This Is What I'd Like To See From Blues (4 replies)

I'm just watching Bolton vs Leeds and the first goal was the kind of thing I'd like to see from Blues.

I always enjoy watching teams that are well-drilled and organised and teams who play as if they have developed a good understanding of each other and their individual strengths and weaknesses on the training pitch and have worked on tactics, systems and set pieces.

Early on in the game Leeds win a corner. The players in the box keep the centre backs and keeper occupied. Meanwhile two players on the edge of the box by the 'D' wait for the right moment, then as the corner taker starts his run up they run across each other and make diagonal runs towards opposing corner flags. The corner taker plays the ball short towards the one player running towards him. That player hits it first time from the outside corner of the box and sends in a ball to the far post which is curling away from goal. It looks like this ball was meant to hit Chris Wood a couple of yards out at the far post for a tap in, but it gets a slight deflection and goes straight in anyway, with Wood waiting to pounce if it hadn't.

You can see that the movement confused the Bolton defenders and left them chasing shadows and that the curling cross was bound to cause havoc in the six yard box whatever occurred and that Wood knew exactly where he was meant to be to poach the tap-in. It was a great set piece and set them up nicely with a 0-1 lead away from home early in the game. It's the kind of thing we're up against in this league and it's the kind of thing I would really like to see from Blues. It unsettles the opposition when they get turned over like that and they realise that the team they are facing are no mugs and have done their preparation thoroughly.

I've spent far too many seasons watching Blues waste countless corners and set pieces (good opportunities to score in other words), looking bereft of original ideas and like a disfunctional unit when we've been chasing games and a goal would have made a big difference to the end result. It would be wonderful if having an experienced pro like Harry Redknapp and his team running the show could lead to the end of these wasted opportunities and for Blues to become known as a well-drilled team with a great understanding of each other gleaned from putting the work in on the training ground.

I wonder what everyone else here thinks? Am I right in suggesting that this is this an area where we haven't exactly excelled ourselves in recent seasons? Is this the kind of thing you would like the team to work on if you were in charge or would you focus elsewhere? If so, where?