Righting The Wrongs

[EskWeston 696]

Having watched the Youth Team game last night and how their played the 4-3-3 i am even more convinced that what i feel we need to change is needed! By contrast we are struggling to create ANY chances in a game at the moment, the youth team created more chances in the first 10 minutes than the first team have all month!!

So whats the difference? The difference is that they had 2 wingers who are prepared to run at defenders and take them on, so many chances were created by the wingers getting past their defenders and pulling the ball back, we don't see this anymore!!! Also they had an actual attacking midfielder who was always high up the pitch knowing that he had 2 midfielders behind him leaving him able to stay forward creating chances and opening the team up and more importantly completely supporting the lone striker!!!!

The passing was quick and the breaks were lightning rather than the snail pace build up we are seeing in the first team at the moment.

[Fulham Broadway 17,306]

Definitely something we've missed since Robben and Duffs departure.

It has to be said since I've been watching some of our best periods are when we've wingers who will take on the right and left backs. Charlie Cooke, Peter Houseman, Keith Weller, Clive Walker.

Kalou will take people on, and its unfair to write off Malouda -a confidence player, whose confidence is in the doldrums and who fans see as lazy. I don't believe he is now, he was injured when Mourinho went and needs to regain his ability that was so brilliant at Lyon.

[EskWeston 696]

Definitely something we've missed since Robben and Duffs departure.

It has to be said since I've been watching some of our best periods are when we've wingers who will take on the right and left backs. Charlie Cooke, Peter Houseman, Keith Weller, Clive Walker.

Kalou will take people on, and its unfair to write off Malouda -a confidence player, whose confidence is in the doldrums and who fans see as lazy. I don't believe he is now, he was injured when Mourinho went and needs to regain his ability that was so brilliant at Lyon.

It is definately something we miss, so is the problem of the Attacking Midfield playmaker.

Malouda is a good player, and can contribute greatly to us. But he isn't the sort of winger we need who is going to take on his man, Malouda is more likely to cross from deep.

We can improve my just speeding our game up, at the moment we are far too slow and it makes it easy for the opposition..

[Fulham Broadway 17,306]

It is definately something we miss, so is the problem of the Attacking Midfield playmaker.

Malouda is a good player, and can contribute greatly to us. But he isn't the sort of winger we need who is going to take on his man, Malouda is more likely to cross from deep.

We can improve my just speeding our game up, at the moment we are far too slow and it makes it easy for the opposition..

Malouda is a shadow of his former self at Lyon , where he did take players on. Remember his first goal for us ? -and as is the oft quoted mantra ''form is temporary , class is permanent'' etc.

As for the slowness, it seems more a lack of inventiveness. The Youth Team is bound to be quicker.

[PaulHopkins 1]

Malouda is a shadow of his former self at Lyon , where he did take players on. Remember his first goal for us ? -and as is the oft quoted mantra ''form is temporary , class is permanent'' etc.

As for the slowness, it seems more a lack of inventiveness. The Youth Team is bound to be quicker.

I don't understand what has happened to Malouda - even his injury was a total mystery. Hopefully he will get back to his early season form!

[EskWeston 696]

Would be nice to get some more from Malouda but i just can't see it at the moment.

It wasn't just the players that were quicker, it was the way they played. From defence to attack in 3 passes and we have them on the break!!!

[Fulham Broadway 17,306]

To be fair Port Vale are a different kettle of fish.

To me it seems like the Ranieri days of possession yet lack of inventiveness in the final third, - not so much pace or lack of creative players, more lack of imagination.

[EskWeston 696]

To be fair Port Vale are a different kettle of fish.

To me it seems like the Ranieri days of possession yet lack of inventiveness in the final third, - not so much pace or lack of creative players, more lack of imagination.

Well port vale knocked out some big teams previously....

Absolutely, we totally lack imagination! Who are our creative players? Kalou, Cole..... wo else? It takes 30 passes to get to their box and then when there is no opening it goes back to Cech and we start all over again.

