Moore and tactics

[BillyStubbsTears]

Of all the things Moore has done which have impressed me, nothing tops how quickly and effectively he has re-shaped our attacking play after losing Whiteman.

When Whiteman was here, everything pivoted around him. He would be constantly dropping deep to take the ball from the defence, look for a forward pass, but more often than not, re-work the ball across the back 4. It was all about patience and control. Working the opponents. Challenging them to maintain their shape while we controlled possession.

When we lost Whiteman, I feared the worst because we have no-one who can play that role.

But Moore has totally changed the philosophy. He's not tried to force someone into that role. He's been prepared to cede possession and let the opponents appear to dictate the game. But what we now do is break at lightning pace.

We used to throttle opponents by starving them of the ball. Now we let them have it and put a shield up. But when we attack it is rapier-like. You cannot lose concentration against us for a moment, or we slice straight through you. The last two games have been extreme examples, but we have been doing that in pretty much every league game since Whiteman left.

Very, very impressive flexibility from Moore.

[Janso]

It's like Dean Saunders' football but much quicker and much less shit on the eye.

[BobG]

An ability to recognise what he has and how to use it too. Not all our managers have had that have they?

BobG

[pib]

Matt Smith has been absolutely superb since Whiteman left. I doubt it’s by accident that his role has altered slightly and he is excelling in it.

Some of the passes he has played have been outstanding, and the way he has taken the pressure off us by taking the ball off the defence on the half turn and quickly turning defence into attack from deep has been Whiteman-esque in many ways.

His last few games have probably been his best in a Rovers shirt.

[Pancho Regan]

I think Taylor Richards is the key to this.

He offers something different, something unpredictable.

When we break from defence, it’s not just Fej who is the outball. If we can get the ball to Richards as we cross into the opponents’ half, there is every chance he can go on a run at their defence.
He has a lazy, clumsy style which belies his amazing skill.

He has shown he has the ability to run at defences and score. He is massively important to this team.

[BillyStubbsTears]

With Whiteman, it was all about overwhelming the opposition. Pushing them back. Pulling them out to cover the next pass. Waiting till they slipped up.

With Smith, it's about tigerishly defending, then when we get the ball, BANG! Quick forward passes. Hit the bas**rds, hard and fast.

When Smith picked up the ball in our half on 31mins today, I was saying, "Steady...steady...hold it...lay it off." Instead he played a rapier 40 yard pass to Taylor and we were 1-0 up.

Like Bob says, the art of management is knowing what you have got and enabling them. Not making people fit into the mould you want to make work.

[donnievic]

Tbf we have always been able to hit teams quickly on the break,I think lately we have created less but could be down to having less of the ball,what helps is he has made us hard to score against since butler has come back in for whatever reason we couldn’t seem to do it earlier in the season

[drfcdrfc]

I think Taylor Richards is the key to this.

He offers something different, something unpredictable.

When we break from defence, it’s not just Fej who is the outball. If we can get the ball to Richards as we cross into the opponents’ half, there is every chance he can go on a run at their defence.
He has a lazy, clumsy style which belies his amazing skill.

Ha has shown he has the ability to run at defences and score. He is massively important to this team.

Reminds me of JET

[les@donr]

Moore has made us hard to beat. Teams are now saying, oh, no, next up is doncaster rovers. We have put the fear of God in all the other teams in this division.

[Forkbeard]

I totally agree with BST. I think Darren will adapt tactics again once Bostock is fully integrated into the team. Matt Smith is a class act though.

[GazLaz]

Having another class act in there in Matt Smith has helped.

We are obviously on a great run but in the last two games we’ve had plenty of fortune. They could have both gone the other way against teams that are probably better than us.

[graingrover]

He has another eight  to throw into the mix and they are ,
Copps ,Bostock,Bogle ,Sims ,Robertson ,Amos,Greaves ,Jones .

Moore ,Henshaw and Baldwin have done a real job .

[since-1969]

Of all the things Moore has done which have impressed me, nothing tops how quickly and effectively he has re-shaped our attacking play after losing Whiteman.

