Yesterday was a game of two parts. The positive part: we owned midfield with roughly 60:40 possession. We had a ton of shots, more on target than Norwich. We scored three well taken goals against a team defending desperately.. Michu's touch and timing are sublime. We didn't hang our heads and chuck it in, we kept believing and playing until the end. The bad part: we didn't own our penalty box. We got beat 1 on 1 three times as a result of not being nimble in our feet or in our heads - not acceptable - and we got beat twice at the near post - keeper issue. Forget the free kick goal, which was perfectly struck. It's in our box where we got beat yesterday and that's got to get sorted out. Vorm would probably not have been beaten at the near post on two of the goals and how Whittingham slithered inside Ash in the first goal needs some soul searching. On Holt's goal we were all over the place on coverage even as we were lining up you could see everybody's eyes on the ball nobody really looking around to see who was drifting where - we should be better than that at this level, it's fundamental. I don't see how DG blends with the rest of this team. He doesn't have the touch and wins nothing in the air. He almost interfered with Michu on the first goal - a yard quicker and he would have collided with him - he is not as aware as he should be. Itay finds ways to get something on the ball in the toughest of competitive situations with defenders and his touch is so much better. IMO Itay should be preferred over DG. I think you have all covered Ki well; little bits are really annoying / frustrating but plenty of positive to keep us optimistic.
Totally agree about DG Yankee, he doesn't suit this new style of attacking play under the ViKing. too slow, not enough work rate, doesn't have much of an understanding with Michu. Maybe he's just off the pace after illness but frankly I think we need someone faster, stronger and sharper. Moore, DG and Itay aren't this player, we really badly need a quality striker. I mentioned on another post about defensive cover too and I think that the Norwich game has highlighted our lack of depth in this area. Tremmel and Davies have done really well but I think yesterday was a game too far for them. A versatile 'Tatey' sort of player would be good. In all though we are only 2-3 signings away from being a more consistently excellent team.
Intresting view there Steve! wonder if you will get a PM (probably off Ki's mum i suspect) .. Ki is doing ok but i dont see him being any better than Britton,Kemy or JDG ! its early days for him and he has alot of growing within the team to do, Leon never became the player he is now overnight,it took him years to reach his level of performance. The true comparison is that when Leon Britton has a bad game its normally because he misplaced a couple of passes!! when does he ever have a bad game ?? i think leon had one poor game this season(by his standards im talking) he is without doubt one of the most consistant players ive ever seen in any division ! Ki IMO has been brought in to play in leons position, JDG and Michu are taking care of the AM role and Ki i think was to put pressure on Leon or rotate with him, so far he is well short of doing that job at the same level, in time who knows .
What summed up DG was the chance where routs put him clean through on goal, DG had to wait for the ball to drop onto his foot before connecting with it where a more technical player would adjust his body shape faster to hit the ball higher therefore get his chance off, a connection toward the goal would have seen him score at that range,if he had adjusted his body quick enough lifting his leg probably could have won him a penalty also as the player was behind him. The problem for Danny is that he doesnt have great touch or vision and that is something we need with this formation,the players need to have eyes in the back of their head at times, look at the ball touts playes to him! it was sublime and you know if it was Michu on the end it was a certain goal but danny waiting for the ball to sit right just doesnt happen in the prem league ,you dont have that time on the ball thats why he misses his chances,he either strikes too early thinking he doesnt have time or he wiats too long not realising he has no time !! He can still offer something for us but i would have played Moore yesterday
Moore has better vision (or 'football brain' if you prefer) but he just isn't a goal scorer. Michu is better behind the striker naturally but when he is upfront he is still a damn sight better than Moore or DG. Looks like ML is going to strengthen in this position anyway, I just hope he doesn't mean signing Itay permanently!
the minute i saw Danny as our main striker i knew we would struggle.....a useless finisher that needs to go now..thank god he was eventually subbed and were a better team after that....no more starts for Danny please,
SteveJack mentioned about a "Tatey" sort of player - what about Tiendalli. He seems to have a lot of ability and has looked good in his appearances to date. I see a lot in Itay. He never gives up a cause and has a strength / skill blend that is deceptively better than it looks. If you have the game recorded take a look at some the challenges he won against the defenders yesterday when he had the disadvantage.
Man you've hit it on the head there Norway, been mulling over those issues all day! What can I say, out of all those though, the back line was the main problem, really made it difficult for our front line, and gave them added pressure unnecessarily, thought our equaliser was a bit harsh to have been disallowed, but that's footy. KI while a good player, has a lot to learn, and is no where near the finished article, far too sloppy with his passing, as is De Guzman, we have come to expect high standards over the years of developing our passing game, and we now have a few weak links that need improving, I'm sure that will be sorted by Laudrup, as he was never a player to take losing the ball lightly! It will get sorted no doubt, but your on the money Norway, good post again as always mate!..................
god you guys make my sides hurt with laughter.....You don't honestly believe we are going to win every game do you. Let me let you into a well known Fact......we wont.. that's football for you...
Dai, don't you realise that's why we are all here? Of course we know we will lose a lot of games... more than we will win at this level but we live in hope that one day that will change. Meantime, we have fun in debating the whys and wherefores of each game, particularly those we considered we had a good chance of winning but didn't. At heart we are all football managers and we all have a view. Those views are sometimes poles apart and we then debate the merits, or otherwise, of them. Personally, I find it an education and extremely interesting to read views that differ from my own. Providing they make sense that is.......
Dai it's obvious that we won't win every game. Even in the unbeatable season Arsenal had a few years ago they didn't win every game. It's impossible. Now back to debating our beloved swans...
