... they were the better team at the blunts last night too. They just can’t buy a win... sod’s Law they break their duck at Elland Road. It will be a tough game and if we know one thing about monk it’s that he knows how to make a side tough to break down.
Well chaps that first half was the worst I've seen us play since the bad days of when the clown Holloway was in charge, ironic that it should happen at the club he is most associated with, had they played like that on saturday you would had won by a cricket score. The second half was better but too predictable and too little too late, anything at West Brom on saturday will be a bonus but things need to change lively otherwise we'll be in a relegation battle all season. Shako I wanted to drink to forget what i'd just witnessed but had to knock it on the head as I had a early start this morning and was driving.
Agreed Ristac, The last few games have seen Alioski have an opponent shadow him, that in itself is respect and fear. Douglas and Alioski aren't hitting it off, and I put that down to Douglas, he doesn't seem to know how to send Alioski on a run down wing, or give him a reason to cut inside. I say that with respects to Douglas cos, as a defender, he does a good job, but coming forward is where he lacks ingenuity. When you see Alioski coming across and doing some work on right wing, or through middle, then you know something's amiss on left side. I'd be surprised if Bielsa hasn't noticed it too, and I'm sure he'll be doing things to try and rectify the situation, but, as we know, Bielsa is reluctant to change a winning team. Maybe others have, or haven't noticed, but since Pablo was injured the Douglas / Alioski partnership seems to have bubbled to the fore, it's becoming more highlighted. When Pablos playing, the creativity and ingenuity between Alioski, Saiz and Pablo changes for the better, and with Klich now thrown into mix, it's all going to improve game by game. Harrison has a lot of potential, and is coming along ok but, when you watch down wing, a lot of the time he misses those first time passes and crosses and takes 1 or 2 too many steps. This is where Pablo excells, like Saiz and Alioski, Pablo looks up and looks around for that defence splitting pass, and most of his passes / crosses find their target; Klich is also improving in that area of his skills. Should Bielsa bring Pablo straight back in, and let's be honest, he's a hard one to leave out, then I think it will be at Harrisons expense as Bielsa has Pablo playing on right, and he's doing a great job out there. We played much better football than we did against Millwall, but there were still some tail end problems absorbed from the Millwall game. A lot of passes and crosses were wild, to heavy or too long, but that should, by all counts improve for the Brum game.....
LL most would say Douglas is good going forward and poorer defensively. Maybe tgere’s An element of an understanding that will come with time. As for alioski roaming around the pitch.. I think that’s what bielsa wants to see... interchanging, pulling defenders out of position, making them query whether to track the run etc. Alioski is one of those players who divides opinion. I’m in the middle ground, he’s frustrating a lot of the time but he works really hard and at times is part of the nice triangles we work. He does need the others around him to bring the best out of him... he’s not a player who will make a surging run and get the crowd on their feet like Saiz does.
I’ve always rated Alioski but he did not play well last time out. I think he needs a good understanding with players around him and LL is right that Pablo makes a difference. He’s not got loads of ability to beat a man so uses quick thinking and that needs other players to be on his wavelength. Maybe LL is right he’s getting closely marked, too My guess is Bielsa won’t drop him for Harrison when Pablo is fit, but what do I know.
I just don’t think we’re doing much wrong, a team that was on relegation form earlier this year and in just a few months we are top of the table and unbeaten in the league. If the players are doing something wrong I can’t wait for them to get it right None of us know if they are doing anything wrong or if they are doing exactly as told, Bielsa does and I have no doubt those not following instructions will be dealt with, I think we’ve also got to remember this team was put together at a fraction of the cost of some of the other teams, players like Alioski are not going to run the wing like premier league stars
