Well that was better. Far from perfect but better all the same. First half I thought we played well up until it came to finding players in the area. Soldado and Paulinho were a big part of that problem, as were some of the deliveries. Second half up to the goal our midfield were worse but we started actually finding players in the box, Paulinho had 2 good chances and Kane had one that he should've buried. The goal woke us up and it didn't take us long to start dominating again but this time we were attacking with greater purpose. I think I've finally realised why we're playing so slowly at times too. Others probably worked it out ages ago but we had too many of our attacking players heading towards our deeper midfielders and defenders to make themselves available, which meant we had our best attackers moving away from the goal they're supposed to be attacking. It's not unusual in itself but we do it far too often, and when that's happening we need the players they're heading towards to be injecting the pace, making runs beyond them or taking the ball past the opposition. After the goal we had our attackers receiving the ball when they were heading up the pitch which made a big difference. Player-wise I think Soldado and Paulinho still don't look sharp enough and Fazio looks a bit sleepy, he'll take awhile to get used to the pace in England I think. Davies was fairly quiet but I think he's more disciplined than Rose which will be important on Saturday as Rose plays 100mph up and down the flank which will cause us more problems against a fast attack like Arsenals. Vertonghen was really good today too. I know it was only a weakened Forest side but our centre backs have been a real problem for us already this season so I think he has to start on the weekend. Stambouli really did well in that first half, was dominant in the air, in the tackle and passing the ball forward. Second half he was really poor so I'd stick with Capoue and Dembele in midifield. Townsend was excellent, I'd like to see him given another start but I wouldn't blame Pochettino if he kept him as an impact sub. I'd have Kane in the same role coming off the bench if needed, he made an instant impact but Adebayor will be fired up for playing Arsenal and I fancy him to put in a performance. Really pleased for Mason, I'd play him from the start against Besiktas to see what he can do.
Pochettino got his best results against the bigger teams because they play more open football. The way we're set up doesn't suit playing a side that sits back in numbers and counters and Southampton faced less of that than we will this season. Vary our play more and I think we can get away with it but we'll also need to crisp up our passing some, when the ball goes backwards it needs to be sent straight forward again, like it did in preseason. There was too many extra touches and sideways passes when it got passed backwards tonight(and against WBA).
Was lucky enough to be there tonight Thought we were much sharper than on sunday...deserved the win and several players impressed me. Lennons work rate and closing down was good, townsend had his best match in about a year. Davies was steady, as was vertongen and I liked fazio stambouie. Really pleased how pochetinno changed things round...definately had an effective plan B so thats something I cant whinge about in future...thought he was brave to leave soldado on as he did very little but it definately paid off. Really impressed with masons 30 cameo too. I think we gave away the ball to many times at points but thats likely to improve as players get used to each other and the system. If we play with that intensity and a bit more accuracy we will get some very good matches to watch, a lot of goals and will wear teams down as happened tonight. My down side is paulinio...19m for a brazilian who cant take a free kick!
Even better than breaking a bad run and regaining some confidence may have been seeing a Plan B. Now I'm hoping it becomes a Plan A. The problem with 4-2-3-1 is not only that it makes it simple for the other team to work out its tactics, but that we aren't good enough to play it, not yet anyway. Our players may, may, be good enough, but they don't have the understanding and cohesion to pass it through tight defenses at this point. Once we brought on Kane, I looked up and Forest's penalty box was salted with white shirts. For hours on end we've hardly had anyone there. And our strikers, however maligned they may be, all have decent scoring records, except for Soldado in the PL (but what's that, two in four games for him this year?). I thought we were pretty bad till the change, though, more from low confidence than anything else. So bad that we made Townsend's usual take a run and then boot it into Row Z shine by comparison. Fazio looked iffy, Bentaleb had a bad game. Stambouli misplaced too many passes, Paulinho was wretched, again, Lennon and Soldado did too little. Davies was okay, Naughton was good, and Vertonghen continues to be our best defender since I slagged him off. Nice debut for Vorm, fantastic one for Mason. Could he be our deep lying playmaker in the 4-4-2?. Kane was good and how many assists is that for Lamela this year? Five?
Linekkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrr Btw, for my latest player comparison, mason is the new vdv
YV, I'm baffled as to how you think Ade will be effective against any team let alone Arsenal, he's a waste of space, Soldado and Kane to start.
He scored last night which is what matters, give him game time and he'll do the business.I prefer him to Ade to start against Arsenal.
