These are my thoughts on the Nix vs CCM with some reflection on where we are at as a whole. For mine it’s all about our lack of ability to play any kind of constructive football (not ground breaking I know). I certainly don’t think this is anything new and have been on the record as saying we have always played atrocious football, i.e. hump it forward ASAP and hope for break downs, or get it wide and cross. The difference being that league used to be such that we could get results playing that football. As we all know it has moved on.
Last night we started counting passes at the 60 minute mark to see how many we got, amazingly we never got past 3 in a row and then gave up after around 10 minutes. The pattern which repeated time and time again was CCM would attack with numbers, we would win it back (sometimes), CCM then put us under a high press, we either get caught in possession or more likely we panic (assumption) and hoof it long, usually to their full backs and they get to set up again at halfway (as that’s where we press from) and start again with attack. Below I will attach some stats (from the Leopold method) around our failure to complete passes as compared to all A-League teams and secondly our even more startling failure to secure possession when playing out from the back from round 18 (either long or short). Potentially the Nix are working on the theory that if they are being pressed then there will be spaces behind to exploit with long balls. However CCM and a lot of other teams are just far too sophisticated for what is essentially a “club” level tactic, and even at that level this type of tactic is dying out.
I feel as though the responsibility sits with both the coach and the players. From a coaching perspective, clearly they are encouraged to get the ball forward as quickly as possible which is at a cost of any possession based plan, also other aspects around systems and pressing etc are failing miserably. Further to that though and in fairness to the coach I very much doubt his instructions are ‘every time we get the ball panic and hoof it as long and as far as you can to the opposition fullbacks’ which is what happens over and over again.
We are woefully short of the mark in our ability to play “football’ and by that I mean a modern passing based game. Not purely passing, just passing based. And this leads to us being being out played 99 times out of a hundred and coming under huge amounts of pressure. We get into these defensive discussions after the big losses but realistically its like a training run for CCM because they just get to attack and attack again due to us repeatedly gifting the ball back to them. The Sydney game was different but I actually believe bar Manny Muscat who was beaten/out of position for several of the CCM goals our defenders did OK for the sheer amount of pressure they were put under.
Routes to failure:
1. High pressure by opposition (out coached)
2. Lack of willingness, faith and ability to pass the ball (Players)
a. Short to feet
b. Long to a team mate.
3. Out thought by opposition in terms of regaining possession. (out coached)
4. Lack of coordinated pressing approach (out coached)
5. Opposition begins attack with numbers on and around the halfway line. (by product)
In terms of recent discussion around approach, for me I actually preferred watching us trying our new “total football” approach over our recently reverted to “pragmatic” approach because I have been at my wits end with the tactics we have always played to for less and less result and felt at least there was some potential and entertainment value in the new approach namely the brilliant Game entertainment wise vs. heart (3-2) win.
CCM Playing out - Green complete Red incomplete - consistantly retain possesion
Nix Playing out - Green complete Red incomplete - Consistantly give away possesion