I agree with this, but time has almost run out I'd say. We cannot be so open and na*ve defensively. We're a joke at the back and have been for a long time now. He needs to get back to basics, but nothing seems to change. To put it into some sort of persepctive, Brighton lost 0-2 at home to Southampton today. Shows where they are as a team. The poor run has been going on for too long, as these are not just narrow defeats, they are big defeats. West Ham hit the post and Foster made a remarkable double save when left completely exposed by the ponderous defence. Is it Gracia's fault that we have no quality in defence? No, but we should be doing a lot better than we are. If you look at our form from mid February to now, it's appalling. Only 2 wins, against relegated sides. 18 games without a clean sheet. Last 6 home games have seen 1 draw and 5 defeats. I would like Gracia to sort it out, and even though performances have been much better in the last two games, pathetic finishing and defending remains consistent. Something has to change, I feel, before the rot really sets in.
I'm also concerned about the clear lack of character within the squad that has been evident for years now. Admittedly this is down to the senior players, not the manager. From captain cojones down wards. With a group of players who are yet to be in a relegation battle this does not bode well. Make no mistake, a loss against Newcastle and that will be the situation.
No, he didn't. He did the same thing he does at every club. There's no variance to his style or approach. The only reason we didn't go down during QSF's season was Ighalo somehow scoring with every touch for an unreasonable part of the season. But for Ighalo's ridiculous purple patch we would have been utterly screwed.
No. He should stay. What other coach would stand hands in pockets looking blankly into the distance when 2-1 down? Glad his sidekick came over to interrupt his daydreaming and for reminding him that substitutions are a thing. Next step, him learning you can make them before 70 minutes. We'll bee alright.
I'm fed up with hearing about our 'budget defence'. Wolves have Coady, Bennett & Boly in their back line, yet can actually defend as a unit and a team. Purely because they've been COACHED properly and he (Nuno) sets his team up properly every week. They all know their jobs. Are Wolves really THAT much better than us? Personally for me no, but they're coached properly. Javi has lost it, unfortunately. As nice a man as he is, he has lost control and no longer knows his best system, plays players out of position for too long (takes you only so far) and doesn't seem to be getting a response from his side. He's been sussed out and so has his system and style. We genuinely could be going in to OCTOBER on ZERO points cast adrift at the bottom of the League. Would take a miracle to keep us up IF that was the scenario, and let's face it, it's not exactly beyond the realms of possibility. We need someone to come in and COACH our back line on how to defend properly as a unit. Over to Gino. I fully expect Javi to be gone if we fail to WIN next weekend. It's a must win already, only 4 games in!!
Excellent points RE Coady and Bennett. Both championship defenders on paper and should be no better than our current lot.
I would not. We know he's going to start Femenia. (Our main problem, an absolute liability. But he is Javi's first name on the team sheet.) We know he's going to play Hughes as right winger, where he is totally ineffective, mostly because his lack of pace. We know he will make changes 10-15 minutes too late, and we will lose yet again. Gracia needs to go, and NOW.
Needs to beat Newcastle, if we lose then there is no point keeping him because the run of games after that means it will get even worse for it can even possibly get better. If it’s going to happen it needs to happen sooner or later before a run of 7 games starting the end of October that are all winnable. We need a new manager in by then that’s had some tome to bed in so he has a chance of keeping us up from those 7 games. Well get absolutely destroyed in the media but so what.
Was there even an FA Cup final last year? I’m pretty sure the competition ended at the semi-final stage. Unprecedented, but thems the breaks.
Perhaps you could try articulating more clearly, then. Incorrectly pointing at QSF's tactical flexibility doesn't make the point very well.
Especially when our flat track bully status, which has been the mainstay of our comfortable seasons in recent years, appears to be seriously under threat.
He was making subs after 60 minutes last season when we were winning. Now, we are **** it's like he's too scared to hook anyone.
I can’t figure out why he has Deulofeu pegged as a 70 minute man. Deaths, taxes and Gracia subbing Deulofeu midway through the second half - the only certainties in life.
I would suggest there are 6 or 7 sides in this league who don't have notably better center backs than us.
I agree that seems odd. GD is frequently our most dangerous looking player, and even when playing crap has the ability to suddenly do something ludicrous. It's so blatantly obvious that I don't believe for a second that the club don't see it too. I can only guess that they have concerns over his ability to last 90 minutes. Perhaps it's precautionary.
True, someone pointed out in the west ham thread that it’s our work rate off the ball, that were the worst in the league when not in possession and when we play the big teams we get turned over far to easily. The likes of palace Southampton don’t roll over as they work harder off the ball. Which is probably a correct statement they still get beat for the most part but not as easily or by horrific score lines. When javi took over and at the start of last season we pressed in certain areas of the field, one player would trigger it and it was like front 5 press back 5 would sit just in case it came over the top. Pundits were lauding it and it worked. Where’s that gone? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
There is absolutely no defence for this moron any more. Horribly limited, horribly rigid, horribly tactically inept, horribly biased towards certain players, horribly ugly. **** off.
I think, to be fair, we play some pretty stuff going forward. Rarely leads to a goal but it's lovely to watch. Isn't that what it's all about m8?
Nath you’re always so happy! As I said in the other thread though, the fact we started the 99/00 Premier League season better really says it all...
This is by far our best Premier League squad. You judge the coaching team on if they make more of a team than the sum of the parts. Since February that has not been the case, apart from the Wolves semi final win, so it's time to say goodbye. The only question is when. After next Saturday, after Christmas or the end of the season. Whatever happens he won't be here next August.
Cathcart today was up there with one of the worst defensive displays I can remember. He was all over the place
Runs like the one we are in right now are rarely turned around by the incumbent coach. It usually takes a firing and hiring to sort it out. Gracia has been at the club long enough for this type of run not to happen. There's no excuse for it. Shipping goals to City is one thing, but 3 at home to clubs like West Ham and Brighton is a totally different kettle of fish. If Richarlison could head straight it would have been 3 at Everton also. Our defence is bad, but I refuse to believe a coach cannot set up a system to nullify the opposition better than we currently do.
Utterly stubborn and selfish determination to stick to his system - not working, time to go At 55mins / 1-1 we were well in the game, but Cleverley was blowing and Hughes hadn’t got over his spectacular miss (he was shaking his head as he came back onto the pitch with his eyes closed presumably saying to himself “how did that happen?”) and we were crying out to open up West ham’s Fragile backline line a tin of beans - but instead of making the subs javi waits another 20 mins until the game is well beyond us and we are two goals behind This guy has run out of ideas, please pozzos save our season right now, don’t wait until October Get a new guy in and give him the Coventry game to test a new system in a live (but meaningless) scenario and then we go to Newcastle and have a proper go How on Earth can you spend £40m on a player then wait til the game is over before bringing him on for what was a complete waste of time but throwing long balls into the corner and expecting him to do something with those Moronic and shambolic
Cathcart was utterly woeful last season at Bournemouth. He was actually banging his head with his hands during the game. It was like watching a chimp at London Zoo. To think that Cathcart is considered to be our best defender speaks volumes.
Both those two are in their peak years though. Cathcart and Dawson were maybe similar standard players while they were in top form, but both seem to have their best days behind them now. One need only to look at Prodl's changes over the last few seasons to see how much of a difference it can make to a player.
If you say so. But if you consider someone asking you to articulate your point a difficult conversation, perhaps your point wasn't as strong as you thought.
Yep, he was about to bring Janmaat on about 2 games and 60 minutes late. For the third game running we were being torn apart down the right hand side. If it took him that long to realise it doesn’t matter if West Ham were 2 or 6 up by that point