It was the wrong game for Lennon really, his closing defensive work was good but he doesn't offer enough against teams defending deep and in numbers. I think Chadli offers good defensive work too but is starting to show he can make a real difference in attack. I'd leave Lennon out of the squad on Saturday. You're right, Pochettino was brave in his subs, I thought bringing on Mason over Eriksen or Lamela deserved praise too. Paulinho was crap but as I said, I thought he still looked like he was lacking a sharpness in his game and that will come later on. It's funny, as bad as he was he could've won a penalty in the first half and scored in the second, which is more than many others on the pitch contributed.
There are complaints this morning but hell, we beat the top of the Championship team which is no mean feat and with good goals too.
For me, the win merely papered over a few cracks. The more I look at this set up, the way Poch plays and the players he has at his disposal, I just can't see where our goals are going to come from on a consistent basis. Plus, we have looked vulnerable at the back in every game we have played this season.
YV, which where the best results Pochettino got against the big clubs as all I remember from his saints team last year was they played well for short periods in the games against the big clubs, but ended up losing, underlined by Sherwood doing the double over Pochettino, even though apparently saints where the better team in both games. Or so we where told. Plus as the quote from this article says I said from day one (and maintain) that Pochettino's system is flawed and it will just be a slow boring process until he is sacked. Although I'm sure there will be games when we play well, even crap managers get good results now and then, its not going to be all misery but until we scrap the Dof/Coach system and go Old School, its going to be the same mundane crap every year, poorly assembled squads and fans waiting for all our "potential" to GEL!
I'm hoping the three goals we got with two strikers will make us play two strikers either regularly, or against teams that are going to sit back. I agree the 4-2-3-1 will not work against teams that sit back. Nothing much has worked against the top teams lately, but that's a bit of a different issue, I think, and has more to do with lack of belief.
I think it has more to do with any of the top teams having at least 4-5 attacking players who are better than anything we have. The gulf in class between us and teams who have players like Silva, Aguero, Mata etc on the bench is larger now than it has been for many years.
I agree the rich are getting richer, and the gaps at the top of the table are widening rather than shrinking. But lack of belief/lack of confidence has been the bigger problem with us and the big teams the last year plus. Look at the performance of teams at the bottom of the table. There was a greater gap in talent between West Brom and us than between us and Man City (though that is debatable), let alone Liverpool, but we don't expect to hammer West Brom every time, because they come into games against us without the confidence/nerve issues we developed last year against the top teams. The difference in talent between PL teams is widening, but can still be easily bridged by teams' group psychology. The upcoming NLD is the perfect example. Normally you'd hope for a win even though the chances are less than even. Now I have a very faint hope for a win, and a serious worry we'll get hammered. Once we beat a top team, and maybe even if we have a good performance against one, the fear of losing badly won't keep being a self-fulfilling fear
In his season and a half in charge; Everton 0-0, City 3-1, Liverpool 3-1, Chelsea 2-1, Liverpool 1-0, United 1-1, City 1-1, Arsenal 2-2, Everton 2-0, Unitede 1-1. I make it 20 points from 20 games against the top 7 of the past 2 seasons. that's impressive. Even if you just look at last season it's 10 from 14 against the sides that finished above them, we took 5 from 10 games against those that finished above us. Lots of teams struggle against those that park the bus, Pellegrini's City have scored 1 goal in 3 games against Stoke. Parking the bus doesn't always work, sometimes they get well beaten sometimes they stand firm and get a point or even 3. What that article negates to mention is the other results against those bottom 3, he won all 4; 2-0,3-0, 3-0, 4-2. Dropping points when a team defends stubbornly is nothing unusual, it's already happened to us, City, Arsenal and Liverpool. If you're looking for stuff to backup you're argument that he's not good enough you'll find it, just as anyone looking for stuff to backup their argument that he will do well will also find it. I'm not going to convince you to be optimistic, you're not going to convince be to be negative, we're at an impasse but lets hope Levy's right
Don't judge anything by performances in this competition. As I pointed out earlier in the thread Forest rested around 10 of their best players. Forest have a proud record in the League Cup. They won it regularly under Clough. They are top of the Championship, yet they field a weakened team in a game which they might not have won, but could have put up a decent fight. But with Reid, Antonio and Assombalonga, you never know, they might have won. If the competition is viewed with such disdain - as no more than an inconvenience at times or a practice match - why bother about performances? Pochettino will be judged by PL results - Levy expects top four. Tenure is short for anyone perceived to be unable to deliver that. If he wants top four, he needs to balance the demands of the PL, EL and Cups better. He doesn't know when to stick or twist; he's never had to do it before. Rightly or wrongly, SAF and Wenger wrote off the League Cup as a trophy for the kids. Whenever players could be rested in the F.A.Cup or meaningless CL games, they were. PL was the priority - know and pick your best side; make sure they are as fresh as possible. Make sure any players who are likely to deputise and kept as fresh as possible. Look to peak in the second half of the season because your best players are at their peak and not knackered.
