As exciting as the high press is, the first goal yesterday highlighted exactly what can happen when a quick passing team, with quick players, manage to elude it. A few passes and Saka was running free on goal with space and time to pick out the perfect pass for the goal. Not saying that we should stop the press but maybe we should move the press back to the half way line, that way if the initial press is beaten we should still be relatively compact at the back and not have defenders running back, facing their own goal, not knowing where the opposition strikers are, like yesterday and Lacazette. The second goal was just poor defence. Tierney was completely unmarked for the initial cross, and I think it was Redmond who should have been in a deeper position to get to him, seeing as he should have tracked his run. The third goal? We are crap at defending set pieces and the only reason we haven’t conceded more goals from them, this season, is down to luck and poor finishing.
I don’t really care about the RH in/out discussion because the options & change will probably terminate us now regardless. What frustrates me is RH’s stubbornness. It’s really is becoming clear teams have worked us out & we just do not have the personnel to apply his tactics for a sustained period. Injuries might hamper but that’s where he’s got to adapt & change our formation, tactics, whatever. Norwich improving, NU will improve, Burnley are just Burnley & will probably do enough. There’s no doubt we are in the R mix. You can talk all you want about hands tied financially, injuries, players not good enough but RH has to get the best out of what’s available. The present eat, sleep, repeat is just nuts. Nice to watch? Just me but I don’t care. It’s a results based business & we’re on the fringe. RH could, staying with his usual plan pull the rabbit out over the next couple games but I just don’t see it. More likely is we play really well & end up with just a couple points (maybe). Funnily I’m slightly more RH in now only because it’s his team & it’s his job to prove.
I am consistently baffled by the assertion that so many people seem to have that Burnley are just going to do a Burnley and avoid relegation no matter what because … reasons? There is another team that neutral fans might look at and think “oh they will be ok because they always are”. People on here should know that team. Because they are posting on a message board about them It’s just this outsider perspective we have on other teams. I wonder if on the Burnley message board they similar things about us as we do about them? As in dismiss any chance they might get relegated? I’m not pretending we are not in the mix. Especially with the wave of injuries. But some people are very blasé about how certain some teams are to escape but don’t apply that same (lack of) scrutiny to their own team. Only natural of course for us to be more in our own heads Incidentally oddschecker has Norwich, Watford, Newcastle , Burnley and Leeds all more likely to be relegated than us. And Brentford just a wafer thin amount above us despite being four points ahead and them having recently won and us having recently lost. With our odds drifting of all things to be closer to Brentford… Fivethirtyeight has Leeds with lower odds that us (14 vs 17% chance). That said 17-20% I think was what they gave of a 2016 Trump win! Brentford are on 8%. So they are far more reactive to recent results it seems but I don’t know how their modelling works (almost certainly statistical). In that Burnley and Watford have more than twice the chance than us at 40% + On Saintsweb someone is doing a track and has us (I think) approx 7 points up on comparative fixtures last year. And we survived by 15 points last year. I know it is not as simple as that but it is still something to note I’m not saying I’m not worried and the next two games will be very important and we seem to have lost all our strikers when we are already struggling for goals.
I'm with you on this but listening to Ralph in the post match press conference, it is clear that they knew Willy had his limitations. That he was probably told to stay on his line (other than the sweeper role) and the team told to press high to protect the keeper. The more experienced CBs were picked for that reason. Against Palace And Brentford, it may work but against team like Liverpool and Arsenal we just invite them to run rings around us. And they did. I don't think I can really criticise Ralph for that. He saw a weakness and tried a strategy to deal with it. People criticise him for being stubborn and inflexible but this was an example of him actually being flexible, but it backfired. Let's hope Fraser is fit for the next two games. He's close I think.
I've been doing the same but it depends which teams you substitute the relegated sides with. I have us 6 points ahead, but only 3 if we lose the next two games. What am I talking about??? Two wins and we'll be 9 points ahead!!
