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For me the main issue is a lack of brains when breaking teams down that sit back. We need more penetrating balls, more dummies, one touch give and go balls, through balls to the full backs ala Lucas to Sissoko in injury time, more of the front three of four moving into space to create space for others etc.
It's a team that is far too regimented at the moment, one that plays with back to goal and one that seems to get frustrated rather easily even if it does continue to fight until the end.
I saw endless spells of sideways passing that eventually just ended with a cross into the box anyway. Why waste needless minute and seconds passing sideways back and forth only to cross it? It's quite dumb and lethargic attacking football at the moment that sees a player only running if they are receiving the ball. It's receive it, head up and look what's on and that plays into any teams hands that sit deep. It's concerning how we lack real footballing intelligence in certain departments and whilst I don't think Pochettino has done himself or the club any favours saying he may have left after the Champions League etc (I think he's dropped some real clanger personally pal) I do think a lack of sharpness in the minds because we are too rigid and regimented is ultimately killing a flowing game.
First port of call simply has to be to stop conceding the first goal. Even if the game is 0-0 after 60 minutes I'm fine with that for a building block. What we need to stop before we move onto anything else is these stupid goals conceded that just play into defensive teams hands. We gifted them that one today and our luck ran out like it inevitably would have sooner or later.
The supporters need to play their part as well. Tense football crowds won't help patterns form on the pitch and I do think we need to be patient this year, especially if Eriksen 100% wants out and ends up leaving.
-------Lo Celso----Dele----Son-----------
----------------------Kane-------------------
The sooner we can play this consistently should CE bugger off the better. Our fullbacks need to have sharper teeth in attack as well. Damn I wish we had signed Atal
ochsulk:
Key for the future - Ndombele, Lo Celso, Dele, Son, Kane
Ones that have a future if they fulfill their potential - Sanchez, Foyth, Winks, Sessegnon, Clarke, Skipp, Parrott
Decent squad footsoldiers - KWP, Davies, Sissoko, Dier, Lucas, Lloris
Time to painfully say goodbye with how it's all looking over the next 9-12 months - Aurier, Rose, Alderweireld, Vertonghen
, Wanyama, Eriksen, Lamela.The key 5 need to become a key 8 by the end of the season. Davinson, Foyth, Winksy, Sess, Clarke, Skipp or Parrott, 2 of them need to show enough that demonstrates we can trust them. If not they run the risk of falling into the decent foot soldier category. Big season ahead for many of our young boys, I wonder who will genuinely grasp it (my money is on Foyth and I think Skipp could if given a run)
Yeah, sadly not exactly a 'fortress' yet is it. Add Ajax, WHU, narrow Everton draw. Brighton.
“Stupid playing out from goal”?
What would you rather, we just humped long balls?
That’s not what’s wrong tactically, that’s just what proper football teams do, they play football. But picking technically inept players in midfield to play it isn’t very clever.
And letting players get away with ambling around when we don’t have the ball isn’t very smart either, and leaving your best players on bench to accommodate them even dafter.
Roughly October last year it was the “worst situation he’d ever been in since joining and he’d never been so unhappy”.....
Wasn’t that after our best points haul since the 60’s, fuck knows how he feels now.
One of two things need to happen.
Either Poch wields the axe and we go into a season of transition, or we change manager as stick with the squad.
I’m starting to doubt very much whether this shit behind the scenes is between the players now and feel the “disharmony” is between the players and coaching team.
In a nutshell if it’s a straight choice of the squad or the manager, then I’m afraid I’m keeping the squad. A new manager would give far more of effect than a couple new players in January or worse next summer.
This shit should have been dealt with MONTHS ago. Massive, massive oversight for Poch to be saying all this 3 games in.
Wasn’t that after our best points haul since the 60’s, fuck knows how he feels now.
One of two things need to happen.
Either Poch wields the axe and we go into a season of transition, or we change manager as stick with the squad.
I’m starting to doubt very much whether this shit behind the scenes is between the players now and feel the “disharmony” is between the players and coaching team.
In a nutshell if it’s a straight choice of the squad or the manager, then I’m afraid I’m keeping the squad. A new manager would give far more of effect than a couple new players in January or worse next summer.
This shit should have been dealt with MONTHS ago. Massive, massive oversight for Poch to be saying all this 3 games in.
100%.
I need add little.
I think 5 or 6 games.
The Woolwich game decides nothing unless we get walloped.
If the players want him to stay we will soon find out.
If this group continues to play poorly and especially if there’s bad stuff going on behind the scenes, I see Levy doing only one thing. I don’t see him waiting around while the clock ticks ever more loudly on his future Champions League revenue.
I just think hes guilty of overthinking things and takes shit a little to personally. Eriksen and Vertonghen dropped when its clear as day they are better than the alternatives, saying Lo Celso is nowhere near ready like hes been out injured for months or something.
Fuck contract situations and just play our best team ffs like every other team would do.
Fuck contract situations and just play our best team ffs like every other team would do.
