poor display is an understatement....****ing appalling is more near the mark!!! Think Rodgers is starting to have his favourites and its costing us dearly. Gower = **** yet again!!! Sinclair = Had to check BBC Sport @ half time to see if he was actually playing!! and (with astonishment that i'm saying it) Allen. Was poor against Blackburn when he got sent off, Moore came in and played really well yet Allen went straight back in to the team and was poor against Newcastle and **** tonight! You play the players in form and its not going to help benching players when they play well. Can't wait until January because we need some fresh players to force the likes of Sinclair to pull his socks up or i hate to say it we may be ****ed come March!!! I cant understand whatsoever how we can dominate teams at home and look not much better than a ****ing conference team away from home (bar the odd game)
Poor game , they happen . Well done by Everton & Moyes , good team & great manager , a very systematic win . Time for all the hindcyincal nonsense I suppose . Goodnight !
That was a terrible performance. I don't agree that our midfield was out-muscled here (although Fellaini is ridiculous and uses his arms illegally a lot), we were out-thought. Our midfield has always been our strongest area, and when we're on top there, we are able to release our wingers and striker at will. Unfortunately, teams are now beating us in the midfield and we were dragged all over the place today. Our midfield pressing game was almost non-existent, and when we did close down, the intensity to win the ball back was minimal. Quite simply, our midfielders need to step up. They need to learn when to hold the ball, and when to release it. The final 20 minutes was an improvement - but the 70 minutes before that, any pass into the midfield was followed by a first touch pass back to a defender. Sometimes you have to create your own space, not just wait for it to open up. You look at Barcelona, they pass it brilliantly but that's because they have players that can beat the man infront/behind them so that they have time with the ball. We came for a draw, but credit to Everton, they were the only team looking to win it and they deserved their goal. The second half of the season, we have to wise up. The teams that we've played at home will realise that we are shocking away and if they get at us we'll struggle. And the teams that we've played away will just use the same tactics that worked so well at their own ground. I don't believe that our players aren't good enough, but I do feel that the mentality of some of the players isn't good enough to earn us a win away from home yet. The game plan that we played today was naive, and the tactic will fail more than it will work. We gifted Everton the ball, and relied on our defence to earn us something. We've got to find a way to stop teams camping in our half - and while I'm not advocating the hoof ball, if we do have to clear it long, it should be put over the head of the opponents full backs. We've got to turn the opposition to make them drop deeper. As it happened tonight, we were giving Everton the ball 10-15 yards in our own half and inviting pressure. If we're going to give the opposition the ball back, I'd rather them have it in their half than ours. I love the passing game, but a Plan B must be formed for when we're penned in. I don't know what the plan should consist of, that's up to Buck - but right now, we just can't do it away from home! However, despite all that, I'm still in a buoyant mood (weirdly) - got a feeling that we're going to bounce back with a big win against QPR now!
poor games do happen but not every time we play a team that we have a chance of beating....norwich,blackburn and now everton.......we play a good team like liverpool and we draw..it dont make sense......i cant see is beating spurs or aston villa and we will struggle against qpr the way we are playing.....to go into the new year in the bottom three is on the cards now.....
We have better on the bench??? dont make us all ****ing die of laughter Dai. He wasnt even the best striker at Boro!! Graham 24 goals last season for a team tipped for relegation and Lita 12 goals for a team tipped for promotion and you think Lita is better!!! Been on the eggnog?
playing like that we will be lucky to get a point in the next 3 games. Thought Villa would be a good shout for an away win after they played awfully against Liverpool on the weekend but it looks as if they didnt have too bad a game against Arsenal tonight. Looks like i may have inadvertently been correct when I said Barnsley in the FA Cup will be our first away win!!
I think it's more the case that we decided to not play well today. Same against Newcastle. We let them have it, and tried to snatch a bit of daylight robbery - both times we've failed. We've gone from trying to win away games to playing for the draw with a hope that we'll snatch the win. I've got a problem with our midfield. They are playing too cautious. They are good enough to thread passes through to our wingers and strikers, but they just aren't doing it. It's feeling a little like the Sousa era at the moment. It's time to remove the shackles and let the boys in the middle get creative. Get the ball into the strikers feet, and let him hold the ball up and bring the wingers into play. Currently we're letting the opponents line up in front of us, and then we're just passing it back and forth in front of them. Get it into the strikers feet early and we'll see the wingers in more threatening positions. What's the point in having rapid wingers if we're not going to give them the chance to use their pace?