The trouble is that it is not an exact science as 11 of our 16 corresponding fixtures are from when our form dipped off of the chart in the new year last season and we will have to show the form of the first half of last season to stay ahead. (i'm not saying we can't but it will be tough). Those corresponding fixtures last season read Pl 11 W 1 D 1 L 9 Pts 4 (out of a possible 33) pretty dire and the fact that we are 7 points ahead still means only 11 from 33. Projected to 38 points for the season.
2021 has been dire, roll on 2022. A round of applause to the fans that have spent good money and precious time watching these games. I am not the most regular at going to games but have spent hundreds of pounds in travel and tickets this year and not only have I not seen a win I have not even had a goal to cheer. On top of that standing 45mins after the game outside queuing for the tube in the pouring rain rounded off a miserable afternoon. Hoping my luck will change at Brentford next week. I have got to the point that If we can't compete in this league then I am not overly concerned about relegation and whilst no guarantees, start enjoying watching matches again. Edit, I would prefer an owner who cares and invests in the club.
The high press is great, if done properly. The first goal was a perfect example of how NOT to do it. The players did not press together, they waited until they saw other people pressing then joined in. It looked like they were taking turns, too damn slow.
But so many times though, we get the press right. Sky showed a stat about a week ago, of how many times a team had won the ball in the opponent's final third, and two of the top three occasions were us. So I'm relatively relaxed about it going wrong every now and then. My bigger issue is that getting it right is essentially pointless for us, because so rarely does it lead to a goal. The table isn't determined by how many times you steal the ball from your opponents. Therefore, if the reward is so pitiful, why take the risk?
That press before Arsenal broke away to score was very close to working perfectly. I am expecting various comments confirming what we know very well, that it didn’t work, but that isn’t the point. What would people rather see, a high risk game that works some of the time, or a conservative, low risk strategy that concedes less but is boring as ****?
And this is the bottom line for me. Ralph gets average players playing in a style that is pleasing on the eye but we tend not to get the results. A different manager might get better results by playing a much more conservative and boring style, depends what your preference is I suppose
The press wasn't the problem, no press is unbreakable and the passes that got arsenal out were excellent if risky. They got away with it. But breaking the press didnt exactly lead to the goal. We were 3v3 and then 4v4, running back to our own goal, Lacazette pulled up just before the penalty spot and was left wide open on 3-4 metres of space just waiting for that ball to come in. It was embarasingly bad, no attempt to cut the pass out, no attempt to stay tight, eyes on the attacker with the ball and no clue where the danger man was. And not even overloaded.
It's a moot point you raise, in fact it's been disappointing to see some suggesting that perhaps life would be better in the Championship, seeing more wins etc, rather than continuous disappointment in the PL. I think I understand the emotion behind that stance, at present maybe, but ask any Ipswich Town supporter how they feel. It's yet again another tough Christmas programme to get through but if we try harder not to lose than to win, there's only one outcome and that will be next year out of the PL. So there might be some adjustments to make, for sure, but we can't defend so let's try to win games, we've a better chance of survival, I feel, playing that way. No guarantee it'll work but what a rubbish season it would be if we play safe and still get caught in the trap door!
Well we sacked Puel after a cup final and finiishing 8th. Certainly been patient with Ralph, and I am still desperate for it to work out for him.
Took my time to respond to this result. Awful game. Our problems are now mounting up big time. Yesterday we were without the spine of the team, GK, CB, CDM, ST and the players that came in failed to step up. Additionally, our captain has been off it all season and is setting a low bar for the others. Now we are looking to play Shane Long which may finish me off emotionally, god knows what it will do to the rest of the team. We are definately in a slump now, its more than a blip and that's not a good place to be or time for it to happen. Postively thinking there are a lot of games to be played in a short space so there's always a chance we can get a result or heaven forbid 2 which will lift the gloom. If that doesn't happen it wont be a happy new year in the dressing room.
This. We weren’t outnumbered in that attack, 3 defenders were at least 2m away from arsenal players as the cross came in. Why weren’t they tight?
