I like the look of that and I'd say that I definitely think the best place for Sims is as one of the three in a 4-2-3-1. I've also been calling for Gabbi to play as one of those three too. The only thing I'd say is that I still think Boufal should play as much as possible. I've lost count of the games I've attended this year where my biggest issue is absolutely zero imagination when in possession in the final third. As frustrating as Boufal can be at times (most players in that mould are), I think he's the most likely person in our squad to provide that bit of spark or imagination to open up teams when we're struggling - which is quite often tbh. I agree that Pierre and Lemina should be first choice for the two midfielders and to be blunt (and maybe a tad harsh) I don't wanna see Romeu at all in the starting XI in the run bar against the big teams.
Don't disagree on Boufal; could also start him with Sims as an impact sub. Tadic is fairly far down on my list of attackers at this point; Redmond may not be on my list at all.
Quite honestly, I think we’ve been playing pretty good, if not spectacular football for at least a month now. We really just have the one loss to Liverpool, where I even then I thought we did okay. And after everyone said the team gave up, we scored a 90 min goal today. I’ll go one step further and say that we are only a couple of awful Forster mistakes and a blatant ref screwjob from 10th to 12th place. We are not good, but there are a lot of not good teams this season. Of course it is what it is. We cannot change the past, so here we are in the ****. But what I’m saying is, while I enjoy nerdy tactics discussions as much as the next guy... why not let Pellegrino pick the side and trust in his judgment? Get behind the guy a little bit. He’s earned a little rope. He might not be the manager for us long term, but he certainly seems to be pulling the right strings as of this moment.
He is? We have won some cup matches, but our league form is still seriously underwhelming...we still play scared, and our form is scarcely better in the league than it has been on the season as a whole. 6 points in 5, 8 in 10, 1 league win in 15 matches. We aren't exactly a team that is clicking.
It is indeed. One that could doubtless be either supported or refuted with a shed load of stats. He's consistently one step ahead of the rest of our team though. That is quite evident if you watch him every week. Evident to me, that is. The rest of the world is often out of step with me, for some reason, just as the rest of our squad is frequently out of step with Tadic.
Tadic has positive qualities. Those positive qualities have been evident on a less consistent basis over the past season and three-quarters. Even played in his proper position, I'd consider him to be a long way from an automatic start at this point.
Fat’s Message to some of our Fans Why are you still moaning? We are not in the top 8 and haven’t really been playing very well this season, all this season. We are in a relegation scrap because we haven’t really been very good. This is the same coaching staff and the same players that we’ve had all season, bar one player. There is not really much likelihood we are suddenly going to start playing like Man City. We have 11 games left. You should be expecting similar games for the rest of the season and a strong possibility that we might take a good beating from one of the top sides that we have to play. Brace yourselves. Be prepared. It is going to be a slog. We are going to need some luck. There is going to be some pain. There will be frustrating performances. You’re going to think we’re ****. Save yourselves some misery and angst by not repeating the same moaning and outbursts of expletives. Surely you are intelligent enough to not expect too much different from what we’ve had since. Let’s get behind the team everywhere, all the time, including on here. It’s really not doing you any good to be just whining on here. If you take heed of this and moan less and just sit back, see what happens, you’ll probably feel a little bit better. Maybe only a little. Remember this: a smile takes less effort than a frown. Happiness is better for your health than being miserable. PREPARE FOR THE WORST AND HOPE FOR THE BEST. This has been a public health announcement from the Deptarment of Fats.
Inconsistency I'll grant you. And no one, in an ideal world, should be an automatic start. I'd start him against Stoke though. Probably on the left of a 3 behind Carillo. Gabbi on the right.
I'm fine with that setup (Gabbi on the right is such an obvious move that it'll never happen, though). I'd also be fine with a setup with Sims or Boufal in place of Tadic at this point, though; he isn't a bad player, but he has played himself out of the indelible ink as far as I'm concerned.
I see the team is off to Marbella for warm weather training.....hope there are no taxis or Maccy ds involved.
