Seems to me trying to walk the ball into the net is the natural denouement of obsessively playing out from the back. About 50% of the goals I see on telly come from teams passing goalie to full back to hapless centre back facing the wrong way, with a man on and no shout. The back pass rule that was supposed to discourage back passes seems to have tripled them so that teams will work the ball back from a vaguely promising attacking position all the way to their own keeper to begin again and this is instance, unless he's playing for Man City, he hoofs it wildly into no-man's land 90% of the time and they lose the ball anyway. When they actually get the ball up front players' heads are still full of the mantra "look after the ball" so instead of shooting or playing a riskier through ball they lay it off for someone else to take responsibility. When Ray Wilkins died they obviously injected him into an entire generation of players.
One reason behind the death of long-range shooting is the growth of goalkeepers. At 6' 3" I used to be tall, now many keepers would tower over me. When I narrowed the angle I was tall enough and agile enough to stand a good chance of reaching any corner of the goal. It was my big advantage. Now almost everyone can do it. The result is that the best way to score a long range shot is right-footed from the left hand side of the pitch, or left-footed from the right so that with these lighter balls they can bend it outside the keeper's telescopic reach and into the corner of the net. Chesterfield's Sam Hardy, who had the reputation of being the greatest keeper ever, stood less than 5' 10" and now would probably rejected at the Academy stage.
Another factor is the blocking of shots. Once upon a time far fewer players had defensive duties, now they are all there throwing themselves in to block shots, and attackers seem almost to invite their own shot to be blocked. They shoot even when it is obvious the ball will travel a few yards (lack of ideas?). Of course those of us old-fart enough to remember the case ball will understand the level of disincentive in blocking a well-struck shot. Now of course teams set up to break like lightning if a blocked shot opens up a defence ........ so teams pass instead of shooting out of fear of ending up conceding.
Perhaps Scunny are bottom because they do shoot. Certainly they aren't an ideal role model.
Would Tshimanga be amongst the league's top scorers if it were assessed on goals per minutes played?
Should we keep Tshimanga and offer Cookie to Pompey?
One reason behind the death of long-range shooting is the growth of goalkeepers. At 6' 3" I used to be tall, now many keepers would tower over me. When I narrowed the angle I was tall enough and agile enough to stand a good chance of reaching any corner of the goal. It was my big advantage. Now almost everyone can do it. The result is that the best way to score a long range shot is right-footed from the left hand side of the pitch, or left-footed from the right so that with these lighter balls they can bend it outside the keeper's telescopic reach and into the corner of the net. Chesterfield's Sam Hardy, who had the reputation of being the greatest keeper ever, stood less than 5' 10" and now would probably rejected at the Academy stage.
Another factor is the blocking of shots. Once upon a time far fewer players had defensive duties, now they are all there throwing themselves in to block shots, and attackers seem almost to invite their own shot to be blocked. They shoot even when it is obvious the ball will travel a few yards (lack of ideas?). Of course those of us old-fart enough to remember the case ball will understand the level of disincentive in blocking a well-struck shot. Now of course teams set up to break like lightning if a blocked shot opens up a defence ........ so teams pass instead of shooting out of fear of ending up conceding.
Perhaps Scunny are bottom because they do shoot. Certainly they aren't an ideal role model.
Would Tshimanga be amongst the league's top scorers if it were assessed on goals per minutes played?
Should we keep Tshimanga and offer Cookie to Pompey?