Thompson was getting so much stick when we played in a way which doesn't suit his game at all - Long Ball.

Last night wasn't pretty at times and with Armstrong/Hatch up front it is tempting to play the longer ball.

Do people genuinely think playing Hoof ball/long ball is the way to go? It's a tactic which Gray always seems to revert back to when we are struggling.

For me Thommo hasn't played at his best this season and the formation/style of play hasn't been a real factor in this ( Actually thought he was ok last night, could have scored a couple), but surely this doesn't suit the other stars in our midfield either, Mitchell and Portas ??



Despite all this the annoying thing from last night,regardless of the style of play, we were the better team by a margin and, but for a late keeper error would have took the points and everything would have been a lot brighter today.

[lo36789]

I am reliant on commentary and the views on social media. The thing you pick up on on the commentary is the phrase "[Brown/White/Hunter] play it forward...to Armstrong", which is probably the most common 'play' that we have.

When Portas, Scott or Mitchell get the ball it is usually preceded with "the ball drops to..." usually from the defenders challenge with Armstrong

It would be nice to hear a defender pick out a centre midfielder a bit more. If we could play through midfield more then a 4-3-3 with Thompson behind the strikers feels like it would suit everyone!

[Robbie Painter]

This direct style of play was a conscious decision by Martin Gray a few months into last season. Given our lack of ball playing midfielder & state of pitch last season I could understand his thinking.

Why we are continuing to persist with it now when we have a much improved midfield and an excellent pitch at Bishop to play football on is beyond me.

[Sidarlo]

I know last season when Ward came in we went more direct, however now i really don't understand it with Mitchell, Portas and Thompson who all suit a different style of play

[theoriginalfatcat]

"Hoofball", or route one, is a tactic which all teams utilise. Man Utd - Uruguay in the World Cup against us - it can lead to goals, but under pressure, we seem to revert back to it and see it as an easy option.

I was at the match last night, and I think lo sums it up with this insight.The problem seems to stem from defence, and the way they play it out -

I am reliant on commentary and the views on social media. The thing you pick up on on the commentary is the phrase "[Brown/White/Hunter] play it forward...to Armstrong", which is probably the most common 'play' that we have.

When Portas, Scott or Mitchell get the ball it is usually preceded with "the ball drops to..." usually from the defenders challenge with Armstrong

I'm impressed with our midfield this season, Portas and Mitchell are both superb. Portas in particular never seems to make a bad decision or mistake.

[TDS]

Portas has a lot of time on the ball for such a long ball team?!

I just think once we pass it about a bit the longer time goes on and the more anxious the players get, it's easy to start going towards goal as quickly as possible.

If we have to win ugly I will take it, but Mitchell was getting the second ball so often last night it was an effective way of attacking.

We really are panicking far too early. Dowson to return and we still dominate games. Let's see after the 12 game mark!


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[Bogratsteve]

One thing I have noticed is that more and more the opposition have set themselves up to close down our defenders quickly when we have the ball which tends to make the back 4 get rid of the ball quickly and most times the option is to hoof it forward as opposed to pass the ball around, this could be down to lack of confidence, skill or not been able to deal with the pressure like a full time pro would do.

At the start of last season and the NL we had more time on the ball to pass around and this released Thompson and the like to run and pass creating more chances.

CB's are not renowned for their passing skills but more for win the header and clear the ball, we have 3 playing in our back 4 currently, fortunately Brown's long range crosses are pretty good TBH.

When you look to the midfield we have 2 fantastic passers and creators in Portas and Mitchell who may need to play deeper when the opposition have the ball and take the ball from the defense and move it up the field, with the front 3's tendency not to back track much this gives them a massive task and could result in been caught more in possession/intercepted passes.

This is the dilemma i see currently in the set up, what the answer is i'm not sure, i'm still not convinced Scott in the starting XI currently is the answeras he is not fully fit but Reed may be to light weight with Portas and Mitchell, we could be muscled out of the midfield battle, Robinson might be better but again his creativity is not his main skill set.

Galbraith back in the midfield may be what we are looking for as he has a physical presence and can pass well/not afraid to get forward.

Scott or Robinson or A.N.Other in the LB position, is this Guyan a LB who incidentally played for RCA on Saturday and scored? Weldon should be fit in the next month or so......

[Sidarlo]

Portas has a lot of time on the ball for such a long ball team?!

