KitKat

Trying to buy our way out of a fundamental coaching problem isn't going to work. Someone previously used the chef analogy before but it really is like giving gourmet ingredients to someone who doesn't know how to boil a kettle and expecting a good meal. 

We need to be better than the sum of our parts and were very much the opposite right now and there aren't even the slightest rays of hope that it's going to turn around. That said our new assistant has only been in place for a very short time but that's clutching at the shortest of straws in terms of optimism.

I don't know what kind of timeline exists based on the upcoming fixtures, but you'd have to assume (or rather hope) that there is a contingency in place to relieve Gerrard of his duties if the wheels continue to fall off as they are currently...the second best time to plant a tree and all that.

HEADSHOT DEAD

Also signing off for a bit. Thoughts as follows:

Tactics might have initially been OK if we weren't so shambolic defensively, but it became immediately obvious that we were also badly struggling in the midfield. Couple that with zero tactical changes during the game to help us cope and then no subs at half time either and the result was looking obvious.

If Konsa starts again next week I'll probably gouge my own eyes out or something, although he did grow in to the game a bit I thought after another very shaky start. Chambers has to come in for me - hasn't put a foot wrong for us and is a lot more assured than Ezri right now.

Midfield 3 cannot house both McGinn and Ramsey, someone has to give way. They seemingly either do not want the ball or they want to play closer to the strikers. If that's what they're being instructed to do it isn't working and if it's not what's they're being asked to do then they aren't listening but either way drop 1 of them and get some more solidity in midfield. Kamara is doing the work of three men at times.

Finally, we waited until 60 odd minutes to make a single (weird) substitution and then made the rest after the game was already gone - a very bad showing from Gerrard. At least he was stood on the touch line for the entire game this time even if he looked like a statue. Contrast to Conte giving out orders and instructions for 90 minutes.

In short - players don't look comfortable in whatever system we are trying to play and haven't done for a very long time.

Peace

Our players don't show for passes enough and its incredibly frustrating. JJ and McGinn too far forward when we have the ball and not making themselves an option - need Doug on 2nd half as we are getting bossed in midfield by Palace.

Got away with one there - how many goals does Konsa have to be involved in us conceding before he is actually dropped? Ridiculous at this point.

Chambers and Emi to start please! I'd probably take a draw right now but hope to see a good performance with the players looking like they know what they are doing.

Unrelated but Wolves looked very organised Vs Spurs in the first half - a lot more solid than we have been certainly and I'd like to see us become harder to play against.

1 hour ago, Tomaszk said:

Here's some quotes from Stevie during pre-season.

Not to take away from the rest of your points which I generally agree with, but what do you expect him to say? They're not training well and they are shit? If he coated the players off in pre season he'd be accused of throwing them under the bus and we know he needed to keep his powder dry on that front until after the first game.

The problem with have with discussing the midfield setups is we have to assume McGinn will be included. I'd like to see 2 of Kamara, Luiz and Tim playing a disciplined role behind the attacking 4, whatever combination that might be of who is "in form". JJ should also be brought on to replace McGinn and not played along side him.

I also think trying to make WatkIngs work went a long way to costing Dean his job, as did the 3 at the back, although we might have the players to try that more effectively now.

All in all we've still an unbalanced squad in terms of who or what our best players or lineup is, and as we've seen someone ends up missing out - most frequently Buendia in recent games. 5 subs should help us to change systems mid game a bit more easily but it's difficult to see that being a good option when plan A was so poor last game.

Against Everton we need to see Konsa, McGinn, JJ and Phil all start from the bench but I'd eat my hat if that actually happens. 

1 hour ago, DCJonah said:

I'm happy to give him more time but also can't see whats going to click that makes it all work. 

 

Same, but hope we can somehow turn a good performance in to a string of them. A goal for one of our forwards would do us good and some confidence that were progressing would be great for the players and fans. The headspace most of us on here seem to be in suggests it might go the other way though and in all likelihood based on past results it probably will...but time will tell.

If we are anywhere near as bad next match as the last there will be more than question marks against the managers performance so far.

56 minutes ago, Xela said:

I like to give managers time. Perhaps that makes me different from a lot of posters, but calling for a managers head after one game of a new season is too soon for me. 

I think we were ok in patches last year, some games we played very well, others poorly and we ended up roughly where we should have after the dismal start to the season we had. It wasn't pretty at times but he did ok and definitely deserved to be in charge at the start of this season. I think he did a good job at Rangers. People talk about a 2 horse race but Celtic were well ahead when he took over and he did go the season undefeated, which is a big ask in any league. He also did well in Europe for them 

A full pre-season, more signings and I went into this season very optimistic. We'll learn more after the next 4 or 5 games to see whether the opening game is a sign of things to come.  

This is where I am at. I think of Arsenal's start last season vs where they finished. There certainly needs to be some signs of progress, and continually seeing the same mistakes on the pitch (or with selection) brings our weaknesses in to further relief.

Like everyone, I'd like to see some personnel and tactical changes against Everton, but more than that I want to see the players going at it with a determination and resolve that shows us they want to win. It is up to the manager to make that happen and if he continues to fail in that regard I don't see him being here for all that long.

1 hour ago, OutByEaster? said:

Thank you for that.

I think his perfect position is next to Kamara in a withdrawn role but with licence to get forward and support. 

