Tactics yesterday

[BedsFFC]

This is not meant as a thread to go over all our current shortcomings, which we all can see but more to try and get an idea of what we were trying to do.

Slavisa said this midweek;

"They're probably going to decide to press our build-up with many people, and we have prepared the team for this kind of situation."

I'm interested in views of people that saw the game how they feel we tried to combat this.

(I couldn't go to the game)

[Neil D]

This is not meant as a thread to go over all our current shortcomings, which we all can see but more to try and get an idea of what we were trying to do.

Slavisa said this midweek;

"They're probably going to decide to press our build-up with many people, and we have prepared the team for this kind of situation."

I'm interested in views of people that saw the game how they feel we tried to combat this.

(I couldn't go to the game)

That's as may be but crab-football was never going to resolve this conundrum.   We should have played more directly, made use of Kamara's pace and less tika-taka football.  'Inferior' teams at the Cottage are always going to get players behind the ball, swamp the last third and look for a draw.  You're never going to walk the ball into the net in these conditions.  When the opposition is more ambitious (maybe Bristol City on Tuesday), then SJ's tactics may have a better yield.

[colinwhite]

We coped with this with no problem whatsoever. They scored from a punt forward and their pressure on our play out from the back didnt succéed once as I
recall.

[Nero]

as far as I see it,  we cant defend we cant score we might as well give 3-5-2 a try as the 1 or 3 a top is working get fonte and ak in the box together and who knows what might happen

[Whitesideup]

Hard to answer because I don't think Bolton tried too hard to press. Sometimes they would make an effort, but then drop back so we were then left with the other problem of trying to get through massed ranks of defenders including mammoth centre-halves, who were well protected by the midfield so we couldn't even get at them with pace (though Wheater did resort to one cynical, extremely late, and brutal chopping down of Kebano when totally mugged).

[Robbie]

Bolton played a great game. They pushed up very tight, often with two players. They gave us no space.

Our set piece play is dreadful but in any case Bolton are a large side and we were never likely to threaten.

We have some good chances but again suffer from lack of basic football intelligence (e.g. cutting the ball back into the zone of uncertainty).

Not a dreadful performance from FFC but not good enough.

[millsy]

I agree, the pressing was not on our back four but everywhere else, hence 77% possession, much of which was passing either crossfield virtually at the halfway line, or when they were in full "hunker down mode", back & forth across the 18 yard box, in front of 10/11 of them, defying us to shoot or risk a threaded pass into the morass of legs. Very frustrating and unfortunately our shooting was powder puff and their keeper invariably either knelt down to collect or fell theatrically onto the rolling ball to waste a bit more time.

The thing is, while its 0-0, or as yesterday 0-1, this is what we have to be able to deal with and overcome. We score first and everything changes. Last season we most often did so, this season, not so much, hence we make the job much harder for ourselves and the oppo gain confidence.