Same circumstance as backlashes against Burnley and Southampton. Why the f&ck can’t someone face a backlash against us? We lose enough ffs.
Genuine question, do we go into this game to get something, or just damage limitation? Current GD is a bit better than Villa, but that can change, they're not looking particularly shambolic at the back at the moment
Chelsea are a decent ball playing team and look very neet. However, they have shown a few vulnerabilities tonight, for all of their attacking prowess they are not that great at the back. West Ham highlighted that if you can keep the shape two banks of four and sit tight, Chelsea will struggle to break you down and you will get chances against them. They looked un-organised from set-pieces and strangely had Azpilicueta marking West Hams biggest player. They were naive at 2-2 and shown little regard to defending pushing all of their players up and were left open a couple of times before West Ham got the goal, if we can somehow go ahead against them Sarr could be lethal on the counter-attack. Nigel Pearson examine West Hams tactics and emulate them. I wasn't in favour of starting Deeney but on the basis of Chelsea's backline struggling to deal with a big strong forward in Antonio, I think he should start.
Antonio is several times the player Deeney is. He’s a genuine physical handful, capable of bullying defenders, whereas Troy just thinks he is.
Yeah that Yarmolenko goal was the sort of defending I’d expect to see from us. Worth noting their two goals were from a penalty and free kick as well. They’re obviously a good side and can pass it around well but if we can absorb that pressure there will be opportunities on the break. Unfortunately if Troy starts there won’t be anyone to exploit this.
If we play Deeney we may as well just give them the 3 points and save ourselves for Norwich. WH did pump it up to Antonio every now and then but he actually has pace to do something with it. We need someone fast to support Sarr and take advantage on the break. It would be typical Watford to watch that game last night and see some obvious weaknesses, yet still start Deeney and aimlessly punt long balls up to him.
I’ve cancelled my mobile contract with 3 for obvious reasons I hope the 38 loonies on this forum who voted to resume the season are happy now.
Start Sarr on the wing with Pedro AND Penaranda as a front two. Drop Deeney to the bench. Try something different ffs. We know P&P have pace and can get in on goal. We have a good enough midfield to pull this off. Hughes and Welbeck to run the channels and track back when needed. We cannot play such a tired system for our last six games.
I always like playing a side who have won 5 games on a spin. They tend to get a little complacent and can be caught out. West Ham stole our thunder last night which would have given them a kick up the backside. They are no longer in complacent mode, they will be in determined mood. This bodes very badly for us unfortunately. All we can hope for is a more spirited display as we’ll lose this certainly. The only game I’d be confident about winning is Norwich and even then it will be on a knife-edge. It won’t be straight forward. Can’t see us beating any of the other sides though. Saint-Maximin will destroy us when we play Newcastle and Antonio will destroy us when we play West Ham. Arsenal and City will destroy us regardless of who they will pick. I just can’t see us picking up more than 31 points in total. Got to hope that Villa and Bournemouth fail in a similar manner to us, but that’s a tall order to expect all sides to keep losing.
So go to Chelsea and play Sarr, Pedro, Penaranda (like a new signing), and Welbeck in the starting 11.....??
Chelsea are vulnerable to the counter attack and set-pieces. Deeney is decent for set-pieces, but useless on the counter-attack unless we have Sarr basically playing as a second CF ahead of him most the time as per Pool. Out of our CBs, Dawson should actually be one of them again for some threat from corners. Not sure which other one to play alongside him out of Kabs or Carthorse; I guess whichever appears less drunk on the day.
Unfortunately none of these players will be available as they are all attending Deeney's 32nd birthday bash on Friday night which I believe may turn into a bit of a kickabout. 5 players banned for disciplinary reasons and Welbeck out injured for the season after falling into the pond.
Deeney's good at defending set pieces aerially, not so much attacking them. Has very few headed attempts on goal for a "target man". Bring back the Javi corner where we'd play it miles back, sideways to Capoue for the chip to Femenia as the defence pushed up. Only time we ever looked like we had a plan.
