It would be nice to press a team for once, instead of just sitting off the whole game. Such depressing viewing, don't try and force any errors at all.
Fair enough, I'm not watching so I'll take your word for it. It's simply that we've had considerably less shots than the opposition, as ALWAYS, but that may be due to Everton rather than us, and poor passing as you say. What's our tempo been like?
Not watching this one, but I'd say it's because we don't press, play at an archaic, extremely slow tempo when we have the ball and regularly back off players when they have the ball in our half.
Because we give teams all the time and space in the world to score and assert themselves. How Do the people feel who couldn't wait to see RvW and hooper upfront feel now? Confident? I'm not. I'm tired of the way we let teams hurt us and give the ball away all the time. We are sinking. Let's hope Everton make a mistake so we can score and hope all the **** teams around us, like us lose too.
That's because the ball gets to our strikers and then is given away. Also, we have had only about 30% possession, but do not have a team set up or deciding to counter attack. It sounds ridiculous, but our principle problem is that we are trying to play good football with players that can't do it, or at least can't do it against Everton's pressing, added with them teeming with confidence and us clearly not. The trouble is, we hit the occasional long ball, but neither of our strikers are capable of challenging Jagielka for it and so any long ball is gifting the ball back to Everton, whereas most short passes are poor and equally gifting possession. In contrast, on the rare occasion when Everton have been under severe pressure, they lump the ball up to Lukaku, it sticks to him and then he lays it off (in the case of to Barry, followed by a goal). We need that pressure relief option - Elmander - but that relies on him having a good game. We might then be able to get a bit more confidence on the ball and knock it around a bit.
As for our tempo, on the rare occasion we have strung six or seven passes together, it' seen good, but then it's gone to RvW or Snodgrass or A N Other, who either gifts the ball to Everton or puts in a pass behind the player, which stops our momentum. It only takes one bad pass, even to our own team, for Everton regroup, then we have to send it back to the CBs who try to pass it into the middle but there are no feasible options and we lose it.
Its the movement thats not there, players too far away from each other. Its not for the strikers to hold the ball up, thats not their job. The strikers have moved and got into good positions. They are the one good thing that is happening. The fault lies with the attitude and intention of the midfield.
Agree that the movement from midfield has not been good, but it's meaningless when one in two passes is not finding their man anyway. Actually a strikers job is often to hold the ball up - it's part of their defensive duty. Not all strikers can be expected to do it all the time, but it is expected.
I agree, but in this instance, they are players not designed to carry out that job, neither are. They both rely on supply and quality in, not battling for ****ty balls smashed up to them. Besides even when they do have the ball to feet there is not alot making themselves available to hold up for.
Partly, but then the passes are not finding stationary players either, so if they can't do that I'm not sure how we can expect them to anticipate movement too. Take the example from our break earlier - Whittaker's movement was fine, he was going forward in plenty of space, but then Snodgrass's pass is behind him, so he has to check his run, slow the counterattack and we've lost half the battle. That was the pass, not the movement.
Quite Simply we are being out played by a better side. Our players, especially the defence are just not at the races today. This has got 2-0 or 3-0 all over it !
Yep, that's why I said we need Elmander, who can do that job. Definitely support is an issue. Can I just say what a great pass that was from Johnson - I've said it before, he genuinely has vision. It's just he is rarely capable of executing it! At least he tries.
Thats one example Rob, the gist of the game is lack of available options increasing the likelihood for a difficult pass
True. I'd consider taking 1-0 at the moment. The ref is definitely responding to the crowd though, that last two free kicks going Everton's way were questionable.