i feared we would play the way we did against Newcastle - we did and this time our luck ran out. another negative display and as poor as it has been this year - there was absolutely no creativity bar a few runs from Routledge - Allen was anonymous and was Sinclair even playing! - I dont blame Graham cos he needs the service which he didnt get. Brendan has to shoulder the blame for this one - he obviously came for a draw and when they scored had no plan B. Personally I would have liked to have seen Dobbie given a chance, he is one of the players who can really provide that attacking link that we are obviously missing. Im not panicking yet but im gutted with the game tonight not just the points lost but the manner of the defeat - Brendan needs to shake it up. it looked very tired tonight.
We are just far too methodical! Our midfield seem scared to try that risky through ball that might not pay off, they would much rather play the simple pass and let someone else try it!
Bit worrying the way our midfield is starting to lose it's shape, we were pulled all over the shop, and we are in need of a Ferrie Bodde type player in there, I'm afraid also, that Sinclair is giving us nothing at the moment, he really needs to be having a spell on the bench, I felt sorry for Graham tonight, not one of our midfield players could give him a decent ball, we looked slow all over the park compared to Everton, time for some lateral thinking, not impressed with Joe Allen again either, that's two games now where he's looked very average!............... please log in to view this image
Methodical is a good word to describe us. I think we're a little obsessed with possession. But it takes a couple of games where we have less possession and spend the whole game on the back foot to realise that in these types of games, the possession that you do have has to be quick, calculated, and positive. I watched Everton with a little bit of envy as they moved from 10 yards in their half to the edge of our penalty area in 1 or 2 passes. Then when we got a tackle in, Everton would either have a set play (corner/free kick/throw), or they would pick the loose ball up in our half as our midfield had dropped too deep to defend. We have to learn from this - if we move forward quicker we'll pick up more loose ball, have more territory, and find more gaps in the opposition defence. We talk about being brave on the ball, well I think we are being a little cowardly on the ball at the moment. The easy ball is not always the right one. The brave players are the ones that back themselves to make that defence splitting pass. And if you only attempt that pass once in a blue moon, you can bet that when you do try it, you won't be good enough to make it. Practice makes perfect.
the fact is we have 85% non premiership players, danny is no way a good premiership player, all our midfield are one game wonders and if it was not for a top premiership goalkeeper and a loan premiership player with ash to defend then we would not be 4 points above relegation we would be bottom by a long way, you can make all the excuses you want with different excuses every week but at the end of the day we are not premiership material by a long way. keegan was right when he said we were the most attractive side to watch in the championship but their style will let them down in the premiership and he is being proved right.....possession do not win games.......
Looks like Rodgers is going for the Sousa style away from home, but tonight we should have played our quick offencive game, as Everton are no Newcastle at the moment, think Rodgers got the tactics wrong tonight, Oh well, maybe we'll revert to some positive football, next Tuesday!....................... please log in to view this image
Last year, Brendan's philosophy was 'Possession with Penetration'. It was wonderful to watch us last year, we took teams apart and played our football in their half, not ours. This season, against better teams we are doing ok with the possession, but the penetration is terrible (away from home). Maybe we've got to sign a few players to freshen things up, or maybe we have to have a tactic shift, either way we have to find a way to start penetrating sides because right now, teams are having an easy ride against us. It was said earlier in the season that they weren't worried that we weren't scoring as "at least we were creating chances". Well, aside from Danny's header (great cross from Wayne by the way), we never worked Howard. So I think that we've a right to feel a little worried now, as we seem to have stopped creating chances away from home.
Felt sorry for Graham. So isolated. I don't care who was up front it wouldn't have made a difference. Kidderz is right. Rodgers is trying to get us to be something we are not. Taking us back to the Sousa days would be a disaster as our players aren't good enough at this level. It worked at Newcastle with a dose of luck but not today and is unlikely to against the better teams. We were ordinary at the Toon but got away with it. We were bloody awful tonight and didn't. Rodgers needs to wise up and sharpish. STOP HAVING FAITH IN GOWER!!! That would be a good start. He is a very ordinary player clearly not up to this level. I don't care what the stats say, Agustien must start every game from now on. But like Kidderz I'm optimistic about Boxing Day and am still convinced we are good enough for mid-table IF Rodgers recognises his mistakes.