When Whiteman was here, everything pivoted around him. He would be constantly dropping deep to take the ball from the defence, look for a forward pass, but more often than not, re-work the ball across the back 4. It was all about patience and control. Working the opponents. Challenging them to maintain their shape while we controlled possession.

When we lost Whiteman, I feared the worst because we have no-one who can play that role.

But Moore has totally changed the philosophy. He's not tried to force someone into that role. He's been prepared to cede possession and let the opponents appear to dictate the game. But what we now do is break at lightning pace.

We used to throttle opponents by starving them of the ball. Now we let them have it and put a shield up. But when we attack it is rapier-like. You cannot lose concentration against us for a moment, or we slice straight through you. The last two games have been extreme examples, but we have been doing that in pretty much every league game since Whiteman left.

Very, very impressive flexibility from Moore.

We are in L1 where keeping possession doesn’t always win you games but taking your chances in most games ...does . WE will need another Whiteman  style player in the Championship , for conceding possession WILL cost you games . 
IMO DM has brought in gifted ball players in Smith , Sims and Richards , none of which maybe here next season . I feel that you reap what you sow and having 7 loans on the books will be the norm for us because we will not be competitive without having these prodigies of other clubs . We look more fluid going forward from midfield since Whiteman’s departure and the players stepping up to new responsibilities as results since have shown , unlike Whitman's move to PNE haven’t improved at all !!

[Alan Southstand]

BST:

Like Bob says, the art of management is knowing what you have got and enabling them. Not making people fit into the mould you want to make work.

I can only see things improving when Sims, Bogle and Bostock are added to the mix. Sims, we already know, adds another dimension to our attacking play, whilst improving our back-track-ability. Bostock came on as a make-shift striker yesterday and didn’t look out of place, but it’s anyone’s guess what damage he could wreak from midfield. And Bogle, I believe, is possibly/probably another missing piece in the DM jigsaw, in that he’ll be more of a hold it up man than Fej. Don’t get me wrong, Fej has worked his nads off, but his hold-up play could be improved.

I find it unthinkable that we now have the resources to improve on what we’ve done to date. Unbelievable!

[DonnyBazR0ver]

I don't think the tactics have changed but we're seeing the evolution post Whiteman. DM has always wanted us the move the ball from back to front quickly which we are doing albeit not without risk as we're losing the ball when we're too eager to make that very important first penetrating pass out of the back. Of course, we're seeing the dividends when it does come off but there's the price of spending too much time out of possession. With Whiteman, you could argue we were too safe, as we worked the ball forward but took too long about it at times.

Smith yesterday wasn't getting on the ball anywhere near enough in the first part of the game yesterday and I thought at times he wasn't putting enough effort into getting into position to receive the ball. Gomes was similar but his passing was a accurate enough. The tactic is to get the ball up to Richards in the pocket who can work it quickly from there. Yesterday, there was too bigger gap between Smith/Gomes/Halliday/James and Richards. It looked to me like DM wanted Richards to get closes to Fej so they could link up better.

When Smith got going we moved the ball a bit better but, we were sloppy at times with some poor touches and passing giving possession away far too easily. All players need to take responsibility for that.

It's work in progress and we'll see DM try to find the most consistent blend.

[Rovers91]

In the last two games had we had Whiteman in there I think we would have seen more of the ball. When Bostock gets fit he will probably be the guy that can get on the ball and dictate the game and calm everything down in the middle of the park.
But we are certainly rock solid to beat our defensive options and the shape is top class everyone knows their role without the ball.

[deebee]

Of all the things Moore has done which have impressed me, nothing tops how quickly and effectively he has re-shaped our attacking play after losing Whiteman.

When Whiteman was here, everything pivoted around him. He would be constantly dropping deep to take the ball from the defense, look for a forward pass, but more often than not, re-work the ball across the back 4. It was all about patience and control. Working the opponents. Challenging them to maintain their shape while we controlled possession.

PNE have a Whiteman type player and it isn't doing them much good in the championship.

When we lost Whiteman, I feared the worst because we have no-one who can play that role.

