We want to dominate a with the football... but
CARDIFF City manager Steve Morison on Friday began his pre-Luton Town press conference with an extraordinary seven-minute monologue on just how much has improved since he took charge and explained why he is adamant this is the blueprint for the future.
The manager was left disheartened when boos rang out at half-time and full time during the 1-0 defeat by Hull City on Wednesday night, leading him to plead with fans to get behind him as the Bluebirds look to rally and get themselves out of a relegation dogfight.
There has undoubtedly been an upturn in results and performances since Morison took charge, with Cardiff having earned seven points from the five games in which he has been at the helm.
Given Cardiff had lost their previous eight matches under former manager Mick McCarthy, there was finally some positivity around the place, especially after two brilliant comeback wins against Huddersfield Town and Preston.
But it was at home which proved to be the Achilles heel again, with Hull edging out a 1-0 win at Cardiff City Stadium in midweek, sucking all the brightness out of the two previous wins.
Morison hypothesised that the fans’ venting of frustration was borne of the team’s position in the table more than anything else and he almost certainly has a point.
However, during an impassioned speech yesterday morning, Morison listed exactly why he believes that, if the team continues to improve on the changes which have been made to the style of play, the future is far brighter. “I’m glad you asked that question [about Wednesday night]. “Take the goal out of it and what we asked them to do and the way we’ve asked them to work, the change in style and approach, was there for everyone to see.
“I think I said after the game, when asked about the boos, it’s not until you reflect on it, when I replied to say ‘I didn’t really get it’, now I’ve looked back on the game I’d like to put a bit of context behind that.
“We wanted to change the style. We wanted to have a more progressive approach, rather than having it too hectic or frantic with loads of transitions, we want to be in far more control.
“When you actually look at the game, we had 536 passes, the most passes we’ve had in a game since 2017, we 81% pass accuracy, second most in the last four seasons, we had double the passes in opposition half [than Hull], twice as many shots on goal as the other team. We had twice
as many shots.
“This isn’t a stat on the game, apart from losing the game 1-0, which is the most important one and one I totally understand, which we haven’t been better than the other team.
“For an understanding point of view, that’s what we want to do. We want to dominate games of football and have more possession than the other team.
“We will have more shots on goal, we will limit them to less shots because we have the football.
“We won’t force the ball into a dead end. We will start again, come back and try to play out and go the other way. We will go down one side, come back the other side and all of a sudden, Ryan Giles is in a 1v1 situation. It will allow us to get more crosses in the box, which will allow us more final-third entries.
“The information we’ve got off the back of the game and five games we’ve had, there isn’t one thing, one stat we haven’t improved on.
“Goals scored, 0.86 in the first 14 games to 1.4 in the last five. Goals conceded is down from 1.9 to 1.4. Passing accuracy has gone from 64% to 76%, possession from 40% to 52%, shots conceded in games has gone from five to three, successful 1v1s in the final third has gone from 36 to 43. There is not one stat that isn’t up.
“That’s in five games. Over the four weeks I’ve been in charge, we have had five training sessions with everyone available, with international windows and Saturday-Wednesday-Saturdays.
“Off the back of Luton on Saturday it’s the first time since I’ve been in charge where we have a full week’s training where we can work.
“People are talking about the style of play, the progression, it is there for all to see.
“We are going to dominate games of football, with the football.
“We are going to continue to create more chances than the other team and we will give up less chances than we did previously.
“We are not just going to give the ball away unnecessarily just because we’ve had a few too many passes.
“Another stat. Total passes in a game, we are averaging over 430 passes a game.
“What frustrates me - I am so passionate about it, maybe you can tell from my rant - people around the country are lauded for that. They are put on a pedestal for that.
“We have been able to do that without half the time that other people have.
“That is something that me, Mark [Hudson], Tom [Ramasut], Carl [Serrant], Dibs [Andy Dibble], everyone believes in.
“If I flip that game on its head and we win 1-0, everyone tells us it’s a really controlled, dominant performance.
“Everyone will shoot me down and say we lost the game.
“Yea we did, I get that, but it’s the style, the progression, it’s the way we want to play.
“It’s the longevity of the message, the longevity of the play, it’s the way we are going to come together as a group.
“There was a piece yesterday on bringing players through - do you think that’s going to happen in this style or in a more direct style?
“That’s what I’m going to ask people.”
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