Bolton, Watford & Drying Paint.

[pabird]

Bolton, Watford & Drying Paint.

 

There has been for years the debate over the long ball-long pass game and several issues are worth discussion:

· Danny Blanchflower said good teams passed long and short the importance being the timing and quality of the pass.

· In my memory no team built around the long ball preference has ever won a trophy better than the FA cup (Wimbledon)

· The long ball game calls for specific tactics in winning the second ball, Wimbledon crowding the area of the first ball and Cambridge leaving the grass longer in the corners etc.

· No long ball team has ever produced premier status without bringing with it the reputation for heavy-duty tackling and yellow and red card collections of substance.

· Every team primarily built around the long ball theory has been generally titled as boring.

· Charles Hughes the FA theorist stated that as 96% of all goals scored were scored in the penalty box then the most efficient football was to keep putting the ball back into the box without delay. (5 passes maximum I believe was the theory).

As an avid fan of the game played on the floor as the basic rhythm I must admit to finding the Boltons and Watfords up there with drying paint as far as entertainment is concerned, I also fail to see how those types of teams are going to produce the next England team.

[A Non E Mouse]

I must admit I'm not a fan of the long ball game.

 

However, a lot of fans who support a club that play the long ball game seem to accept it as it appears successful. I wonder how many fans stop going to support their team because of the style of play - not sure numbers have ever been documented. Certainly to the neutral it seems unattractive and must disappoint the home fans when playing against a long ball team. Again, I wonder if home gates tend to be lower when playing a team whose style is unattractive?

 

I think for clubs like Watford, and Wimbledon in their day, the style be damned as long as they are getting results, holding their position within the league and the clubs fans feel generally that the club is being successful.

[Merv]

That's why it is so annoying when a team (Canvey included) appears to run out of ideas and resorts to the dreaded long ball. Unless they are practised in the skills necessary they rarely achieve anything. The fans get very frustrated and at Park Lane we have heard moans and shouts of, 'Keep it on the deck!' quite regularly.

 

Have to agree with you about Bolton, Watford and the drying paint. There is nothing as exciting as watching a team that is able to make the short push and pass and I can remember when we used to talk about the 'sexy football' we watched at Park Lane (back in the glory days). Hopefully those days will come again as I truly believe there are lots of elements of good football out there (certainly that was true last Saturday). I think we are just two (perhaps three, if I am being greedy) players short of a cracking good team. Hopefully Mr Batch will be able to do something in that department soon.

 

BTW A Hornchurch fan I know very well was telling me that grey paint dries much quicker than any of the primary colours.