I get what you &
Starks
are saying re drawing the pressure,
getting low blocks to come out and open up. Defo good points. But it doesn't always happen that way, and when it doesn't, that's when you need all your guys - not just our much maligned front 3 - to play fast tempo footy...ball & men moving at Mach 2 pace. That's what we did early doors to great effect...and intermittently since that great spell ended vs the Chavs. That's what City & Liverpool always do, even the grotty cunts next door. Look at Leverkusen too.
As a former player (not even fit to lace a Spam player's boots, mind) and active kiddo coach, I've always thought that the best way to open up a defensive side is by going at them from minute one. You score the first, keep up that mad relentless pressure, get a second...then they're forced to attack and you're laughing your way to 3 pts. I guarantee we'd have smashed West Ham by 2 or 3 last nite had we not taken our foot off the gas.
All about funding the right mixture, I guess. And yeah, still a work in progress...need 4 or 5 quality operators to come in this summer, and 7 or 8 deadwood pieces to jog on.
Onwards & upwards.
COYS