Route One - Critch's Kryptonite

CompleteControl

CompleteControl

Well-known member
Comparing Saturday's band Tuesday's match one thing was clear - Route One football is Critch' s kryptonite, he can't cope with it.

Quite a few times this season we have played lower table sides who are often on a bad run and we should breezed past them. Instead they played Route One football and Critch could not cope. Cheltenham were a classic example - booming goal kicks, long throw ins, deep inswinging free kicks and well taken corners. It was obvious major changes should have taken place at half time but nothing happened.

On all the many coaching courses Critch has been on he has obviously learned a lot about 'good' football - the Pep way. However I think he missed the quick session they had which said some strange teams don't always play this way and in fact some rotters still use Route One!

I am sure Critch's way would be ok for the championship and a lot of the time in L1 but I think we will struggle to get promotion until he figures out how to counter Route One teams.
 
Niente cambia.

Going off memory here rather than looking it up but in 2006/7 think we lost home and away to the bottom two which included Brentford. A win in any of them would have seen us promoted automatically instead of bedding the play offs
 
We have to improve defensively. Not selecting Ekpiteta against Cheltenham was a mistake but we have looked suspect even with Big Marve at the back. Luton have showed how you can combine high energy Route 1 football with the "beautiful game". In Critchley's first spell we had Ballard, Thorniley and Madine who would attack the ball both in defence and attack. The other factor is the goalkeeper, Grimshaw is a good, modern keeper able to play the ball on the ground and a good shot stopper but he doesn't command his area. This is an area he needs to improve but at the end of the day he's not 6'5" and not big physically.
 
Bisphamtang said:
A good manager should be able to nullify agricultural football
By definition those teams have less footballing ability
However I agree we really do struggle against those type of teams
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BT, in theory yes I agree. But it doesn't always follow.

Those few years that Wimbledon had in Div1, Liverpool and Arsenal struggled to cope with them. For years at our level, Chesterfield were horrible to watch but that year they played Boro with Juninho, Ravanelli etc in the Fa semi I was backing them to win it, and they gave it a good go.

Overall I think if my team played the way Stevenage did last week, I'd seriously have to consider whether I wanted to watch it. Fortunately it's not been too much of an issue, we've had the odd dalliance with it like Ellis for example. But generally, even in the years we've been crap, we were trying to play.

But never underestimate what, on the surface appears, a low quality team of well organised and hard working players can do. As the OP says, we struggle with it every time.
 
Delfino said:
Niente cambia.

Going off memory here rather than looking it up but in 2006/7 think we lost home and away to the bottom two which included Brentford. A win in any of them would have seen us promoted automatically instead of bedding the play offs
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I think the other was Rotherham.
But yes as good as that 06/07 team was the 2 worse teams in the division did the double over us.
I think Crichley overthinks these games and gives the players instructions they are not comfortable with. We just need to impose our game on them, not the other way around.
 
just out of interest, i am wondering what brand of 'good football' we play? because as far as i can see we play as many if not more long balls from our goalie / defence up to the attacking area? and very rarely win anything from it?

and while we are on the subject... why when we kickoff from centre do we play it directly back to grimshaw to hoof? surely we must have a defender or midfielder capable of receiving and hitting that ball from 20/30 yards further forward, this landing it in a more dangerous area?
 
Discojohndeary said:
Cheltenham played far better than we did. They were stronger, faster to react, more skilful. and passed more accurately.
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To play CJ as part of a midfield three was a big mistake. The central midfield against Peterborough was much stronger with the inclusion of Norburn.
 
So if we do get to the Play Offs and play 'footballing teams' it should be a breeze!
I do agree though with the o/p - watching Cheltenham was like the Fleetwood first half. What I struggle with though is how we don't play our own game? Critch talks about player's mentality but who in the team gets the ball and plays it rather than launches it and last Tuesday I didn't see anyone who did that.
 
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