when was the last time a team at Championship level had success

playing the way Swansea did around 2010-11? With the slow possession and grinding out 1-0 wins?

No-one plays that way any more now - even Swansea abandoned it years ago, because it got worked out. Lambert had it worked out from his Prem season with us. Teams pressed high up the pitch, play directly against it and force them into mistakes leading to chances. Then, without possession, just sit back, stay compact and let them pass the ball around in front of you.

The only teams that still play possession football successfully - like Man City or Bayern - do it by having world class players in every position. So that when they are pressed deep in their own half they rarely lose the ball (but even then they concede goals from it at times). And when they attack, they have players who can easily beat men 1v1, and can play highly technical 1-2s - creating chances against blocked defences. It's really unrealstic to expect to do that with Championship level players.

This philosophy - at this level - is a busted flush. Successful teams our size all play like Burnley or Bournemouth now. It's all about exploiting transitions, not about possession.

Posted By: Mecagoenti, Mar 6, 22:50:31