I actually think that Kamara/Luiz/McGinn (or Ramsey) could be a really well balanced midfield - Kamara gives Luiz freedom from deeper and having both behind him would give McGinn a chance to really have an impact in our forward play.

 

Liverpool had a similar set up with Mascherano, Alonso and Gerrard for a while, right? We all have wanted a better CDM option for several seasons now and hopefully Kamara is the key to unlocking the potential in the rest of the midfield with the balance that he should bring. I certainly expect to see more from Doug and SJM this season. Let's not forget that we had a decent spell with Nakamba in the team and he is a much more limited player.

I wouldn't be adverse to seeing how we look with 2 deeper CMs if we go with a 4231 but we'd likely see that lineup without Ramsey or McGinn which I don't think is likely.

Not too fussed as I see it as mostly a symbolic thing. To put a positive spin on it John is well liked in the squad and maybe Gerrard see's him as more of an on the field leader in that respect (plus he was a midfielder and captain himself). Conversely perhaps this is to take some pressure off Mings and allow him to concentrate on himself.

Either way I appreciate people are upset that this confirms that McGinn will be starting every game but I expected that to be the case regardless. 

Edit: just saw the quotes above re Mings

Is the subscribe page empty for anyone else?

3 hours ago, Jas10 said:

 

I thought Louie Barry was off on loan?

21 minutes ago, QldVilla said:

Maybe, but I also believe if you have a strong sports medicine team, these things should be minimalists. The average person doesn’t realise that some people continue to grow until they are 26. 

What if he is a late developer and his growing was a contributing factor to the injuries two seasons ago? It is more likely than being a crock.

Could be true about the development related injuries, I'm not even remotely qualified to have an opinion on it! Either way, if he is a target and our people think its not a risk then fair does - it's not as if he is coming in to be 1st choice and relied upon, but I also assume he'd not be up for "trading benches".

3 minutes ago, QldVilla said:

Yes but how did he miss those games? If you break down the season, he only missed 4 games last season through injury, the previous season was horrendous I agree, but if you look at the season he was with us, he was out with a stress fracture, that is caused by overloading and not the same as being a crock.

He had one bad injury season out of the three, sometimes some context is needed.

I don't disagree my dude, but if he was a car I was buying to get to work I might also get a bus pass too 

9 minutes ago, QldVilla said:

It’s also terrible when some don’t get their facts right because they’ve created a narrative on what they believe a player is. If they looked they would notice that the player was only reported injured  for 4 games of last years PL season and another 4 games where he was out of the squad, for every other game he either played or was in the squad, hardly injury prone.

He played 90 against PSG and 45 in  a couple of games in the CL he played in 5 of Utd 6 games, plus Europa league games etc.

He’s a squad player in the second best team in the country, but apparently not good enough for Villa, who doesn’t meet the injury prone narrative, laughable.

I quite like Axel but you must understand why people consider a player who has missed 60~ games in the past 3 seasons to be injury prone, right?

I would be reasonably happy if we loaned him with a view to buy - as long as it was optional and was done to allow us to spend in other areas - but I absolutely wouldn't bet on him being available to select week in week out.

That said, I believe Mings was considered "injury prone" to some degree before we got him and he's been solid as a rock.

2 minutes ago, Villarocker said:

Do you think the fee is fair for his talent? 

Personally, I think Purslow and the management team did all they could for the good of the club. They had to negotiate a deal last summer to keep him, at a time when we narrowly escaped relegation. Grealish and his agent would have to agree the release clause so I doubt they'd have gone any higher. That is probably the best we could get to in that deal. 

Ultimately, the player has had his head turned. If he seriously thought we'd go from relegation candidates to Champions League in one season he must be Dumber than originally thought. He got a wage increase out of us for last season. A season where is stock rose but he missed a fair chunk. Was he as injured as we were made to believe or did he have sights already set further afield? Did his head get turned during the days with the players from both camps whose teams were in the Champions League final? Probably! 

I'm so impressed by Christian Purslow and the management team for how this has been handled. They've been utterly professional about it. We are so well run now and as much as Grealish leaving is a kick in the teeth, the manner in which the club has handled it will have impressed many more players than we have lost. 

I still believe in the plan but, my concern is how long will the owners believe in it? Are they in it for the long haul? It's going to be very hard to break the "big 6" cartel monopoly of our game that, if yesterday's actions are anything to go by, also includes people at the top of the English game and the national set-up. 

Maybe the European Super League and those elite few leaving is the answer to all genuine English football fans getting their game back? 

I agree they have seemingly handled this as well as they possibly could, with the knowledge we know have that there was a clause all along. I wanted a one liner on the OS confirming he had gone, but I think this video from Christian was excellently delivered and very considered in its message.

This isn't the first time we've sold our star player or our captain (and probably won't be the last), but it is the first time we've done so in recent memory where I feel we will be stronger as a result. We knew which way the wind was blowing with Barry and Delph and I know its easy to say now that he has gone, but if we can bring the overall quality of the team/squad up and not be as reliant on one person then we will see results improve. Buendia/Bailey/Ings unquestionably puts us in a stronger position than last season in that regard.

3 minutes ago, Jareth said:

Don't be stupid. It's just JWP on the plane.

He's flying without Ings.