How to beat park the bus

Teams are so far back due to the way we play, not because of how good they think we are.

Why do you think Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, Newcastle don’t have the same issue?

We need to change our style, have the courage to not pen teams in, let them have the ball, press and look for the counter where we can create a numerical advantage for our world class forwards.

But Pep hasn’t the balls for it, or the nous.

He knows one way and that’s to control and suffocate teams. I don’t subscribe to the idea that Pep’s way is finished, I just believe that we don’t have the players for it, nor are there many players in the Pep mould we can buy.

What he should be doing is changing the way we play.

We played a little deeper, and more expansively in our good run recently, just to ruin it in the last two games with more of the same old shite.
 
Try taking a player on once in a while, all the passing sideways & backwards to make em dizzy is clearly not working and it bores the fans to death, skillful players take their opponents on and either- (a) beat the man and get into the box for a shot or a pass,
(b) beat the man and get brought down for a penalty
(c) lose the ball.
At the moment non of them can go past a player so they just pass back.
Get better players or allow them to try and attack more.
Don’t play such a high line in the first place.
 
Teams are so far back due to the way we play, not because of how good they think we are.

Why do you think Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, Newcastle don’t have the same issue?

We need to change our style, have the courage to not pen teams in, let them have the ball, press and look for the counter where we can create a numerical advantage for our world class forwards.

But Pep hasn’t the balls for it, or the nous.

He knows one way and that’s to control and suffocate teams. I don’t subscribe to the idea that Pep’s way is finished, I just believe that we don’t have the players for it, nor are there many players in the Pep mould we can buy.

What he should be doing is changing the way we play.

We played a little deeper, and more expansively in our good run recently, just to ruin it in the last two games with more of the same old shite.
Fully agree.
 
And who would that be, Kushanov looked bloody quick to me but has dropped off the face of the earth, Haaland is much better than hanging round the six yeard box, he’d be great as a counter attacker ball over the top as was shown yesterday had the keeper not knocked it out the way. We do t have anyone who can put a decent cross on his head at the back post, he’d be better around the penalty spot for a pull back or at least running onto it. I still don’t think he was a Pep signing he was a CFG signing, Pep has always like small mobile players something Haaland is clearly not, his first season everyone was taken by surprise even Pep at how many he’s scored and yes I know he’s still scoring but are defences terrified of him, I don’t think so.

We can't play counter attack when the team plan is to defend deep against us. Very rarely do we have that space to play over the top or in behind.

Hence, why we switch from right to left to try and drag someone out of position.

Khusanov solves the recovery pace problem but to beat a bus, you also have to score and that means creative supply from the final third of midfield.
 
And if your main penalty taker doesn’t want to take it then sub him off ffs.

Questions have to start being asked about him. He's 6'-5", gets knocked off the ball.pretty easily, the majority of the time is beaten in the air and rarely creates anything for himself. He's been rumbled and the goals are drying up. He'd score shit loads in Spain and league's he has space to run into but playing for us he's rarely going to get that. He can't seem to improve in the areas I've mentioned. Controversial but it needs highlighting.
 
We can't play counter attack when the team plan is to defend deep against us. Very rarely do we have that space to play over the top or in behind.

Hence, why we switch from right to left to try and drag someone out of position.

Khusanov solves the recovery pace problem but to beat a bus, you also have to score and that means creative supply from the final third of midfield.
Then take the kick off and hold the ball in our half and don’t advance anyone past the halfway line, this anti football is a fucking joke it’s now becoming risk averse for most teams, if the other team then come into our half ping the ball over the top.
 
Questions have to start being asked about him. He's 6'-5", gets knocked off the ball.pretty easily, the majority of the time is beaten in the air and rarely creates anything for himself. He's been rumbled and the goals are drying up. He'd score shit loads in Spain and league's he has space to run into but playing for us he's rarely going to get that. He can't seem to improve in the areas I've mentioned. Controversial but it needs highlighting.
I know… he’s only scored 30 this season and that’s without much service….we need to play him in much earlier, be it by early cro, ideally from the byline or early longer balls
 
It’s very difficult when teams have all 11 in the penalty box to find any room. Even a shot from distance is likely to get blocked. We need to press teams high, turnover the ball and quickly get shots on target. Look at the Arsenal goal today. Our press hasn’t been great this season because with so many new players they are still learning the system and the older players don’t have the legs to press relentlessly. Yesterday Palace were just hoofing the ball forward and keeping everyone back. It was like the QPR game all over again except without the goals. We need to lure teams out and then hit them quickly, press higher and start shooting first time.
 
Variety. The possession based game mixed with the direct game, playing off Erling. Rodri is key.
 
We can't play counter attack when the team plan is to defend deep against us. Very rarely do we have that space to play over the top or in behind.

Hence, why we switch from right to left to try and drag someone out of position.

Khusanov solves the recovery pace problem but to beat a bus, you also have to score and that means creative supply from the final third of midfield.

Maybe we need to get some defenders with actual thunderbastards from 35 yards!

Keep us in the loop tolmie!
 
For me I think we need to make some simple changes:

Take the shackles off them and stop focusing on trying to control every game on the edge of the opposing team’s box. We cannot break through and it leaves us very weak defensively.

They are over coached in some areas and not coached enough/at all in others.
 
Been chilling out today after yesterdays sickener.

Having reflected on things I have concluded that the biggest problem we have is the lack of at least 1 genuine world class overlapping fullback.

This is on Txiki... we have sleep walked into this. Walker stayed great for at least 2 years longer than we had any right to expect. How the fuck did we not have a replacement ready to go.

This is why everything has slowed down to walking pace...

Its not on the players, I've not seen any lack of effort.

The full back problem has been with us for a decade now...
 
Personally I'd be tempted to let the opposition have the ball sometimes and we can sit deep and counter them. Just try it and see if we can pull them out to then get the pace of our forwards to get behind them.

We just sometimes need to play early balls forward even if we lose it. It pulls teams out and gets them running back. Basically just go direct!
 
Wingers have to be on their correct side to beat the defenders. And you need midfield runners arriving in the box for the cutbacks. Inverted wingers is so negative and we don’t have the legs in midfield - solve those problems and Bob’s your auntie
 
I don't think Pep doesn't know how to do this, it's just very very hard and you need amazing players who are all well drilled and highly motivated.

Even our treble winning team only won 1-0 Vs Inter.
Yep, me and many other blues I know were disappointed at our failure to score more goals that night against Inter.

It really took the shine off our treble
 

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