Clueless

[Keane prods the giant]

I've come on here for the first time after yesterday's game and had a quick flick through some of the threads. Yep, the title says it all.

We cannot begin to criticise any player without first ripping apart Sessegnon. Sessegnon was nothing short of a disgrace yesterday and Bruce almost as bad for persisting with him for so long. I was shouting for Bruce to get Sessegnon off yesterday from 20 minutes into the game, yet he waiting until getting on for 70 minutes i think. For both of them it's almost unforgiveable. There's players struggling for form and not on their game etc, and then there's performances like that from Sessegnon. You cannot have a player on the field playing at that level of performance, it was 12 against 10. In 3 games i've seen Sessegnon give two of the worst individual performances i've seen from a footballer, the other game being Chelsea. He killed us yesterday, and Bruce allowed it.

Richardson and Bramble were terrible and need dropping. Everyone else was/is more than fine. If we start dropping Vaughan, Gardner or Elmo (players i've seen criticised) we've just got no chance of getting a good team together. Get the **** off Elmo's back, he's been very good for two games now. His direct strong running get us moving forward over and over again, and that's crucial. He may not be the most refined player around, but he's crucial to us playing well and a really important player for us now. Vaughan and Gardner are a lovely central midfield duo, don't change them. We can't expect them to perform miracles when we had a player like Sessegnon on the field yesterday. It's amazing the detrimental effect Sessegnon had on our play yesterday in so many ways. His role is so important to our play, and to play so badly just writes off any chance of the other players playing at their best. We're much better than Norwich, who are probably the weakest team in the league, but does Bruce have the ability and/or bottle to get the best out of us?

 

[Apone]

Mate, if Elmo is a crucial part of our team we are well and truly ****ed!

The words "headless chicken" come to mind.

 

[Bigjohnsafc]

Elmo has been very good for 2 games????!!!!! Are you insane?? Tell me mate, as a winger, did he beat his man once yesterday? Just once? Did he offer us one thing yesterday? He delivered one ball the entire game, for a winger that is a disgrace. Sess is only **** because he's being used as a striker, he's not a striker, he can't play with his back to goal.

 

[Chappaz]

Funny how some people have such differing opinions

To one guy, Elmo is a headless chicken running around with no end product, whereas to another guy, Elmo's essential because his long runs gets the team moving forward.

Ain't football a strange old thing.

 

[dansafcman]

I though Elmo was ok yesteday, and the Norwich player did well in limiting his influence.

Rest of the team except Oshea and Ricco were piss poor after the 1st 20 minutes. Sess was shocking.

 

[parkersafc]

Elmo was actually one of the few players to score 4 or more in my eyes last night. He put the only decent ball in all night.

Sessegnon.was ****e because he's being played in an impossible position, how is he meant to look good with his back to goal, he's about 4'11

 

[Zendens Safety Dance]

i find it amazing that elmo is anywhere near the first team at the moment. he runs up that right wing extremely laboriously and lacks any form of conviction, he never looks like beating the man and the best result we can ever hope for is a corner. Granted he can put in a decent cross from deep, but he rarely gets to the byline simply because he's too scared. Furthermore, why are we compensating for him by sticking larsson out on the left? When bardsley returns the team should be:

Mig

O'Shea---Bramble---Brown---Bardo

Larsson---Gardener---Vaughan---Sess

Ricco

Bendtner

Richardson seems to provide a genuine goal threat whenever he plays in midfield and is one of the few players who gets beyond the striker. ONE OF Catts or Colback should be brought in to add some steel to the centre of the park in situations which call for it. On another note, I thought sess and oshea were very poor last night although sess' case wasnt helped as we seemed to be content on pumping the long ball everytime. With players like vaughan who can unlock a defence, why do we persist with these mindless negative tactics. Positives - we can't possibly be that bad on saturday. FTM

 

[Keane prods the giant]

Elmo has been very good for 2 games????!!!!! Are you insane?? Tell me mate, as a winger, did he beat his man once yesterday? Just once? Did he offer us one thing yesterday? He delivered one ball the entire game, for a winger that is a disgrace. Sess is only **** because he's being used as a striker, he's not a striker, he can't play with his back to goal.

****. I need to speak with people who understand football. It's not my fault you can't see the difference Elmo makes to our play. Think of the games Larsson played on the right wing, he's not got out of his own half. Elmo stuck a ball straight onto Wickham's head yesterday, and Wickham just had to score that. Elmo pushes their midfielders and full back towards their own goal, totally changing the pattern of play. I didn't want us to sign Elmo and criticised him loads last season, but now i see what he gives us. He was terrific against Stoke and yesterday did well and provided a beauty of a cross for Wickham and won us some corners where he was trying to get other balls in. Elmo gets us using the whole right wing and opens up our play and allows our central midfielders to pick up the ball in more dangerous areas by getting the opposition moving towards their own goal. You don't get many clear chances to score in a game of football but he provided a superb chance yesterday and another against Liverpool. But that's not all he's offered, as i've explained above. What chance did he have to get into the game much yesterday when he only ever had one option ahead of him in Bendtner and only ever had one player ahead of him to get on the ball and hold it and bring players into the game. He can't pick the ball up on the half way line and beat men over and over again to carry the ball up field, he's not Messi. Sessegnon destroyed us yesterday, he gave the midfield no chance of getting involved in the game and that absolutely involves Elmo. Sessegnon sabotaged our football. He may not be a striker, but he picked the ball up in dangerous areas yesterday FACING goal and each time lashed the ball 30 yards off target. This is a game of football and you need to make the most of the attacking phases of play in the dangerous areas, because you don't get many. Sessegnon gave the ball away almost every time he touched it and was criminally wasteful in the areas we want our forwards to pick up the ball. We had no chance. He had to bring others into the game or do something with the ball himself, just like the terrific Bendtner. Only Sessegnon is to blame for his performance yesterday, not Bruce. Do we play him on the left? Well he played there against Chelsea and was even worse than he was yesterday.

