What is more important WINNING or playing GOOD FOOTBALL

[style_cafe]

I read this forum with great interest & am impressed by the knowledge & perception of most of the people that write on here.
I have noticed however,that the writers seem to be divided into two groups.
1) those that just want the points each week
2) those that want to see some good football.
Therefore I pose the question, "Which of the two is more important to you & why?"

 

[Bex]

Winning. When you win, you're the winner and the others are losers.

Add good football if it helps you win or after you know how to win.

 

[Forum Phoenix]

Fun topic style cafe.

For me it's not a matter of one or the other, it's just a matter of timing.

I've always been happy to grind out wins when required and have defended this pragmatic approach in the past. Euro snobs denouncing our league and euro snob pundits denouncing our team in particular have annoyed me no end.
You can win ugly, but you must win... or at least draw... or all you have left is ugly. You have to get results. And there is no doubt that last season we struggled heavily for god will and were losing interest among the community. In short people have not been happy with our brand of football and it was not been mitigated by our results.

So you come to this season. new coach, significant player clean out, talk of the exciting Argentinian and GA's new exciting crowd pleasing brand of football... and every one, even most serious doubters were finding themselves pretty enthused. Throw in the new youth player memberships and an undefeated pre season and things are looking very positive indeed. You can feel it in the air. Then we manage to play 30 against the Reds that has everyone saying "wow! thats the best they've seen us in a good while" And suddenly there's that buzz that you realise has been missing for quite some time... and you go... This is gooood....this is bloody exciting!!!

BUT then you turn around, and all the reasonable mitigating factors aside, you play a very dour loss against the kiwis, and for me, I went ohhh shit... not this again... not now... we just can't do that at home next game or it'll kill our crowds and everyones enthusiasm. I don't want to face another year of whinging and calling for the coaches head etc etc... Having people excited and enthused was much more fun. So I feel the timing is really calling for us to play brave positive adventurous football, come what may for a spell.

Then later if we have the Coasts enthusiasm already, then the time for grinding out a result or two to secure our place in the top four may well come again.

Till then lets give them hell. Fury look like they are going to cop goals all year, but they are scoring and are very exciting to watch. Even if they had lost against MV the other night it still would have been a game that has all the fans clamouring for more.

So bring on the last thirty against adelaide Mariners...

Cause I want more!!!

 

[scottmac]

Winning first, then good football if you can get it.

We used to be a very exciting team to watch. All the most thrilling games had the mariners in it and our crowds were way up. 5-4, 3-3, 3-3, these type of results had the people coming because they knew the Mariners wanted to win no matter what. How long has it been that we have seen an exciting high scoring game with our boys in it?

At some point last year we stopped wanting to win and started wanting to not lose. Win at all costs.

 

[T]

There is no point playing "attractive" football if your not getting results. Get the win first, then start playing attractive football.

 

[Muppet]

Winning first then good football second. But then again if you are winning are you not playing "good football"? Que Mr Foster and his analysis. :lol:

 

[dibo]

Look at Melbourne Heart - attractive use of the ball, good possession, they move the ball forward effectively except there's no penetration. It's like a date with Ruby Rose - might be cute but there ain't gonna be a happy ending.

On the flipside, sometimes 'ugly' football can be very effective. Melbourne Victory over the last four years have won loads of games and scored loads of goals with an extremely defensive, counterattacking setup. They've relied on swift balls to the advantage of their pacey strikers to pull opposing teams apart in broken play.

As Ian Holloway once said: "To put it in gentleman's terms if you've been out for a night and you're looking for a young lady and you pull one, some weeks they're good looking and some weeks they're not the best. Our performance today would have been not the best looking bird but at least we got her in the taxi. She wasn't the best looking lady we ended up taking home but she was very pleasant and very nice, so thanks very much, let's have a coffee."

 

[adz]

As Ian Holloway once said: "To put it in gentleman's terms if you've been out for a night and you're looking for a young lady and you pull one, some weeks they're good looking and some weeks they're not the best. Our performance today would have been not the best looking bird but at least we got her in the taxi. She wasn't the best looking lady we ended up taking home but she was very pleasant and very nice, so thanks very much, let's have a coffee."

lol love that interview

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YBgp_LaPWc

 

[hasbeen]

Ask Arsenal

 

[Restrepo]

Winning is everything, I don't care how we do it, as long as we do it.

 

[midfielder]

Quite clearly it is all about, and has always been all about, winning – I can’t think of anyone that is overly concerned about the aesthetics of how that is achieved (other than Fos and his disciples).

