Okay, I'm gonna criticise Rafa

Agree.

Too many of our players aren't comfortable on the ball and are painfully one footed, e.g. Dummett, Colback which aggravates the problem as players who aren't comfortable on the ball take too long to control it and move it on.

Essentially the passing of the ball and speed of play needs to be faster. It has more to do with that than formations.

 

I have to say not particularly you no. At least you give some reasoning.

Everyone is entitled to an opinion as always, but I have very little time when that opinion is simply that we should all be happy clapping, ignoring the poor performances and stop whinging. Rafa is god, look at his track record, he knows more than you, you have no right to criticise him. Its not just on here, I've got mates who say the same. When did he become some sort of managerial god? He's just another manager. I could understand the hero worship to a certain extent of Keegan and Robson. The local connection etc. I'm not into it myself but was certainly swept along with it and the entertaining football.

I just have not seen it myself with Rafa. He is doing a decent job, but hand on heart I can count on one hand the number of times I've been truly entertained watching us. That's ok because I get the goal is to get promoted.

I think people get carried away with formations. I do think a change will help, but I don't think its the anecdote to our problems. I have consistently said there needs to be a change in approach. We need to start more aggressively, energy and higher tempo. I think we agree in this respect. I think I have commented a few times that Rafa just doesn't get it. He doesn't get what makes St James tick. Mainly because it goes against his footballing principles. The 15mins of energy Shearer etc talked about is not some myth. Its a fact that the ground is an emotional cauldron. If you don't stoke it, it can work against you.

Make no mistake it comes from him first and foremost. The slow ponderous play is down to him not just the players. Its not simply down to having average players as some like to say. He is sending them out in that mindset. There are plenty of average players who are playing at a high tempo in this league! He is also influencing it with his team selection and set up. If you continually pick Shelvey and Hayden or Shelvey and Colback, you are immediately influencing it to play slow ponderous football sitting off your opponent. That isn't even trying to be clever with formations or personnel, its just the basics of football and understanding your players. The simple act of dropping Diame into one of those two roles and picking Perez instantly changes the dynamic of the team and energy levels without even touching his beloved formation.

I think the problem though lies not in doing what any of us think is the solution. Its that 19 games in we are still doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result. Its bizarre as much as it is frustrating to be honest.

 

Agree with most, but I am a believer that the formation does have something to do with it. One of our better performances of the last few months came from a change that has inexplicably never happened since. We played Shelvey "behind" Diame and Hayden. Both were encouraged to play forward, whilst Shelvey was able to drop deep to get the ball (behind Diame/Hayden) but had license to advance beyond them too. By not restricting Hayden to a kind o "bodyguard" role for Shelvey and accepting opposition at this level rarely have anyone playing 'between the lines' we were able to exploit the space. The two wingers were then able to push further up so it kind of then becomes a 4-3-3 as much as anything.

By formation I don't just mean what's written on paper, I'm talking about the instructions for players. 4-3-3 easily becomes 4-5-1 which then becomes 4-2-3-1 hey presto! It's about instructing players to press further up, with more energy, to attack with a bit more freedom.

However, the one thing that's going to be an eternal frustration is Rafa's philosophy of attempting to keep it tight and conserve energy for the first 20 minutes. I don't know what his thing is - seems to me he just wants the first half over with as soon as possible. Maybe statistically a huge %age of games are "won" in the second half. But as Hank rightly says it's just wrong; this is an AWAY tactic (stifle atmosphere/opposition) that he's attempting at home. It kills the mood, it kills the tempo and when anyone turns up with the proverbial fire in the belly, it kills our result. Fulham are a good side, I said they'd beat us, but I was expecting a bit of a nervy ding-dong, not a one sided hammering.

The thing is with the promotion nerves a-janglin' we don't seem to have the players to see out the first 20! Dummett, Colback, Lascelles all liabilities. We've conceded within the first twenty minutes in both our last home matches - the next side @ SJP will do the exact same thing, come roaring out the traps and try to score to unsettle the crowd/team. I'd be the house on conceding at home, again, within 20 minutes of kick off. Why? Because Benitez will play the same shape, the same way. It's mind-boggling that a man of his apparent capability can be so blinkered but as I said, just look at Arsenal - Wenger simply won't change in the face of overwhelming evidence that his current approach doesn't work. Rafa will almost certainly take the team up, but there's more than just transfer work to be done in the Summer.

