if you study those teams you will find that the bottom teams are different amongst themselves, but its more industrial and physical. its about being effective, not efficient.
i think AVB has yet to learn how to deal with these sort of teams.
the lack of depth (in the right areas) is a weakness in the squad that may prevent AVB from a suitable response against different teams (we seem to play the same way unless faced with no choice - injuries), however my view is that AVB himself gives opponents too much respect.
for instance we tend to always play a high line and high pressure game, but that's always going to be difficult for teams going for a goal-less draw who park the bus. its a game of chance, and its very tiring for both teams, but the risk is greater for the attacking team getting frustrated or worse, allowing the opposition to score soft goals (e.g. over the top, set pieces).
I don't think we need to have a totally different gameplan (which be possible withe sufficient personnel) but maybe play differently for each 15/30-min segments, before or after we score a goal etc...
one thing that struck me was how we didn't use counter-attacking play enough, considering the speedy players we have, when it was an easy option.
on the other hand perhaps AVB is hell bent on removing some aspect of our play, and I appreciate that. I imagine that due to the lack of personnel, he is tearing his hair out balancing such thinking against what we have in the squad. that said he does seem to have bent over quite a lot for us, compared to his short tenure at chelsea.
but i'm confident that AVB is learning, will learn, and will be a better manager for us next season. i hope levy feels the same way and allows him some flexibility in getting the players he needs.