Brazil stopped caring about such things a long, long time ago.

Argentina currently cares a bit more about it, but there have been times in recent history when they were very happy to just fall over the line (don’t tell me people have already forgotten how an ordinary Argentine outfit fell over the line in qualifying for 1994?)

Uruguay have been happy to fall over the line for decades now.

Italy have never cared how they scraped in to world events– and that includes all the way to the finals!!

A minnow like Greece managed a European championship on the back of five ugly 1-0 victories – and I doubt any Greek supporter cared how ugly it was.

And here we have Australian Football fans genuinely concerned about the aesthetics of how their team plays, even at a club level, as if they honestly believe that joga bonito survives into the modern age.

People, if Brazil can give up on joga bonito, something tells me we shouldn’t be overly concerned ourselves!!

As a regular poster once said to me (quite rightly), it only takes one goal, two at a pinch.

And as the Italians have always believed: you start every game with one point, and there is absolutely zero reason why you should ever end a game with less than one point.

Having said this there is a difference between attacking as FP posted when we filled the place when we attached to win … than last year the crowd fell as we panicked and tried not to loose…

Were is their balance and does it make a difference in Australia because we are in a battle with three other codes for media, sponsors, crowds, … Do we have to attack to get bums on seats or simply win..

I recall playing a grand final against Blacktown …. I was with North Rocks AA Div 2 … No one had got close to Blacktown all season we almost won by playing a spoiling offside trap high up the ground .. they scored deep into the second half of extra time from a free… It was ugly in the extreme but I felt great that we were out thinking them so was it ugly or was it holding shape who knows … in another grand final in the O 35 Div 5 a few season ago … my team had huge skill nay massive skill and we played a team who tried spoiling tactics all day .. we won in the end but we did respect what they tried as we were by far a more skilful side..

To watch first I want my team to win end of… I like my team to attack and I like smooth play that is passes finding feet with lots of off the ball movement … I expect my team to hold shape and know how to defend I want the players to have fire in their belly and would rather watch a fired up Matty than fat lazy guy screaming at everyone to get the ball in the perfect place..

In summary I want an intelligent team playing good tactics who hold there shape don’t give up and adjust to play joga bonito when it suits and get down in the gutter and fight when it suits.

 

[bikinigirl]

. i will try and make this simple:
winning pretty = good
winning ugly = still good
losing = bad
losing ugly = really, really bad

 

[MagpieMariner]

. i will try and make this simple:
winning pretty = good
winning ugly = still good
losing = bad
losing ugly = really, really bad

This says it all, except I will add a line:
losing pretty = unbelievably frustratingly bad.

 

[Jesus]

Winning doesnt have to be with poor football.

But would always prefer a win, to a loss with "good" football.

Though good football is on objective term and means different things to different people.

I like to see us play more attacking at home, and probably would away, but am very happy seeing the smash and grab victories away, and would not give up the 3 points for some more attacking play

 

[Kareem]

my 2009 Grand Final Division 1 reserve grade medal says winning is more important.
We had about 2 shots on target. About 30% of the possession. And defended well...but we weren't stupid!
They were undefeated all season, and we beat them 0-0, on penalties...

Mind you as a coach, I try to win pretty...if thats not working. Then I'll sacrifice whatever is needed to grab the win...


Besides ask Barcelona how pretty football worked last year

 

[Bex]

…. I was with North Rocks AA Div 2 …

I played for North Rocks. I think it was under sevens or something which would have been 1974. Lived there for 30 years. Bit of useless trivia for you MF.....

 

[bikinigirl]

This says it all, except I will add a line:
losing pretty = unbelievably frustratingly bad.

. i agree but figured it would be the contentious one

. some would prefer the entertainment and emotion of such a loss to a boring, badly played draw ... if nothing else, at least to break the monotony

 

[MagpieMariner]

. i agree but figured it would be the contentious one

. some would prefer the entertainment and emotion of such a loss to a boring, badly played draw ... if nothing else, at least to break the monotony

My attitude is best summed up by my favourite comment after a boring, badly played draw: "Well, at least we didn't f##king lose!"

As my son-in-law will tell you, I wouldn't know pretty football if it came up and bit me on the bum. After any kind of loss, I have that empty gut feeling, no matter how wonderfully well we played.

Of course, if I don't care for either of the teams playing, then I want to see highly-skilled multi-goal matches and I don't give a damn who wins. For my team, however, whatever it takes is the order of the day.

 

[Arabmariner]

Winning.

I'll take the pretty football too,but only if we win !