Dribbling

[bytholwyn]

There are clear signs that dribbling is make a slow but sure return to the game and is making inroads into the possession obsession. No bad thing in my book, and I'm sure many will agree. A good dribble is always exciting to watch, and boy do we need more thrills. Of course it never disappeared completely, with Palace in particular good exponents of the art, through the likes of Zaha, Olise and Eze.

The good news is that we are clearly recruiting with strong dribbling ability in mind. Of the squad we deployed last season eyeballs alone tell me that Eom, O'Brien and Key are all strong dribblers, albeit that the latter developed a nasty habit of being caught in possession. The stats back up this perception. Eom was above average on successful dribbles and success percentage. Very similar stats for O'Brien and Key, the latter being nearly best in league for a full back on successful dribbles. Perhaps less obviously, Tymon was also above average (more on success rate than overall number of successful dribbles), as was Darling and even Cabango. Franco was average and Ronald was well below average on success rate, but despite this was nearly best in league on overall successes - reflecting his prodigous workrate.

By acquiring Inoussa and Widell, we've supercharged what was already a strength in the squad. Both are close to best in league for successful dribbles completed. So, next season we will have strong dribblers in pretty much all the positions that can best exploit those capabilities: full back, 8s and wingers. Our DMs in Franco and Fulton are relatively poor dribblers, as are our strikers (Wales is average), but these are positions where having this capability matters less.

The pattern is too clear for it to be coincidental. There's a clear intent here to recruit to give a license to thrill. I, for one, am really looking forward to see how things unfold.

 

[Pentyrchjack]

There's some good dribbling in the West Stand too.

 

[Ringwood]

Hope it's not at the expense of knowing how to cross a ball.. it seems a fine art our players mostly struggle with

 

[bakajack]

Hope it's not at the expense of knowing how to cross a ball.. it seems a fine art our players mostly struggle with

Composure and consistency are what Ronald needs to work on the most this summer. While he doesn't always beat his man on the right he has shown significant improvement in his willingness to take on his man and to get room for a cross under Sheehan than he did under Williams who spent over a year coaching the attacking instincts out of him.

We have seen Ronald put in excellent crosses, but just as often (if not more so) we have seen crosses that hit the first man or are blasted way too hard over everyone in the box. He has shown that he is capable, now he needs to show that he can be consistently capable.

 

[Colin-swansea]

When I see a wide player possessing the ability that Leighton James had of crossing accurately whilst on the run will I believe that particular skill has returned to the game.

 

[bytholwyn]

Composure and consistency are what Ronald needs to work on the most this summer. While he doesn't always beat his man on the right he has shown significant improvement in his willingness to take on his man and to get room for a cross under Sheehan than he did under Williams who spent over a year coaching the attacking instincts out of him.

We have seen Ronald put in excellent crosses, but just as often (if not more so) we have seen crosses that hit the first man or are blasted way too hard over everyone in the box. He has shown that he is capable, now he needs to show that he can be consistently capable.

I agree with your general points, although the improvement under Sheehan has been small, up from 19 per cent accuracy to a still below average 22 per cent. But upping the quality, even if that means recycling the ball a bit more, is definitely called for.

One thing smart wingers do, which he rarely does, is move the ball slightly away from goal and the defender to create a little bit of extra space and reduce the chance of a block. Small tweaks could work wonders.

 

[bytholwyn]

When I see a wide player possessing the ability that Leighton James had of crossing accurately whilst on the run will I believe that particular skill has returned to the game.

Dribbling and crossing. Whatever next? Having your cake and eating it? Yes, please

 

[bytholwyn]

Hope it's not at the expense of knowing how to cross a ball.. it seems a fine art our players mostly struggle with

Eom and Tymon (Josh is best in league for successful crosses) are both excellent crossers to be fair, and Key is pretty decent too. Ronald and newcomer Inoussa less so. I expect to see Inoussa cutting in from the left to shoot with his favoured right a lot. Widell has strong crossing stats, so overall we should have decent crossing ability. Mind you we could do with a decent 9 to capitalise on the chances created. That was definitely a massive issue last season and the biggest reason why we had such a big difference between expected goals scored and actual (only Luton were worse).

 

[Andrew - North Hill]

Football is all about fads and cycles. Twenty years ago in the mid-00s when Mourinho and Benitez were at the top of the game, it was all about packing the midfield, making games a war of attrition and keeping clean sheets. A few years later it was Pepball, then Klopp made counter pressing popular. These things have a lifespan of a few years before they get worked out and then it's on to the next innovation. Maybe dribbling/individuality is due a comeback, I certainly won't complain if it is. A lot of modern football is boring, obsessed with systems and maintaining shape.

 

[bytholwyn]

Football is all about fads and cycles. Twenty years ago in the mid-00s when Mourinho and Benitez were at the top of the game, it was all about packing the midfield, making games a war of attrition and keeping clean sheets. A few years later it was Pepball, then Klopp made counter pressing popular. These things have a lifespan of a few years before they get worked out and then it's on to the next innovation. Maybe dribbling/individuality is due a comeback, I certainly won't complain if it is. A lot of modern football is boring, obsessed with systems and maintaining shape.

I agree up to a point. The biggest challenge is that everyone nowadays has access to data, making it easier to counteract opposition strengths. For me that's the biggest reason for football being boring, at Championship level anyway, less so at PL level. Dribbling is a bit of a maverick quality that's perhaps harder to counter.

 

[J_B]

I'm 69 in August. I foresee quite a lot of dribbling in the future for me.

 

[MrSwerve]

I'm 69 in August. I foresee quite a lot of dribbling in the future for me.

Dribbling and 69. Lucky sod.

 

[Jackareme]

I can be a little critical of Ronald - and defensively he is best in the league..However, I am wondering whether his woeful crossing is down to him actually being (or trying to be) too precise. In the time it takes him to look up and scan his options, championship defenders position themselves to negate crosses.
If he worked with (say Tymon) I am sure he could more quickly just deliver the ball into good areas and improve his effectiveness.
Leighton James was a master - but he would often just deliver the ball into the areas that defenders hated and forwards could attack.

 

[LeonWasTheDogs]

There's some good dribbling in the West Stand too.

It’s not easy to chew a Werthers Original with no teeth

 

[DJack]

I'm 69 in August. I foresee quite a lot of dribbling in the future for me.

You need an appointment with urology, fast.