Im very much in the minority i expect, but I don't think last night was to bad. Im not expecting a major turn around. We where tight and controlled for most of the game. Had some more than decent opportunities and Sunderlands efforts where mostly from range. Yes is boring, but I'd much rather be bored while we work back to something, than watch them get cut open while trying and failing to play expansive attacking football.
Whoever was responsible for the summer signings, brought in great individual players but completely ignored the growing physicality of the league. We look very lightweight in comparison. Mamardashvili is the only unit and he doesn't even need to be.
Good points. One thing I've not seen mentioned anywhere is how pathetic Sunderland were in flopping all over the place at the merest touch and faking head injuries which is becoming a thing, started by Arsenal and spreading.
The head injury thing, drives me insane. How many times did you see someone go down holding their head in past seasons? Maybe once a match, it must be close to double figures per game now. This was brought in to protect players and you're taking advantage of it you ****ing imbeciles. They will either take the rule away or more likely introduce sonething along the lines of, you have to go off and be assessed for concussion to try and stop the play acting.
Yep, VAR could actually be very useful here in just letting the ref know in his ear ‘play on, his head was not touched’
yeah i remember that - Ipswich yet others get chance after chance PS . I don't think Quansaah was great but he was decent and had potential with the added bonus of being CG & HG which is a bonus in terms of european competition and just having a local lad in the team
While Slot has until the end of year I think...but this is also Richard Hughes first swing at building a team here since joining and I think he's got it very wrong. What happened to all the performance player stats gurus that FSG wanted to follow. Surely they saw the signs of the individual older players that are struggling before anyone else did? As others have said...we saw signs end of last year. So why did Hughes go for the players he did... A lot has been made that FSG wanted back to the "coach is the coach" approach so summer buys are largely on Hughes and his team then? If Slot goes, end of summer so should Hughes
I'm surprised I'm in that minority with you tbh, I hate boring football. But I think it's kind of needed at this point
Oh, yes. FGS, oh yes... £135m could have bought Semenyo, and we could have offered £50m for Guehi early in the window, allowing Palace to buy a replacement. We played a game there, unnecessarily, that we shouldn't have let Quansah go until the Guehi deal was over the line. I don't blame the club for the Leoni situation, but God, that was terrible luck, though letting Quansah go before getting Guehi in wasn't. And there's no guarantee we'll get him (or Semenyo) at all now. As to Isak, the way Ekitike hit the ground running, I'd have let Newcastle stew until January, or even next summer - we truly didn't need him as much as a CB and a winger/LM. We could easily have kept Darwin for another season and only lost £20m of his value. I've criticised FSG in the past for not spending money, but I also criticised them for even thinking of spending £115m on Caicedo - sure, he's a good Dm, but he's not that good. I think we did the same this season with Isak - but as Chelsea weren't after this one, we got him. Isak is decent, and he will be good - but he's not stellar, and most of us on here said so in the summer. £80m next summer would have been acceptable, but as it is, who would you rather have - Guehi and Semenyo, or Isak? I rest my case.
Dude got slammed in the nuts from a corner - went down holding his crotch, then grabbed his head. Ref saw it and played on, but then called assistance on when the ball went safe. Commentators were droning on about the questions that would have been asked had Liverpool scored. Farcical. I think it was Cucarea at Chelsea who advanced this dark art more than anyone else, though.
As you know, I'm with you on wanting entertaining football, but I agree we have to get the basics right before trying to be more expressive.
I'm more relaxed about it all now. I feel more tense when we're fighting at the top and it feels like any slip could be fatal. I've given up on any hope for the title so now I'm just fascinated to see how the story unfolds - how much worse it can be before it gets better.
It's ridiculous - I'm holding my head in frustration as much as they're holding theirs. I think your last suggestion is the best way forward. Also, I think they should be booked for simulation if a review clearly shows no contact with the head. After all, it's only concussion that is the concern, a girly slap in the chops doesn't count.
The ball actually him him around top of his leg and that is the area he originally held then swopped to his head at which point he swivelled his head to see if the ref had noticed .
It’s an easy one for var. quick review and next break of play, ref goes back and gives them a yellow for trying to con them. Same can happen with diving. Not sure why fa is so reluctant to do it.
I don't know about Chelsea but I distinctly remember Arsenal's Gabriel J going down like he'd been stuck with a poisoned dart after a slight brush from Tsimikas (season before last). He lay there completely motionless and I was really upset that I may have just seen an 'Eriksen' incident, waiting for players and medical staff to surround him to maintain his dignity. I was genuinely shocked. When he bounced back up I thought it was the most sinister con I'd witnessed on a football pitch. I haven't seen anything as bad as that since but the fake head injuries are happening every game. I don't want to think that managers are encouraging it but if they weren't then surely we'd see less not more.
Cucurella was definitely one of the first I remember doing it, though perhaps his hair was sore. Either with or without the sanction of coaches they must be practising it. If you're genuinely hurt, the instinctive reaction is for your hands to go to the affected part. To ignore the gash on the shin or the ball in the nuts and clutch your head dramatically must take a fair bit of discipline. I fear now that it's a con in the majority of cases, and needs to be punishable like other acts of simulation and deception.
