They say possession is Nine tenths of the law but in football this certainly isn't the case we've seen on so many occasions that just because you have the most possession in the match doesn't mean your going to win the game. In Football there's only one important stat and that's the scoreline however its is important to remember if you're opponents don't have the ball they can't hurt you. With Louis Van Gaal's Man Utd taking up the possession tactic this season it leads me to debate is possession football a successful way to win the league or not ?
Yes The Passing Game Works
If were going to talk possession football there's only one man we can really look at and that's Pep Guardiola he is the king of the possession tactic although he branded it tiki taka which to be fair does sound more exciting. That Being said Pep has proven that it can be a successful tactic when done right. Barcelona under Pep played football very differently to what Man Utd are doing now even thought both are playing a possession game Barca did it with more effect and moved the ball at a faster tempo Were as Man Utd move the ball slower and take less risks. But Barca did prove they could win it all without letting the opponent get in the game and that's this styles strength .Possession football keeps the opponent on the back foot and doesn't allow them to get there game going giving them few chances in the game and if Barca scored first which they usually did it meant the other team had to then chase the game leaving the Barca Players with more space and time to cut the opponent open and kill the game off hence the huge amount of goals they used to score. Plus it did help that they had Lionel Messi who is one of the games greatest players but it was the possession tactic that gave him the platform to shine.
No To Much Passing Doesn't Work
The problems with a passing game in my opinion is that it all comes down to being clinical and decisive. If you look at Man Utd they are passing the ball a lot and completely dominating Possession but there failing to score goals and even finding it hard to test the keeper in some cases. The reason for this in my opinion is the speed in which they play unlike Barca , Man Utd play at a slower pace and this is when the styles weaknesses start to tell. If you play the possession game at a slow tempo it gives the other team chance to get into shape and closes off the dangerous area's of the pitch. Add that to the fact Man Utd are a big team and other teams usually play a defensive style against them and before you no it you have a situation were Man Utd are trying to pass through a team that has maybe 8 or 9 players defending. Your thinking well this worked for Barca and yes your right it did but there forwards were at a higher level and even they had to rely on the genius of Messi to grab the break through for them when teams were sitting back and defending. In My opinion this is were the Possession tactic is weak as it almost needs to be executed perfectly for it to succeed and if you fail to execute it to perfection you give the other team chance to dig in and wait out the result hence then having to rely on moments of magic from individuals.
Overall I do Believe that this tactic can be successful and Barca were not a one off you only have to look at Pep now applying his trade at Bayern to see that it can be successful in any league. but it all comes down to execution you have to be so strong at the game style that it makes up for it's weakness you have to be deadly when you have a chance and up the tempo when the opposition is out of position if you remain at the same tempo you become predictable and give the opponents a chance to counter act you strategy but as I said when done to plan it can be a deadly tactic and one that could certainly win you the league.
Let Me Your Comments Below What Style Do You Prefer ?#
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