Power and Pace (4 Viewers)

Deity

Well-Known Member
It’s a cliche but the higher up the pyramid you go the more pace and power become essential.

we looked light on both fronts on Saturday,Baka apart.

There will be more incomings I’m sure but I’d like to see less small, neat and tidy players now ( we have enough ) and more players that can physically compete to complete the squad.

ideally a 6ft 4 central defender, a 6 ft 2 ball winning midfielder, and 2 strikers with blistering pace.

I would trade Biamou, Westbrooke, Mason, and Loan our Eccles, Willians, et al for more experience
 

Jamesimus

Well-Known Member
I think the squad are a little on the "short" side but I'm not sure why a ball winning midfielder would need to be 6ft 2, they'd just fall over easier 😂

A quicker striker would be nice, but I think Dabo, Giles, O'Hare, Baka are all pretty rapid to be honest...

Edit- kind of missed a big section of your post. We do have a lot of small and technical players now yes!
 

Magwitch

Well-Known Member
The old football cliche a good big ‘un is better than a good little un’.
Think we are okay defensively not sure about midfield.
 

mrtrench

Well-Known Member
Power and Pace? I though that may be a new TV detective series. Power, the old hand - unconventional and always being scolded by the Chief Super but gets the job done. Pace, the younger Sergeant, slightly ditsy but in awe of Power and usually comes up with at least one observation which helps to crack the case.

Episode 1: The Case of the Ricoh Talk Failures.
 

cc84cov

Well-Known Member
It’s a cliche but the higher up the pyramid you go the more pace and power become essential.

we looked light on both fronts on Saturday,Baka apart.

There will be more incomings I’m sure but I’d like to see less small, neat and tidy players now ( we have enough ) and more players that can physically compete to complete the squad.

ideally a 6ft 4 central defender, a 6 ft 2 ball winning midfielder, and 2 strikers with blistering pace.

I would trade Biamou, Westbrooke, Mason, and Loan our Eccles, Willians, et al for more experience
Yes I agree I see some sold with players coming in
 

Winny the Bish

Well-Known Member
Completely agree that we need more pace going forward. Only player vs Rangers who looked like he could beat his man in a race was Giles.

It was obvious vs Birmingham last season that we didn't have much pace in attack, that hasn't changed. And we're going to have to play more on the counter next season against teams with budgets literally £45m higher than ours. Hopefully Robins and Badlan find some players who can do damage on the break.
 

Domo

Well-Known Member
Yes. Watch him sprint training next to the other players. He was one of our quicker players, but maybe that highlights what the original poster was saying?!


im going to have to investigate this, to me he looks as rapid as Clive Platt
 

Alkhen

Well-Known Member
The old football cliche a good big ‘un is better than a good little un’.
Think we are okay defensively not sure about midfield.

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skylark37

Well-Known Member
Have been thinking the same lately and completely agree that the squad looks to really lack height and physicality, certainly in Midfield and Attack. The Rangers game was a reminder that once you go higher up the leagues players are really physically built. An early reminder of this was playing Rotherham last season and looking at how their squad towered over ours... The Birmingham cup games also to an extent. Our squad is young though. Perhaps these players are told not to rush into bulking up in the gym too unnaturally.

ideally a 6ft 4 central defender, a 6 ft 2 ball winning midfielder, and 2 strikers with blistering pace.

Agree with this. Just someone horrible and an absolute giant at the back. But if he can't play the ball out would Robins be stubborn about "how we play"? I think you need the option of being able to deviate from this plan A...and an experienced head other than McFadz that Drysdale and Williams can learn off would be ideal.

I would trade Biamou, Westbrooke, Mason, and Loan our Eccles, Willians, et al for more experience


Biamou - would keep him. Where is our aerial threat? Baka isn't a target man despite his height. Hamer might end up playing long raking passes that are never won in the air. Could also help compatriots Jobello and Dacasta feel more integrated.
Westbrooke - probably would have to sell if there's clear interest and he wants to leave
Mason - keep... I think he looks way more of a natural left wing back than Giles. Are people forgetting he was our best player at the start of last season?

Only other thing would say about physicality is that obviously sometimes a player can be deceptively strong despite their height / build. I noticed that Hilßner was holding the ball up fairly well in midfield, backing into players much bigger than him - so hopefully he continues to do that.
 

Evo1883

Well-Known Member
Not sure about JUST pace and power, I think fitness and work rate match this... Leeds United hardly have the biggest side, but they press all over the pitch and smother their opponents... The best sides in England man City, Liverpool have pace, but they smother their opposition..

One thing Leeds, man City and Liverpool have in common is incredible work rate and fitness
 

Gibbo

Well-Known Member
Is it a team in Robins' likeness? I remember thinking how small we looked against Luton a couple of seasons ago.

There is a chance we could get bullied by some of the cruder teams, but at Championship level it is more likely to be speed and skill, so I would not go hunting for Dele Adebola mark 2.

I am puzzled as to why posters from the Glasgow are pointing to CDM as a problem - isn't Shipley the cover for Kelly & Hamer or are they highlighting that Kelly may not be up to it - which I fear might be the case.
 

Magwitch

Well-Known Member
Some are always highlighting Kelly as not being up to it, from our promotion out of division two to today, and he tends to play every minute of every game he plays and seems to be first name down in the Robins team sheet yet isn’t really blessed with power or pace.
 

