Let me start with a post match comment from Jol - "Really I have mixed feelings because we needed the three points but it probably would have been undeserved if we had won it at the end through Clint Dempsey. What does that tell you about his thinking or state of mind? Me, I would have been livid when a player missed a sitter or could have had the presence to square the ball back to Dembele and won the game. Sod sentiment for the opposition. Since the Stoke game when he sent out the wrong team to try for, on his own admission, a 0-0, does he live in the real world? His hand was perhaps forced so far as the back four were concerned but what about elsewhere on the field - five of them had difficult weeks international wise and it showed. Or was that the reason ? Was it more to do with playing too deep, not getting forward quickly enough to support Bobby. In other words, being told to play it cautious, slow down play and so on? Also, back to the question of late substitutions. What is the point of bringing Ruiz on for 4 minutes? If Duff (or any one of three yesterday) are having a mare, get him on when he has time to make some impact. Looking at the next wodge of fixtures - Liverpool, Bolton and Man U at home; Arsenal, Swansea, Chelsea and Norwich away - Jol needs to start being a bit bold, being ambitious. If he's worried about upsetting some of the 'clique' by resting them, he needn't be - they already are anyway. What's to lose, our status is already in jeopardy.
Agree Cottager with much you have said, its no good keep reading or hearing comments about how it is all coming together,when, as we are rapidly approaching December, still find ourselves 2 points from the relegation position. As i have stated in previous postings you do not, unless a necessity bring on subs with less than 10min to go. I fell that comes Jan,our league position if not satisfactory,could bring in some changes.
If the comments you are quoting, Cottager, were the ones shown on Match of the Day, I thought he was talking about Sunderland's late chance where Schwarzer made a great reflex save - it would have been undeserved to have lost at the last gasp. He then cited Dempsey's chance as an example of why we deserved better. That was my understanding of what he said, anyway.
Getting more adventurous: I know I'd like to inject some pace into our attacks for our away games and try to pass quicker to the front players. My front 3 would be Ruiz Dempsey and Dembele Briggs Sidwell and Etuhu, Kasami in the middle Baird Hangeland Hughes at the back Not forgetting Schwarzer in goal We'd probably lose 5-0 all the time, but the reasoning behind my line up The front 3 to interchange and also take on defenders one on one, shoot on sight. Sidwell and Etuhu to be defensive midfield across the back 3. Briggs and Kasami to defend and break up the wing play and midfield of the likes Arsenal, Swansea or Chelsea. Should we be getting too much pressure on the back 3, during the game can always push Briggs back into LB and Baird to RB while keeping a strong midfield three.
I don't like the idea of Kasami defending, SBM. On the OP, on the whole we've been bolder than we were under Hughes and Hodgson. It's understandable wanting to keep things tight with our away record. Think back to the Tottenham game - if that wasn't bold, I don't know what is. With regards to late substitutions, the only reasoning I can muster is that Jol needs a new watch!
The team was too heavy for my liking on Saturday. 4 relatively slow defenders, no width apart from Duff. I think his comments C58 were regarding Sunderland's chance. You might have taken them out of context... He actually said it would undeserving to loose all 3 points based on our performance. I agree on the point that he needs to try different formations and be bolder. Bring some of the youngsters like Frei, Briggs and Kasami. In any case a difficult period is coming upon us. I believe we can get points from all of them. Sounds very optimistic but the league has proved to be unpredictable this year.
However one interprets Jol's comments at the weekend, they have a taint of coming from a depressed person. We are led to believe, that he favours a wide attacking style and was, again we are led to believe, brought in to introduce new, young talent. Well he's got some - Briggs, Frei, Kasami, Gecov, Ruiz - but he hasn't introduced them. He appears to have dug himself into a corner where with little or no experience of the premiership among these players, and our precarious position, he is now scared to risk them and resorts to the experienced few. Apart from Grygera and the Riise - not exactly youngsters - this is the team of 1-2 (3?) years ago. Don't get me wrong I love those players to bits. And indeed they have shown in (some) games rousing performances. However, the fact is that far too often this season we have been slow and predictable making it too easy for the opposition defense. So, what I'm saying is that Jol has had plenty of chances in 25 games to ease others in. Not least through appropriate substitutions, where Saturday was a prime example. Leaving it till the New Year, with or without more newcomers on board, to drop them in at the deep end may be too late. He should have the power of his conviction (and ambitions) in the upcoming games - especially in away fixtures.
Tosh ,forever the optimist,but the fact is we have missed our chance to pick up points in the last 6 games we have played, the next 6 on paper look a lot more difficult. And to be quite honest,if we take 5 points from these games we would have played to our seasons ability. Its no good going through the season with the ambition that if others play slightly worse that us we will be ok.
Valjing, agree that the next 6 games look tough, at least on paper. I would say the strongest team is Liverpool but all of them have weaknesses. Arsenal is a 2-3 man team that if we manage to control key players we can get something out of it. Utd and Chelsky are showing a lot of weaknesses and not to be feared and both games have a smell of points to be won. Swansea and Bolton should be there for taking all 3 from both games. Strong games but would say we can get at least 6 and maximum 10.
