They do. I’m lighter in the pocket too as I’ve started backing the Toon. **** that. Back to the insurance bets I go.
Yeh mate, me and Benitez knows where it's at. We're currently on our way to meet merino and get to the titty bar what what!
It's the 2 up front that would make the difference. Joselu/Perez ( No thanks ) Joselu/Gayle ( No thanks ) Mitrovic/Gayle ( possible) Mitrovic/Ritchie ( Possible ) better still get 2 forwards who can score goals in January and get rid of Joselu,Gayle and Mitrovic.
Perhaps although I think he sees something in Joselu that none of us do. That is why he maybe picked him again over Mitrovic despite having seen proof that Mitro/Gayle can be a threat. Plus the latter was in the Championship. If he was making a point I think it would be more that it doesn't how many I put up front when they're all ****e so give me some money Mr Chairman.
We did at times make hard work of the Championship as we rigidly stuck to a 4-2-3-1 regardless of opposition. Relatively speaking, we comfortably had the best squad in the division at the time. What has remained, whether we've been playing Burnley or Burton Albion, is that we are far too slow in possession and only seem to increase urgency when we fall behind. With the players we have there's pace in abundance; Atsu, Manquillo, Yedlin, Mbemba, Ritchie, Gayle. We are well drilled and disciplined in defence so it stands to reason we should have an effective counter attack - yet we don't? Our breaks are almost always crap, there's just rarely enough support moving forward. I'm sure Rafa isn't coaching them to run 40 yards, then turn around and pass to Eliott. I think what is a bit weird is we have two very attacking full backs in the team, with two attack-minded wingers. Maybe the wider issue is we have no dedicated DM. Shelvey drops deep, that's his style of play, but does he then double up as a third CB, like players like Matic or Dier do? The answer's no, so what happens is the back four keep their shape. At Spurs, when Dier drops deeper, the full backs push right up the pitch and allow a bit of freedom for players like Alli and Erikson; Spurs flow really well from 4-2-3-1 to 3-4-3 and this is where I think our biggest failing is. Atsu/Ritchie aren't supported enough so fail to tuck in a bit more narrow, leaving us as some really odd 5-4-1 formation far too often, with Shelvey as one of the 5 and the full backs sitting back. It makes it hard to beat, but it's never going to produce goals. The answer for me is better coaching for Hayden. He's the only DM we have and played at CB for Arsenal's young 'uns. We need a system whereby he drops deeper and allows the full backs to push on; ahead of him I'd have both Merino and Shelvey to ensure we're solid in the middle, with those guys operating in tandem as CM/No. 10's. Both are comfortable around the 18 yard box and can retain possession well, particularly Merino. Having that security, with Hayden creating 3 at the back, allows both full backs to make runs for Shelvey passes, and allow both Atsu and Ritchie to come a bit narrower and nearer the main striker. It doesn't solve the issue of having band average CF's everywhere, but if Joselu or Mitrovic had better players closer to them than having to rely on Perez, I think they could be more effective. In effect it 4-2-3-1 which flows into 3-4-3 like Spurs, just with worse players, and would give us more of a threat going forward. We just need to get Perez out of the team, and get Hayden to have better discipline. We need Atsu/Ritchie as more of a threat than byline-running wingers. Just my two cents.
