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Author Topic: Anyone starting to get worried?  (Read 219913 times)

Online Dogtanian

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Re: Anyone starting to get worried?
« Reply #75 on: September 01, 2019, 05:10:14 PM »
The slight worry I have is Smith rigidly sticking to the existing formation waiting for it to come right. We have to move away from the "2 number eights" and have two sitting in midfield.

Let’s not chuck everything out just yet.  It’s been four games, nowhere near long enough to suggest we are sticking rigidly to anything.  Smith is an intelligent man and he will be looking a what needs to improve and figuring out how to do that.

Offline cdbearsfan

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Re: Anyone starting to get worried?
« Reply #76 on: September 01, 2019, 05:16:37 PM »
I'd like us to stop, or at least limit, the number of short goal kicks. They were shite under Lambert and they're shite now. All they do is mean we are unable to maintain a high defensive line and we invite pressure.

Offline Risso

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Re: Anyone starting to get worried?
« Reply #77 on: September 01, 2019, 05:19:45 PM »
The slight worry I have is Smith rigidly sticking to the existing formation waiting for it to come right. We have to move away from the "2 number eights" and have two sitting in midfield.

Let’s not chuck everything out just yet.  It’s been four games, nowhere near long enough to suggest we are sticking rigidly to anything.  Smith is an intelligent man and he will be looking a what needs to improve and figuring out how to do that.

The trouble is I don't think he's making good subs so far.  At Spurs the midfield desperately needed shoring up, but he chose to sub a winger for a winger and brought Jota on.  Bournemouth made a sub at half time for their player who was a walking red card.  With four yellow cards at half time, and a ref clearly looking to send one of ours off, Smith should have done the same.  Things like that.

Offline PeterWithesShin

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Re: Anyone starting to get worried?
« Reply #78 on: September 01, 2019, 05:22:37 PM »
The next 5 league games will show us how much we need to worry imo. West Ham, Burnley and Brighton at home, Arsenal and Norwich away.

Offline West Derby Villan

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Re: Anyone starting to get worried?
« Reply #79 on: September 01, 2019, 05:24:59 PM »
The slight worry I have is Smith rigidly sticking to the existing formation waiting for it to come right. We have to move away from the "2 number eights" and have two sitting in midfield.

Let’s not chuck everything out just yet.  It’s been four games, nowhere near long enough to suggest we are sticking rigidly to anything.  Smith is an intelligent man and he will be looking a what needs to improve and figuring out how to do that.

The trouble is I don't think he's making good subs so far.  At Spurs the midfield desperately needed shoring up, but he chose to sub a winger for a winger and brought Jota on.  Bournemouth made a sub at half time for their player who was a walking red card.  With four yellow cards at half time, and a ref clearly looking to send one of ours off, Smith should have done the same.  Things like that.

Surely the players have to take some responsibility for cautions, Trez was very naive and rightfully got a second yellow, I don't think that you can blame Smith for bookings

Offline Tom_Mc9?

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Re: Anyone starting to get worried?
« Reply #80 on: September 01, 2019, 05:25:54 PM »
The next 5 league games will show us how much we need to worry imo. West Ham, Burnley and Brighton at home, Arsenal and Norwich away.

Seven points, which will leave us with 10 from a possible 21. I'd put that as somewhere between okay and not okay.

Online PaulWinch again

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Re: Anyone starting to get worried?
« Reply #81 on: September 01, 2019, 05:48:58 PM »
No worried per se, but we need to get the system right. We’re not on the front door enough in some games.

Online pauliewalnuts

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Re: Anyone starting to get worried?
« Reply #82 on: September 01, 2019, 05:52:10 PM »
I think not bringing one in was the one misstep the management team made in the summer, but it was a big one.

Yes, agree with that.

Online Dogtanian

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Re: Anyone starting to get worried?
« Reply #83 on: September 01, 2019, 05:55:06 PM »
Yes. We’re not going to score enough goals, and we’re way too lightweight in midfield.

100% correct. We'll be yo-yoing near the bottom of the table most like until we buy something that should have been a top priority this summer, another striker.

Going into your first PL campaign after being absent for three seasons with very limited forward options is negligence.

