We need a better defence. We can’t do that so we need more bodies there and they need to ******* tackle, pathetic
I'd like to be proven wrong, but I wouldn't be surprised if even Mourinho or Benitez struggled with our defenders.
If we really don't trust our centre backs then play 3 at the back. 343, 352... it's not as if Gracia doesn't have options. He could have spent pre season trying systems out. Instead he spent pre season playing 422 ******* 2
In which case they would demand better ones. Javi comes across as a complete 'yes' man. Which is fine if you can make do. Clearly, he can't.
Yes, agreed. We've been the better side for most of the game. That Hughes miss has proven incredibly costly; I had a bit of a sinking feeling when he missed it. I still think we'll finish mid table though.
Leicester won the league with a back 4 of Simpson, Morgan, Huth and Fuchs. A good defence is about organisation and cohesion as much as personnel. Better players would help, but the ones we have shouldn’t be this bad.
If we don’t get something against Newcastle we'll very likely not get a point until at least October.
Doesn't look good for us at the moment. I dont think it is the quality of our players, the attitude maybe. On paper we have better players than Burnley for example, but Dyche only gets players with a certain mentality and he is a coach who knows how to play defensive. 3 games in is early days, but not many positives to take from those games...
Really? On what basis? I'm usually tongue-in-cheek when saying such things, but I genuinely think we'll get relegated this season.
Difficult one because, on the whole, we were their equals. Possibly shaded the build up play. But awful finishing and lack of composure completely did for us. 22 shots, 3 on target. Palace and Southampton both winning today. I’ll give Javi until next week and then make my mind up. 4 on the bounce and I think he’ll have to go if he can’t organise the defence. He’s too conservative with the subs too. I accept Welbeck and Sarr weren’t up to starting but it shouldn’t have needed us going 1-2 down to trigger them coming on.
Only positive is that we looked lively going forward at times and creates chances, but with such a weak backline that rarely look like keeping a clean sheet, we're looking like needing to score 2 or 3 to win games.
Kiko was awful in the first half. Complete liability. Improved a bit after HT. How is he keeping Janmaat out of the team?
One of those which could have gone either way. If Hughes sticks in that sitter it's a different game at 2-1. Don't hit the panic button just yet
Horrible, horrible start to the season. Failing to invest in decent centre-backs or full-backs is going to cost us our place in the Premier League if we're not careful. Pay the extra £5 million for Danny Rose or begin the season with a 35 year-old left-back- the Pozzos made their choice and it was a diabolical one. Deeney wasn't even in the team and we were still hoofing it aimlessly- Deloufeou and Grey aren't getting on the end of high balls. Deloufeou's career is passing him by with each season that he flatters to deceive. Doucoure should have gone in the summer. Femenia doesn't deserve to keep his place at the expense of Janmaat at the moment. Dawson has someone made our defence worse. Sarr and Welbeck looked woefully short of fitness and confidence. Both must be wondering what on earth they've walked into. It's too early to completely lose our **** but this is worrying. We're not too big to come down, we've been in rotten form ever since that semi-final. It's entirely possible by the time Sheff Utd visit we'll have zero points on the board. I'd fully expect a new manager to be in charge by then if that's the case. Javi is cutting a clueless, forlorn figure at the moment. Nice man etc but his days look numbered.
Newcastle is key for many reasons, we need the points but they’re a genuinely bad side so if we can’t beat them then we’re definitely going down unless we bring in a new manager.
4 on the bounce (if we did lose v Newcastle) that could quite easily become 7 considering our fixtures. I'm not usually a doom and gloom-monger. But thing could get pretty gloomy pretty quickly. Therefore Newcastle is a huge game.
Assuming Rose would actually have come - and although he was at the training ground, media at the time said he had no interest in signing - you’re talking nearer an extra £20m I reckon once you remember we have to pay him and bung him and his agent a juicy signing on fee.
To be fair to Cleverly it's s first run out for him in tiring conditions. He looked off the pace at times early on. Wasteful finishing is just as bad as a porous defence but the latter is the most concerning. Three incredibly soft goals to give away. If we continue to do that and not have learnt anything from defending set pieces last season we are in big trouble. A needless penalty. I have no idea what Doucoure was thinking and looking back at it nor will he. The second . Deulofeu and Hughes fail to make the ball theirs. It is a transition ball as a result and instead of being on the attack we are caught on our heels. Cathcart dithers a clear lack of communication still at the back and Doucoure sleepwalks allowing them to sneak in. The third an absolute criminal lack of marking to anticipate. Our set pieces were identikit attempts to Dawson. No variation at all. Our defence needs to start from the front. Deulofeu for all his excellent work going forward cannot afford to allow the fullbacks or midfield to get overloaded by not dropping into midfield. The few times we applied pressure they conceded possession but it was rare to see the forward press. The gaps between the lines especially in the opening minutes were glaring along with a lack of communication and seeing Capoue half heartedly try to cover an attack by jogging rather than running at full pelt implies a lack of commitment and urgency. That defence needs comprehensive unit drills and extra training and the whole team in how to defend as a unit from the attackers. The midfield lying so deep at times as to allow them to pick their passes at will. Defence has to be the priority because outscoring teams is not an option for us. Either go to a back three and play the fullbacks in their most comfortable position or have two dedicated defensive midfielders and resort to a fast countering system. The number of times at 1-1 we allowed them to counter on us was also a sign of poor organization not to mention almost gifting them a second after not playing the ball direct in at a corner and losing the second ball. Something which also happened last season. The coaching staff and players need to pull their collective fingers out before this becomes a relegation battle and look at their collective mistakes and put them right and work harder than ever. Hard work, organization is just as important as anything else in this division for any team and we are lacking those two at the moment.
In Javi's defence... He changed system We played decent football and created chances Will Hughes ****ed him But on the other hand... Having Gray at the front post defending corners was idiotic. Smallest player in squad, warning when they hit the post in the first half Delaying the double substitution killed the game. I'd get it if we were defending a corner and were going to take off a big player but it was Hughes and Deulofeu! Oh, and Cathcart and Dawson made my eyes bleed today with their **** passing, crap positioning and needless fouls.
Not really. Hughes puts the ball in with his arse today and it's 2-1 and a completely different game that we likely would have pushed on to win. Everton's goal was lucky and was more likely to bounce out than deflect pass Foster. That could easily have been a point. West Ham's third was pure luck as far as the ricochet off the woodwork went (great finish though, but he misses that probably 90% of the time if not more). The margins are fine. It's not the gulf that some of the mass hysteria merchants are peddling. We're low on confidence and things simply aren't going our way right now. That worm will turn; the key question is when.
Agree with many that our defenders aren’t up to it at this level, but Gracia plays such an idiotic high press system, our slow defenders get caught out every time. I think we all got carried away with Javi, what with the Snake leaving the way he did, the good start to last season and the cup final appearance but ultimately he’s not tactically brilliant and now to our cost, very one dimensional. Unfortunately, I don’t think we’ll turn this slump around with him in charge. Obviously, the owner has to take much of the blame, as the glaring problem of fixing a creaking defence has not been addressed