 

[Keane prods the giant]

i find it amazing that elmo is anywhere near the first team at the moment. he runs up that right wing extremely laboriously and lacks any form of conviction, he never looks like beating the man and the best result we can ever hope for is a corner. Granted he can put in a decent cross from deep, but he rarely gets to the byline simply because he's too scared. Furthermore, why are we compensating for him by sticking larsson out on the left? When bardsley returns the team should be:

Mig

O'Shea---Bramble---Brown---Bardo

Larsson---Gardener---Vaughan---Sess

Ricco

Bendtner

Richardson seems to provide a genuine goal threat whenever he plays in midfield and is one of the few players who gets beyond the striker. ONE OF Catts or Colback should be brought in to add some steel to the centre of the park in situations which call for it. On another note, I thought sess and oshea were very poor last night although sess' case wasnt helped as we seemed to be content on pumping the long ball everytime. With players like vaughan who can unlock a defence, why do we persist with these mindless negative tactics. Positives - we can't possibly be that bad on saturday. FTM

Just hopeless, absolutely hopless. What are you thinking?

O'shea,Turner?,Brown,Colback
Elmo,Gardner,Vaughan,Larsson
Wickham,Bendtner

Have you seen Sess play on the left? Have you EVER seen Richardson play? Bardo is banned.

Compensating for Elmo? Larsson hasn't got out of his own half playing on the right. Larsson is a good player with good vision and is an excellent passer, but that will count for nothing on the right wing. He causes no problems on the right wing.

 

[Bigjohnsafc]

Keane prods the giant...

Trust me, I understand football, but I'm trying to figure wether you do or not.

Elmo made one cross the whole game, just 1.
He beat his man zero times.
He lacks skill, pace, and final delevery.

Now tell me, does that sound like a winger you would want in your side, just one cross?? Yeah it created a chance, but just one cross in 90 minutes? Never beat his man once? Not just once?

Sess isn't a striker mate, can't have a go at him for that. He was **** yes, but it's not his position. AM or wings, but not a striker, too small and weak.

Ask any manager in the league if they want a player who can't beat a man, can't cross, weak, no pace. If someone says yes, give them Elmo, I don't think you will have a que of takers somehow

 

[Keane prods the giant]

Keane prods the giant...

Trust me, I understand football, but I'm trying to figure wether you do or not.

Elmo made one cross the whole game, just 1.
He beat his man zero times.
He lacks skill, pace, and final delevery.

Now tell me, does that sound like a winger you would want in your side, just one cross?? Yeah it created a chance, but just one cross in 90 minutes? Never beat his man once? Not just once?

Sess isn't a striker mate, can't have a go at him for that. He was **** yes, but it's not his position. AM or wings, but not a striker, too small and weak.

Ask any manager in the league if they want a player who can't beat a man, can't cross, weak, no pace. If someone says yes, give them Elmo, I don't think you will have a que of takers somehow

Lacks pace? In the Chelsea game he took the ball from the edge of his own 18 yard box to almost the edge of the chelsea 18 yard box, and he made another great run in the same game. He takes the ball forward over and over again and this changes the dynamics of how our team plays and how the opposition counter us. I'm quite well aware he doesn't have a trick and that his final ball is often poor, but he gives us something that is essential to any team and nobody else in our squad is capable of, except maybe Sess if he were played on the right wing. If he carries the ball right up field and gives it away, it's still far more positive and far more useful than Larsson passing into central midfielders from is own half where the opposition are right on top of us and the ball goes back to the defender who hoofs it up field because the midfielders who are covered. Give the ball to Elmo he can carry it 20-30 yards, as he so often does, and the whole opposition midfield has to go towards their own goal and leaves our central midfielders in space. Simple ball inside and our central midfielders have the ball in space and have time on the ball. Its just simple but essential dynamics of a game of football. Elmo is not a refined footballer but he gives us essential ingredients and makes the team play better as a whole. It was his running and taking the ball forward that allowed Vaughan and Gardner to get their foot on the ball in time and space and play really good games against Stoke. And you have still failed to identify how Sessegnon's anonimity affected the midfielders? He had to provide a basis to allow the midfielders to join in the attack further up the field like Wickham and Bendtner did and he himself did in the Stoke game playing the identical role he played yesterday, instead he gave the ball away everytime. Whether he's a striker or not, that had nothing to do with his performance yesterday. It was simple inexcusable. If we'd had Wickham and Bendtner on from the start i'm certain we'd have won the game and seen much, much better performances from Elmo and his fellow midfielders. I can't fault Bruce for starting Sessegnon yesterday in the same role as the Stoke game, but i can fault him for taking so long to take him off and also for failing to react in general to the clear problems in our play. Sessegnon let everyone down and that's nothing to do with him not being a natural in the position he played. It was more to do with his god awful technique in striking a ball, the horribley bobbly passes he gave to is team mates etc.

 

[Cest Advocaat]

I was with yet there, right up to the point where you said elmo was a good player.

I kind of lost interest from that point on as he just isn't.

With the exception of Bendtner who did well with no service, vaughan who battled on all night and wickham who did well for the 20 mins he got, the rest were shocking. How the **** did bramble get man of the match?

 

[billofengland]

All of this conversation, yet no answers, and the man who picks the team has no answers either, save to blame the players he picked, who were using the tactics he set out. strange one eh?