Chaps, it's all very well slating Silvestri for his mistake (and it's deserved!), but how about slating the rest of the team for not scoring? You don't win games unless you score, and we're failing miserably on that front. There was a cacophany over the last few weeks, insisting that the answer was to go 4-4-2, and play Antenucci up front. That went well, didn't it? Managed to lose our first game of the season by playing that system! Sadly, we have another Head Coach who listens to Twitter criticism too much, and folds. So much for heavy metal football. Effing do not lose / surrender football.
Ignore him and listen to the bloke who gets your scores correct, even got our score right last night.
Seems to be something your Head Coach promises, but since no-one has a clue what it is, we'll never know if it's been delivered! Not even sure that makes sense!
Re goalkeepers puncing as opposed to catching. We have a real man's game over here (Gaelic Football) which I have never played, but I played rugby in a team which allowed many local Gaelic players to keep fit and active over the winter - GAA is a summer sport. Native Gaelic players ball handling skills stand out a mile on a rugby pitch, Rob Kearney is a good example at national level. As hooker I threw into the lineout, and the GAA players always claimed that what you could reach with one hand, to tap back or in soccer punch, you could equally reach with 2 hands to catch. How many times did Pat Jennings ( or Bonetti, or Banks, or Harvey) punch when they could catch and nullify all danger? Modern coaching?
Good point davy, Modern coaching or modern balls? Not the heavy sodden things nowadays, Lightweight swerves a lot, So punch or catch? If you punch it it goes far,if you try to catch it and miss yer fecked, I;m with you old school catch it,but no keepers do it nowadays, Reason?
I don't think that was our strongest lineup at all. Only going off the starting lineup and what I've heard from those that have been there ofcourse. However, playing Cook on the left of midfield is just stupid and pointless. I have been saying we need to stick with 3 central midfielders the whole time as I don't think we have any midfielders bar Adeyemi that are capable of playing in a 2 at the moment. The rest aren't good enough both defensively and creatively. I know Antenucci deserves a place in the team based on his form so far this season but you can't disrupt the rest of the team just to find him a place there. If he is so adamant he doesn't wanna play wide then for the moment he is an impact sub imo. I don't think the personnel was the issue here, I would be playing Byram or Botaka (although we don't know what he is like at the moment so its hard to say) over Antenucci and playing the 4-3-3.
I'd prefer to see a goalkeeper punch if in doubt. As you say if you go for the catch and miss it yer ****ed, but equally so if someone gets a slight touch on it the way through. If in doubt punch it, removes the danger and has a fraction of the risk.
Botaka aside, if who played on Tuesday wasn't our strongest team, who would you have had playing instead?
I did just say I don't think it was a personnel issue. I wouldn't have played Antenucci, I did say this before game so its not a hindsight thing. Formation is also a huge part and playing players in their right positions seems common sense to me but obviously not to managers. If your gonna play Cook out on the left you may as well not play him. We aren't good enough in the middle of the park to play 2 CMs either.
