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WANDERERS have seen less of the ball than any other club in the Championship this season - but Phil Parkinson is not concerned.
The Whites have averaged 42.5 per cent possession over their first 16 games and dropped as low as 23 per cent in the recent 1-1 draw at Fulham.
But quality, rather than quantity is on Parkinson’s mind as he plots a survival gameplan and after beating Norwich City - a game which saw Bolton get just 32 per cent possession - he explained why the stats don’t necessarily guarantee success.
“Possession doesn’t win you games,” he told The Bolton News. “I remember a great quote from Sir Alex Ferguson, writing in his book, he said ‘we don’t concentrate on possession at Manchester United, we only care about how many times we can penetrate the opposition back four.’
“Leicester City won the title and probably had the lowest possession stats in the Premier League.
“It’s not about possession or how much you have, just where you have it.
“It’s quite easy to set a team up which keeps the ball in your own half, passing between the midfield and the centre-backs, but the hardest part is when you get into the final third producing those moments of quality. I think we are showing them at the moment.”
Fulham have had more possession than any other side in the Championship, averaging 56 per cent, just above Reading (56.6) and Nottingham Forest (55.1).
Down at the bottom end of the possession table are Millwall (43.7) and Burton Albion (44.1).
http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/sport/wanderers/15643405.Wanderers_are_on_the_ball___but_quality_not_quantity_counts/