But Moore has totally changed the philosophy. He's not tried to force someone into that role. He's been prepared to cede possession and let the opponents appear to dictate the game. But what we now do is break at lightning pace.

We used to throttle opponents by starving them of the ball. Now we let them have it and put a shield up. But when we attack it is rapier-like. You cannot lose concentration against us for a moment, or we slice straight through you. The last two games have been extreme examples, but we have been doing that in pretty much every league game since Whiteman left.

Very, very impressive flexibility from Moore.

We are in L1 where keeping possession doesn’t always win you games but taking your chances in most games ...does . WE will need another Whiteman  style player in the Championship , for conceding possession WILL cost you games . 
IMO DM has brought in gifted ball players in Smith , Sims and Richards , none of which maybe here next season . I feel that you reap what you sow and having 7 loans on the books will be the norm for us because we will not be competitive without having these prodigies of other clubs . We look more fluid going forward from midfield since Whiteman’s departure and the players stepping up to new responsibilities as results since have shown , unlike Whitman's move to PNE haven’t improved at all !!

[RugbyRover]

I don't think the tactics have changed but we're seeing the evolution post Whiteman. DM has always wanted us the move the ball from back to front quickly which we are doing albeit not without risk as we're losing the ball when we're too eager to make that very important first penetrating pass out of the back. Of course, we're seeing the dividends when it does come off but there's the price of spending too much time out of possession. With Whiteman, you could argue we were too safe, as we worked the ball forward but took too long about it at times.

Smith yesterday wasn't getting on the ball anywhere near enough in the first part of the game yesterday and I thought at times he wasn't putting enough effort into getting into position to receive the ball. Gomes was similar but his passing was a accurate enough. The tactic is to get the ball up to Richards in the pocket who can work it quickly from there. Yesterday, there was too bigger gap between Smith/Gomes/Halliday/James and Richards. It looked to me like DM wanted Richards to get closes to Fej so they could link up better.

When Smith got going we moved the ball a bit better but, we were sloppy at times with some poor touches and passing giving possession away far too easily. All players need to take responsibility for that.

It's work in progress and we'll see DM try to find the most consistent blend.

I think you are pretty much spot on with that assessment.

Smith deserves lots of praise for the times when those glory passes come off, but you are right to highlight the dozens of times when they don't. I'm no coach but I hear them talk about the importance of "transition" in modern football. Giving the ball away so often causes us so many problems.

In boxing terms I feel like we have gone from a Bomber Graham master class to a Nigel Benn tear up.

It maybe that this new style has been introduced specifically to counter two very good sides in Lincoln and Oxford, or maybe they actually forced us into it?

We have a formula for winning matches - have Butts and Big Tom perform heroics at one end and then let Richards come up with some magic at the other. Its working, certainly in the short term, but can we really win the championship playing like this?

As others have said I hope Bostock comes in an we start playing with some control. Reece James could do with us reverting back to that style cos he's not looked anywhere near as effective as was.

[Plumbster]

My take is that we have been forced into these tactics by the strength of the opposition in the last two games- we have survived through luck and great defence but the WHU game showed that this only works against a certain class of opposition.  I also welcome the additional quality we have hopefully added to the squad because I think we will need that to have a chance of going up and then surviving in the Championship

[Getridorit]

Of all the things Moore has done which have impressed me, nothing tops how quickly and effectively he has re-shaped our attacking play after losing Whiteman.

When Whiteman was here, everything pivoted around him. He would be constantly dropping deep to take the ball from the defence, look for a forward pass, but more often than not, re-work the ball across the back 4. It was all about patience and control. Working the opponents. Challenging them to maintain their shape while we controlled possession.

When we lost Whiteman, I feared the worst because we have no-one who can play that role.

But Moore has totally changed the philosophy. He's not tried to force someone into that role. He's been prepared to cede possession and let the opponents appear to dictate the game. But what we now do is break at lightning pace.

We used to throttle opponents by starving them of the ball. Now we let them have it and put a shield up. But when we attack it is rapier-like. You cannot lose concentration against us for a moment, or we slice straight through you. The last two games have been extreme examples, but we have been doing that in pretty much every league game since Whiteman left.