SleepyGinger

Well-Known Member
There is potential for the millwall of the championship to bully us physically but teams like Brentford and Swansea have shown you can have success with a ‘smaller’ team that try play football the right way.
 

djr8369

Well-Known Member
It’s a cliche but the higher up the pyramid you go the more pace and power become essential.

we looked light on both fronts on Saturday,Baka apart.

There will be more incomings I’m sure but I’d like to see less small, neat and tidy players now ( we have enough ) and more players that can physically compete to complete the squad.

ideally a 6ft 4 central defender, a 6 ft 2 ball winning midfielder, and 2 strikers with blistering pace.

I would trade Biamou, Westbrooke, Mason, and Loan our Eccles, Willians, et al for more experience

I used to think this is what’s needed to be compatible in the championship. However, now I’m not so sure. If everyone is doing that maybe we shouldn’t try and emulate them but do our own thing rather than compete for the same players. Maybe we can build on the ethos from last season of being a smaller team who play neat stuff around teams.
 

Yorkshire SB

Well-Known Member
The issue we'll have in the champ is that there's a lot of good sides who'll keep the ball better than us and therefore be hard to beat. Then we'll play Millwall, Cardiff where we might have more of the ball, but end up losing 2-0 because they're physically dominant
 

djr8369

Well-Known Member
Baka is a strange one. Just doesn’t look quick when trying to go past players but looks incredibly fast at times when closing down the keeper.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yeah he’s actually pretty quick just isn’t the best technically so not quick with the ball at his feet.

He’s like Tyrone from Lock Stock, “he can move when he wants to”
 

Sky Blue Harry H

Well-Known Member
The issue we'll have in the champ is that there's a lot of good sides who'll keep the ball better than us and therefore be hard to beat. Then we'll play Millwall, Cardiff where we might have more of the ball, but end up losing 2-0 because they're physically dominant
If we ended up playing big lumps and reverted to grittiness, we would just as likely go down. The bigger better lumps are already employed. The likes of Allen, O'Hare and our way of playing is what has bought us success and delighted us all. I'd be disappointed if we changed tack.
 

Sky_Blue_Dreamer

Well-Known Member
If we play three CB's I think having two ball playing and one lump who is there to deal with a physical threat and be more no nonsense is fine.
 

Yorkshire SB

Well-Known Member
If we ended up playing big lumps and reverted to grittiness, we would just as likely go down. The bigger better lumps are already employed. The likes of Allen, O'Hare and our way of playing is what has bought us success and delighted us all. I'd be disappointed if we changed tack.
I’m not suggesting that we revert our approach to having lumps. We have a way of playing football, and we should stick to it, however there’s a risk of being bullied by average teams if we don’t have a centre half that can win a header against Kieffer Moore, or a striker that can hold up the ball against Jake Cooper (or stretch Cooper through balls in behind).

If we’re playing a strong, combative championship side and we can’t move the ball through Hamer and into the front man, how does O’Hare get in the game?
Last season we dominated possession, but we need to face facts that this won’t happen. Lot of pressure on Hamer as I currently see it. I think there’s signings we can make that will make us more dynamic without compromising on style.
 

PeterNdlovu14

Active Member
Not sure about JUST pace and power, I think fitness and work rate match this... Leeds United hardly have the biggest side, but they press all over the pitch and smother their opponents... The best sides in England man City, Liverpool have pace, but they smother their opposition..

One thing Leeds, man City and Liverpool have in common is incredible work rate and fitness

Agreed.

In addition to this, these sides have complete understanding of their sides playing philosophy with and without the ball. I've been an admirer of Bielsa's teams and watched a lot of Leeds this season and last. It's all well and good and having a side of technicians or a side of powerful athletes or a side where there is a mixture. The key is in my opinion having a clear idea of how the team and the individuals within it performs with and without the ball and getting a coherent message across to all players so that they understand exactly. When a player has a solid understanding of their 'job role' and see that it yields positive returns i.e. winning football matches the confidence follows.

In our case we're entering into our 4th full season of MR and AV where the playing style irrespective of a 4-2-3-1/5-3-2 has meant from a recruitment and coaching perspective we know we want as an example centre backs who fit a profile of being comfortable on the ball as well as being able to defend/athleticism and attacking qualities in full back/wing back positions but also an ability to defend comfortably and confidently 1v1.

That for me is a real strength we have as a team going into a season where we are otherwise 'playing away from home' and have a smaller budget e.t.c. By all means, I would not at all be opposed to us signing more players who can provide a greater physical advantage be it through being an aerial threat or possessing great pace/agilty but the more effective and consistent players are the ones making the better decisions and the better teams possess those players.
 

Sky Blue Harry H

Well-Known Member
I’m not suggesting that we revert our approach to having lumps. We have a way of playing football, and we should stick to it, however there’s a risk of being bullied by average teams if we don’t have a centre half that can win a header against Kieffer Moore, or a striker that can hold up the ball against Jake Cooper (or stretch Cooper through balls in behind).

If we’re playing a strong, combative championship side and we can’t move the ball through Hamer and into the front man, how does O’Hare get in the game?
Last season we dominated possession, but we need to face facts that this won’t happen. Lot of pressure on Hamer as I currently see it. I think there’s signings we can make that will make us more dynamic without compromising on style.

Partly agree, but we played the whole of last season without a 'hold up' man
- Godden lives off the threaded passes that the little 'uns provided him. Just think of those last few goals - Rochdale, Sunderland, Pompey, ipswich all through a pass between defenders. There were others, but I'm just looking at games towards the tail end.
 

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