Ask most managers about the intricacies of their tactics and you are unlikely to get much in the way of meaningful insight, so guarded they can be about their plans and processes.
Ask Bristol Rovers boss Joey Barton and he stands up to look for a tactics board to explain the concept in question. Alas, there was not one to hand in this particular room at The Quarters on Thursday, but gestures and gesticulation were enough to catch his drift.
The topic was "quarterback passes", the kind Barton believes have been missing from Rovers' build-up play across a three-game losing streak which has seen just one goal – a late consolation for Aaron Collins in a 5-1 defeat at Morecambe – and create precious little in the way of chances.
Possession has not been a problem for the Gas, who have dominated the ball in each of the three defeats, racking up more than 1,700 passes in total. The problem has been breaking defences down and forging opportunities for their top-class frontline to be effective.
So what is a "quarterback pass" in this context? Barton stands to angle his body so that he is open and facing towards the opposition goal and says he wants his players – it can be centre-backs, inverted full-backs or central midfielders – to get on the ball in space within a 12-yard radius of the halfway line and play balls in behind the defence to meet runners in stride, much like Patrick Mahomes and Jalen Hurts hope to do in Sunday's Super Bowl between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles.
Good things happen from passes like that. Ideally, a forward is found in behind the defence, but it can also force opponents to drop deeper, opening up the opportunity to play into feet on the edge of the box.
Barton says this week at the Quarters ahead of Saturday's trip to Lincoln City has been about "resetting" and sessions have been simplified to make information more digestible for a squad low on confidence, and there has been a big focus on solidifying structures without the ball.
But when it comes to dealing with possession, the message has been clear. There is no point in having the ball without creating chances.
"This week has been a real resetting week in terms of we were doing some of the build-up and progression stuff," Barton said. "That’s why we’ve been able to keep the ball, but because we haven’t added the final ball and the quarterback passes – the shots over the backline to it – the lads have got to that point and then kept passing it and not taking it down there.
"In the midst of that, we still feel we’re not getting the defensive structures that we like, mainly from the front and middle part of the team, so we have shelved the passing and progression stuff. Some good work has been banked by the lads but we’ve had to shelve it in terms of it doesn’t flow naturally up the chart.
"We’ve gone back to laying down systems and the foundation. That work we have already done will be banked against that, but we need to take more opportunities to get into the opposition’s final third and more opportunities to cross the box and service the front side of our team.
"It’s all good and well having 500-600 passes, but it doesn’t really bode well unless it leads to shots on target or shots on goal."
Rovers' defensive record of 52 goals conceded in 29 League One games is a significant concern, but it has been the players in front of the backline that have not performed well in recent weeks.
Sam Finley is suspended for Saturday's game, while Jordan Rossiter is sidelined with a knee injury, but Barton believes he has the resources to provide the solidity and creativity he wants from the men in the middle of the park.
"We’ve got a lot of bodies in there and a lot of good players, we just haven’t found the right combinations since Jordan has been out," the manager said. "We’ve tried a few different combinations in there. We have gone from a two to a three and we just haven’t managed to find that right combination.
"Jordan being out, there’s nobody who quite does what he does, so whichever junction we went to, we were going to be doing something slightly different in there. There is more than enough quality in those central areas to not only get on top and win the battle in the engine room but also get in the box and help either create or score goals.
"We have got to bed a new group in. For me, it’s about settling Luke McCormick into the group fully, it’s about getting Antony Evans firing on all cylinders. In the midst of that, you’ve got your Paul Coutts, your Glenn Whelan, your Sam Finley and your Grant Ward in there, who have that bit of experience and know-how.
"It’s about getting back to what makes us a good side and getting the front side of our team serviced. If we’re having 500-600 passes in our half up to the halfway line, our front lads are going to be bored as they have been in the past period. They have been the real bright spark in our season. We must service them, we have starved them of supply routes because we have been intent on keeping and progressing the ball.
"As the coach, it’s my fault, it’s what we’ve worked on. You are trying to fix one problem and the thing is if you go away from one other thing, the players’ focus at these levels is very much what’s in front of them. You get what you demand and you encourage what you tolerate. We have got to get better."
While Collins possesses a dynamic skillset which means he is able to create and score without consistent sources of service, nine-goal strike partner Coburn is a classic centre forward who relies more on those around him.
It is hard to recall a single decent chance the 20-year-old has had come his way across Rovers' three-game losing run, which has been the most difficult spell of the Middlesbrough loanee's superb stint with the Gas.
Barton believes it is all part of the youngster's education, but Rovers must do more to get him the ball in the box, bearing in mind his shot conversion rate of 36 per cent is the best of any of the top-20 scorers in the third tier this season.
"That’s what he’s here to learn and you have got to understand with young lads, they ebb and flow. When they are 28 or 29, they go and put a good season together, but it’s very rare that you see a young player taking a level of performance and being consistent over a whole season.
"I don’t think Middlesbrough would have sent him here had they thought he was the finished article and he was ready to play well consistently for a season.
"I think he has been a victim of us overplaying at times and being too safe in possession, but no doubt if we create chances, he will put them in the back of the net because that’s what he does.
"His shots-to-goal ratio is as high as anyone in the division. What we’ve got to do now is create more opportunities for him to get shots because he has proven he is a goalscorer and a finisher.
"Collins can do a bit of both. He’s a scorer and an assister, but Josh is a goalscorer and you see that in the way he plays that position. For us, we have got to get more service to them."
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