Ltfc 1-2 Wufc

In fairness the only people who can answer why we resorted to long ball crap are the players and manager.I don't want to be seen as to critical because Alan has done well at Longford and deserves all the respect he can get but this long ball stuff has to stop and stop now.It just dosen't work.Alan needs to drill this into the players.If you keep the ball on the ground and retain simple possesion and be patient about this your chances will come.Players need to be in a position to recieve the ball at all times and need to be able and willing to do this.The simple things are almost always the most effective things.I don't want to be seen as a know it all but i have played football for long enough and coached for long enough to know that this is the best way to play the game.IMO a team will always reflect what it is coached on the training ground.Alan must stamp his authority on the team if they are not following his instructions and get them to play the way he wants.All good coaches do this.If the long ball game is Alan's game i don't think it will work and i fear another season of under achieving in the league.

[QUOTE=Flea]Digger should be viewed as the reserve cos lets face it hes finished and hes crippling our play build-up. As for the second goal, Ferguson couldn't get even 10% of the blame hes gettin. Ferguson is a good defender but when things go wrong he gets all the blame. Easy shot, easy save, but wasn't saved :( . Yeah hes done a lot but hes past his best, even half his best and this didn't do Vinny any good so I don't see what keeping him on is gonna do i.e. get a new keeper.QUOTE]

Two very true things.

Can't forget, our midfield were not what they should be, I know John Martin had a great end of season and a good glentoran game but I'm still surprised to be saying that his absence seamed to really hurt. Any Idea how serious his injury is?

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Originally Posted by observer

As long as Alan Matthews is content to use Digger's "up and unders" and Ferguson's hoofed balls, as the main attacking ploys for Longford the team cannot and will not progress. Why buy midfielders if they are to be bypassed everytime Longford have possession? :confused: :mad:

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One of the lads in work here was at the game - that pretty much sums up what he thought of the game. Said it was a brutal match played mostly in the air - including Waterford. A bit surprising 'cos yez played some nice football against Glentoran at times.

John Martin should be back for the next game I think, we could do with him back. He's the one that injects real pace into the midfield and he was a real loss when he went off in Glentoran. As regards Davy Byrne I think it was a gamble worth taking, Stephen Kenny tried everything to keep him seemingly but he just wouldn't go full time. I think he'll be a useful squad member yet. We've only played two games give it another five or six and see how we're doing.

Cop On, as regards 1st touch none of our players should have an excuse.Most if not all have played in England and represented Ireland at some age level.Your first touch should be developed at schoolboy level.Fair enuf you may not have a lot of time on the ball that's why creating space and time for yourself is so important.It mightn't always succeed but it should be tried.It is very easy for the opposition to adapt to a long ball game but it is very hard to stop a team who pass and move because you just end up leaving holes and space for the opposition.All our best performances have come when we have retained posession and passed the ball about but our players seem to fall back into just getting rid of it.The people in the crowd don't help either with their GAA attitiude giving out one minute about knocking it long and as soon as it's knocked about they want it knocked long.With the players we have we should be passing the ball to feet so the likes of Kirby,Prunty,Barrett,Baker and John Martin can run at the opposition.These players have the ability to go by anyone but it's not utilised.Alan Kirby needs a bloody lead on him because he keeps drifting in field and congesting midfield when he should be out wide where the space is giving other players options.It's very annoying.

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Originally Posted by Wiseguy

The people in the crowd don't help either with their GAA attitiude giving out one minute about knocking it long and as soon as it's knocked about they want it knocked long.

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Any player who plays the game as dictated to him by the crowd shouldnt be playing senior football, (or even area league football for that matter). But I do take your point. Also as has been said by all before, we play our best football and create most of our chances when knocking the ball about and opening up teams while playing the ball on the ground. Surely the players can see this as well. But Barry Ferguson does not have the confidence in his own ability to pass the ball along the ground to a midfielder or a winger and hoofes the ball sixty yards down field "clearing his lines" and then feels he has done his job well. This is just not good enough.

[QUOTE=Xlex]Can't let those two quotes on Waterfords second goal go unchecked. Firstly, Murph played that ball back to Barry to clear, in half a yard of space Barry's clearance was blocked. The ball rebounded to Murphy and in an area between Dillo and O'Connor he blasted past Digger. That's my perspective on the goal from where I was in Section O. It was a softish goal but hard to finger much blame on anyone. I was fuming with Cronin at the time because he wasn't anywhere for Prunty to clear his lines to. Why is it Dillon or Prunty can do little wrong.

Bring Barry back to the right side of defense. I was really disappointed with the game. A narrow pitch. A poor mans full-back playing centre of midfield. Cronin was non-existant.... No width and Diggers unaccurate up and unders. Can't pick a decent player all night for Longford. Brutal.

