You're not alone to be fair, the last couple home games has seen about 40-45k turn up. So a good 15k+ haven’t risked it either. Been great for me though, on Boxing Day I had about 10 free seats all around me so managed to call my mates on about 15 mins into the game to come over, lol.
I’m staying on the Gil hype train and further pushing for him to be given a proper run in the side. Don’t care who it’s for, whether it be Son or Lucas but this guy is a real talent and done more than just about every other player in his 10 or so mins tonight. There’s a serious, serious baller in this kid, just needs to chances to prove it. He’ll almost certainly start against Morecambe but I fear that’ll be another makeshift XI where he’s likely played out of position and find it tough to shine. Get him in that Prem XI for a few games - on his preferred left flank - and see how he does, think he’ll surprise many.
Oh really? Name some. I'm struggling to recall any this season. And let's not forget he is yet to be tested against the absolute finest in CL competition. So whereas Winks (who also isn't good enough) has fine performances against Madrid (×2), Dortmund (×2) and City under his belt, Hojbjerg has none. My gut feeling is fans defend him because he plays with passion and heart but the painful truth is what he offers more than Winks or Sissoko did is barely tangible.
I think when Højbjerg came in, he provided some consistency and stability to what had been quite a chaotic side. As we were so direct under Jose his lack of creation was less of an issue, though it’s been obvious from day 1 that he isn’t a holding player, he’s a hard working box to box who needs to be in a pressing system to get the most out of him. He lacks the discipline to sit. He was probably our best CM for a season or so which is stark, as it shows how bad the quality there has been over the last few seasons. He’s not an elite player and when he’s off his game it’s very noticeable because he doesn’t have the technical ability to produce moments of quality when nothing else is going right for him. He had an absolute stinker tonight and should have been hooked at half time. Really think I’d like us to be playing Skipp and Winks going forwards, unless we bring someone in.
Well, I thought Conte got his team wrong tonight, Davies (or Reguilon) should have played LWB instead of Doherty, and Rodon LCB. Rodon must be so bad, has he even had 1 minute on the pitch under Conte. Hojbjerg was dreadful again, all he does is give the ball away and he is not mobile enough to be a quality DM, he is the first player I would upgrade. Tanganga was at fault for both goals and every time he plays he makes mistakes, he has not kicked on at all since he broke into the team.
This season - City at home. West Ham in the cup. Last season - Bossed Utd’s midfield and capped it with a lovely assist in the mauling at Old Trafford. Bossed Partey so badly against Arsenal that he feigned injury and walked off the pitch right before our second goal. City at home.
I say again: people instantly fell in love with him because he showed passion and heart at a time when we felt more distant than ever from the club and its players. I get that, but in the long run it has severely clouded judgement of him. He looked decent in a tactically neutered Maureen or Nuno system where he barely ventured out of our half and his work rate and ability to play short tidy passes and the odd long ball made him a very useful player, but even then some of us were calling him out for lack of positional awareness and inability to control the midfield. Now that he is playing in a far more technical and tactically demanding system, his deficiencies are being exposed. He offers zero midfield control, his positioning and anticipation isn't as good as the 21 year old playing next to him, he isn't that strong, lacks pace and his passing range isn't better than Winks. So again I ask, what does he add and why is he the player to take us forward? Soon as Kessie or whoever comes in, it's too-da-loo for Pierre as far as I'm concerned.
I think Conte got it wrong too but I think his main sin was not getting another body in midfield sooner. The selections at the back were influenced by Rodon carrying a knock and Regulion only really being half fit, to my understanding. Davies might have made a better go of it at LWB though I agree, though with Dier and Romero and Rodon all unable to start I think we kind of ran out of other CBs.
Sorry DH but 2 games this season and one was in the cup and from a defensive perspective was actually terrible as they totally dominated us in the 2nd half of that game. So 1.5 games all season and none in the league since Conte started demanding more from him tactically? Case closed I think.
I’d keep him as a squad player but we urgently need a more rounded partner for Skipp. Top of the shopping list after tonight too after that has to be a left-sided CB (to allow for Davies to be shifted to LWB if both our specialists there are injured), and a RWB to replace Doherty (assuming he leaves which has been rumoured the last couple days).
Hojbjerg's getting a lot of stick, but it's down to the manager. The system we started with was wrong and it was his choice to leave him on for the whole game. The Dane's played too many games and needs to be used more sensibly. He won't be. 53 games last season, the Euros up to the semis plus others for Denmark and 26 for us this season. It's excessive and it's clearly having an effect on a player who relies on energy and pressing. It's also unnecessary to pair him and Skipp against defensive sides. Add that to 5 at the back and we lack creativity and incisiveness.
Case closed? You said he's struggled when he's been up against decent opposition and yet I've provided you a number of examples of it being not true. If you don't rate him that's fine, he's certainly had a few mares of late but making things up to slander him is where I'll disagree.
I would never suggest people going are taking too big a risk but for some reason I just can not get my head around the packed public transport and I can't drive so pretty much ****ed for alternatives tbh! Ain't been since March 2020. It the longest I've not been for 20 years. Used to go to mainly home games from 1981-83 (when I was in school...saved me dinner money to go) and then had to stop until 87 ish cos of lack of money when I moved out at 17. Went to a few matches a year (home and away) until the mid 90s and had to stop cos of bugger all money and having little kids. Love the atmosphere and love taking my girls (my eldest first went in 2004 and my youngest in 2006). We would go to at least 4 or 5 games a season when they were little and I'd go to another 5 or 6 with mates or alone until 2013 or 14 and then we'd go to 10-15 games a season. We been to the last European game at WHL, last fa Cup game, last NLD, last ever game at WHL, both the Wembley NLDs the first one was where Lamela sent Wiltshire into a rage at the end , Real Madrid, Barcelona (both at wembley) plus the first game at New WHL, first fa cup game their , the CL quarter final and semi finals, Jols last game v Getafe where the crowd were excellent, Redknapps first game, Ramos' first game, the 4 all Chelsea game, the 5-1 arsenal game, the 4 all 125 game and the 9-1 Wigan game. My eldest's last whl game was the Wycombe fa cup 4-3 match (and we still chat about it every so often). We went to the Leicester 5-4 game at wembley too. We were there when Mason made his debut, when kane scored a hat trick and then went in goal a let one in under his body and when Bale finally won in a spurs shirt in the league after 20 something games (redknapp subbed him on in the 90th minute when we were 4 nil up ). Such huge family memories...can't wait for us to get some more ... particularly with my youngest who is in a bad place. Sorry for the old man memories...but they've at least made me smile before bedtime! Enjoy your week Coys
I’d agree with this and I think Conte deserves his share of criticism tonight for the initial team setup, that he rectified at half time. It says a lot though that Højbjerg keeps getting picked despite all of this though. A lot about the other options in that position, that is. Conte is not alone amongst coaches in that he clearly prefers a player who may have deficiencies but applies himself properly to a more talented player who can’t be arsed or is always injured (guess who those two are…) My glimmer of light is that Conte clearly identifies the issues. He made the correct change at half time and he’s spoken about the need to improve the squad. Even Conte isn’t perfect but he’s clearly the right man for the job.
Our best midfielder is a 21 year old in his first full season in the PL. None of the others are anywhere near to him, be it Hojbjerg, Winks, Ndombele or Lo Celso. That's pretty bloody shocking but Hojbjerg's almost certainly our second best midfielder. Unfortunately, they're not a great pairing, as is the case with any other 2 that one could suggest. Basically, to produce any balance in midfield, we need to play a three against any decent team. Playing a 2 in front of that defence was never going to work and in that first half, we got taken apart.
