It's a funny old game
- Thread starter PhilK66
- Start date
Looking at Morecambe's results they beat Oldham and Southend both looking very poor on the stats having failed to win in five .Port vale and a impressive win against Cheltenham who could go top with they win their game in hand on Tuesday night. I heard Cambridge United look useful this year so the single defeat could be against a good side.
I wouldn't say we got hammered. They had an enormous amount of possession but their finishing was awful, we had a lot less possession, but our finishing was superb, although we too should have scored more with their keeper making worldie save.
Anyway, I lost count of the times last season where I texted my mate after we'd lost to tell him we'd had loads more possession, to which he'd say it doesn't matter, the only stats of any importance are the goal stats!
Anyway, I lost count of the times last season where I texted my mate after we'd lost to tell him we'd had loads more possession, to which he'd say it doesn't matter, the only stats of any importance are the goal stats!
If you score an early goal or lead for much of the game as we did on Saturday, you can let the opposition have the ball. Keep things tight, maintain your defensive shape and try to strike on the counter.
Seems to be working for us so far, and might explain why some sides lower down the division (i.e. those losing for a higher proportion of their games) seem to have more of the ball.
Seems to be working for us so far, and might explain why some sides lower down the division (i.e. those losing for a higher proportion of their games) seem to have more of the ball.
Fully agree with this. Possession is becoming less and less important in football these days. Oxford had more possession and lots of chances, spurning several sitters but we not only scored three but their keeper was the one who had to make the only two genuinely great saves in the game (Bonham made some tidy ones, but nothing outstanding). We fully deserved the win, albeit it could have easily been 5-5. I'd also add that we comfortably beat Blackpool and deservedly beat Wigan whilst both of them had much more possession.
As OSK points out - and Quest in the highlights package threw up some stats - MK Dons are one of the biggest in terms of possession in the division and their stats v Pompey on Saturday were even more extreme than ours on Saturday (and in fact they not only had a lot more possession and shots than Pompey, but also shots on target, which wasn't the case in our match), yet lost. We've seen Pompey play several times over the past few season and their style - as you'd expect from Kenny Jacket - is very similar to our style which doesn't rely on possession, but more on physicality, defending from the front and not being afraid to go direct. Pompey have done fairly well in recent seasons, so it again shows you don't need to keep the ball to have success.
Should make for another interesting match on Saturday with differing styles.
As OSK points out - and Quest in the highlights package threw up some stats - MK Dons are one of the biggest in terms of possession in the division and their stats v Pompey on Saturday were even more extreme than ours on Saturday (and in fact they not only had a lot more possession and shots than Pompey, but also shots on target, which wasn't the case in our match), yet lost. We've seen Pompey play several times over the past few season and their style - as you'd expect from Kenny Jacket - is very similar to our style which doesn't rely on possession, but more on physicality, defending from the front and not being afraid to go direct. Pompey have done fairly well in recent seasons, so it again shows you don't need to keep the ball to have success.
Should make for another interesting match on Saturday with differing styles.