 

Wenger is a good example of why it is never a good idea to look at history alone as your guide as to whether you have the right man. I think Rafa could be the right man, we are only a year in. He will still be learning about the club that is what we have to remember. Perhaps a bit of guidance from someone he trusts who knows the club could do the trick. I don't think it should be necessary but sometimes managers can get very much locked into a singular way of thinking. Whether he'd be open to either changing his approach or listening to someone like that is the big question. I'd prefer this obvious issue was sorted before we went up, if we do.

 

Yes, relatively speaking it's early days for Rafa, but some of the consistencies are cause for alarm. How Colback, Lascelles and Dummett simply keep playing is beyond me. Ryan Sessegnon is 16 years old. How have we not got anyone worth a shot beyond these three?

 

well at least Rafa has basically admitted he got the tactics wrong on Saturday.

Once again his dropping of Murphy was bizarre - dropped after being in form last time, and despite being in great form once again gets dropped for a half fit Gayle. Also he should know by now not to drop Gouffran - the stats prove we win when he's in the team and lose when he isn't.

It was a case of poor tactics and a tonne of players generally having an off day - Darlow should have saved that long range shot for the first goal, and the second was horrible defensively. Something has gotta be done about Colback, if Hayden is not back for the next game, we should think about Anita being DM.

 

Mate, we don't need a bloody DM!!! That's the misconception that has dogged our home form especially. I concede it's this that has, arguably, given us the best away record. Having a DM is not a hugely common concept at this 4-4-2 level; playing two has just killed a lot of teams at their place. But for home matches we should be, should always have, ditched the concept of even playing one DM, let alone two!!!

 

I think if you look at us against Brighton towards the end, that is the way we should approach home games. Its probably just too loose for Rafa's liking. I'd play Shelvey and Diame behind Perez. To be honest at the moment, I'd play Murphy in front of that. He is doing a good job. Mitro is out of favour and has personal issues by all accounts, Gayle is not fit. Murphy is fit and in form? Seems a no brainer.

When Diame plays deeper he seems to be at home and find energy he doesn't have as a number 10. Shelvey always sits. Its the way he plays. I can see how moulding a central midfield with him in is tricky. He is a ball player who likes to play deep. Emre used to cause us a similar problem.

 

If we go with the Chronicle's - 5 Things we learnt...

1. Murphy should start every game for the remainder of the season- only forward we have right now who seems to have a clue
2. Lascelles needs dropping temporarily for his and team's good - he normally bounces back so a game or two out of the firing line should help him
3. We need to up the work rate/tempo in homes games considerably - I cannot believe for one second that Benitez sent them out with the instruction to run around like lazy bastards and not even get within 3-4 yards of a opposition player. Diame never even broke into a trot in the time he was on the pitch
4. Diame cannot play the No 10 role - never looked good there. Only time he's looked decent is in a deeper lying position.
5. We are too damn slow at moving the ball - every time we won position we allowed them time to reorganise. Hopefully if Colback is dropped this will improve.

Ultimately I think we can put this down to a bad day at the office - too many players looked knackered (Shelvey second half especially) which might be down to the efforts put in during the previous three games. Hopefully this can act as a wake up call for the remaining games.

 

It undoubtedly was the worst home performance. I'd be reluctant to call it a bad day at the office though. If so we are having a lot of bad days at the office, and the office manager needs to do something about it. Clark seems to escape a lot of the flak that Lascelles gets, but I haven't been impressed with either of late.

If it was one game where we played at this tempo, I'd say it was down to the players. However its every game at home. Surely if it was players it would have been addressed by now. It must be down to Rafa, however foolhardy that would appear.

