That’s mainly because Rodri and Kovačić are both out and Nico can’t play every minute of every game. He’s the only player who couldn’t even get a break last week against Leverkusen.The bit that worries me is that Fulham brought on subs which improved them. We brought on subs that made us worst.
as the season rolls on, i see more and more of a role for Jack. Who knows if he'll ever pull on a blue shirt again, i personally hope he does.We could have done with Jack Grealish off the bench to see the game out , or a fresh legged Bernardo to play keepy ball and draw fouls .
Try not to fret to much, FFS!Almost feels like a loss to me because the 2nd half after we went 5:1 up was so unbelievably bad and Pep is starting to really infuriate me with his absolute lack of game management.
I agree that our press has completely vanished. I’m not sure why Haaland isn’t contributing more to it when he actually chooses to press or track back, he’s quicker than anyone else in the squad and does well when he wants to. But as long as he’s in the team, we need to compensate for that. Previously, with Kevin, Gundogan, Bernardo, and Rodri, we had a midfield of relentless runners who covered that ground effortlessly.Its not just our midfield though. It starts from the top. Haaland is lazy on the press, Doku chases after the ball has been passed to his man rather than start running to his man before the ball starts coming to him so he is under pressure at first touch. Once we cave in up top, their defenders simply bypass our forwards and then our defense drops off to avoid a ball over the top. Seeing as we are not playing our quickest central defender.
This creates even more space for the opposition to operate and pick their passes easily. We then funnel it to the sides qnd hope our fullbacks can stop their winger.
We succeed sometimes. Then other times we make mistakes even after succeeding. This too happens because we don't have well set repeatable patterns.
Our problems are deeper than individual players even though individual players can help.
I am a fan of Anderson, but the issue is larger than any individual player.
i think you both have a point though. Yes we've got two injuries to players who were essential last night (and have been throughout) but also i would not really have wanted to see Ait-Nouri, Lewis, Savinho, Stones, Trafford or maybe even Marmoush last night, i dont think they would have solved a thing (2 of them didnt). Khusanov (perhaps), Ake and Cherki could have (Cherki was easily the best sub).That’s mainly because Rodri and Kovačić are both out and Nico can’t play every minute of every game. He’s the only player who couldn’t even get a break last week against Leverkusen.
Imagine if Arsenal had Zunimendi and Rice out, had to play Norgaard every game and then brought him off for a centre back sub to play in defensive midfield.
Ideally, yesterday, we’re bringing Rodri off for a rest and bringing Nico on for the last half hour.
We could have done with Jack Grealish off the bench to see the game out , or a fresh legged Bernardo to play keepy ball and draw fouls .
The real issue is being able to comfortably posses and pass the ball around to kill time or depress the opposition. Our ability to do this has significantly degradedThe morning after the night before.
I think you must learn from these games, and I am sure that we did.
I have thought this for a while, but I think that keeping Erling on for the full game in such circumstances is something we need to consider. Yes, he can always get a goal, but in terms of keeping the ball and seeing out the game, it is not in his skillset - he is isolated and wanders a little.
I think it is time, in those circumstances, to move to a false-nine, with more physicality in central midfield, and to bring on an additional midfielder/attacker who has more energy.
The switch to Nico O in central midfield was a little late last night. Had that happened earlier, with the introduction of Cherki for Erling, or Marmoush for Erling, I think we would have seen the game out far
more comfortably.View attachment 176542
I don't think you can leave these things too long because the agitation starts to increase and the confidence of the opponent too. Shutting the game down is something we are very familiar with from our recent past. In the event that Gonzalez has to come off for injury, then Foden drops in to the central midfield and his place in that lineup goes to one of our other attacking talents.
Great clearance off the line thoughWhy leave Gvadiol out? He was a defence disaster museum today too.
Taking off your only DM and putting on Savinho (who has been very poor and keeps losing the ball) i think you are asking for trouble imoSo at 2-5 when pep subbed Gonzales Doku with 30 mins left did you actually think fuck we could be in trouble here? I didn’t
FFSAlmost feels like a loss to me because the 2nd half after we went 5:1 up was so unbelievably bad and Pep is starting to really infuriate me with his absolute lack of game management.
He did not take the DM and replaced him with SavinhoTaking off your only DM and putting on Savinho (who has been very poor and keeps losing the ball) i think you are asking for trouble imo
The whole second half was a mess defensively so at least of me you keep your DM on until Fulham couldn't come back. There are not enough ball winners in this side
So we need a 6? Well the good news is Alan Oakes is still alive. He might well be 83 but never just ran around like a headless chicken. Or isn't that a 6 these days.It’s mainly when we don’t have a 6 pep teams are built around the 6 Rodri how he kept fit for so long was unbelievable but occasionally when he didn’t play we had Gundo from last season we have had Gonzales who has only just clicked in how to play that position this season! He went off we lose all control
There are 2 separate issues here: i dont blame Pep for our lack of intricate possession i think we've made a conscious decision to move away from intricate pass happy footballI agree that our press has completely vanished. I’m not sure why Haaland isn’t contributing more to it when he actually chooses to press or track back, he’s quicker than anyone else in the squad and does well when he wants to. But as long as he’s in the team, we need to compensate for that. Previously, with Kevin, Gundogan, Bernardo, and Rodri, we had a midfield of relentless runners who covered that ground effortlessly.
I personally feel our current lack of dominance is based on getting the wrong players.
Statistically, Pep’s sides dominate possession through ball retention and precise passing. This is something our current midfield simply isn’t managing. Pep touched on this yesterday that Reijnders isn’t really a defensive midfielder but more of an attacking player. And while Gonzalez has been doing a decent job filling in as the holding option, Pep also made it clear he’s really missing Rodri and Kovacic.
I personally feel it is a combination of multiple players that just can’t play the style he would want to use. I am not sure if you are suggesting Pep is the problem?