Super Frank Thread

[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 7,217]

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 7,217]

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 7,943]

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? 

[Jap Si. 50]

We must be supporting super Franklin through the thin and the thick coming on the blues 

[Jase 43,479]

11 hours ago, Jason said:

 

 

11 hours 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. 

More improved defensive stats!

7 minutes ago, Jason said:

It's obvious that Mendy isn't the only one who has improved our defence but here's our xG conceded WITH and WITHOUT Mendy in the Premier League this season:

WITHOUT MENDY
vs Brighton - 1.05 (conceded 1)
vs Liverpool - 2.12 (conceded 2)
vs West Brom - 0.58 (conceded 3!!!)
vs Southampton - 1.88 (conceded 3)

WITH MENDY
vs Crystal Palace - 0.15 (clean sheet)
vs Man United - 0.66 (clean sheet)
vs Burnley - 0.5 (clean sheet)
vs Sheffield United - 0.43 (conceded 1)
vs Newcastle - 0.35 (clean sheet)
vs Spurs - 0.19 (clean sheet)

 

[killer1257 3,282]

 

Was obvious that Silva and Mendy would improve our defense stats dramatically. They solved our individual mistakes. Guys like AC, Toni and Kepa will always make individual mistakes almost every match

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[Jase 43,479]

3 minutes ago, killer1257 said:

Was obvious that Silva and Mendy would improve our defense stats dramatically. They solved our individual mistakes. Guys like AC, Toni and Kepa will always make individual mistakes almost every match

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Ironically, Rudiger did well in the last 2 games he played in place of Silva, with Mendy in goal rather than Kepa.

[MoroccanBlue 5,296]

Need to remember we are sitting at a good spot come the hectic period. What separates us is the substantial amount of depth we have, and the good form most of our players and bench are in. 

[DANILA 290]

 

5 hours ago, communicate said:

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

One-two, quick passes rather than the slow, predictable build up we have. Look at Spanish/German/Italian teams in UCL and EL. We have great talent - we shouldn't be resorting to crossing 90/100 times to score

[communicate 2,703]

4 minutes ago, DANILA said:

 

One-two, quick passes rather than the slow, predictable build up we have. Look at Spanish/German/Italian teams in UCL and EL. We have great talent - we shouldn't be resorting to crossing 90/100 times to score

One two or quick passes got nothing to do with attacking through middle. If you want to attack through the middle you need to put your attacker in the middle. 

[Jase 43,479]

20 minutes ago, DANILA said:

One-two, quick passes rather than the slow, predictable build up we have. Look at Spanish/German/Italian teams in UCL and EL. We have great talent - we shouldn't be resorting to crossing 90/100 times to score

How do you play through the middle if the opposing teams are just defending narrowly and not giving any space to play through them? It's not rocket science that when that happens, you have to go on the outside to threaten them. Playing through the middle for the sake of it is just silly. 

Also, you must be watching something else if you think the other teams only play one-twos or quick passes. 

[Puliiszola 519]

7 hours ago, NikkiCFC said:

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. 

No, the FACT that you went off the face of the earth when we were winning and then have the gall of critisizing FL and the team for playing out a well played draw against a team that has beaten both United and city while scoring 8 goals and conceding just 1 is the definition of "hating". 

Understand what the manager is trying to do here. He knows it's going to be close, it's as important to not lose as it is to win a 6 pointer against Spurs/United. 

We have a decent squad and if we simply don't lose to any of the big teams and keep winning against the sp called "small teams", it should be more than enough. 

But don't let these "facts" get in the way of whatever agenda you try to live everything upto. Frankly, it's pathetic.

[DANILA 290]

45 minutes ago, Jason said:

How do you play through the middle if the opposing teams are just defending narrowly and not giving any space to play through them? It's not rocket science that when that happens, you have to go on the outside to threaten them. Playing through the middle for the sake of it is just silly. 

Also, you must be watching something else if you think the other teams only play one-twos or quick passes. 

Just an example off the top of my head - watch highlights of Lazio vs Zenit in their most recent match. We are nowhere close to that, and before you say "Zenit is not a strong team.." we couldn't do anything against the likes of Rennes. 

[ZAPHOD2319 4,477]

We had plenty of opportunities to score yesterday without giving up many chances for their counter. As much as I didn't like the result, Lampard had the squad prepared for the game. I am a pretty big fan of Giroud, but I also see the need to keep Tammy getting minutes so he develops. Tammy could become a pretty big player for us for many years.

[Jase 43,479]

36 minutes ago, DANILA said:

Just an example off the top of my head - watch highlights of Lazio vs Zenit in their most recent match. We are nowhere close to that, and before you say "Zenit is not a strong team.." we couldn't do anything against the likes of Rennes. 

Highlights of Lazio v Zenit? Lazio's first 2 goals were long range efforts while their 3rd was a penalty. And worth pointing out that Lazio are the fifth highest crossing team in Serie A this season...

Moreover, you speak as if we only score goals from crosses when we have scored many via various ways. As I mentioned in another post, Liverpool and Man City delivered more crosses than us in the league last season but are they boring? Are they predictable?

Yesterday's problem wasn't even the crossing, it was converting the crosses. Had Abraham converted at least 1 of them, we wouldn't even be sitting here talking about crosses.