Pimlico_Villa

I struggle with the logic there. If we are playing well but still losing, doesn't that make it a bit futile?

He’s in desperate need of a dedicated striker coach. Would love to see Terry convince Drogba to come in and work with him for a month or two. Has the right physical ingredients but needs some specific Premier League coaching.

Agree 100%.

Looks lively at times but has to improve his athleticism to be effective in this league.

Have just winced at the prospect of Elmohamady coming up against either Bernard or Iwobi. Only positive for us from that is that it finally gives Smith the excuse to drop him. I don' think we will set up to defend, given we are at Home and doing so isn't really in Smith's vocabulary, so expecting an open game. How quick and good in the air are Keane and Mina?

The issue with VAR is that, I believe, it is still operated by Referees. And we all know that Referees are largely incompetent and will do nothing but look out for one another. The operators in the studio should be independent.

Yes, I know we are basing this on only two games, but I would have expected to have at least seen the raw ingredients from him. He did well to hold off Sanchez for our goal last week, but he's subsequently looked well off the pace. I think the comparisons with Benteke are quite short sighted. Yes, they are both tall and came from the Belgian League, but apart from that I can't see any other similarities. Benteke was rapid and brilliant in the air, Wes is mid-paced and isn't winning bulk of aerial challenges. I think he'd really benefit from some individual coaching from an experienced PL striker and would love to see Terry arrange for Drogba to come in for a month and spend time with him and Davis.

I actually disagree with that. Going down two nil so early against Bournemouth completely changed the dynamic of the game: they had a lead to protect and were happy to allow us possession and chase the game whilst they mainly looked to attack on the counter. Point being, is that I'm not convinced that we would have generated the same possession and chance creation statistics if it had been nil nil for a longer duration: perversely, it was actually the making of those mistakes that allowed us to play well for the rest of the game. Put more simply, us playing well for the remainder effectively flattered to deceive as it was only because Bournemouth were comfortable with us having the onus. I appreciate that is a pessimistic view, though, and others might see it differently. On your latter point, I am indeed dubious that we will struggle to stop the mistakes, mainly because of an inability - or, I suspect more likely, a tactical reluctance from Smith - to play the game at tempo. Maybe that will come as we adapt to the League, but if we continue to pass the ball a) so slowly; and b) so predictably square, then we are very easy to read and therefore vulnerable to losing the ball from a high press. This isn't a question of squad capability, as you reference, but more the tactical direction from Smith. This is not a League for slow motion football and we need more movement, more zip and to utilise angles better. More broadly, I just cannot see us getting the goals we need. The way we play inherently places pressure on goals from midfield, yet non of our midfielders are prolific goal scorers. Yes, they do score goals, but historically not at the rate that would be needed for this system to work. I would be doing as much coaching of Davis as is humanly possible - especially around his finishing - so that we at least have an alternative system to play. If Wes does not come good this month, then Davis needs to be ready to come in and hit ground running.

I'd argue that whilst the FBs were not at fault for the goals conceded, if we'd have more offensively progressive FBs - which Targett and Guilbert undoubtedly are - then we might have scored more goals and beaten Bournemouth. If you play like we do, with one striker and a narrow outside right and left (El Ghazi and Trez), it is critical that FBs get forward. So, I actually think we would have stood a better chance of winning if we'd have played more attack-minded FBs.

I’m not buying into this ‘we only made two mistakes and it cost is’ excuse. People almost implying that if you concede from a mistake, then it somehow doesn’t count. They do, and the fact that unforced errors are costing us games is deeply concerning. Spurs was a free punt game and was the one to make mistakes in, not Bournemouth at Home. Plus, we probably had the lion share of possession because Bournemouth were happy to sit on their 2 goal cushion. What is concerning is that, even with that possession, we only scored once. People seem calm but I am not impressed with what I am seeing, on balance

Would also add that he needs to find a way of getting us to play at a PL tempo. This slow motion football won’t get us anywhere

I also think we need to bring in a dedicated Striker coach. Wesley is looking like a dud that is in desperate need of coaching and Davis needs to learn how to finish.

