Unai Emery

[Drummond]

Last night their team cost double what ours did. And they could bring on hugely expensive substitutes too.

We've lost our three best players and all the attributes they have. Any team suffers as a result, just look at ManCity when they lose Rodri, and they all play in midfield so we cede control of matches as a result. Lose one it's a problem, two and it's a real headache, but all three? I don't think any team gets over that.

Luiz and Barkley are good but they aren't fit enough and aren't as good as Tielemans. Onana is completely different to Kamara (and we know what replacing Kamara with Luiz looks like, don't we?)

Monchi signed Elliot to a stupid deal (and whilst Emery takes some blame, I bet he didn't sanction the stupid appearances thing) Sancho on big money (and whom I think actually is settling in well but can't replace McGinn. Bailey has replaced Guessand, meh.

Buendia and Watkins aren't playing as well as they were either.

People keep saying start with a different set of players, but realistically who? We brought on 5 subs, total cost about £20m last night. That's the problem Emery is working with.

[eamonn]

Fair enough Drummond but our tactics have nothing to do with respective value of squads. We let them have the freedom of our defensive right-hand side for the whole game and they duly took advantage.

Unai's substitutions are like for like rather than any formation/tactical change which suggests he's wedded to his structure regardless of how poor the team is performing.

[Rigadon]

Last night their team cost double what ours did. And they could bring on hugely expensive substitutes too.

We've lost our three best players and all the attributes they have. Any team suffers as a result, just look at ManCity when they lose Rodri, and they all play in midfield so we cede control of matches as a result. Lose one it's a problem, two and it's a real headache, but all three? I don't think any team gets over that.

Luiz and Barkley are good but they aren't fit enough and aren't as good as Tielemans. Onana is completely different to Kamara (and we know what replacing Kamara with Luiz looks like, don't we?)

Monchi signed Elliot to a stupid deal (and whilst Emery takes some blame, I bet he didn't sanction the stupid appearances thing) Sancho on big money (and whom I think actually is settling in well but can't replace McGinn. Bailey has replaced Guessand, meh.

Buendia and Watkins aren't playing as well as they were either.

People keep saying start with a different set of players, but realistically who? We brought on 5 subs, total cost about £20m last night. That's the problem Emery is working with.

Yep. The injuries have totally killed us.

[Monty]

Emery can make mistakes of course, but the brute facts are the brute facts here.

[Rudy Can't Fail]

I wonder if you boil your fish fingers, Drummond every time accepting they taste crap because they're not quality fish?

[PaulWinch again]

Last night their team cost double what ours did. And they could bring on hugely expensive substitutes too.

We've lost our three best players and all the attributes they have. Any team suffers as a result, just look at ManCity when they lose Rodri, and they all play in midfield so we cede control of matches as a result. Lose one it's a problem, two and it's a real headache, but all three? I don't think any team gets over that.

Luiz and Barkley are good but they aren't fit enough and aren't as good as Tielemans. Onana is completely different to Kamara (and we know what replacing Kamara with Luiz looks like, don't we?)

Monchi signed Elliot to a stupid deal (and whilst Emery takes some blame, I bet he didn't sanction the stupid appearances thing) Sancho on big money (and whom I think actually is settling in well but can't replace McGinn. Bailey has replaced Guessand, meh.

Buendia and Watkins aren't playing as well as they were either.

People keep saying start with a different set of players, but realistically who? We brought on 5 subs, total cost about £20m last night. That's the problem Emery is working with.

Yep. The injuries have totally killed us.

Which is all fine, but Burnley and Leeds managed to draw with them recently. There’s no way they have stronger options even accounting for injuries. The injuries have badly hurt us, but they have hurt us more because we have not adapted at all to the fact we don’t have those players. We are playing worse than we should.

[brontebilly]

Where's the quality for him to play off? It's as simple as that for me. Yeah, he's looked flakey the past few weeks and there's always something you're star player could do better, even when they're in form, but Buendia has been a complete waste of space next to him.

We could compensate for a lack of creativity on the left when Tielemans was playing, but what's Rogers meant to do when his side of the pitch has been completely void of anything for almost 2 months and your striker who you feed at least two good chances per game isn't finishing?

As a basic for every player, he could compete without the ball. Track runs, win tackles, encourage those around him. With the ball, take care on it rather than forcing everything. He did none of these last night and was appalling at Wolves too.

Rogers hasn't been performing at 10, chance last night on the left and he was worse again. No point blaming Buendia or Watkins.

