It’s hard to ignore the stats Ritchie is putting out right now. He’s also the leader Lascelles isn’t.
Hi and welcome. Short term and long term issues. Ritchie's legs have gone at least at this level. Lewis needs to be coached and played to determine if he is the answer. For me we should be playing Lewis and see if he has what it takes.
I think he'll still pick a **** team. I haven't seen anything during the Bruce era to suggest Jones' skill lies in a team selection or tactical awareness. Certainly if you look through his CV, it's littered with bizarre Champ Manager formation attempts bearing little relation to the players he has or the opposition he faces. Whilst I have had moments of optimism over the past couple of days, particularly with the favoured (on here at least) 4-3-3 formation, that won't be reality. Reality will almost certainly be, once again, 5-4-1 in spite of the glaring problem of lining up with 2 CM's instead of 3, in spite of the glaring issue of playing 3 rigid CB's means we sit ever-deeper and surrender far too much possession, in spite of the likes of Ritchie, Clark, Lascelles, Hayden, etc., not being up to the basic job. Romantically a victory would be great, but we've basically got John Carver in charge and we all remember how that went. Still, I'm more interested in how this match plays out than any of the past decade more or less. Be good to see what an actual week of coaching does. Hopefully the team selection gives cause for optimism, but until we change the manager, Lascelles, Hayden and Ritchie will be picked. It's kind of why we desperately need an objective view, a coach picking on ability rather than shouty-ness. Honestly, I just hope we put up a fight and don't get obliterated.
It's easy to dissect them, though - takes almost every freekick and corner and puts in more crosses. He may put the ball in, but how much of it is quality, how many assists for a goal? I'll answer that for you - 1. He's joint 41st, in spite of taking free kicks and corners and hoying multiple balls into the box. To put this into further context, Pogba is top with 7, and we all know how Man U fans feel about his contribution. ASM has 3. Ritchie is also a defensive disaster. He's one of the first I'd want gone in the new era, along with Gayle and Shelvey. They don't belong in the PL.
6Darlow 19Manquillo 17Krafth 6Lascelles 2Clark 11Ritchie 10Saint-Maximin 14Hayden 36S Longstaff 21Fraser 9Wilson Substitutes 1Dúbravka 5Schär 7Joelinton 8Shelvey 12Lewis 23Murphy 24Almirón 28Willock 34Gayle
That line up is ****. The formation is ****. It’s gonna be a mauling. It’s like he wants us to just go out and lose. What the **** is that midfield doing! Is he shagging Fraser?
It would appear that it doesn’t matter how bad you play individually you still get to play under Jones.
Either that or he is doing it deliberately to prove how bad they are. God that lineup is shocking. How on Earth is Schar not getting in the pitch. He must have totally losses off Bruce and Jones.
Jones can **** off too if this is bad. Martinez and this guy?.no thanks. I like Jones he talks well seems a top bloke, but he's clearly off his trolley