 

I'd add here that if it were the players, how do we peg it back to 2-2 vs Bristol, score 3 in the final 10 against Norwich? The ability is clearly there to chase, aggresssively, and take the game to the opposition at this level, hammer them into submission. For whatever seemingly inexplicable reason this team just will not do it from the start. And I don't see Benitez screaming from the touchline either. You have to take an educated guess that the boss wants a ponderous approach, I just cannot fathom why.

I get it's not Champ Manager, ok? But you can literally pigeon hole every player we have based on their strengths and what we simply do not have is a Number 10. We seem to be playing 2005 Premier League tactics, shoving players into whichever hole is a near approximation then hoping for the best.

I like Shelvey. He's very capable and a unique player. I would be happy to build something of an identity around his position, which is - and I'm sorry to borrow such a cheesy term - that of a quarterback. He comes quite deep, likes to pass it long, occasionally forays forward. It's a cheesy term, but it's very fitting. How do you get the best of that? Well, you need runners up the field and more often someone to aim at. So we need two players off the front man either side, both Ritchie and Atsu can do that - when we attack teams, these two are great to have. They can also counter, and work hard. We need protection and options in midfield that are better than Jack "when you get it, pass to Jonjo" Colback. Playing both Diame and Hayden almost ahead of/alongside Shelvey would work very well. Both like to get forward, they are both strong and capable with the ball at their feet. Then get someone with a better engine up from left back and we essentially have eight attacking players without sacrificing shape or defensive capability by playing a hybrid 4-1-4-1/4-1-2-3 formation. If we're struggling, just go 4-4-2, 4-3-3 or 3-4-3!!!


EDIT: Just realised, Chelsea got absolutely hammered by Arsenal. Had a ropey start to the season all in all, playing 4-2-3-1. Conte decided tactics and formation actually DID matter and changed to 3-4-3. Subsequently the league has been a cake walk. I think anyone who feels a formation isn't really important just has to look around a little more.

 

3-4-1-2 or 3-4-3 all day at home

 

You don't need a defensive midfielder at home. Rafa needs to realize that we are playing in the Championship, not the Champions League. We should be starting with Diame in CM and Gayle alongside either Mitrovic/ Murphy or Perez. It's not rocket science. He has admitted that he got his tactics wrong, but not for the first time. He will simply rotate someone else into his system and hope that it works at home. Rafa - We love you, but you need to just stop with the negative mindset at home. We should be attacking sides from kick off at home and instilling the fear of god into them.

 

Agree we need to attack at home but tell me a team that doesn't play with a DM at home...

 

KR Reykjavik in the Icelandic Premier League.

 

Yes but we have a defensive midfielder and Shelvey. Shelvey is a deep lying playmaker, quarterback, call him whatever the **** you want. He doesn't have the ability to play any other role. He is exactly that. He is very useful as an away side. At home you have to bite the bullet. You can drop Shelvey or put someone not so defensive as Jack alongside him. What you can't do is play both. Its stupid.

 

Diame CM. He's supposed to be a box to box midfielder that can do both jobs. Having a purely DM stifles attacking potential. Then again, Diame does that by himself anyways. Stick Mbemba there. Defensively sound, brings the ball forward and can tackle.

 

I'd forget all about Mbemba there. We move no further forward. In this league against this opposition I'd just risk Diame. Its the only place he has looked of any use anyway.

 

To be fair, he has looked better when dropping deeper. He's definitely not a number 10. Neither is Perez mind. Two strikers - Gayle and Murphy/ Mitrovic. The target man to win balls, receive, lay off, take people out of the game. Gayle to run on to their passes using his pace. The target man effectively takes two out of the game freeing up space. The defences we play against are compact and only have to worry about Gayle, thereby stifling his effectiveness at home. Give them something else to worry about and we score goals. Norwich and Bristol City both prove that.

 

I don't think you will get Rafa deviating away from the 1 up top. I'd go Perez and instruct him to basically expend all of his energy putting pressure on their defenders and holding midfielder. Bellamy used to do this so effectively. He wasn't a true number 10. Beardsley did it but was a true 10, however we don't have anyone in that mould.