[Fulham Broadway 17,306]

Well port vale knocked out some big teams previously....

Absolutely, we totally lack imagination! Who are our creative players? Kalou, Cole..... wo else? It takes 30 passes to get to their box and then when there is no opening it goes back to Cech and we start all over again.

But not as big as us ...

Well creatives apart from Kalou and J Cole should be SWP , Pizarro, Malouda, Ballack etc but it comes down to training as well -trying different things, set pieces -woeful against the yids btw etc. Theres a general malaise, and its not helped by Average Grunts lack of dynamism and total inexperience.

[EskWeston 696]

But not as big as us ...

Well creatives apart from Kalou and J Cole should be SWP , Pizarro, Malouda, Ballack etc but it comes down to training as well -trying different things, set pieces -woeful against the yids btw etc. Theres a general malaise, and its not helped by Average Grunts lack of dynamism and total inexperience.

No not as big as us. But it is the principal of the 4-3-3 formation only working with certain "types" of players, and for me one of the most important is the creative attacking midfielder, which in the youth team example was Kakuta....

SWP, Pizarro, Malouda and Ballack are not creative players really........

[Fulham Broadway 17,306]

They all have been and have the potential to be more so.

Maybe Kakuta will be introduced, but I wouldn't hold yer breath what with Stoch and Sinclair. Its just anally retentive tactics and lack of spark that needs to be reignited in training routines.

[EskWeston 696]

They all have been and have the potential to be more so.

Maybe Kakuta will be introduced, but I wouldn't hold yer breath what with Stoch and Sinclair. Its just anally retentive tactics and lack of spark that needs to be reignited in training routines.

Playing a more attack minded player like SWP in the attacking central position does work better and he performs better there than he does on the wing, but there is scope there for improvement, only Joe Cole is the other player who i think can operate there but he is never given the chance....

Well i am not expecting Kakuta to make any first team appearances for a long while, he is still only 16!! Stoch though i would play him.....

[tlax25 0]

Grant aside, we are missing a lot of the elements that made the first season under Jose so entertaining and why we won so much. We are missing any speed on the wings when we used to be able to call on from Cole, Duff and Robben. And I know some will consider this hearsay, but Lampard and Terry have not been playing well at all, when healthy, which for Terry has not been all that often the last two seasons. Right now we have no one, other than JC who can create any kind of danger on the wing. We are slow and predictable, plodding through the middle or playing long balls. We have made some terrible buys in the last couple of years, and let some strong players go and it is finally catching up to us. I agree with what many have said, we need to make a lot of personnel changes i the summer. Bring some speed to the team again.

[Fulham Broadway 17,306]

Hate to keep harping back to the manager. But ....what has been mentioned in the recent reports was Grants choice of playing eleven, announced to the squad just a few hours before the kick off.

With Mourinho, he meticulously studied the opposition, and who would be appropriate to be their opposite number. Maybe 4-5 days prior to the match. Tactics, and contingency plans could be worked, and how openings prised, along with weaknesses breached.

I agree we need creative wingers who can be conversley switched from right to left ala Ronaldo/Giggs, but primarily a good footballing brain at the helm. Without that it's pointless.

[EskWeston 696]

Hate to keep harping back to the manager. But ....what has been mentioned in the recent reports was Grants choice of playing eleven, announced to the squad just a few hours before the kick off.

With Mourinho, he meticulously studied the opposition, and who would be appropriate to be their opposite number. Maybe 4-5 days prior to the match. Tactics, and contingency plans could be worked, and how openings prised, along with weaknesses breached.

I agree we need creative wingers who can be conversley switched from right to left ala Ronaldo/Giggs, but primarily a good footballing brain at the helm. Without that it's pointless.

There is certainly some negative creeping football comming in and it is certainly down to more than the wrong players out there, even though i think it is a huge part of it. Tactically we are not at the races, we are not up for games and closing teams down and getting at them fast.................