Fulham (H) | PL | Post-Match Thread

[kaz7]

To give the team some leeway , they are used to having rodders controlling the games and kev, well we know what he does , it is clearly a really big change , they have been playing so good as a unit for years but without those two players it is a big change . They will settle once they adjust and play better

In theory Kova and gundy should fill the rodders role between them but it is just not clicking yet pep needs to find
the answer , having a break might be good for us for a change

 

[chesterbells]

I like Jack. I want Jack to be a success. But it's not looking good for Jack once again.

Ineffective.

But wasted out wide on the left.(attacking the South stand)

I suppose a question is, could he come on and score a goal like Doku did?
I do like the control, the ball-keeping and space he creates for us though. The problem for me however is that, like Rico, he seems incapable of scoring.

 

[Gone for a Burton]

All without Rodri! That’s the issue. Needs a change of style/strategy for me. Kovacic and Gundogan midfield won’t be good enough over a full season.

What are your preferred midfield options ?

 

[Colin Bells Boots]

Happy with the 3 points, don't want to see Gundo and Kova in the same midfield again.

Apart from the first 20 minutes I thought we were poor, we played with little to no tempo, far too congested in the middle of the park, passing for the sake of passing.

Bernardo is wasted on the wing, Jack needs to start creating or scoring, when we make a substitution it shouldn't mean the whole team needs to switch positions and formation.

Credit to Fulham today, thought they played some nice flowing football.

Still un beaten.

That is the positive in a chaotic performance where the opposition were virtually able to run at us at will.

 

[Fat Freddy's Cat]

Should we not have a post match thread then? All just come on and say “good 3 points” and enjoy our weekend?

I detest how people think there’s anything wrong with a dissection of a performance?

Nothing wrong with criticism but some of the slagging off of certain players is fucking ridiculous.

 

[Macca77macca]

Where's the fun in that/.

I get that, I also get they paid a shed load of cash so should be able to deal with criticism.

But thats not what you get in here sometimes

 

[Alan Harper's Tash]

Like the Brentford game, very very lucky to have all 3 points due to them both missing great chances to go 2 up.
Pep worked a miracle last season to make 4 in a row history but i am afraid this team and squad looks like it will fall short this season.

 

[M23 Citizen]

Got away with it again for the second time this season at home against middling opposition. They beat us today and deservedly so if they could finish and Ederson didn't bail us out multiple times. Make no mistake, we've got some big issues to solve. Anybody dismissing it because it's early and we always start slow has the blinkers on. We can't control games, we cannot defend very well at all and we cannot reliably create chances for the best striker on earth.

We cannot lose the best Central midfielder on the planet for the season, have no natural alternative and yet still try and play the same way, it just won't work, you'll get an inferior imitation of the team we were and that wont cut it this season.

We need to change drastically to better suit what we do have available, we cannot have the control we are used to with the players we have so we cannot play that way. We need to find other strengths in thr squad.

In my eyes we need to quicken our game up in possession substantially, we have the players that would arguably suit this better with the likes of foden, kdb, doku and savinho behind haaland, let them take more risks, don't let their first thought be to keep the ball and we start when there's 11 men behind the ball. It'll mean less control but it should help us create much more and we compensate for less control by not throwing so many men ahead of the ball in possession, Create a solid back 4 unit that's in position when we lose it and not constantly trying to cover for one another when we lose the ball.

Good result today, it had dropped points written all other it but Pep's got a lot of work to do. Internationals have come at a good time for once.

It’s a myth that we usually start slowly.

We’ve started very well under Pep in all seasons apart from the two Covid seasons: one where we never caught up and Liverpool pissed it, and one where we strangely clicked when de Bruyne got injured at Christmas and missed a few months, in which, we won every game.

Other than that, the start of the season has usually been when we play our best football and smash everyone in sight.

 

[Saddleworth2]

We overcommited by having our CBs so high up the pitch but with none of them contributing anything other than clogging up space.

We are too slow in passing and our passing was very innacurate at times. So we create very few genuine chances.

Our midfielders pretend to defend sometimes. Every one of them really. Even Bernardo can't be bothered tracking back sometimes.

But...

I'm convinced that Pep sort of likes the poor performances early in the season so he can use them as evidence of a continued improvement as the season progresses and us not peaking too soon in the season.

An intelligent response to todays game. Guardiol was one of the few that came out of that with plus points. We were sluggish in defence and positionally not at it at all. Gundo and Kova are slow and are tired as games progress. Bernie and Grealish are offering little out wide. They both work hard but where is the end product? I think just now, Bernie has to be in the middle for his legs and workrate. Kova is performing better than Gundo and Phil needs to be there but deeper lying. I would try Doku and Savinho and concentrate on them getting crosses into dangerous areas and make sure there are runners into those areas. It cant be just Haaland.

Contrast our transitions vs Fulham. In the second half when we were pegged back for some time. We made one transition work (Doku's goal) the others were strangled at birth by slow passing.

We cannot put this all on losing Rodri. Other elite teams are competitive without a Rodri and so should we be. Hopefully pep will find the key and combination that improves our form.

 

[Semper aggressus]

Playing two slow, non-scoring midfielders on the wings at home against this kind of opposition is never going to lead to many goals. Bernardo and Jack are fucking horrible in front of goal and it does us no favours.

We got away with it today, but for me Savio and Doku should be starting most home games, we should be dictating these and going for the jugular.