Might not be that easy atm. Before there's clarity over futures of Eriksen, Rose, Toby and Jan there might be some disrupt of harmony in the group. And I really do miss Jan, cos he might be our only true leader on the field.
Poch definitely does seem like he can teach donkeys and rocks about being stubborn at times.
It is, the guy is under severe pressure I’m sure, 6 seasons of always being the bridesmaid and never the bride may have taken its toll.
He built/shaped a team that peaked two seasons ago and is struggling to rebuild it again or at least tweak it enough to keep pace.
As a manager he has never been in this position before, and by that I mean managing a team that has now got expiation's, maybe he is even starting to doubt his own ability and is panicking a little, which would explain the following decisions that have weakened this team:
KWP for Trippier
Winks for Dombele
Sissoko for Dier
Sanchez for Vertonghan
Lamela for Eriksen (potentially)
Rose told to find another club, but plays.
Letting Llorente go with no “obvious” replacement.
Obviously the new signings have yet to be truly integrated, so we wait and see how that tweaks things. But all in all it looks all over the map right now.
Our first full season in the New stadium and this could be the most disjointed team/squad we have had in 5 years.....
Its years of lack of investment that has us where we are. Not Poch.
The team need rejunivating yet we didnt bring in enough new faces.
The team need rejunivating yet we didnt bring in enough new faces.
Can’t wait to read his 2nd book! 
He's got till the end of the season to prove he can unite the team and secure top 4 and hopefully a trophy.
Forget the top 2 we gotta fight it out with a United who are still a mess, Chelsea in a large transition with an inexperienced manager and not able to make any signings, and unfortunately an Woolwich side who look like there gonna score goals against the shite this season.
Think it's gonna be a painful road one way or the other we have a lot of players who ain't good enough for us, a lot who have been but who have declined and Eriksen who is running down his contract.
Just hope Poch can pull it all together but his comments in the media for the past year and a bit have me worried he is the one who's not happy and it's rubbing off on the players
Forget the top 2 we gotta fight it out with a United who are still a mess, Chelsea in a large transition with an inexperienced manager and not able to make any signings, and unfortunately an Woolwich side who look like there gonna score goals against the shite this season.
Think it's gonna be a painful road one way or the other we have a lot of players who ain't good enough for us, a lot who have been but who have declined and Eriksen who is running down his contract.
Just hope Poch can pull it all together but his comments in the media for the past year and a bit have me worried he is the one who's not happy and it's rubbing off on the players
If he is going to go, I would rather him go at the end of the season, I don't want any new manager that we bring in to be involved with any mess that's already happening.
It will need to be a completely fresh start for everyone, that's if Poch does indeed go, best case scenario he will stay and fix all of this but starting to wonder if that's even possible because even he looks like he has lost his spark.
Trippier alluded to things happening behind the scenes as well, something must be wrong.
Levy is as much to blame for all of this honestly, his fucking about in the transfer market for years has probably drained any hope of ambition from the manager, hence his comments on a consistent basis about how we can't compete unless we change the project, we signed some players this window but we haven't been anywhere near proactive enough, Eriksen replacement should have been signed last season so we can bed them in, among many other things.
It's just a clusterfuck all around tbh.
It will need to be a completely fresh start for everyone, that's if Poch does indeed go, best case scenario he will stay and fix all of this but starting to wonder if that's even possible because even he looks like he has lost his spark.
Trippier alluded to things happening behind the scenes as well, something must be wrong.
Levy is as much to blame for all of this honestly, his fucking about in the transfer market for years has probably drained any hope of ambition from the manager, hence his comments on a consistent basis about how we can't compete unless we change the project, we signed some players this window but we haven't been anywhere near proactive enough, Eriksen replacement should have been signed last season so we can bed them in, among many other things.
It's just a clusterfuck all around tbh.
Not to be that guy but giving Levy the lion's share of the blame in this seems a bit of a strawman argument/easy way out. Yes we have not spent as much as some would have wanted. But a key part of a managers job is working with what he has and making his players better. I don't want to think of Poch as a checkbook manager but he doesn't seem to realize that rather than trying to force square pegs in to round holes to fit the 2017 squad's likeness he needs to look at what he has at his disposal in 2019 and developing a style of play and identity based off of that.
We might not have a title winning squad right now but it is still a strong enough one where we should be competing at the top of the table.
Play to your strengths and try and shield your weaknesses as much as possible.
could we have invested more in our squad? Yes. Could Poch be doing a better job with what he has? Also yes. The blame should be pretty evenly distributed on both the manager and the backroom as well as on the players (someone should have taken fucking responsibility out on the field yesterday and fucking tried breaking the patterns).
We might not have a title winning squad right now but it is still a strong enough one where we should be competing at the top of the table.
Play to your strengths and try and shield your weaknesses as much as possible.
could we have invested more in our squad? Yes. Could Poch be doing a better job with what he has? Also yes. The blame should be pretty evenly distributed on both the manager and the backroom as well as on the players (someone should have taken fucking responsibility out on the field yesterday and fucking tried breaking the patterns).