I just think once we pass it about a bit the longer time goes on and the more anxious the players get, it's easy to start going towards goal as quickly as possible.

If we have to win ugly I will take it, but Mitchell was getting the second ball so often last night it was an effective way of attacking.

We really are panicking far too early. Dowson to return and we still dominate games. Let's see after the 12 game mark!


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Only issue i have with not panicking early is looking at last season. We didnt have the best start, first few months and by the time we put a really good run together we were realistically too far behind to catch Curzon.

For all we know, Salford may be able to go on a similar run to Curzon, after they travel to HP they will have already faced most of the sides expected to challenge for the title, us Spenny Warrington, Droylsden, Scarborough

[m62exile]

Unfortunately, the debate is clouded by the handful of fans we have who have now made this their little obsession, meaning they have lost the objectivity required to actually assess what is happening before their very eyes.

[dickdarlington]

Whilst we were direct last night, we did also play it about a bit. Certainly in the second half. I think the fact we're going through a rough patch is making people get a bit tetchy. I have faith in the squad. I do think we need to be a bit more patient at times though.

What I would like to see though, as an experiment as much as anything else is Thommo drop into midfield alongside Mitchell. It'll need to wait until Dowson is fit again though.

And have the tean as:

Jameson
Brown Hunter White Galbraith
Portas
Mitchell Thompson
Dowson Armstrong Purewal

Bell, Robinson, Scott, Fisher/Whoever, Hatch

I think that would give Thommo a bit more chance to run at players, and give our two playmakers the best opportunity to fed the front three. Last season I wouldn't have dreamt about it, but this season he's putting in a shift, even though he's not playing to his best.

[Darlogramps]

Portas has a lot of time on the ball for such a long ball team?!

I just think once we pass it about a bit the longer time goes on and the more anxious the players get, it's easy to start going towards goal as quickly as possible.

If we have to win ugly I will take it, but Mitchell was getting the second ball so often last night it was an effective way of attacking.

We really are panicking far too early. Dowson to return and we still dominate games. Let's see after the 12 game mark!


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Only issue i have with not panicking early is looking at last season. We didnt have the best start, first few months and by the time we put a really good run together we were realistically too far behind to catch Curzon.

For all we know, Salford may be able to go on a similar run to Curzon, after they travel to HP they will have already faced most of the sides expected to challenge for the title, us Spenny Warrington, Droylsden, Scarborough

So will we - Spenny, Warrington, Droylsden, Farsley.

And our downfall last season wasn't the start (although that obviously didn't help). It was the fact we lost it in key matches at the end of the season (i.e. Curzon, Lancaster, Ramsbottom).

[QuakerPete]

You would think from comments over the past 24 hours that long ball / hoof ball / route 1 / direct football was all that we played last night. It wasn't, but it was very successful at times in creating uncertainty in Farsley's defence and getting the ball to the strikers / wingers quickly and in good positions. And I don't understand why it isn't a legimate part of any team's arsenal, as long as it's not the only weapon.
Farsley were a well organised and highly competent team and, in my opinion, for the most part of the game were out-battled by Darlo. Apart from the goal, I can only remember Jameson saving a very tame shot at the near post. Compare that with the battering their goal had from crosses, free kicks and corners (as well as general play) - we have 2 of the best crossers of a ball I've ever seen at Darlo in Mitchell and Galbraith.
Just because we now have a good midfield mix in the team doesn't mean the opposition are going to sit back and just let them play attractive, passing football to their hearts content.
Seen the words "dire" and "woeful" used to describe last night's performance - utter rubbish.

[super_les_mcjannet]

Couldn't agree more, it's like a phase at school where it's popular to say the words "hoof ball".

We clearly had them watched and played a style that we believed would win us the game and keep us compact at the back. It nearly worked and really should have worked, at times we could have played some better football. Especially first half, I seen Tez get the ball with no options to pass, so he did play the ball long & in the air or tried to filter it through to Thommo and lost it.

Clearly we can improve and we certainly need to get some wins to move us up into the top group of teams but we won't see Spenny type performances week in/week out, this kind of thing rarely happens in football.

[Bogratsteve]

Especially first half, I seen Tez get the ball with no options to pass, so he did play the ball long & in the air or tried to filter it through to Thommo and lost it.

This has happened on a couple of occasions this season, notably West game 2nd half, the lack of running and moving for the pass sometimes just results in a long ball coming up as the defender is getting closed down.