Think for the most part it’s been implemented quite nicely. Probably an argument for some games to have been extended even longer but in general I think it’s worked well. Laughed when Heckingbottom tried bemoaning it against us, his keeper alone was responsible for about 10 of the minutes.
I don’t like the ruling this season over perceived dissent though, with refs handing out yellows like crazy. I think players should be allowed to express their disagreement with a decision as long as there’s no actual abuse towards the ref (Dunk ) without being yellow carded. We’re seeing so many soft yellows being given this season it’s a joke. How can Cash committing a dirty challenge and forcing a player off injured get the same punishment as a player being unhappy at a decision that’s been made or not made? Just doesn’t add up.
That's an obvious example of what I'm talking about, though. Foderingham should've been booked after about 10 minutes for timewasting. He managed to end the match without getting a card for it. Martinez knew he wasn't going to face significant punishment, so he timewasted from the start. It's virtually every game now, barring the Wolves one. It destroys the flow of matches and prevents teams from building up momentum.
It's not just 2 players missing mate. We've been without Solomon and Peresic since September. Apart from these two we have only had Bentencur for 3 games this season. And in the last 3 matches we've missed Bissouma for 2 games, Romero, VDV and Madison for 2 and a half games, Udogie for 1 and a half games. Richarlison has also missed the last 2 games. We may have got points v wolves and Villa ... in all honesty I think we'd have won yesterday if we had Bissouma, Romero, Solomon and Richarlison available I think we'd have won at least one of those matches. Yesterday our style did not fall apart, we didn't take our chances and they kicked Bentencur out of the game. I'm glad Ange is stubborn in his belief that football is about attacking and entertainment.
A fit Perisic would have got a lot of minutes recently with all the other injuries, with his ability to play CAM, LW and LB! Not as big a miss as Maddison & VDV (or Bentancur) but of the injured probably the next one on the list in my opinion.
So yes, ben Davies has played as a CB, so this "But we played two FBs!!!" whining is inaccurate Also, are you asking for Eric Dier to play? Because talking about "proper CBs" playing is asking for Eric Dier to play Which, by the way, still makes more sense than playing a youth CB in a back four alongside a player who has been drafted in as a CB in a back four
Perisic does offer a different dimension from the bench as a LW as he has a crossing ability that none of our wingers have, and it does have to be said that he was making Richy look dangerous by getting crosses onto his head prior to getting injured - which also suggests he could also make Veliz a potential gamechanger for similar reasons
Bloody hell you are hard to please! What more does a new manager have to do?! Given the cards he was dealt he has completely reinvigorated the club. And I really look forward to games this season which is a nice change. Yeah we have had a few bad results, but I can see what he is trying to do, and I firmly believe if we are patient we will see even better results as the season goes on. The next game is a free hit and whatever happens I’m not going to change my view.
We need to start praying for Vicario for Sunday. If the poor guy thought he was busy during the Chelsea drubbing when we were down to 9 men, he’s in for a treat against Haaland and co
As long as we don't repeat the 1996-7 season where even our manager was missing games due to injury...
I guess we now know what Matty Cash’s true motive behind that unnecessary, late challenge on Bentancur was…
It’s also and most importantly about results and the last three have been awful. Yes attacking football is nice but you have to adjust when circumstances change. I’m not calling for him to park the bus, just be a bit less naive and think you can play the same way when your personnel goes from one of the fastest centre backs in the league to Eric Dier or Ben Davies, to keep playing the same high line is beyond baffling to me.
There is a good argument for playing in exactly the same way whatever the circumstances as it means the whole squad can practice in the same way. Getting any points against Chelsea with nine men was nearly impossible and we could easily have won the last two matches. Son's first offside goal was a fantastic team effort and so close to counting. And it's great to watch.
