REGULAR readers of this column will be aware that it rarely gets into deep tactical analysis.
There are two main reasons for this: firstly, there are people much better qualified (and paid) than me who make a living out of it, mentioning no particular Hansens and Lawrensons.
The second reason is that, from my modest playing days, I always thought of tactics as what other players had to worry about. Or those little mint sweets. How many former goalkeepers become successful managers? I rest my case.
But after two consecutive Saturdays watching Rovers fail to have the luck, wit, skill, sharpness and tactics to overcome limited opponents, I'm going to boldly go where this column hasn't boldly been before. I'm going to query Mr Souness' tactics.
Like many other fans, I don't like the 3-5-2 system we've now played
unsuccessfully in Bjornebye's absence for the best part of 180 minutes, without scoring a goal.
I don't think it helps us defend: Flitcroft and Dunn were repeatedly caught too far upfield when Barnsley broke.
I don't think it helps our midfielders: they struggled to find space to open up the game.
And I don't think it helps our strikers: they were suffocated by a blanket defence and couldn't find a killer touch.
I also disagree with Mark Hughes being selected ahead of Marcus Bent, a view borne out by the Welsh team manager's hour spent stumbling around Ewood compared with Bent's contribution in half that time.
Some will point out, correctly, that we extended our unbeaten run and remain handily placed in third -- nirvana after the dire straits of last autumn.
But we shouldn't be letting feeble teams off the hook. Remember when we were winning game after game? The only complaint then was that we didn't score enough goals to bury such opponents. Now, we've temporarily lost the knack of scoring at all.
Thank goodness for Damien and Macca. At least while they can still
demoralise full-backs the way they did on Saturday, there's hope. But it was almost laughable the times the ball was free in the Barnsley area without a Rovers boot able to direct it goalwards. I said 'almost'.
If we go on from here and beat all our main rivals in the next four or five weeks, this beefing will seem churlish in the extreme. But it's hard to win football matches without scoring goals.
You don't need to be a master tactician to work that out.
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