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barry left is man to attack that ball, that was his fact and was picked up on after the game, he isn;t happy at the left side of the defence but daz is more unpappy so that is why he is there, expect paiso to take that position against cork

to answer college til i die, danny used to be a full back moved to centre back under doolo and has played there ever since and looks a better player since he did.
secondly where is gary cronin playing for you? he's a left winger or left full nothing else. don't worry to much about his size he's probably the most committed player in the league and will always give 100% not a bad finisher either.
cant answer the andy myler question have heard nothing about the injury tho one of the lads was talking to him in town last week having accidently stood on his ankle in a que at the post office

He said on Saturday he's nearly fit so hopefully he'll be right for the Cork game,he might stick away some of the chances we miss. Cronin played left wing, he'll do alright for us I think but needs to gel like the others.

as long as he's back for the drogs game goin t be an interesting crowd response to that one danny, andy and snackers given great reception, spud hated, dessie baker loathed and detested, digger loved. we drogs are very fickle

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Originally Posted by Wiseguy

.Every person knows that if something isn't working you change it..

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Everyone except Matthews that is :mad: :ball:

Ah Sonic, good to see your not letting the three sujccessive senior cup successes affect your view of Mathews in any way! What other manager could win 3 of the last 6 domestic trophies available and still have fans like Sonic on his case.

The fact is that when Longford won these cups they won them largely by playing the ball forward on the ground. They also won their cup finals on a large playing area which facilitated open play and complimented the skills and speed of Kirby, Prunty and Barrett. Where then is the logic of restricting the size of your own pitch and lofting the ball into the air when it comes to the League. While it is obvious that some fans want to have a go at Matthews for any reason, even his most devoted supporters know that there is a problem, even if they don't admit it. Why do we persist with the dreadful "everybody out" offside trap when the dogs on the street know about it and are waiting to exploit it(almost cost a goal in Belfast). Is there anyone out there who does not shiver everytime Town concede a free around halfway, in anticipation of this dangerous ploy?
Matthews has achieved much in moving the club forward of this there is no doubt, however he has to develop himself as well and learn by his mistakes instead of constantly repeating them. :(

I've said this before and I'll say it again, the way the game is played in Ireland and in Britain is the same - wingers and centre forwards push up on on the full backs and centre halves so the keepers are given very little option but to play long ball - the trick is to win the second ball and play from there. Against Glentoran in the first half we dominated midfield, in the second half they dominated midfield. Against Waterford, the second half was dominated by Reynolds, depriving us of a lot of ball in the centre. To say we won the cups by playing the ball on the ground is not necessarily so - Francis goal against Pat's, came about when kirby intercepted a pass in our half and played a long ball to Francis pulling away on the right wing - we didn't play that differently in the Cup finals to our league games, however, we took (some) of our chances and rode our luck - in fact I'd say the best we played in a final was against Pats in the League Cup second half and we lost that one!

Exactly, Kirby(midfield player) played a long ball from midfield area to Francis on the wing, as opposed to " Digger/Ferguson hoofed the ball up the middle to the opposing centrehalfs".
You have adequately supported the point I am making. ;)
The inference however that top class teams hoof the ball everytime they get it, when they are losing the midfield battle, is one I cannot agree with.

So tell me, when Digger has possession and the opposition have closed the space, what do you suggest he do with the ball?

If every time Digger or Ferguson get the ball there is no full back or midfielder looking to make space to take it off them then we must have absolutly no footballers in the side. Are you telling me that we are the only team in the league who never get the opportunity to start an attack through the fullbacks or midfielders? :confused: I am afraid our views on football are poles apart. To consider kicking a 50/50 ball up the middle of the field as a valid attacking option might make sense in the Paddy Clabby cup, it leaves a lot to be desired in the Eircom Premier League.

I'm not disagreeing that is the way we would like the game to be played. What I am saying is that all teams in Ireland and Britain try to prevent teams from doing that. When you watch the Town play, do you want our stikers and wingers to stand at the halfway line and allow the opposition fullbacks and centrehalfs carry the ball to the halfway line? Of course not, we put them under pressure forcing the long ball to be played, and they do exactly the same.

Not 90% of the time they don't. Did we not buy in 4 new midfielders so as to be better in midfield then most of the opposition. If all of our midfield talent is of the standard that every team in the league can make them ineffective then we have made dreadful purchases. If Paisley and Dillon who have international experience cannot escape the clutches of opposing forwards to break forward then they are grossly overrated. I personally do not believe either of these two scenarios to be true. The cause therefore must be that when the opportunity is there for a fast ball to be laid off to properly positioned players it is not availed of. Therefore Digger and Fergusion are not thinking fast enough, are not giving the ball fast enough or are just thinking purely defensively which is not acceptable at this level.

The cause therefore must be that when the opportunity is there for a fast ball to be laid off to properly positioned players it is not availed of. Therefore Digger and Fergusion are not thinking fast enough, are not giving the ball fast enough or are just thinking purely defensively which is not acceptable at this level.


I couln't agree more. When the opportunity arises the Town player in possession should immeadiately be looking to set up a counter attack through midfeild or the wings, classic example being Pruntys goal against Shels last season. Where I disagree with you is that I don't believe last Saturday we hoofed it long when the opportuinty arose to play ball! The problem in the second half last Saturday was we got so few chances to get on the ball and play, or to launch counter attacks against a side not committing men forward when they had possession, that when the attacks broke down our only options appeared to be kick it long.