Time for Albion to deliver when they are ones dictating play
STRANGE TREND CONTINUES WHERE ALBION LOSE WHEN THEY HAVE MOST OF POSSESSION
AT the risk of sounding like a broken record, Burton Albion maintained an unwanted record under Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink when they were beaten 1-0 by Charlton Athletic at the weekend.
It seems remarkable but the Brewers have still to win a match in Hasselbaink’s second spell as manager in which they have had the majority of possession.
They have now played 41 League One matches since he returned. The record is won 19, drawn nine and lost 13. It is actually still play-off form, just, although the last 13 matches have seen three wins, four draws and six defeats.
Had those 41 games been played from the start of last season, they would have had the Brewers sixth, a point ahead of Oxford United with five games to play.
It is of course a moot point. We should be more concerned with how things are going right now than playing with statistics.
But, until such time as Albion can do something to bury it, there is no escaping the stat about winning only when having less possession than the opposition.
In those last 13 League matches, the three wins have come against Portsmouth, with Burton having 31% of the ball, Morecambe, with Burton having 40% of the ball and Fleetwood Town, with Burton having 37% of the ball. Just for good measure, they only had 41% of the ball in the FA Cup win against Fleetwood as well.
Charlton on Saturday was a painful lesson in what tends to happen when Burton do have more of the ball. They dominated it especially in the second half, as the Addicks sat back on their 1-0 lead, eventually recording 56% possession. But they lost.
Hasselbaink’s most successful spell since he returned was, of course, when he was dragging the Brewers away from the bottom of League One last season.
They got used to winning with less possession. They soaked up pressure, were generally fitter than the other team, wore them down and frequently scored later in the games to win. On the occasions when they scored early – Hasselbaink’s first game, away to Gillingham, and the 3-0 win away to Crewe Alexandra spring to mind, they proved adept at keeping what they had.
Come the summer, Hasselbaink installed a raft of new signings and has made reference to wishing to play a more expansive game, taking the game to the opposition more.
And that’s where, so far, the Brewers have floundered. It’s not as if the manager is not aware of this. It will be as obvious to him as the nose on his face. It is why scarcely an interview passes without him reminding someone that this is “a work in progress.”
It is, we get that, but it’s the nature of football supporters to want to see the results of the work quickly and, generally, that’s not happening.
Burton’s best performances are still happening when the odds are against and sheer bloody-mindedness kicks in. The FA Cup win at Fleetwood was a prime example.
Conditions could hardly have been more foul, Fleetwood are used to them at their exposed ground close to the coast and yet it was Burton who, to use the oft-repeated phrase, “wanted it more.”
They revelled in how hard it was and anyone who made it up there will tell you how stirring it was to see them play with such grit. It was a terrific performance.
“Those were the worst conditions I have played in. I loved it!” said Daniel Jebbison after scoring a sublime winning goal when the rain was at its worst.
But what happened next? Burton were as flat as a pancake at home against Oxford United in a game in which supporters had really hoped for a statement of their progress. They were not much better away to Wigan Athletic but the Charlton game, their third League defeat on the bounce, was a real sickener.
Charlton are in a hole, not one as deep as Burton last season, but they are using the Burton/Hasselbaink method to get out of it.
They pressed and harried, broke effectively and defended ferociously. They got their goal and effectively said: “what are you going to do about it?” And there proved to be nothing that Burton could.
It is hard to escape the feeling that Burton have been found out, to an extent. Opponents have drawn the conclusion that the Brewers are going to struggle if they have to be the ones to dictate.
Burton’s wins have tended to come against teams who have stuck steadfastly to their own style, like Portsmouth, despite the evidence that it might suit the Brewers.
Maybe MK Dons will not be the worst opponents to face tomorrow, then. They are a team who love to dominate the ball – they have not changed the approach with the departure of Russell Martin, who instigated it – but it does not always work for them.
They had 75% possession away to Shrewsbury Town and lost 1-0, had more of the ball at home to Rotherham United and lost 3-0, 73% away to Doncaster Rovers and lost 2-1, 62% at home to Sunderland and lost 2-1.
It’s as if their results to possession ratio is the polar opposite of Burton’s. Tomorrow’s game will be a clash of styles. It would be a good time for the Brewers to give us something to smile about again.