I seem to remember after our great start reading an article about MP and the pressing tactics that said we would self destruct in the new year. Injuries and fatigue kick in and the players can't maintain the necessary pressure. Is that now happening or is it just a couple of bad days at the office?
A couple of bad days at the office, I can see us putting in a decent performance next week against Liverpool.
Have played Stoke, Sunderland and West Ham lately. Cant really press teams that doesn´t like to have possession of the ball. Hull wants it and it worked better for us.
A squad as thin as ours doesn't help at all. Plus our attacking game falls flat because for all of Lallana's great form, Rodriguez can dip in and out of games which doesn't help attacking pressure and Lambert has been... let's say, less effective than the seasons previous.
Seems a bit harsh on Lambert. Agree that he's no longer at his peak but he's still been decent. He shouldn't have to carry the team, but we've been a bit spoiled and somewhat expect it of him. The goal-scoring torch was supposed to be passed on to Osvaldo, but it didn't work out. Rodriguez is improving, but isn't quite there yet. If Ramirez can step up that will take some pressure off everyone.
I think teams are starting to enjoy playing against us? We produce lots of pretty, pretty passing, lots of possession, but very little penetration. Much as I love Sir Rickie, he really is looking more and more ineffective.
Agree with that Dell. Even when we have lost we have dominated most games. Looking at yesterdays stats we had more chancrs, corners etc, We need to be more clinical.
The pressing game does require an intense level of fitness. I don't agree that we will fizzle out but with a thin squad we end up playing some who's form has dipped or are returning from injury. Yesterday, we lacked the speed of pass needed, it was all a bit too patient. All we need is a bit more competition for places.
Our game strategy is still sound, and is more effective against footballing sides. Most of the games we have lost recently, we could have won if we could have capitalised on the chances we created. We need, more urgently than any other position, a clinical striker. I would start Gallagher and Ramirez against Liverpool and see how they get on.
The pressing game works.our place in the table shows that. Imagine how much higher up the table we could be if we were a bit less wastefull with our chances in front of goal? Maybe gaston can be that player that links the midfield with attack? Against west ham we looked to have soo much more going forward as soon as he got the ball.
I'm not even convinced we play the pressing game that much anymore, at least not against the 'lesser' clubs.
Ramirez was a big positive yesterday. His performance was the closest he has come to that Villa game where he orchestrated everything. Personally I'd like to see a plan B where we play against team that don't like the ball. It almost looks like we have an obsession with possession. If it led to more chances that we can put away, I don't think fans would object to a more direct style of football when required.
The pressing game works fine. All we need, when playing against teams that park the bus, is a better quality player. Ramirez is finally looking good, but another couple of players, like him or Lallana, who can beat players in a packed midfield and draw centre backs out of position to create space for passes through the gaps, is on my wish list for the next transfer window.
I like the pressing game with lots of possession...it is exciting for fans and it reduces chances for the opposition. It won't always produce a result, but as someone said above, our league position shows it works. We are punching above our weight based on team cost, especially playing so many youngsters. I'm sure Mauricio will have learnt a lot from this season. Our main problem is how thin our squad is...would be better is we had more players of top quality that MP could change about according to fitness and form. Tiredness may have had some effect, but I am impressed by how the team are maintaining fitness...some predicted we would collapse before now. We will finish in a good league position this season (Mauricio's first full season)...so his system works...be interesting to see what he can do when/if we get some new players in.
A thousand times this, we have a strangely piratical/dothraki shaped hole up front that should be giving Lambert some regular rests. If we want to use Lambert effectively, it needs to be occasional starts and impact of the bench, which we can't do. It's fine being short up front for now, as long as we add someone seriously good in the Summer, to be fair considering our star signing has earned us 1 point, we've done seriously well. Anyway, still a Pochettino disciple, we were disappointing yesterday but give it a few more months and some good new faces and we can start to fix the weak bits of our game. That means a bit of experimenting in the games we have left, so haters gonna hate, but with no more midweek distractions we could find some more solid consistency again.
