Super Frank Thread

[Atomiswave 6,117]

Late subs and starting with Tammy is my only grit

[Jase 43,479]

We have beaten a lot of the lesser teams recently, which is good, but here's the real test. Next 6 Premier League games before 2021...

Leeds (h)
Everton (a)
Wolves (a)
West Ham (h)
Arsenal (a)
Aston Villa (h)

[robsblubot 3,595]

1 hour ago, Jason said:

We have beaten a lot of the lesser teams recently, which is good, but here's the real test. Next 6 Premier League games before 2021...

Leeds (h)
Everton (a)
Wolves (a)
West Ham (h)
Arsenal (a)
Aston Villa (h)

Nothing world class in that list tbh. Just watched arsenal and they are not a good team: I know they can improve until we play them, but they don't have the players.

Agreed that it will show which tier we belong in this season.

[Jase 43,479]

 

[Jase 43,479]

Just noticed we have more clean sheets in the Premier League than anyone else so far this season - FIVE!  

We kept only 9 in the league last season and only got to 5 clean sheets in the 22nd game. Already got 5 clean sheets in just 10 games this season. 

[Tomo 21,751]

22 minutes ago, Jason said:

Just noticed we have more clean sheets in the Premier League than anyone else so far this season - FIVE!  

We kept only 9 in the league last season and only got to 5 clean sheets in the 22nd game. Already got 5 clean sheets in just 10 games this season. 

I'm not looking too delusional now by saying our issues were more personnel than structural 

That said, not even i anticipated such a drastic change!

[Jase 43,479]

2 minutes ago, Tomo said:

I'm not looking too delusional now by saying our issues were more personnel than structural 

That said, not even i anticipated such a drastic change!

TBF, there was also structural issue. We have looked far more solid in this 4-3-3 and aren't involved in basketball-esque games anymore!

[Fernando 6,585]

7 hours ago, NikkiCFC said:

It's all fun and games until we face decent opposition. 

0:0 against United, Sevilla and Spurs. 

If Chris didn't get red against Liverpool that would probably be the result there as well. Didn't score in 4 biggest games this season. Is that what he wants? 

No good word when winning but as soon as when no win people come out of hidding? 

[DANILA 290]

Ive been calling out FL and somewhat the team for a majority of this season even while winning because I could see through it and realize how poor we are in attack - this game really showed it. The only games against decent clubs we've got four 0-0 results with very few chances. Seems like FL only attacking play is crossing and was absolutely ridiculous to see how many we attempted this game (also, if all we do is cross then why not start Giroud?). Do we not practice attacking through the middle at all? Can't even make a single unpredictable pass... embarressing

[Puliiszola 519]

8 hours ago, NikkiCFC said:

It's all fun and games until we face decent opposition. 

0:0 against United, Sevilla and Spurs. 

If Chris didn't get red against Liverpool that would probably be the result there as well. Didn't score in 4 biggest games this season. Is that what he wants? 

Lol

[Strike 7,474]

10 hours ago, Tomo said:

I criticised him for the Sevilla/United games but bar keeping Tammy on too long what did he do wrong today?

We managed the game well and had some pretty good chances that simply need to be taken in these games.

The lineup was correct. He went with the tested group that has played together and won games. Defensively the team was solid but it didn't help that none of the midfield had good games or that Ziyech was uncharacteristically off his radar.

[Strike 7,474]

2 hours ago, DANILA said:

Ive been calling out FL and somewhat the team for a majority of this season even while winning because I could see through it and realize how poor we are in attack - this game really showed it. The only games against decent clubs we've got four 0-0 results with very few chances. Seems like FL only attacking play is crossing and was absolutely ridiculous to see how many we attempted this game (also, if all we do is cross then why not start Giroud?). Do we not practice attacking through the middle at all? Can't even make a single unpredictable pass... embarressing

eThe team should have been braver in attempting attacks through the middle instead of seeking out the full backs every 20 seconds but the reality is football against the kind of Spurs team Mourinho set up yesterday is difficult. A crowded low-block with some decent players in it.

Giroud should have come on much earlier when the crosses were swinging in but I thought Lampard did little wrong yesterday. Needs to work out how to break down such teams playing Havertz in place of either Mount or Kovacic and using Pulisic on the wing.

[Jase 43,479]

4 hours ago, DANILA said:

Ive been calling out FL and somewhat the team for a majority of this season even while winning because I could see through it and realize how poor we are in attack - this game really showed it. The only games against decent clubs we've got four 0-0 results with very few chances. Seems like FL only attacking play is crossing and was absolutely ridiculous to see how many we attempted this game (also, if all we do is cross then why not start Giroud?). Do we not practice attacking through the middle at all? Can't even make a single unpredictable pass... embarressing

It's hard to play through the middle if the opposing team defend as narrowly as Spurs did yesterday and hell bent on not vacating spaces. If we try to play through the middle, then we need a striker who is strong and capable of holding up the play - Abraham isn't that and Giroud is mixed at best, IMO. Otherwise, we just risk possession cheaply because players would get crowded out and have no space to work with. 

Playing crosses may seem like a bog standard tactic but it isn't. Last season for example, 3 teams produced more crosses than us (862) in the Premier League and 2 of those teams were Man City (914) and Liverpool (896). Liverpool have also played more crosses than us so far this season - 192 to 182. No one has said anything about them being boring or predictable and it's a big reason why Robertson and TAA have been high on the assists list in recent seasons. The one major difference between them and us is that they have clinical finishers while we don't. 

If anything, we need to vary our crosses more. A lot of our crosses have been high into the box, which is understandable given we play Abraham or Giroud upfront but it's predictable. We need to go high, go low, cross it to the near post, cross it the far post, whip into space if possible etc and not just a player's head to head in. There needs to be more variation to keep opposing teams guessing. 

[NikkiCFC 8,286]

6 hours ago, Fernando said:

No good word when winning but as soon as when no win people come out of hidding? 

Stating the fact that we didn't score in 4 biggest games this season is considered hating now? 

Lately we got wins with results I expected before the games so it is normal for me not to get excited. 

In the end I will be disappointed if we don't win title this season. 

[communicate 2,703]

7 hours ago, DANILA said:

Ive been calling out FL and somewhat the team for a majority of this season even while winning because I could see through it and realize how poor we are in attack - this game really showed it. The only games against decent clubs we've got four 0-0 results with very few chances. Seems like FL only attacking play is crossing and was absolutely ridiculous to see how many we attempted this game (also, if all we do is cross then why not start Giroud?). Do we not practice attacking through the middle at all? Can't even make a single unpredictable pass... embarressing

Can I ask how do you want to play through the middle?