And another thing....so slow

[BedsFFC]

One thing that I really noticed in the first half was how slow we were with everything. I don't actually mean our build up play. Sadly, that just goes without saying lately.
I mean everything else. Corners, free kicks, keeper distribution even throw ins. I'm not one for getting the ball in the box at the earliest opportunity. It's not our way and I'm happy with that but we don't seem to want to take the momentum and do what teams do at home. Everything is so slow. I must admit to be utterly deflated with it at the moment and not a little confused. We were bloody wonderful at times early season. How have we gone from the best football I've ever seen to very close to being the worst incoherent play I've seen in the last 13 years? Could it all be down to Diarra? Surely not

[epsomraver]

Sorry to sound rude, not meant  but has it taken  you all season to notice this, we are slower than this site and that is saying something, the team comes off quicker at half time than we attack.

[Lighthouse]

Problem is that since Berbatov has been playing as a loan forward. Or with slow Petric. We have no final ball. No early cross is likely to find anybody as the players are not attacking the ball in the area. Except for Sidwell who seems to be the only player who does. Rodders at least runs into space but then has no support and cannot be a Berbatov and hang onto the ball.

So the team as a whole is slow as we have no final ball. Unless we find ourselves near the area and try and play silly one twos and break down and we are then scared of breakaways.

[BedsFFC]

Sorry to sound rude, not meant  but has it taken  you all season to notice this, we are slower than this site and that is saying something, the team comes off quicker at half time than we attack.

Well, maybe I just didnt notice it when we were playing really fantastic football. I really did yesterday..ball goes out of play and there is just no urgency to get it back in play quickly

[Mr Fulham]

One thing that I really noticed in the first half was how slow we were with everything.

That's the result when you play with players who are 30+. It all takes a bit longer, especially when you've got the likes of Petric AND Berbatov up front, who both have the workrate of a dwarf sloth.

[Burt]

And yet against Swansea we saw plenty of urgency.

It was quite laboured yesterday. And the body language wasn't particularly all that. It was interesting to see Duff trying to gee up some of the others a couple of times.

This is where the role of a captain comes in to its own. Much as he has been one of my favourite players, Hangers just isn't a leader.

[ron]

It's not just the slowness, it's the lack of movement, and the lack of options that the player holding the ball has. How many times yesterday did attacks fizzle out and the ball go back into our half because the player holding the ball had no one to pass to?

My point is that 30 year olds surely have enough experience to read a game...in fact more so than the youngsters....so the fault may well lie with the lack of drilling and practice in backing up the ball holder at Motspur Park.

If they are sticking to Jol originated tactics rather than having the freedom within guidelines to let the game flow, then the fault certainly lies with his training regime.

[Burt]

Yes this is true, we were static compared to Wigan at times. The move of the match was one of the first attacks they did when there was a series of first time passes pinged to players running in to space, ended up being a shot straight at Schwarzer.

[filham]

We were too slow to catch a cold.

There were several ocassions when a quick early ball to a player in a wide posion was on but instead we played around looking for a better option and thus giving the oponents time to close down the wide player.

We realy have to start trying to do simple things quickly and getting more balls quickly into danger areas.

[Edwatch_Winston_Malone]

We always look more threatening in the last 10 mins when chasing the game.  Perhaps we should start both halves like this...