Home
For years Wanderers fans listened as ‘the experts’ pigeon-holed their club as long-ball merchants, and it seems the band has struck up again.
Back in the Premier League days, those notorious cloggers Jay-Jay Okocha, Fernando Hierro, Youri Djorkaeff and Ivan Campo just wouldn’t listen as they continually peppered the penalty area with their direct, physical brand of football. Thank God those days are over, eh?
Sam Allardyce lapped it up. And a decade on, Phil Parkinson is doing exactly the same.
Surely anyone who watched Wanderers dismantle Gillingham on Monday night would agree the standard of football was as good as anything in League One right now?
The same goes for first half performances against Coventry and Sheffield United, which were just as enjoyable to watch.
Make no mistake, Wanderers have been direct at times this season. Gary Madine offers you that option and a platform to build from – but you could hardly accuse the triumvirate behind him of failing to play eye-catching stuff.
Sammy Ameobi, Zach Clough and Josh Vela have proved themselves worth the entrance fee for a good few games this season, and seem to be having a more profound effect as time wears on.
That is not to say for a second that Parkinson’s side has not been direct on occasion – and some opponents call for a more simplistic approach than others.
Early in the season I think the manager set out a simple framework for his side to work off, and that has now evolved to what we are seeing today.
The role currently occupied by Jay Spearing and Tom Thorpe in front of the back four was initially designed as an insurance policy but both players are now getting more and more involved in open play.
The back four – which has been imperious for most of the campaign – is also evolving, with the full-backs Lawrie Wilson and Andy Taylor becoming more and more of a threat going forward, having established a good rapport with the winger in front of them.
When the Whites need to dig in and defend, they have, and anyone present at Northampton will attest that it hasn’t all been sweetness and light. Sometimes, to borrow one of Parkinson’s phrases, they have had to do the “horrible stuff” and get the job done.
One of his former Bradford cohorts, James Meredith, got me thinking when he talked about the gap opening up between Wanderers and the Bantams at the top end of the table.
“We all know how Phil Parkinson manages and his tactics are very resilient,” he told our sister paper across the Pennines, the Telegraph and Argus.
“He doesn’t concede and they’ll nick the one goal. He’s happy as long as they get the clean sheet.
“We play a different sort of football. It’s more expansive and you take more risks in passing but it’s great to watch.”
Now I was impressed by Bradford when they came to the Macron and no more so by their manager, Stuart McCall, who handled himself superbly in the post-match press conference, coming across as a thoroughly likable chap.
But the words ‘expansive’ and ‘risks’ don’t often get attributed to winning teams – and I wonder whether McCall would rather take some of those 1-0 wins over the Christmas period than try and claim a 4-3?
Wanderers have to pick their moment to go for the jugular, as they did against Gillingham. It is no use pouring forward if the opponents are set up to pick you off on the counter attack.
They will have to earn a foothold in today’s game at Chesterfield, no doubt, in a similar way that Peterborough did last weekend when they beat the Spireites 5-2. That scoreline looks a resounding one – but those who watched the game tell me that Posh just picked their moments and were clinical, scoring very early on and in stoppage time at the end of the first half.
It was a similar case for Wanderers against Gillingham. I’d argue they have played better football this season but the manner of the scoreline suggests absolute dominance.
After the year Whites fans have had, winning football is a treat to watch. Call me boring if you like – but if that is 1-0 or 4-0, I don’t give a fig.
Source
Back in the Premier League days, those notorious cloggers Jay-Jay Okocha, Fernando Hierro, Youri Djorkaeff and Ivan Campo just wouldn’t listen as they continually peppered the penalty area with their direct, physical brand of football. Thank God those days are over, eh?
Sam Allardyce lapped it up. And a decade on, Phil Parkinson is doing exactly the same.
Surely anyone who watched Wanderers dismantle Gillingham on Monday night would agree the standard of football was as good as anything in League One right now?
The same goes for first half performances against Coventry and Sheffield United, which were just as enjoyable to watch.
Make no mistake, Wanderers have been direct at times this season. Gary Madine offers you that option and a platform to build from – but you could hardly accuse the triumvirate behind him of failing to play eye-catching stuff.
Sammy Ameobi, Zach Clough and Josh Vela have proved themselves worth the entrance fee for a good few games this season, and seem to be having a more profound effect as time wears on.
That is not to say for a second that Parkinson’s side has not been direct on occasion – and some opponents call for a more simplistic approach than others.
Early in the season I think the manager set out a simple framework for his side to work off, and that has now evolved to what we are seeing today.
The role currently occupied by Jay Spearing and Tom Thorpe in front of the back four was initially designed as an insurance policy but both players are now getting more and more involved in open play.
The back four – which has been imperious for most of the campaign – is also evolving, with the full-backs Lawrie Wilson and Andy Taylor becoming more and more of a threat going forward, having established a good rapport with the winger in front of them.
When the Whites need to dig in and defend, they have, and anyone present at Northampton will attest that it hasn’t all been sweetness and light. Sometimes, to borrow one of Parkinson’s phrases, they have had to do the “horrible stuff” and get the job done.
One of his former Bradford cohorts, James Meredith, got me thinking when he talked about the gap opening up between Wanderers and the Bantams at the top end of the table.
“We all know how Phil Parkinson manages and his tactics are very resilient,” he told our sister paper across the Pennines, the Telegraph and Argus.
“He doesn’t concede and they’ll nick the one goal. He’s happy as long as they get the clean sheet.
“We play a different sort of football. It’s more expansive and you take more risks in passing but it’s great to watch.”
Now I was impressed by Bradford when they came to the Macron and no more so by their manager, Stuart McCall, who handled himself superbly in the post-match press conference, coming across as a thoroughly likable chap.
But the words ‘expansive’ and ‘risks’ don’t often get attributed to winning teams – and I wonder whether McCall would rather take some of those 1-0 wins over the Christmas period than try and claim a 4-3?
Wanderers have to pick their moment to go for the jugular, as they did against Gillingham. It is no use pouring forward if the opponents are set up to pick you off on the counter attack.
They will have to earn a foothold in today’s game at Chesterfield, no doubt, in a similar way that Peterborough did last weekend when they beat the Spireites 5-2. That scoreline looks a resounding one – but those who watched the game tell me that Posh just picked their moments and were clinical, scoring very early on and in stoppage time at the end of the first half.
It was a similar case for Wanderers against Gillingham. I’d argue they have played better football this season but the manner of the scoreline suggests absolute dominance.
After the year Whites fans have had, winning football is a treat to watch. Call me boring if you like – but if that is 1-0 or 4-0, I don’t give a fig.
Source
