Should we go back to route one ugly but Effective.

[scott1]

I just think lobbing the ball up to big kev and getting the knockdowns will create more chances than TRYING to pass our way through teams?But thats why MEGSON got sacked right?

[Didledee]

We still do that now, even if it's N'Gog and Klasnic, the worst culprit is Zat Knightmare.

[H. Pedersen]

Davies isn't as effective at winning knockdowns as he used to be.  Other teams have adapted to this strategy and know how to defend against it.  Also, it's a high-risk strategy as the ball can come straight back at you, so you need a solid, organized defense, and it goes without saying that we do not have this.

So, no.

[scott1]

Davies isn't as effective at winning knockdowns as he used to be.  Other teams have adapted to this strategy and know how to defend against it.  Also, it's a high-risk strategy as the ball can come straight back at you, so you need a solid, organized defense, and it goes without saying that we do not have this.

So, no.

So we havent even got a plan A,gonna be some good local matches next season,Burnley,Blackburn,Wigan,Preston,Bury

[azreal88]

But thats why MEGSON got sacked right?

Not really.  Sam played long-ball for years and he didn't get sacked.  There were myriad reasons for Megson's sacking, the quality of football was one issue - but the quality wasn't just abou knocking it up to Kev, it was about the complete lack of any other movement from the team and the fact that we were crap playing that way anyway.

So we havent even got a plan A

We do.  Going long to Davies would be plan B or C.  Plan A is to use the wings to create, with solidity in the middle and mix-it-up with long balls up to the forwards.  We just happen to be crap at everything right now.

[Paul Comstive]

Henrik Pedersen is right.  If we still had the Kevin Davies of a few years ago then yes, I'd be all for it. 

He's looking well past his sell-by date this season though.  He doesn't even appear to get airborne at all.  What's more damning though is that he rarely gets booked.  That shows he's not 'putting himself about' like he used to.

We need a Bobby Zamora, Andy Carroll type of player to replace him.  Whilst N'gog is a tall lad, he's just not the dominant sort in the air.

The reason our defence so often kick it from one end of the pitch to the other is because whenever they have the ball our midfield is running away from them.  Look at other teams (or look at us when we have Holden playing in the team) they have a midfielder who drops back and picks the ball up off them and the carries it forward.

[wanderer6969]

mark Davies does try to drop back and get the ball. We try to play it around but the rest of our midfield don't have much movement do inevitably we play it back to jussi who smacks it to our forwards. Why we can't play it long from our defenders is a mystery. Apart from Knight who has the touch of an elephant with lead boots

[LightningBolton]

The idea that we play less long ball under Coyle is nonsense anyway. Last season we averaged 73 long balls per game, 4th highest in the league (after Blackpool & Spurs though) , & the season before, with Megson in charge for half of it, we averaged 71. We played the 3rd lowest number of short passes, had 3rd lowest pass completion rate & the 4th lowest average possession percentages (after Blackburn & Stoke) in the league.

And I don''t think much has changed this year. The first half an hour of the Newcastle match Krul & Jussi might as well have been playing tennis for the times they were just punting it to each other.

Its understandable given that so few of our midfielders or defenders are comfortable on the ball in a tight situation & with confidence so low players don't want to be the one that makes the mistake that gives the ball away leading to a goal.

By punting it forward the opposition at least has to go through most of our team to score rather than having a straight run at goal when a defender mislays a short pass.