Very, very impressive flexibility from Moore.

Great analysis.
I also think 1 or two players have improved and stepped up since he left.

The 2nd half of the season is mouthwatering with the players we have coming back in.

[DonnyBazR0ver]

As said, we can't keep doing the rope-a-dope thing, it's too energy sapping.

As said, we don't plan to give the ball away so we must improve otherwise we'll run out of luck. Yes, we still need to take risks with quick, clean, accurate passing and the movement that supports it but we have to manage games better to ease the burden on the back four and keeper.

Going forward hopefully, it will be resolved and I think the following won't be far from DMs ideal line up and formation.

                        Balcombe

       Wright     Anderson  John(Butts)

       Smith(Robertson) Gomes (Robertson)

Halliday.    Bostock/Richards         Sims
                             
             Fej.         Bogle.      JJ

Might be a while before we see it  but I think that's what he'll be aiming for with Halliday and Sims pushing up but can drop back in if needed. Bostock or Richards in the pocket. The front three flexible in moving across the front line and equally comfortable in attacking the box.

[RugbyRover]

As said, we can't keep doing the rope-a-dope thing, it's too energy sapping.

As said, we don't plan to give the ball away so we must improve otherwise we'll run out of luck. Yes, we still need to take risks with quick, clean, accurate passing and the movement that supports it but we have to manage games better to ease the burden on the back four and keeper.

Going forward hopefully, it will be resolved and I think the following won't be far from DMs ideal line up and formation.

                        Balcombe

       Wright     Anderson  John(Butts)

       Smith(Robertson) Gomes (Robertson)

Halliday.    Bostock/Richards         Sims
                             
             Fej.         Bogle.      JJ

Might be a while before we see it  but I think that's what he'll be aiming for with Halliday and Sims pushing up but can drop back in if needed. Bostock or Richards in the pocket. The front three flexible in moving across the front line and equally comfortable in attacking the box.

not sure this is strictly legal?

[Lifelong supporter]

But no place for the hardest working player in the squad?

[BillyStubbsTears]

No way Moore is going to move from his favoured formation of 4-2-3-1/4-1-1-3-1 anytime soon. And there's no way we are starting with neither John nor James.

[Alan Southstand]

More likely:

             Barcombe

Halliday.    Anderson/Wright.  Butler/ John.   John/James


     Smith/Robertson/Bostock   James/Gomes/Bostock


   Taylor/Sims.       Richards/Bostock.        Sims/Simoes/Fej


                       Fej/Bogle/JJ


The ultimate in flexibility and squad rotation.

[dickos1]

There’s no way he’ll play sims that deep either,
Plus there’s 12 players in that side

[Alan Southstand]

No, there isn’t.

It’s a 4-2-3-1

[DonnyBazR0ver]

No way Moore is going to move from his favoured formation of 4-2-3-1/4-1-1-3-1 anytime soon. And there's no way we are starting with neither John nor James.

Not at the moment we're not but as said I think it's where DMs going. Yes I f*cked up with the formation there but I think he'll want to a fluid formation that changes with or without the ball. I expect Taylor's place to be at risk and unfortunately James as well, although he will still get plenty of game time coming on to fill in from the bench.

I can see him starting with either Richards or Bostock, being the ones that open things up and attack the box etc.

Smith with any of Gomes, Robertson or James being the engine room in front of the back line.

Halliday and Sims providing the width but can tuck in to link up. Then up top perm any two from Fej, Bogle and JJ.

[DonnyBazR0ver]

More likely:

             Barcombe

Halliday.    Anderson/Wright.  Butler/ John.   John/James


     Smith/Robertson/Bostock   James/Gomes/Bostock


   Taylor/Sims.       Richards/Bostock.        Sims/Simoes/Fej


                       Fej/Bogle/JJ


The ultimate in flexibility and squad rotation.

We're blessed that we have all those options!

[RugbyRover]

No, there isn’t.

It’s a 4-2-3-1

he means the original .