It's spooky, even if we get a touch on a corner the ball seems to perfectly land at the opponents feet . Our first corner hit one of our own player and landed nicely for Man City to run on the counter with most of our team standing in the box watching in horror.
We always seem to get the rub of the green in the Champs but seem jinxed in the Prem. I know there's a sort of logic behind this, in the sense that if we're attacking and in their area, we're more likely to get the breaks than if we're defending, but it is starting to border on the spooky.
I made no mention of wholesale changes, canario. What I meant was a tweak in midfield to support the defence against a fearsome attack in their own stadium. We were up against it, but we played like we weren't. When we beat Citeh at CR we didn't do that. Instead we conceded possession and played with a low block of two ranks at the back, absorbing pressure and then breaking with pace when we got the ball. We were fortunate that day to score with all of our 3 shots on target, but that was 3 more than we managed yesterday. Expecting Gilmour to play as both the pivot and like a DM was optimistic in the extreme. Had we played him teaming with Lees-Melou with Sørensen playing the DM role behind them we could have been more solid in defence and more creative when we had the ball. DF made a move in this direction when he took Rupp off and brought on McLean to shore up our left flank. We were still without a DM, however, as Gilmour tried to play his hybrid role in front of the defence. A DM would have been able to drop back to support the CBs when the crosses came in from the left, picking up an unmarked Grealish for example. Instead they exploited the gaps we left mercilessly and it turned into a rout.
What was amply demonstrated in 2019--2020 was that in this league teams don't have to be anything to write home about (as Gozo put it on another thread) to beat us; they just have to be sufficiently defensively well-organised to stop us scoring in the first quarter of the game, then have enough in attack to exploit the wide open spaces we leave behind the FBs as we become increasingly frustrated. I imagine the majority of opposition team talks are all the same: "Keep solid and wait for the mistakes". This season's opening game against Liverpool followed the normal pattern: people savouring our attacking play before the script duly played out, for which, of course, there are always "mitigating circumstances", in this case a disrupted pre-season and luck being against us. Saturday's performance was so abject we didn't even get out of the blocks early on. For all the talk about lessons having been learnt, greater emphasis being put on the physical rather than the technical, and improved quality in the squad, I've seen nothing, repeat nothing, so far that suggests this season is going to be any different.
I disagree with Robbie. This season is already different with the switch to a 3 man midfield. That wasn't enough against Liverpool and ManCity, but it will make a difference in other games as will a much more experienced back line. The missing link is a DM at the heart of that midfield 3. That doesn't have to mean a 'Skipp clone', but it needs to be someone who can read play, fill gaps and support the CBs when we're under pressure. That isn't Gilmour's game and it wouldn't entirely suit Skipp ether, as he works best in a 2 man midfield. I had hoped that Sørensen would fit the DM role but DF doesn't seem to see it that way. Much will depend on getting another DM in and what his strengths are. If that's Norman, then it depends on what he brings. Transfermarkt says he's a DM who can also play at CM or AM and that might be an indication of what DF wants. IMO Skipp lacks that AM element, but it is needed if we remove the AM to make a 3 man midfield. Lees-Melou, Rupp and McLean all have that AM capability as well, which allows a deep play-maker role, or even shared role according to who's playing. This is still a work in progress, so we need to be patient.
I agree with you. I also think, though, that suggesting the same structure to approach as in the 19-20 season is a problem is still open to debate. Our approach did not look a problem at all until our centre backs got crocked regularly - even when they did, at times we looked excellent - for me, the issue was not so much Farke’s philosophy and how he sets up his team, as the personnel available. That’s the same issue now, of course, but if we can have consistency in the team as well as a bit more flexibility when injuries come in, I don’t see why Farke's philosophy cannot keep us in the league comfortably. That’s not to say we should follow the same approach as 19-20 - clearly there were some big issues there - but we need to have a consistent philosophy and find a rhythm. There were moments in the 19-20 season where we looked more than good enough to stay in the league (as well as plenty of moments where we looked terrible). From what I’ve seen of the two matches so far, the only lesson I can identify so far which we really have not learned is defending set pieces, especially corners. I don’t get that at all.
Man C took advantage of the new offside rule for the first; last season Jesus would have offside by a shoulder. And, it sure looked like Sterling was offside for the fourth - maybe I don't understand the offside rule on that play.
I must admit I was also surprised that VAR didn’t even seem to bother checking. Anyway, looks like we’ve picked the wrong weekend to play Leicester too….
Re. the fourth goal, while Sterling was "in an offside position" when the pass was played to Mahrez, he wasn't interfering in the play. Isn't that the explanation? If the pass had gone to Sterling, he would have been offside.
No I think Spring means the final ball - here’s a screenshot of it as best I can do at the point of the pass - if you follow the lines of the grass cutting on the pitch (which I appreciate are not wholly reliable), it looks like Sterling’s feet are clearly behind the ball when passed, but he’s leaning far forward so that his head (which I think still counts!) could be. I wouldn’t say it’s definitively offside and on this screenshot I would say his head is in line or just behind, but I am very surprised neither this nor the first goal were checked as they at least look borderline and VAR has better stills than my screenshot of YouTube highlights…
Oops! My mistake. I'd forgotten that Mahrez's was Goal No.5, not No.4. I took CS to be referring to that, not the Sterling goal. From your screen shot, I'd say Sterling was probably just onside, but certainly close enough to have had VAR look at it. Are we sure they didn't?
No, to be honest, I am not sure they didn't. But it wasn't mentioned for this or the first goal and (last season) they used to show VAR measuring out the lines when there was an offside check. It is possible that they have streamlined the process so it goes on in the background - certainly that seems to be the case for other VAR checks. But there was barely even a hiatus in restarting the match so it must be a much quicker check if so. And they usually mention on commentary that a check is happening. Farke got yellow-carded for something, which has not been fully explained, and I had assumed it might have been something to do with not carrying out a VAR check (though not necessarily for this).
After that rabbits in headlights performance getting caught out by the same goal 4 times , I'm expecting a week of very shouty training sessions attemptong to address this. You would hope that the set piece zonal marking bloopers reel will also get reviewed . Not troubling either keeper was also concerning but that's less of a concern at this point. IF we could grind out 3 back to back 0-0 results I would be ecstatic . Brentford have managed to keep 2 clean sheets already and they should be our yard stick
Thanks - I think the pitch lines with the steeper angle of his body here suggest he was probably on-side, but it was at least worth a look (particularly as the linesman is about five yards off the pace!)
Pretty sure they check everything but they try to carry on without a big song and dance until the review is finished, if it's onside the ref doesn't even mention it . V.A.R worked pretty well during the Euros and seemed less intrusive than before
That makes sense and is way better. The only thing is if they restart the match without the check, then I don't think they can call it back!
