Carrickball

That's great - think Lenihan is the only player who doesn't touch the ball in that clip.

Nice little bit where Howson faces Archer as though he was going to pass to him, that seems to fool the defence just for a moment buying Chuba a bit of space right as Howson turns to pass to him instead. That in turn takes the focus back off Archer, at which point the goal's a done deal.

So much happening on and off the ball with this team. I love it.
 
I guess it shows how much the style has changed from what we've been served up previously - people obviously aren't conditioned to watching modern, progressive football.

I do wonder how much "extra" football the average fan watches though. Anyone fairly well versed in most of the European top flights wouldn't be surprised by how we've set up under Carrick?
 
Thought Hackney and Howson were superb in this. Love that combination. They are a brilliant partnership
 
Brilliant goal.

We've scored a good few goals like this under Carrick.

An absolute joy to watch.

I can't help but think Aaron Danks plays a huge role in all of this. He is definitely someone who goes unnoticed and underrated. Great appointment.
 
It's being played so well by all the lads, they really have fully bought into it.
As each week goes by you can see we are getting better and better at it as well and we are doing it at just the right time of the season.
It also looks to be a better use of energy as well as we don't seem to be on our last legs at the end of games, as shown by the goals we score in the last 30 minutes. This could be crucial over the next 8 games.
As much as I admire Klopp's style and even that of Wilder when he gets it right, the high press game is clearly more energy sapping and performances tail off as a result.
Fingers crossed we pass our way to promotion.

www.soccerstats.com

Championship goals per 15-minute segment (scored and conceded)

English Championship stats
www.soccerstats.com www.soccerstats.com
 
They almost can't refuse to press in that circumstance too.

The prospect of robbing Steffen or intercepting the pass presents too big an opportunity, so it will almost always draw in the opposition.
 
I can't really remember a time following Boro that has been as good as this.

The football has been great; results have been great.

After the next match, Carrick will have been in charge for half a season. Worst case scenario is that we have 50 points and 50 goals from those 23 games. I hope and expect it to be more.

Over a full season, Fulham got 90 points and 106 goals. Our points return is far better, and our goal scoring is comparable.

Taking nothing away from Fulham: they kept it up for a full season. Maybe our half season hasn't really been representative of the division? Well, we'll have played Preston and Blackpool twice, and no matches against Coventry and Rotherham. The league table suggests the teams we haven't played are slightly better than those we've played twice, but not by much. On the other hand, we'll have played 10 matches at home and 13 away. We're over 0.5 points/game better at home, so I don't think the fixture list has done us a favour over Carrick's first half-season.

Enjoy it; this might be as good as it ever gets!
 
I fully understand what we're doing and why we do it and I'm generally fine with it .. but I will admit my backside does drop now and then when we do it and it's real tight ..
 
The people who get nervous when we try and beat the opposition press clearly don't appreciate its one of the reasons why our form has been so impressive.

I think Carrick was a little frustrated by the fans who are in this camp after the Stoke game.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top