Negligence is a bit strong.  Smith and the club said they wanted to bring a striker in and had targets, but the combination of the right player with the right attitude at the right price and the right financial package did not materialise.

Not getting another striker was not ideal, but neither would have been spending stupid money just to get someone through the door or panic buying a ill-suited player just to say they’ve signed someone.

Online Dogtanian

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Re: Anyone starting to get worried?
« Reply #84 on: September 01, 2019, 05:58:31 PM »
The slight worry I have is Smith rigidly sticking to the existing formation waiting for it to come right. We have to move away from the "2 number eights" and have two sitting in midfield.

Let’s not chuck everything out just yet.  It’s been four games, nowhere near long enough to suggest we are sticking rigidly to anything.  Smith is an intelligent man and he will be looking a what needs to improve and figuring out how to do that.

The trouble is I don't think he's making good subs so far.  At Spurs the midfield desperately needed shoring up, but he chose to sub a winger for a winger and brought Jota on.  Bournemouth made a sub at half time for their player who was a walking red card.  With four yellow cards at half time, and a ref clearly looking to send one of ours off, Smith should have done the same.  Things like that.

Surely the players have to take some responsibility for cautions, Trez was very naive and rightfully got a second yellow, I don't think that you can blame Smith for bookings

Subs I agree could be improved, and we have to have confidence it will as Smith gains more experience in the Prem.

I agree that it was clear that we were going to have someone sent off after the first half, we were talking about it in the stands at half-time, the players should really have made a concerted attempt to make sure they didn’t give that idiot easy decisions to show cards.

Offline Villa75

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Re: Anyone starting to get worried?
« Reply #85 on: September 01, 2019, 06:08:04 PM »
The next 5 league games will show us how much we need to worry imo. West Ham, Burnley and Brighton at home, Arsenal and Norwich away.

Seven points, which will leave us with 10 from a possible 21. I'd put that as somewhere between okay and not okay.


Considering the teams we would have played, that will be relegation form.

Offline Ads

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Re: Anyone starting to get worried?
« Reply #86 on: September 01, 2019, 06:32:49 PM »
Two champions league competing sides, a top 6 contender, 4 mid table sides and 2 relegation rivals;that's surely as even a spread as possible.10 points would leave us with with 1.11 a game and 42 overall.

That said, Burnley and Brighton have to be games we win and Norwich away one we dont lose. I'd fancy us against Weat Ham.

More generally, I have my concerns. Yesterday was poor, despite that we ought to have had a point and 4 would have been what I expected.

I dont think we're being out muscled or out run, I think we're the architects of our own downfall. We give it up too cheaply and display a lot of naivety.

That includes a midfield that isn't functioning correctly. We are bedding players in though  but we're too deep. We creates nothing for Wesley or Davis in the box yesterday till late on. Grealish is too deep and the 433 is too easily nullified.

Away from home I'd have two sat to give Grealish licence to be 20 yards further forward, with McGinn tucked in and one wide man in support of Wesley. We need a better shape.

At home we've created more and 433 is less problematic.

Offline in exile

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Re: Anyone starting to get worried?
« Reply #87 on: September 01, 2019, 06:48:10 PM »
I am...a little.
I have been underwhelmed by the form of Grealish, McGinn, Jota, Trez, Louiz and after yesterday Guilbert.
Part of me wants a shake up in midfield but part of me wants to stick with it to see if we can turn it around.
We ought to be beating the likes of Bournemouth and Palace

Offline andyh

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Re: Anyone starting to get worried?
« Reply #88 on: September 01, 2019, 07:20:13 PM »
we have no automatic right to beat just beat the ‘likes’ of anyone.
We are the new boys to this division, making a huge step up in class.

We have got to learn from these games, and learn quickly enough so that we don’t find ourselves playing catch before too long.

Offline gpbarr

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Re: Anyone starting to get worried?
« Reply #89 on: September 01, 2019, 07:29:20 PM »
After 4 games last season, the bottom three was West Ham, Burnley, and Newcastle. And they all had less than three points. None of them were relegated.

Let's see where we are after 10 games.

 


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