Your style of play

[Bd18]

It seems you employ a physical, direct style of play which although not pretty to watch, can be very effective at this level.
My question is, is this down to boothroyd, did he introduce it or was it the same before his arrival?

We have had some games this season where we have tried it but we are not very good at it & often we have drawn or lost games that we really should have won because we have been too direct & the opposition have nullified it quite easily.

[SteveRiches]

It seems you employ a physical, direct style of play which although not pretty to watch, can be very effective at this level.
My question is, is this down to boothroyd, did he introduce it or was it the same before his arrival?

We have had some games this season where we have tried it but we are not very good at it & often we have drawn or lost games that we really should have won because we have been too direct & the opposition have nullified it quite easily.

That style of play was needed to avoid relegation, it also garnered some points early season for us - however it led to us having the worst but one away record in the division and when we finally had a group of players who could play football Aidy stuck with the hoofball trash. Automatic promotion was there for the taking in third place but look at our results around that time - dreadful! We persisted with what was not working and got what we deserved - nothing!

[JollyCobbler]

That style of play was needed to avoid relegation, it also garnered some points early season for us - however it led to us having the worst but one away record in the division and when we finally had a group of players who could play football Aidy stuck with the hoofball trash. Automatic promotion was there for the taking in third place but look at our results around that time - dreadful! We persisted with what was not working and got what we deserved - nothing!

I mainly agree with what you are saying, but don't think the hooofff!!! ball alone was to blame for our poor away record.
It's more a case of needing to mix things up. Sometimes you can go long and sometimes you need to get the ball down and play. The annoying thing is that we do have some decent ball players, Gutts, Harding, Hornby, Hackett, Bayo. All of these would be much happier with the ball on the deck, and earlier in the season we tended to get it down at times, but for ages now there has only seemed to be one plan.
I don't understand it myself, because the minute you punt a ball into the air it becomes a fifty fifty ball. How many times this season have we been in the opposition half, only to then pass the ball back to Nicholls so he could punt it up field?
It ain't pretty... and it is now so predictable it is getting boring!

[guest48]

It seems you employ a physical, direct style of play which although not pretty to watch, can be very effective at this level.
My question is, is this down to boothroyd, did he introduce it or was it the same before his arrival?

We have had some games this season where we have tried it but we are not very good at it & often we have drawn or lost games that we really should have won because we have been too direct & the opposition have nullified it quite easily.

To be perfectly honest both times Bradford came to Sixfields this season you  were the team playing hoof ball. I'm not knocking it , it called playing to your strengths ,and with Hanson getting on the end of the hoofs and knocking it down for Wells it is very effective.
    We played as we did on Saturday ,for a lot of away matches this season and took so hammerings doing it ,Chesterfield ,Rotherham and Exeter all beat us comfortably.We then changed things and went to Port Vale and got a draw in a game that we dominated and got a win at Cheltenham in the SF , but , for some reason Aidy decided to change it again on Saturday and we reverted back to how we played ,and lost most of the time this season.
    I think it's obvious that we haven't been that bad all season and you haven't been that good otherwise we wouldn't have finished 4? points ahead of you

[Gonzales]

The thing is we're actually capable of playing some relatively entertaining stuff when we play it on the ground (through Bayo of course), but we very rarely seem to employ it, and Saturday was a prime example of ADB's hoofball. It's not very effective.

[Bd18]

To be perfectly honest both times Bradford came to Sixfields this season you  were the team playing hoof ball. I'm not knocking it , it called playing to your strengths ,and with Hanson getting on the end of the hoofs and knocking it down for Wells it is very effective.
    We played as we did on Saturday ,for a lot of away matches this season and took so hammerings doing it ,Chesterfield ,Rotherham and Exeter all beat us comfortably.We then changed things and went to Port Vale and got a draw in a game that we dominated and got a win at Cheltenham in the SF , but , for some reason Aidy decided to change it again on Saturday and we reverted back to how we played ,and lost most of the time this season.
    I think it's obvious that we haven't been that bad all season and you haven't been that good otherwise we wouldn't have finished 4? points ahead of you

The fact we played it at your place does not come as a surprise at all, we have on a few occasion but it is damn ugly & more often than not its ineffective for us.
You seen how we can play on Saturday so it baffled we that we ever did go the hoof route but we have at times & although Hanson wins nearly every thing against any defender, the loose ball is then just cleared by the defender, it's very frustrating to watch especially when it's not creating chances

[Gonzales]

The fact we played it at your place does not come as a surprise at all, we have on a few occasion but it is damn ugly & more often than not its ineffective for us.
You seen how we can play on Saturday so it baffled we that we ever did go the hoof route but we have at times & although Hanson wins nearly every thing against any defender, the loose ball is then just cleared by the defender, it's very frustrating to watch especially when it's not creating chances

Playing hoofball seems to be the norm at Sixfields, away teams mostly do it looking to play for a draw. However, what you did on Saturday was largely similar to what we did against Cheltenham in the first semi final leg, and what York (home) + Chesterfield (away) have done to us this season, and that is to play it through the wings, and then look to put good balls into the box which we just can't deal with (especially when you have Hanson).

