Pre-season Friendlies Match Thread

[JJ-AV]

Pre-season, not our full team, great opposition, whatever. That was stereotypically poor. Many of us who complain about the way we're covered in the press will find it hard to complain about anything they say about us with that sort of stylistic and technical inadequacy on display. The whole thing's just so joyless.

Bingo. That's the word, joyless.

Forget some of the fanciful names being discussed in the transfer thread, and forget the talk of new tactics or a different way of playing, anyone who doesn't think we're going to sign - at best - a few more players of the quality we already have, and spend the season playing the same austere, limited, football with zero movement or possession, is living in cloud cuckoo land.

exactly

I'd agree with this too.

[hawkeye]

Pre-season, not our full team, great opposition, whatever. That was stereotypically poor. Many of us who complain about the way we're covered in the press will find it hard to complain about anything they say about us with that sort of stylistic and technical inadequacy on display. The whole thing's just so joyless.

Bingo. That's the word, joyless.

Forget some of the fanciful names being discussed in the transfer thread, and forget the talk of new tactics or a different way of playing, anyone who doesn't think we're going to sign - at best - a few more players of the quality we already have, and spend the season playing the same austere, limited, football with zero movement or possession, is living in cloud cuckoo land.

exactly

I'd agree with this too.

and then we get the starting line ups posts that looks like rearranging the deck chairs on the titanic

[SoccerHQ]

I take it you're presuming Milner's gone?

I'd have -

Friedel
Luke - Cuellar - Dunne - Warnock
Albrighton - Petrov - Milner - Downing
Young
Gabby

Cuellar in for Luke and Carew in for Milner if they're not here.

That would be my team aswell.

Time for Albrighton to sink or swim at prem level, he's played well yet again in pre season so deserves to start the first game.

Downing in his natural position on the left aswell with Young in a free role, like that. If Young is struggling to get into the game, move him back into the left and play Downing as one of the central midfield three and see how he does as he played there plenty for Boro.

[hawkeye]

I take it you're presuming Milner's gone?

I'd have -

Friedel
Luke - Cuellar - Dunne - Warnock
Albrighton - Petrov - Milner - Downing
Young
Gabby

Cuellar in for Luke and Carew in for Milner if they're not here.

and it will make sod all difference

That would be my team aswell.

Time for Albrighton to sink or swim at prem level, he's played well yet again in pre season so deserves to start the first game.

Downing in his natural position on the left aswell with Young in a free role, like that. If Young is struggling to get into the game, move him back into the left and play Downing as one of the central midfield three and see how he does as he played there plenty for Boro.

[Rudy Can't Fail]

David Luiz was brilliant tonight.

He is. I think he's only 22 as well. He's already been called up for the Brazilian squad and you can just see him having a great career wherever he ends up.

Brazil just keep pumping them out don't they. He works hard and has a sublime touch and passing range. Very impressed.

The other player I thought was outstanding tonight was Coentrão. The kid gets better every time I see him play.

[SoccerHQ]

Maybe but let's try something different to the inflexible 4-4-2 pass to wings, wings, wings etc otherwise I'm going to be very sick of the manager in eight months time.

[hawkeye]

Maybe but let's try something different to the inflexible 4-4-2 pass to wings, wings, wings etc otherwise I'm going to be very sick of the manager in eight months time.

its deeper than that, its about attitude, tactics, skill, movement and coaching

[TheSandman]

Yep.

That's it. I've lost all hope. I'm off for a walk towards the coast. Depending on how the fancy takes me I'll either go off a cliff or do a Reggie.

[SoccerHQ]

Well if we don't see an improvement in those aspects he certainly won't be manager his time next year I'd say.

[hawkeye]

Well if we don't see an improvement in those aspects he certainly won't be manager his time next year I'd say.

i hoped that we would have got Hodgeson or somebody that has a blueprint of how to play in the modern era and believes in working with players on the training ground

[pauliewalnuts]

Maybe but let's try something different to the inflexible 4-4-2 pass to wings, wings, wings etc otherwise I'm going to be very sick of the manager in eight months time.

its deeper than that, its about attitude, tactics, skill, movement and coaching

The reliance on balls in from the wing is one thing, but that can be changed relatively simply. A run of injuries, for example, could force a rethink there.

What worries me more is that we're so deeply unconvincing in possession of the ball, we show absolutely no movement off the ball, we don't seem to appreciate the existence of the concept of creating space, let alone practice it, and we manage to do the basics so badly, in the hope that our one real physical asset - pace - will get us off the hook. We're a top six side with a pass completion and shots on goal rate aroudn the same as Bolton and Stoke City, and those stats are that poor for a reason.

With weaknesses like that, the problem is either that the players aren't good enough to play a more composed game, or that the manger and coaching staff either don't think they need to coach these things into the players, or just can't do it.

Either way, it isn't really good enough.

[Rudy Can't Fail]

Well Curtis Davies has just been presented with a big triangle, so it wasn't completely fruitless.

It's the bridge in Vila Real St. Antonio.

...which is called the Guadiana International Bridge as it crosses from Portugal to Spain, hence the name of the tournament.

Ah, you mean the Ponte Internacional do Guadiana? (winky)
The Guadiana is the name of the river.

[hawkeye]

Maybe but let's try something different to the inflexible 4-4-2 pass to wings, wings, wings etc otherwise I'm going to be very sick of the manager in eight months time.

its deeper than that, its about attitude, tactics, skill, movement and coaching

The reliance on balls in from the wing is one thing, but that can be changed relatively simply. A run of injuries, for example, could force a rethink there.

What worries me more is that we're so deeply unconvincing in possession of the ball, we show absolutely no movement off the ball, we don't seem to appreciate the existence of the concept of creating space, let alone practice it, and we manage to do the basics so badly, in the hope that our one real physical asset - pace - will get us off the hook. We're a top six side with a pass completion and shots on goal rate aroudn the same as Bolton and Stoke City, and those stats are that poor for a reason.

With weaknesses like that, the problem is either that the players aren't good enough to play a more composed game, or that the manger and coaching staff either don't think they need to coach these things into the players, or just can't do it.

Either way, it isn't really good enough.

i agree, we have all sorts of discussions about team selection and formation but if the basics as you mention are not fundemental to how the team plays it dosent matter what line up or formation we use, we still end up with this "joyless" and limiting football

[Monty]

This is the time to change it. I'd like to think he wanted Ireland before all the talk of Milner leaving, I'd really like to. However, this really is it, after this summer there is no excuse for 4-4-2, wing- and crossing-based football from the '70s. If he doesn't change it, frustrations will be justified.

[Ads]

There is an amusing level of weeping going on over the pre-season. It serves us all right for being on the internets though so often and being so engrossed in it.