[SamTheMouse]

We currently have too many players who need everyone around them to be playing well. Buendia being an example. He's not quite good enough to drag a team to a result. The three injured are all match winners in their different ways. And leaders.

And given the midfield is by far the most important position on the pitch - especially in an Emery side - it's no surprise we're shitting the bed.

[Drummond]

I wonder if you boil your fish fingers, Drummond every time accepting they taste crap because they're not quality fish?

I accept that I'll get less nourishment from a fish finger than a nice fillet or something. I'm far less sated, but I understand why, rather than moaning that my fish finger is shit.

[Drummond]

Fair enough Drummond but our tactics have nothing to do with respective value of squads. We let them have the freedom of our defensive right-hand side for the whole game and they duly took advantage.

Unai's substitutions are like for like rather than any formation/tactical change which suggests he's wedded to his structure regardless of how poor the team is performing.

Yep, we should go 3 at the back.

[Drummond]

Last night their team cost double what ours did. And they could bring on hugely expensive substitutes too.

We've lost our three best players and all the attributes they have. Any team suffers as a result, just look at ManCity when they lose Rodri, and they all play in midfield so we cede control of matches as a result. Lose one it's a problem, two and it's a real headache, but all three? I don't think any team gets over that.

Luiz and Barkley are good but they aren't fit enough and aren't as good as Tielemans. Onana is completely different to Kamara (and we know what replacing Kamara with Luiz looks like, don't we?)

Monchi signed Elliot to a stupid deal (and whilst Emery takes some blame, I bet he didn't sanction the stupid appearances thing) Sancho on big money (and whom I think actually is settling in well but can't replace McGinn. Bailey has replaced Guessand, meh.

Buendia and Watkins aren't playing as well as they were either.

People keep saying start with a different set of players, but realistically who? We brought on 5 subs, total cost about £20m last night. That's the problem Emery is working with.

Yep. The injuries have totally killed us.

Which is all fine, but Burnley and Leeds managed to draw with them recently. There’s no way they have stronger options even accounting for injuries. The injuries have badly hurt us, but they have hurt us more because we have not adapted at all to the fact we don’t have those players. We are playing worse than we should.

Forest drew with ManCity. Wolves beat us and Liverpool and drew with Arsenal. Newcastle beat ManU with 10 men. Weird results happen, odd runs happen. Form goes out the window sometimes.

Sometimes people work you out, sometimes they don't. The better the players at your disposal, the less likely that is to happen.

[brontebilly]

Last night their team cost double what ours did. And they could bring on hugely expensive substitutes too.

We've lost our three best players and all the attributes they have. Any team suffers as a result, just look at ManCity when they lose Rodri, and they all play in midfield so we cede control of matches as a result. Lose one it's a problem, two and it's a real headache, but all three? I don't think any team gets over that.

Luiz and Barkley are good but they aren't fit enough and aren't as good as Tielemans. Onana is completely different to Kamara (and we know what replacing Kamara with Luiz looks like, don't we?)

Monchi signed Elliot to a stupid deal (and whilst Emery takes some blame, I bet he didn't sanction the stupid appearances thing) Sancho on big money (and whom I think actually is settling in well but can't replace McGinn. Bailey has replaced Guessand, meh.

Buendia and Watkins aren't playing as well as they were either.

People keep saying start with a different set of players, but realistically who? We brought on 5 subs, total cost about £20m last night. That's the problem Emery is working with.

We have 9 games left in the PL and you think Sancho is settling in well? C'mon man, even Bailey was picked ahead of him last night. Sancho has been an absolute disaster.

I get the general point that we have been scraping around the bargain basement hoping to get the careers of Luiz and Bailey back on track. But spending big money as seen with Onana doesn't always work either.

Most want a change of shape in the team.

[Rudy Can't Fail]

I wonder if you boil your fish fingers, Drummond every time accepting they taste crap because they're not quality fish?

I accept that I'll get less nourishment from a fish finger than a nice fillet or something. I'm far less sated, but I understand why, rather than moaning that my fish finger is shit.

The point is, stop bloody boiling it. We beat super rich, 60 man squad just after Christmas with a diet of golden, crispy fish fingers cooked to perfection by Unai. Why has he suddenly decided to repeatedly boil them?

For the record, a good finger finger sarnie with ketchup is the food of champions (league).

[aj2k77]

Sancho might just be fully settled in by the time we play Man City. I'm looking forwards to him contributing that day.

[Rudy Can't Fail]

Sometimes people work you out, sometimes they don't. The better the players at your disposal, the less likely that is to happen.

That may be true in part but like so many times in our past, I fail to believe we're as crap as we pretend to be.