West Bromwich Albion: Keeper reveals secret to upturn in fortunes

Jan 10 2009 Chris Lepowski

IT’S been so subtle that you may not even have noticed it, but Albion have changed their style in recent weeks.

The passing remains, the movement and “triangles” down the wings still exist. But there is a slight difference. It is, apparently, all about the tempo of Albion’s distribution.

And Scott Carson believes the tweaks to Tony Mowbray’s tactics have resulted in an upturn in fortunes.

The Baggies goalkeeper explains how he sees things from between Albion’s sticks.

But – rest assured football puritans – Albion are a long way from going “Route One” and becoming the next Stoke or Bolton.

“The gaffer has been trying a few different things and he wanted us to try to get the ball into the opponents’ half quicker, instead of playing a possession game at the back,” said Carson.

“He’s not saying we are going long-ball. He is just saying if we can get the ball into their half a bit quicker we can play our football there.

“Rather than having 25 passes in our half and doing nothing with it, we want to get the ball to the strikers earlier and play our football higher up the pitch.