Bromley manager Andy Woodman has not held back in his criticism of possession based football, claiming that “no one is bothered” and blaming owners’ “over-inflated egos” for its implementation, speaking exclusively to THE DECK.
Andy Woodman has found success in League Two with a physical side that will “run through a brick wall” to get the result. They often hold a lower percentage of possession than their opponents with the aim to get it to the goal as fast as possible and take those opportunities. Any time they have the ball they must move it with a purpose rather than just hitting it around the back for the sake of it.
This approach is in contrast to a number of sides in League Two including MK Dons, who were highlighted by the former goalkeeper as an example.
Woodman Talks Tactics
Speaking exclusively to Fourth Tier Fever hosts Luke and Keiron for THE DECK Woodman explained his dislike of possession based football.
“I’ll go on record, your club is one of them” (gesturing to Luke who is an MK Dons fan).
“They could have 700 passes, we could have 700 passes and not come over the half way line and we would be a dream to play against”
“The game hasn’t changed in 120 years”
“The idea is to get the ball in the net at the other end”
“So unless you are creating chances and upping your percentages of chances.”
“If you only create 5% of the chances you’re only going to have 5% (chance) of scoring a goal”
“If we have 40% chances and whip it into the box at every opportunity and get crosses in we will have 40%. The maths is quite simple to me”
“If you spoke one on one with any fan in the country, and I’ve worked at big clubs.”
“If you said to Newcastle fans do you want a possession based team or a team that is exciting, puts the ball in the danger areas and wins football matches. They just want a team that gives everything and wins football matches”
“No one is really bothered about possession. The only people bothered about possession are these new data-stats driven people and owners with an overinflated ego on how football should be played”Â
“Winning football matches is the most important thing in football”
“I will always be true to myself, the game has not changed in 121 years”
“If I suddenly think I’m Pep Guardiola in the lowest tier of English league football, then I am getting this badly wrong”.Â
Is Woodman Right to Criticise Possession Football?
There have been a number of footballing “trends” throughout the history of the sport. When a side achieves a level of success with a style of play, you often see teams attempting to replicate it, which then filters down through the divisions.
Pep Guardiola and Barcelona developed a style of football where they would control almost the entire game, holding onto the ball and smothering the opponent, this has then been brought to England with his Manchester City side. However, this style of football has often been criticised for being “boring” and lacking in excitement.
The recent Manchester derby between United and City is a prime example of this, both sides were playing in a similar style that resulted in few chances and a game that was widely panned as being one of the worst between the two.
The reason these sides have success is that they have some of the best players in the world. So when teams from League One and Two attempt to replicate it, it often results in even less success. Woodman is a football fan first and foremost and it tells in how he describes the issue. Fans want chances, they want excitement and they want goals. They don’t want the ball spending 5 minutes being passed around the defenders looking for an opportunity, only to see it come back when that chance to get it forward closes.
I can’t help but agree with what Andy Woodman says.
The full episode will be released this evening on Fourth Tier Fever.Â