Agreed that he was tactically incompetent today. I’ve never been a fan of slow motion, side to side Smith-ball, but really hope he gets it together and improves.

Didn’t mind being outclassed, but no excuse for our fitness levels being so low. Have been saying for years that we need proper ore-seasons that build fitness, intensity and tempo.

He is one I wouldn’t mind paying up for. Fantastic player, incredible fitness levels and very versatile. Right age as well.

That level of wholesale recruitment in one summer is difficult and January showed we aren’t the best at it. I know Summer market is better, but more likely it takes ~3 windows to get the optimised squad together. Which is why Smith needs to start getting more out of certain current players.

How can he be injured when he isn’t even playing? Starting to think he is a real crock.

Please post a link to that statistic? I can almost guarantee you've misconstrued it.

What would you have them do? Stand up and and elegantly quote chapter and verse on the many virtues of playing on the front foot? Calls to pass the ball forward are not random or spontaneous; when you have seen a player make a forward run for the 20th time only for Hourihane or Whelan to turn their back and pass it backwards to a centre half it is enough to try anyone's patience.

Its got to the point where he is a liability. Only in kids football have I seen a player so easily out-muscled and his free kick ability nowhere near compensates for his physical weaknesses. I genuinely think if you pulled a fan out of the crowd hey could do what Hourihane does - take a touch and then pass it back to a centre half or full abck.

The bigger concern I have is that I don't think we have the right infrastructure at the club to bring in the type of players Smith needs. It is a meticulous and arduous process that required an entire division at Brentford and took years to refine. We also have a number of factors going against us when trying to replicate that strategy: i) we will always have to pay a huge premium because of our perceived resources, stature and size; ii) players at that stage are psychologically vulnerable and likely can't hack playing in front of an even half full VP; and iii) if we do it gradually, rather than wholesale this summer, the main benefit of younger players - ambition, fitness, pace, excitement - will be completely diluted by the old guard poisoning them (Hourihane and Whelan content to just play keep ball in our own half, for example). The best example of the latter is what Whelan did to Ramsey on Saturday - forced him to play safe by giving him the ball into feet or behind him even though the lad had made some great runs. As such, a bigger part of the task here is not just recruitment of younger and fitter players, but the phase out of older players. The latter have no sale value as no one will take on their exuberant contracts, so that will be a key test for this regime (who I was really unimpressed with in January). The best option would be to plead with Hourihane and Whelan to stop what they're doing and at least try to run/move/play on the front foot (Whelan showed he can actually play a ball forward against Sheff Utd), but looks like Smith has exhausted all efforts here if our recent complete reversion to Bruce ball is anything to go by. I've been one of Smith's biggest critics on here, but if we accept it is just too difficult a task to inspire the likes of Hourihane and Whelan to run, then the fan pressure needs to shift to the non-playing staff and their ability to recruit. People on here will disagree, but I don't think the team the owners have put in place caught enough criticism for their performance in January, where they chose to capitulate rather than give promotion a genuine shot. Asking Smith to do it all is too much; I'm prepared to let him focus on the on-pitch issues, but we need to get at the recruitment team if they have a slow start in the summer.

Exactly. The stats are just headlines, read into the detail and he is not a very effective player in the slightest. Tidy and competent, most of the time, but only runs backwards and passes the ball backwards. Just watch his body shape next time he receives the ball.

He should be one of the 'punters' they bring on in the NFL to take the kicks.

Really hope Smith plays him for every minute for the rest of the season. It was so refreshing seeing a player have the fitness and intelligence to make forward runs from midfield.

I know it wobbles your bubble, but believe it or not, criticism of this regime is perfectly legitimate. You don't know what I may or could know so don't pretend to. The undeniable sign of incompetency is not signing a LB - on loan or otherwise - despite it being an emergency situation since August. That is 6 months to source and transact yet it yielded no results. Secondly, signing an injured player in Carroll. That was a new low even for us.