Was anyone else disappointed/mystified by the manager's second half tactics and substitutions (or lack of) yesterday?
Yes. Mysterious subs. I'm trying to think of yesterday as an act of charity. Helping those who are small, inadequate and unfortunate.
Out on a limb here perhaps but I think Enzo does sometimes have a problem with subs. I don't know, perhaps it's that he doesn't like to change style/tactics and can't see which subs to use, and/or how, to assert his preferred game again. Sometimes, when we're up against it, we do look a little overwhelmed and, dare I say it, stumped. Hanging on rather than controlling the situation. Btw, I think being "up against it" is something that will happen more often, particularly against braver teams who aren't afraid of our much talked about 'quality'. It is were we are weak, any team that gets at us does pin us back. We've done staggering well this season, all things taken into account. It could have all gone wrong from day 1 but quite the opposite has happened so one can't grumble too much (though I hate losing, any match) It's daft to think that there won't be losses along the way. I do admire that Enzo sticks to his plans, even when I'm feeling decidedly ill-at-ease when we're under the cosh (which, I will admit, could largely be due to a last season hangover) and I'm wanting him to change things up to stem the tide. Perhaps it's all part of the Enzo process and we have to have faith. It's certainly the attitude I'm taking.
Sometimes we need subs just to get some fresh legs on the pitch and nullify the effect of the opposition's substitutions rather than change our way of playing. That was the main reason we ended up losing to Cov. We lost control because some of the players were knackered and couldn't close the opposition down.
Other than his brief stint at Parma this is his first job in charge of a first eleven. It’s probably fair to say that he’s still learning and will have to learn from his mistakes, even when they’re glaringly obvious to everyone around him. Maybe there’s a stubbornness to him that he didn’t change much last Saturday, I hope not, that was Rodgers downfall last year.
Chelsea have recalled Cesare Casedei from his loan with us ... shame as he is certainly talented and also one of our better players in the air - wish him all the best...
Maybe not in time for this game against Ipswich but there could be a silver lining if it helps us get Sensi.
Becoming a bit of a bad habit these goals in the last 5 minutes. We have only won 1-0 twice this season and the three 1-1 draws have come from conceding at the death. I hope that is the end of the point scoring record conversation for a while and we just get on with securing automatic promotion as it is fast becoming a three-horse race.
Feels strange to be finding faults with Enzo given where we are - but his comments about conceding because we got tired in central midfield don't square with bringing on the very lightweight Yunus when we had Dennis Praet on the bench?
So angry after last night's match. It was like watching a repeat of the Boxing Day match against Ipswich and the match against Coventry. We start off so comfortably but can't make the possession pay and falter in the last third of the pitch with the final ball not being good enough. The second goal we need to kill off the game doesn't come, the players start to tire, end up playing backwards and invite pressure from the opposition who bring on fresh legs to keep their new momentum going, while we try to hold on by the single goal with the same starting eleven. And everyone (except the manager apparently) can see what's going to happen. We played a high tempo press in the first half last night that gave Ipswich no real sight of our goal and that worked well. But that expenditure of effort comes at a price. After 60 minutes we tried to shut up shop. We should have introduced aggressive new players at that point to keep up the pressure on Ipswich and not allowed them to gain the upper hand. Some of the one-touch football we have played has been brilliant, and Maresca deserves the plaudits for his role as coach. But it all goes to waste because of his poor game management skills. For me, his abilities don't even register on the scale and someone needs to have a quiet word before we throw everything away that the players have worked so hard for.
I’m starting to think he’s struggling to find a solution when we’re under a bit of pressure. Sometimes you don’t need to change things too much, but a couple of subs in key areas to bring on fresh energy seems a bit obvious to me, yet nothing seems to change. The opposition have a spell of pressure which gives them some confidence and belief. We should kill games off and not let them have a chance of getting back into the game. We’re at home, 7 points clear, yet our approach strikes me as tentative, especially in the second half.
Last night he could have brought either Cody or Doyle or Nelson on at the back whilst pushing Faes or JJ into the 'shield the back 4 holding role', plus Praet for KDH ... plenty of fresh legs there ... instead Yunus - who just isn't up to playing in the engine room ... and Albrighton, who is 65 ...
Problem was we needed legs in the middle of the park ... and was really just joking ... not bringing Praet on was baffling - if he's not fit why have him on the bench?
