Staying off an opponent....

Teflon · Post: # 581737Post **Teflon** » Sun 08 Jun 2008 12:15am

I truly hate this.

I watched Nth last night and a mate who is a mad Roo supporter also mentioned Nth were doing this and getting hurt by it - especially in the first half.

You hang off and dont apply IMMEDIATE pressure to the ball carrier against Geelong and sides like them and to me all you end up achieving is allowing them to set up with excellent foot skills - especially from defence.

Dogs are the same - the pressure has to be immediate to create that mindset that whenever they get a kick the heat is immediately upon them.

I can understand holding off as a set play or a holding pattern type play when you want to play some tempo footy etc but to me this should be the excpetion NOT the rule. UIts no coincidence when we apply immediate pressure we score more freely via greater turn overs that dont allow our fwd line to become congested.

meher baba · Post: # 581789Post **meher baba** » Sun 08 Jun 2008 9:20am

100 per cent agree Teffers

OMG, that's twice I've agreed with B4E this weekend and now I find myself in agreement with Teffers

Am I going mad, or are posters swapping identities on here to torment me?!

maverick · Post: # 581794Post **maverick** » Sun 08 Jun 2008 9:58am

But isn't this one of Lyon's main strategies?

ThomasR · Post: # 581805Post **ThomasR** » Sun 08 Jun 2008 10:57am

This thread is dedicated to Jason Gram

Solar · Post: # 581849Post **Solar** » Sun 08 Jun 2008 1:32pm

get ready to get fustrated because it's the best way to beat the dogs, force them to kick the ball but take away their space. If you go in for every tackle they will use their hands to get into space and use their speed to destroy you (see the replay last week against the hawks if you want a case in point)

avid · Post: # 583050Post **avid** » Mon 09 Jun 2008 2:37am

I'm in total agreement too -- I just hate this hanging off and away from the opposition ball carrier -- running along parallel with the flow, running after your man and not attacking the ball carrier when you're right next to him. It's the most passive, pathetic approach to football ever invented.

Surely a constant attack on the ball carrier is going to produce something more positive. Look at the way Collingwood managed to shell-shock even Geelong the other day -- with fierce tackling, with everyone lining up the carrier no matter where and no matter how futile the chase might have initially looked.

All-out attack on the ball carrier will obviously lead to some errors and some lines being broken. But could the result be any more damaging and dispiriting than what our 'game plan' is producing now?

It has to be a coaching problem, but there are many individual culprits too. Dempster is the worst of them -- runs past opposition ball carriers like he's the team messenger on an unrelated mission. Surely Lyon can't have instructed him to play like that! (??) Gram does it too, but at least his avoid-the-opposition style pays dividends with his run and long-kicking. Even Dal does it -- much to my annoyance -- but he always looks nonchalant, even when he's actually tackling someone.

I just hate it. I wish I didn't follow a side that seems to believe so thoroughly in it. It's the worst. I can't bear it.

Think I've got to stop here.

groupie1 · Post: # 583065Post **groupie1** » Mon 09 Jun 2008 4:21am

yeah... there's doubtless pros and cons to both techniques... i know i prefer the more aggressive one, and the other hasn't obviously worked all that well for us

JeffDunne · Post: # 583069Post **JeffDunne** » Mon 09 Jun 2008 5:26am

While there's many things about Lyon you can criticise, you can't criticise him for us not being able to play both styles.

We can switch from playing an attacking brand where we go man-on-man and get a jump on the opposition to playing indicisve, run to a position, unaccountable football when we fear a counter-attack.

Previous coaches were criticised for our in ability to flood when holding a decisive lead - now we do it to perfection.

meher baba · Post: # 583076Post **meher baba** » Mon 09 Jun 2008 9:07am

JeffDunne wrote:While there's many things about Lyon you can criticise, you can't criticise him for us not being able to play both styles.

We can switch from playing an attacking brand where we go man-on-man and get a jump on the opposition to playing indicisve, run to a position, unaccountable football when we fear a counter-attack.

Previous coaches were criticised for our in ability to flood when holding a decisive lead - now we do it to perfection.

Post of the week, JD.

I enjoy your satirical style so much better than your Spanish Inquisition style.

Although, that said, I do admire the way that you seem to be able to switch effortlessly between the two.