I just don't see why we don't sit and play on the counter, it's so simple! Have Sinclair, Dyer, Routledge or whoever breaking at every opportunity, and play balls down the channels for them when you're breaking out of defence. Repeat. I swear, the amount of times I see huge gaps (in fairness, Sinclair is the one most guilty of this, although he still remains, somehow, one of our most dangerous players) to run into down the wing, only to pull and receive the ball to feet around the halfway line. NO! RUN! You're really fast, and it's criminal not to capitalise on this. Get on your bike, and bust your guts making runs like that every so often. Ok, it won't work every time, but in doing so you'll pull the fullback out of position, and opportunities will arise in the centre as a result, where the space has been created. At the moment, PL fullbacks are restricting our width easily, I'd say, because we'll always stop and play our way inside, as we've never got anyone in the box to "whip one into". Use the pace, get in behind, and get forward in numbers. Only 2's and 3's when you're breaking at pace, but enough people to support. On another note, good comments about how the players need to back themselves and be braver on the ball. At the moment, it's kind of like everyone is passing the buck (excuse the pun!). "If I give it him, at least it wasn't me that lost the ball" or something to that effect. In midfield, players such as Allen and Gower need to, if they're serious about becoming PL midfielders, occasionally take a touch and beat their man in midfield, opening up space and breaking up play. I can't really think of any way to elaborate on that comment, so I'll leave it at that!
I saw this coming when we played Villa when I commented on how we failed to work their keeper. Then the second half when we fell apart against Fulham followed by Newcastle and the utter dross served tonight. You know what? More and more I think we are beginning to look like a Championship team out of our depth in this league. What really worries me is that Buck is looking out of his depth as well. No, I am not turning on him but if he sincerely believes that we have been turning in decent performances lately then he is, imo, seriously deluded. I have been banging on about our midfield for some time. They only know how to do part of the job - the easy part. Knock it back, tap it sideways with no pressure and they'll do that all day. Ask them to produce a defence splitting, creative pass, or get up in support of the striker, now that's another thing entirely. Danny Graham must be kicking lumps out of his cat when he gets home. He gets precious little chance to kick the ball these days. I could write a book about my feelings right now even though I've waited a couple of hours to cool down. So, I'm going to sleep on it before posting anything further. One fact, however, that is banging me right between the eyes, is that if we don't BEAT QPR (1 point in 15) we'll be on that long slippery slope back to where we came from. Sleep? I'll probably have nightmares after that bloody farce tonight.
The fundamental decline in the last few weeks is down to three things: drop in passing quality, drop in tempo / work off the ball when we are in possession, drop in aggression when we don't have the ball to close down and regain it. There are players that are hiding, players that should be hunting for the ball if they are not getting it. Our possession game has become directionless just like a drill in practice where the only objective is to retain possession, where there is no goal, there is no sense of forward or backward, of offense and defense, of penetration towards a physical goal, of time being limited. Such drills are old school but still used. I ran them on kids 30+ years ago getting my coaching badge. I've seen Mourinho run them with Inter Milan when they were on tour over here a few years ago. A real game has a physical goal, there is a clear concept of forward, there is a need to penetrate a defensive posture, there is a time constraint, there are more dimensions than just retaining possession. We look like we are playing a practice drill instead of a football match - we are directionless on the field because our majority direction is backwards when we can't win without going forward with purpose and penetration - we lack both. We fix this and soon or we're ****ed. Something has changed in the last month. The Opposition hasn't suddenly become smarter or much better - not Everton anyway, if they had more than half a clue they woud have beaten us badly tonight. Something has changed and it's us that as changed; it's us that has get it back on track. Being out thought, out worked, out muscled and out hussled (too slow a tempo) is no way to play a football game. On Gower, if a player needs to be sub'd out two games in a row at half time because something isn't working, why start him. Whatever is wrong, the player, or the combination of players, repeating the same mistake is just dumb.
Keep the faith guys. **** performance but it happens.... still a long way to go and remember where we have come from Merry Christmas to all, by the way!
i was working tonight so missed the game(first game i've missed this season) but, by the sounds of things we did'nt deserve anything, it's easy to see where the problem is though, we have no creative player's in the middle of the park, for me we desperatly need at least 2 midfielder's in january and both need to have a bit flair, also let's get sinclair on the right wing and get a left footed midfielder/winger on the left, is there anybody in our midfield who's left footed?
