Since we've scored more goals without him and our concession of goals per corner is similar to last season we don't seem to have missed him at either end. Our only defensive stat that is materially worse this season is number of corners conceded.
Pretty sure I said the same thing a month or so ago And it's not necessarily H, either: Richy is also useful at defending corners as he's got the aerial presence a lot of our team lack
I think a few things have been thrown into sharp relief by the last couple of games that have been bubbling under the surface since the new year. Obviously we had a tonne of issues after the Chelsea game because of player availability but there’s been some persistent things since we got most of our players back. I think the fullbacks push too high too soon when we start building up play. We end up with Maddison coming deep to get the ball all the time when he should be the one receiving the ball in the half space, where he’s dangerous, with the 6 or one of the FBs passing it to him. Because we end up with the FBs so advanced it congests the final 3rd and there’s less space for more creative players. It also means we keep circulating the ball in that awful horseshoe pattern because our best ball players, and the ones who are most creative and dangerous with their movement in the final 3rd, are too far back. We’re good at retaining the ball but not always in the most threatening way, and too many players take an extra touch and don’t choose a progressive pass. It also affects us transitionally. The FBs, or at least one of them, should be a bit deeper with the 6 to help our CBs defend transitions, and as good as VdV is at defending space, we’ve been caught a few times recently. Sarr helps when he plays if he also sits a bit deeper but he’s been out of the team now. It also doesn’t help that our midfield profiles are a bit out of place. We don’t have an elite 6, Sarr is a very promising box to box 8 but isn’t the most productive in the final 3rd, Maddison’s form has nosedived. Generally the whole team just seems like it’s spinning off its axis right now and it’s causing all kinds of problems. I’d have hoped 2 weeks on the training ground might have given Ange the opportunity to put things right but clearly it didn’t. We obviously have issues with the profiles in the forward line as well but I really think it’s the middle of the pitch, both the midfield and inverted FBs, which is malfunctioning in the most damaging way right now. I wonder if a temporary solution to try is something funky like playing Romero as a 6 and then having two of Maddison, Gio and Kulu as the more advanced midfielders giving us more creativity in the middle and more ball retention in the final 3rd thanks to Kulu. But that’s a big change and I doubt Ange will try it.
Playing Son out of position is part of what's wrong. Adding Romero to that would make things worse. Postecoglou needs to pick a striker and drop out of form players. Richarlison looks ready to start, but throw in Scarlett or someone if he isn't. May as well put another one on the bench too, as Gil will never play.
Richy has a bit of devil in him too which we need to try and jolt us out of our slump, especially against that lot.
He also closes down with purpose and will happily leave a bit on the opposition. Son does the work, then eases up to avoid any physical clashes. He'll challenge defenders, but can't tackle and won't risk putting anything on a keeper.
Yeah square pegs in round holes rarely works. Romero is a CB, playing him as a DM makes no sense to me
Howard Webb defends his **** colleagues: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cw0vpn12zryo "I know Michael [Oliver] will be really disappointed," about missing a really blatant penalty. "He had a really good game. He's one of our top referees and one of the top referees in the world." They all need to go. Webb watched that awful, biased **** and thought it was really good. He simply doesn't know what the referees job is, in that case. Oliver had an objectively terrible game and virtually all of it benefited one team. It's no secret that I can't stand Michael Oliver or Jarred Gillett, but they're not the real issue. The whole system needs an overhaul and the entire aim of the officials is wrong. They're all about "managing the event" now, which is the terminology they're using. It's not about fairness, sport or even getting things right. It's about the show.
This is ultimately what is aggravating about the ****eness of Premier League refs It wouldn't be such a kick in the teeth if games ended in draws and both teams had legit goals chalked off leaving both sets of fans with legitimate grievances as that would demonstrate the ref may be **** but is **** on an even keel - but in the PL that rarely happens, and instead the referee is **** for one team but not the other, and that's before the current crap about them being supporting players in season-long narratives which causes them to bottle calls towards the business end of the season
I was annoyed at the starting line up and my frustration only grew when we used the forced substitution of Werner to bring on Johnson...and play him on the left flank, which meant we went from playing our best attacker out of position to playing our best and second best attackers out of position, when the presence of Richarlison meant none of the above needed to happen. Poor selection and poor in game management imo.
I sound like a broken record but I think just about everything hinges on getting the midfield balance right. We've shown enough defensive solidity this season to give me hope that next season will be even better, especially as 4 out of the back 5 are playing their first full PL season atm. We've also shown that there are goals in this team, remarkable considering what we were all predicting when Kane left. The real issue lies in our lack of ability to control games. I was hoping Maddison would contribute more but tbh he isn't fit to lace Eriksen's boots and in fairness, his tendency to drop deep indicates that the control needs to happen in those positions, but we're currently focusing on the wrong type of control. There are only two reliable ways to score against us. Set pieces and on the counter. The former can and must be fixed on the training ground. The latter can and must be fixed in the market. We need a player who gives us that control when the opposition turns over possession, preventing the current resemblance to a basketball game whereby once they have said possession, there is a 90% chance they will advance 60-70 yards with it largely untroubled. That has to stop as it tends to either lead to a goal or a corner, and the latter then tends to lead to a goal anyway. From what I've observed, we lose possession and passes 1 and 2 are played with almost zero pressure. Pass 3 is then the killer ball which, if not caught by Micky, is usually fatal. We need to snuff things out at stage 1 or 2, but currently have no one doing it. Tbh I wouldn't be entirely against testing the water for Palhinha, who looks set to leave Fulham. He's the profile I believe we need, just sitting as a foil in front of the defense. Although knowing our luck all those red cards he should be getting would magically be given once he dons a Spurs shirt. That's the type of player I think we need, and if you study his movement and anticipation, none of our current 5 options are anything like him.
Arsenal second goal sequence: Maddison goes down like a knob. Rice plays the ball to Saka. Pass 1. Saka plays it to Havertz and gets on his bike. Pass 2. Havertz has about a year to pick out his pass. That is the killer pass #3. It's six on three in our favour, but Hojbjerg, Bentancur, Porro and even VDV are irrelevant defensively. They are chasing the ball instead of watching the runs and marking space instead of players. If I had to pinpoint a moment where it went wrong, it is when Havertz first receives Pass 2. He has his back to goal and Romero is well positioned to step in and either tackle or give away a tactical free kick. He does neither, distracted by Trossard's decoy run. But it isn't lost yet. Havertz stumbles and takes a while to bring the ball under control and get his head up to spot Saka. During this time, Porro runs right past him and continues running into absolutely nowhere. He is irrelevant to the entire passage of play despite covering 40 yards. Porro has the chance to cut out or at least challenge Pass 3, but he makes an illogical decision instead. Being brutally honest, it is schoolboy defending from almost everyone but those two were the worst culprits.
There is slight contact but Trossard is running totally naturally and makes no motion towards Kulu. Short of jumping backwards, I can't see how that contact can be avoided. For me it's in the same category as ball to hand when the hand is in a natural position. I'd certainly be miffed if that was given against us.
It's an absolutely standard foul anywhere on the pitch. Kulusevski's running in front of him and Trossard clips him. It's up to Trossard to avoid that. Trossard loses his footing, falls over and then makes a mistake trying to get back in position. They normally happen on breaks and in the midfield and it's a booking.
