We play a high-line, even though only Walker has any kind of pace and is usually too high up the pitch to help. Therefore the counter-attack works far too often and play into the hands of the opposition..He picked the sides that have lost to Spurs away the last 4 times and Chelsea 3 games on the trot.
Same issues with counter-attacks, we lost the biggest club game in European Football due a counter attack from left to right.
I hope Mendy doesn’t start in the Carabao cup.A disappointing display apart from the first 15 mins.
We walked into a well set trap yet again which frustrates all of us here.
However we need to remember that once we get Walker, Stones, Zinchenko,KDB and Foden back into this team we will be a totally different beast.
I do wish Pep had started at least some of them today as a team full of second strings just isn’t good enough at this level.
That starting line up today is pretty much what would start a Carabao cup game.
The best team doesn’t always win. Look at last season. 5-4-1 negative crap that arrogant weasel at Chelsea produced.I understand your reasoning, but I think the CL is beyond us. We have a better chance of winning the domestic cups.
We’ve slipped back into those old ways back end of last season and into this, truth being told. Chelsea twice, Leeds, Brighton, CL final, Community Shield, todayAfter the Spurs game last season didn't Pep call a crisis meeting and adjusted our formation to make us less susceptible to the counter attack and it worked. Off we went on a brilliant run of results. Gone back to our old ways today.
Don’t forget allowing the Scum to beat us at home, dreadful result.We’ve slipped back into those old ways back end of last season and into this, truth being told. Chelsea twice, Leeds, Brighton, CL final, Community Shield, today
that 22 game winning run was a long time ago now
I like the optimism but honestly confidence is fuck all to do with his defensive shortcomings. His positional play is atrocious for a start...Confidence.
He needs a run of games where he can start to build his confidence and effect the game in a positive way. He's probably not going to get that this season. He'll be lucky if he gets two or three at best.
At the moment he's trying to force it, and the second he puts a bootlace out of line he's getting absolute pelters.
Agree with the hole in CM - winks and hojberg had the bite & coverage & Ferna couldn’t do what he wanted to do.What excuses did Mendy, Ake and Cancelo have, certainly wasn't tiredness.
Horrible from so many but the glaring issue remains and a top striker would have made little difference today.
The defensive midfield is too slow when the ball breaks down.
Fern still sees the danger but his legs can't get him there.
Gundo, Rodri, nobody solves this issue right now, certainly when we want to front load the top half of the pitch.
Thought Grealish was a real positive.
Stones, Dias and Rodri and our press did a fantastic job of nullifying this when we went on our run last year, and Walker's speed helps so much, but it's always going to be our weakness given how many players we get up th field and the left side of defence is always going to be a target.
Winks didn’t even play and was better than fern and gundo.Agree with the hole in CM - winks and hojberg had the bite & coverage & Ferna couldn’t do what he wanted to do.
Couldn’t work out what Gundo’s role was today though, don’t think he likes being moved - albeit slightly - towards the right flank. Could he play 6 as I think he did in 2018, with KDB behind a front 4, though does his drop off in pace mean he’s an 8?
Rodri looks to be carrying some summer timber & not impressed, so I don’t know who fills that gap because I’m assuming the club is waiting for Lavia and don’t want to buy, which I get & haven’t heard much about Aour, Bissouma or Zakaria for a while.
Spot on. No whispers about a possible dm recruit I take it?What excuses did Mendy, Ake and Cancelo have, certainly wasn't tiredness.
Horrible from so many but the glaring issue remains and a top striker would have made little difference today.
The defensive midfield is too slow when the ball breaks down.
Fern still sees the danger but his legs can't get him there.
Gundo, Rodri, nobody solves this issue right now, certainly when we want to front load the top half of the pitch.
Thought Grealish was a real positive.
In addition to the general fitness problems, we also have problems with DM. Fernandinho is showing his age whilst Rodri is not so mobile.
Yeah, bit worrying as that exposes the defense and that ain’t that mobile either, with or without Mendy and Cancelo!In addition to the general fitness problems, we also have problems with DM. Fernandinho is showing his age whilst Rodri is not so mobile.
Ha, my bad, skipp, winks, sounds the sameWinks didn’t even play and was better than fern and gundo.
But Harry is coming to win trophies.I actually don’t really want to go far in the league cup. I think the semi finals in January aren’t quite as bad as the final in March that results in an additional midweek game right in the middle of Cl knockout rounds.
I think given how seriously we have taken the cups we can afford to have a go this season at prioritising the cl over the other cups.
Our reserve side isn’t good enough as shown by the defeats towards the end of last season in games when he rested the players to save for CL. We can’t afford to be rotating in league games because first teamers have played a league cup final again