Originally Posted by
paul_oshea
I have watched all games in the Euros bar a half of two games, the one thing I have noticed is that almost every player (and i Include N Macedonia in this) can take a ball in a tight space under pressure, and keep hold of it and get the pass away that's the one main and very important attribute players at these Euros have over most of our players. Perhaps its championship football for championship grade players. The other main points I have picked up is that most teams are playing a variety of styles and can change it up throughout the game, this possession for possession sake is a misnomer, few teams do the passing along the back four like Ireland do continuously without any idea of how they are going to get it through to the next bank, many teams are varying the passing because they have identified weaknesses of defenders or midfield, that Croatian full back for example, got caught out twice.
That's an interesting one about being guilty of seeing what I want to see, I would put that at the door of many on here who had seen "greenshots" with kennys first few games in charge, identifying possession and passing incoherently across the back four without any penetration and the keeper taking short kickouts* within the box to a defender as proof of progression. There's been a good few games in this championship where one team has had more possession at these euros and lost, I doubt they found solace in that on their journey home.
Agree with your last point, that's what I saw against Hungary and I felt we got a lot more out of the game with variation especially long balls/balls over the top. Also why I mentioned Obafemi, as Idah doesn't have that thundering pace when he finds himself in those positions - which he did a couple of times.
*Of course theres exceptions to this too, Marshall time and again taking long punts forward when Scotland needed to hold ball for a while against Croatia was very frustrating.
