03 Nov 2024 20:41:26
To add to the post-match inquest, I noticed a very disturbing trend amongst our entire team today - being so easily read.
Players standing almost entirely still when waiting for a pass - that's only called showing for the ball at a bus stop, players not moving into spaces being created, players being so easy to press in defence.
I'm not joking, I spent a lot of the second half wondering if I'd missed a sending off because Chelsea just seemed to have more about them - more running, more effort, more pressing, more aggression, more first balls won, more purpose and just more fight.
In fact, the only similarity between the two today was how pathetically toothless they were in front of goal.
Today we earned a point simply because our opponents were garbage in front of goal and we've now just entered midtable - meagre progress delivered with an alarming display of initiation apathy.
I'm looking forward to the arrival of Amorim, but my word does he have work to do - only something maverick like a profound system change will rattle out a significant improvement before the summer panto.
03 Nov 2024 21:54:59
Excellent work sherlock. Chelsea were able to field a completely different team with their squad of 60 or so in the week. We didn't have the luxury.
03 Nov 2024 22:38:53
Supasub
Sherlock? Pull your head out.
It makes no difference if Chelsea could field 2 separate teams in a week, the point was that the basic intuition of a footballer wasn't fully on show - whether it's a fear or capacity issue, it wasn't there.
No need for basic sarcastic snides if your counter is made of hyperbole and other such nonsense - level up buddy. ?.
04 Nov 2024 07:24:26
2 good pays ork.
04 Nov 2024 10:21:53
I think your right ork. It been so obvious for some time that our way of playing is not aligned with any of the consistent or big clubs.
Hopefully that gets put right soon.
Chelsea are not unlike us at all in many respects. Several managers / mish mash of a squad etc but are 4 or 5 months ahead of us with a proper coach.
04 Nov 2024 11:40:05
Looked to me like we are in the classic phase where a manager had set us up one way, and after two years the players just can’t switch off straight away. The mind set has been engrained and needs purging. We look like we are trying to pass the ball forward more and that will likely come from RVN but you can’t just switch instantly.
04 Nov 2024 21:25:27
It's been like this for a while. Our players only really seem comfortable if they are counterattacking.
Otherwise it's pedestrian very little movement with the one aim being that somebody steps up and creates a moment of magic to open a team up.
Under Ten Hag we created a lot of overloads either to the right or left, but what would then happen is we would have 5 static players biased towards the left or right and either hoped the winger would come I side to shoot or more likely straight back to the CB. You very rarely saw intricate little passing with 3 or 4 players in motion to create a gap for someone. You never saw that overload work as a unit to create an opening for someone somwhere.
05 Nov 2024 20:05:08
No-one in our team seems capable of passing the ball in front of their intended target, allowing said target to take the ball on the move. They're having to take the ball from a standing start, and with the way teams press now, it puts them under pressure straight off.
Also, Mainoo is the only player who seems capable of receiving the ball on the half-turn.