Troy is odd, every pundit on the planet thinks he is the hardest man in the league and spend 1/2 the game going on about how physical he is and how strong he is and how he bullies the defence , but reality seems to be somewhat different
I'm just so, so sick of watching slow, negative, one dimensional, hit and hope football. The only chance we have now is to try something completely different. What we're doing hasn't worked all season. We have Pedro, Penaranda and Pussetto all no doubt absolutely chomping at the bit to get out there and play, so why continue to play the same under-performing cloggers ahead of them? We have absolutely nothing to lose by throwing a couple or all of these guys in.
3/1 Troy anytime scorer. Surely worth a pound of anyone's money as he is bound to score at some point.
This will be a damage limitation game I think. Goal difference can still play a part. So not expecting a great deal of change in personnel.
Managers get things wrong and managers under-perform just the same way players do. In my opinion he is getting it completely wrong by absolutely refusing to give anyone else a chance.
JP finally got a few PL minutes in our last game - he still looks pretty raw though. Pearson has also been giving Welbeck a few chances.
Not sure about this one. The team is in poor form and low on confidence, and as had been pointed out plenty here the last few days, I'd like to see a few changes. It's a handy one for Pearson to manage as if he drops Deeney, he can navigate the awkward questions from reporters by refereeing to the amount of games in a short amount of time etc. It all comes down to if he's willing to risk going without the experience of Capoue and Deeney in order to try something fresh and new, in a game where we usually wouldn't be expecting to get much out of. I'd like to see Chalobah in for Capoue, who has seemed a bit flat since the restart after being in good form before the break. Holebas for Masina, and Welbeck up top for Deeney, with Sarr and maybe Pedro out wide for some pace and movement, although I find it hard to see Pearson giving the kid his full debut away to Chelsea with the team under such pressure for results. Femenia Dawson Kabasele Holebas ----------Chalobah Hughes----------- Sarr----------Doucoure --------Pedro ----------------Welbeck-------------- Pearson may also opt for a back 5 if he really wants to dig in and try grind out a point. Something like Femenia Dawson Cathcart Kabasele Masina ------------Capoue Doucoure Hughes--------- ------------------Welbeck Sarr------------------- I can't see any real justification for playing Troy in this game, other than for his 'leadership qualities', as to sit and absorb pressure (which we'll have to do), when we actually get the ball, we have to look to hit them on the break, and Troy just does not suit that style or game plan. He'd be better suited to come on late and hold up the ball, relieve pressure if we're still in the game with something to hold on to.
If immobile Captain Media starts here I honestly give up on Pearson. His performances since lockdown have been disgraceful.
He did but he also looked positive. Small thing perhaps but the weight of his pass to Holebas helped make our goal. Too often recently our players have been playing the ball direct to people's feet so it kills all momentum in the move, JP played it in front of Holebas which meant he was invited to cross from a much better position. Fully aware I'm clutching at straws but when the regular starters seem beyond help, I'd rather roll the dice.
He's not fit, none of them are. It's criminal how we've returned after the break, it was obvious that after three months off with only minimal preparation time, the teams that were fitter would be at a huge advantage. We threw everything at getting the season abandoned then allowed our players (led by Captain Marvel) to meander back to training whenever they wanted. Every team we've played so far has been significantly sharper, able to move the ball more effectively and even do simple things like control it better. I suspect that Pearson took a gamble that he could trust the players to stay fit to try to inspire them by showing he was treating them like adults. True to form our squad has just taken the piss and now we're reaping what they've sown. Every game is like watching a pre season friendly where the opposition's season starts three weeks earlier so they're miles ahead of you in their preparation and fitness.
Great ideas and I agree playing a defensive formation, looking to hit them on the break is a good idea, but playing without a goalkeeper is just madness.
What compounds it is that the same thing happened at the start of the season too. That was bad enough, but twice is insane. Maybe the non-payment of the bonuses has come home to roost: "I ain't training when there's no games on cos they never paid me what they said they would".
