Winning is Winning

Hope you’re all enjoying the game lads. A quick half-time read for you all. Do check it out on my blog please. Would very much appreciate the support so do visit the link below. Follow or comment as you like.

http://the-beautiful-game.org/

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A lot has been made of Swansea’s breakthrough season in the Premier League. Sitting comfortably in 11th place with 10 wins, credit is certainly due to Brendan Rodgers in getting success by playing football ‘the right way’.
Well, supposedly the ‘right way’. I never received the memo that football had to be played a particular way. If you have the players of a certain type, then utilise them. Barcelona play the way they do to suit their best players; it’s the reason why Zlatan Ibrahimovic never fitted into their team. If that is supposedly ‘attractive football’ then so be it; I’m more of a believer that a win is better looking than playing ‘sexy football’ and throwing the game away – Arsenal are major culprits of that in recent times.

On the flip side, Stoke play a certain brand of football that is effective for them. And all merit to Stoke manager Tony Pulis; he has achieved continuous solid league positions, taken them to an FA Cup final and guided them into Europe. All by playing ‘ugly football’.

What some football fans fail to see is that ‘long ball’ isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Most sides ten years ago used a formula of a big target man, partnered with a small nippy striker. Think Shearer and Bellamy. Think Heskey and Owen. That consisted of mainly ‘over-the-top’ football that entailed of wide play and crosses rather than one touch football.

Even some of our top sides play a more direct game. Yes Manchester United and Chelsea play a certain brand of football; they like to pass the ball. But at the right times, the direct game is utilised. And why not? If you have Didier Drogba up front, who could out-muscle a bull, put it up to him and see what happens. More times than not, a positive output will be achieved.

This leads me to the point that many people think that by watching Athletic Bilbao beat Manchester United with ease, in a style of play that is alien to much of our domestic league, they can make the assumption that all Spanish football is played as such. It isn’t. Most teams, like most of the Premiership sides, make most of what they have. Whether that means “long-ball" or “direct play", it isn’t “tika taka" as many would think. Stop watching only the Barcelona and Real Madrid games and you’ll see it’s a lot more about tactics than flair.

At the end of the day, I don’t disrespect any team’s brand of football, whatever that may be. Purists may find that difficult to digest seeing a game that isn’t easy on the eye. From Stoke to Swansea, as long as it is effective, who cares?
Comments welcome.

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http://the-beautiful-game.org/