[Elad]

Let's get some perspective. Direct football is perfectly fine in the lower leagues and is actually quite sensible as you can bet better results out of poorer players. Before Alex Nicholls got injured we were playing some terrific stuff and did so in stages throughout the season. No reason to throw the baby out with the bath water. With some new additions in the summer we can be a force next season. Couldn't give a flying fcuk what opposition fans think to how we play.

[Deepcut Cobbler]

Talksports Danny Kelly just commenting on the improvement of the lower leagues playing football against the method used by Tony Pulis's Stoke in the Premier****e:
"Look at the play-offs this last weekend, aside from Bradford who tend to put the ball to the front quickly, we saw all the others played a bit of football from the back"   

[Power Football]

To be fair, other than us, Bradford were the most direct team I have seen at Sixfields this season.

[TbananaG]

To be fair, other than us, Bradford were the most direct team I have seen at Sixfields this season.

Big difference though - Bradford's long balls out of defence tend to go out wide and Hanson's service comes from the flanks and he works well with Wells. Our hoofball is usually aimed straight at Bayo or Platt leaving the others to pick up scraps. As has been said in other threads, we don't have the full back/wide midfielder pairs to support each other and make that work for us. Bradford's full backs probably got more crosses in on Saturday than ours did all season.

[Bd18]

Talksports Danny Kelly just commenting on the improvement of the lower leagues playing football against the method used by Tony Pulis's Stoke in the Premier****e:
"Look at the play-offs this last weekend, aside from Bradford who tend to put the ball to the front quickly, we saw all the others played a bit of football from the back"   

We have at times played direct & we are **** at it, it doesn't work for us.
Hanson wins everything that gets near him then the defender hoofs it back, the crowd don't like it & I don't think the other players do either.

That said, I wonder what Danny Kelly is basing his comments on, I very much doubt he has been to a game of ours so it will be his findings from our sky games.
We played nice football live on sky vs you, burton away, villa home & arsenal home for 70 mins.
We were not so pretty vs burton home, villa away we had a job to do & did it.
That just leaves Swansea where we didn't play good football, we didn't play long ball, we didn't really have a touch of the ball full stop.

I can't believe he thinks that the whole of division 4 plays nice football except us.

[Deepcut Cobbler]

I was surprised he mentioned you, I assume based on Saturdays game, he must have meant us.. 

[TbananaG]

We have at times played direct & we are **** at so, it doesn't work for us.
Hanson wins everything that gets near him then the defender hoofs it back, the crowd don't like it & I don't think the other players do either.

That said, I wonder what Danny Kelly is basing his comments on, I very much doubt he has been to a game of ours so it will be his findings from our sky games.
We played nice football live on sky vs you, burton away, villa home & arsenal home for 70 mins.
We were not so pretty vs burton home, villa away we had a job to do & did it.
That just leaves Swansea where we didn't play good football, we didn't play long ball, we didn't really have a touch of the ball full stop.

I can't believe he thinks that the whole of division 4 plays nice football except us.

It's all bollocks - there's more to your game than hoof. Mr Kelly also won't have seen enough L2 football to know that Hereford played the ball out beautifully from the back in neat little triangles the season they got relegated, Edgar Davids was still taking the ball from the keeper and looking for the neat short pass as Barnet played out their last few minutes in the league at Sixfields....

[Bd18]

I was surprised he mentioned you, I assume based on Saturdays game, he must have meant us.. 

Maybe it's a case that he said 'Bradford put the ball to the front quickly' he was meaning we break with lightening pace & the ball is in the opposition net before they know what's happened.
(I doubt it though ha)

[Deepcut Cobbler]

Naihki off to Burnley?

[Bd18]

It's all bollocks - there's more to your game than hoof. Mr Kelly also won't have seen enough L2 football to know that Hereford played the ball out beautifully from the back in neat little triangles the season they got relegated, Edgar Davids was still taking the ball from the keeper and looking for the neat short pass as Barnet played out their last few minutes in the league at Sixfields....

You talk about nice football at this level, you would not believe the battering rochdale gave us at home in December, they were like prime Barcelona that day & we were poor. We lost 4-2 & our two were both penalties, the score line really flattered us, rochdale were simply brilliant.

[Bd18]

Naihki off to Burnley?

I'd say its 50/50 really.
Can not blame him for wanting to better himself & his 26 goals this season have been vital to our league & cup run. If the money is right & it's a progressive move for him then it's fair enough, good luck to him.

That said, he can be terribly inconsistent, the burton away play off & vs you he was great, if you saw our burton home play off you would see the other side of him.

[everbrite]

...........................both times Bradford came to Sixfields this season you  were the team playing hoof ball.
   

They hoofball a lot at VP against us too. The Bradford we played at Wembley and the Bradford of L2 are two different animals.

This reply does not contradict my edict regarding replies to Bd18 in which I reserve the right to reply to as and when I choose.

[TbananaG]

You talk about nice football at this level, you would not believe the battering rochdale gave us at home in December, they were like prime Barcelona that day & we were poor. We lost 4-2 & our two were both penalties, the score line really flattered us, rochdale were simply brilliant.

No, I would believe it: we played Rochdale in Feb and beat them 3-1, but they looked ridiculously good for their league position at the time. I guess it's another example of the point being to win football matches, however you do that.