muirinho I do think Stam wants his defenders to be defenders first and foremost rather than attackers - creativity etc is meant to come from the midfield
this quote from his post-match reaction was also interesting:
"We could have done a little bit better and we only conceded chances because we lost the ball. In how we play we are confident in what we do.
"We just need to keep on going.
He's said stuff like this before - basically he'd rather we kept the ball until there's a very clear attacking opportunity, rather than gamble, potentially lose possession, and get penalised on the counter-attack.
So - the players who are safety-first - especially the defenders - are following orders. I bet he was pretty happy with Chris Gunter's performance, for instance, for the exact reasons that many here find him so frustrating! Unless Gunts is 99% sure a forward pass is going to work, he's not going to try it. Obita is a frustrated winger, rather than a defender, and is much more inclined to gamble.
I'm happy enough with the safety-first approach against good counter-attacking teams like Newcastle - but I'd rather a bit more attacking oomph against other teams.
Based on results though, Stam's approach is working.
Not sure this is wholly accurate, because Stam encourages risk taking in the right areas of the pitch. My take on proceedings is that the speed with which we play the ball across the pitch is, at times, ponderous at best, allowing the opposition time to draw themselves across and pressurise the ball, while also ensuring players are correctly positioned to cut off any space, angles and gaps to play into. If that occurs, penetrating passing is distinctly limited. With more zip and verve to our possession game, and the right players making the right movement and runs at the right time, we'd be a far more effective and pleasing on the eye outfit. Currently we don't quite have the right personnel in key areas of the pitch to be as potent as we'd like, which makes us appear a bit laborious, and the pitch obviously affects us now more than it has done in the past.