MaVilla

we do, because we cant score for toffee.

we have played very well...but... You cant concede goals like we do...all the time!, then not take any of the numerous chances we have had, strikers simply not good enough.

we need 2 new strikers, Watkins and Ings need to be bagged off tbh.

Coutinho really needs to be our first purchase this summer (along with 4-5 others following).

what was that cross,.

so it looks like its Norwich, Watford and one from Burnley or Everton. Looks like it probably wont be Everton after that Manure win, unless Burnley can do something special, which is highly plausible, as they still have to play us twice.

tbh, with the "never drop mcginn", "konsa starts over Chambers for no good reason", "Buendia plays well but no cigar", "sanson was our best midfielder last week and still gets dropped", "Watkins starts regardless of his brick feet"....... Add that to the recent results, and im almost as apathetic as towards the end of Smiths 5 game losing streak, i almost just want this season over with, so i dont have to deal with the nonsense every week. This team is a mess, and never dropping players who dont play well, seems a major issue to me, it boggles my little mind.

Smith had exactly the same issue tbh. I dont get it.

Sanson, probably the best of our 3 midfielders last week gets dropped for Luiz, while McGinn keeps his place again.... Konsa keeps his place over Chambers, when Chambers did nothing that wrong to be dropped in the first place, but was replaced anyways, but Konsa hasnt been any better...at all. Buendia looked good last week, and still no gravy. Part of me really just wants this season over, i think i have nearly had enough.

its a tough one, if he isnt going to be starting, i would still send him out on loan for another season, banging goals in for a full 40+ matches would do him the world of good experience wise, then assess him again at the end of next season, he will still be young (he wont be 21 until half way through next season), Tammy Abraham was on loan in the champ at a similar age, and his loan to us did him the world of good. i think it really wouldnt be good for him sitting on the bench 95% of the time, its exactly what we did to Davis, he should have gone out on loan 3 years ago.....we might have seen a different Davis if we managed loans properly.

i will caveat by saying that Gerrard & Beale seem to be all in on the 4321/4312 system, so i dont see that changing. However, a lot of the top sides seem to be playing 3421/3412/343 type formations, and to be honest, we have Digne & Cash, so i think its a formation we could play, we would ofc need upgrades elsewhere to make it work. In closing though, i just dont see Gerrard & Beale moving away from what they are doing formation wise.

2 points ahead of newcastle. lol....what a life.

@OutByEaster?, what notes?, do they get published somewhere?

the problem is, quite a few of our players arent actually very good......

next step, 4 x 15 min quarters.

i would guess its due to the fact we play them on the 23rd April.....

i would defo play him in the DM role for the rest of the season (depending on when Nakamba is/isnt ready).

Yeah, lucky for Burnley they have us to play twice in the run in. We virtually guarantee them 3-4 points in our 2 games.

Forest are playing really well, but i dont see them in the auto's, too much ground to make up. 8 points behind second, both Bournemouth & Forest have played 38 games, 8 games left, i dont see an 8/9 point swing in 8 games, unfortunately. They could feasibly be on for third though, although tbh....whats the real difference between 3rd, 4th, 5th or 6th in the end.

got MOTM tonight, apparently.

i think someone said it earlier in the thread, but i agree mostly so will say it also. I think the only players in this squad who should be "safe", are Martinez, Digne, Cash, Ramsey, Coutinho & Buendia. For me, literally everyone else can be replaced with someone better (or we have recently signed them for that position, or they signed a contract extension - so we wouldnt replace them), and i wouldnt bat an eyelid if they were.

completely agree. The reason West Ham's forward players can....play.....is they know they have Rice and Soucek behind them. We dont need 11 Coutinho's, we need 1-2 really, really good DMs who are aggressive, powerful but can also play a little (as gerrard seems to like 1 x DM, then its 1 needed), to then allow our more creative players (like Coutinho, Ramsey, bailey, Buendia etc) to go and do their thing, without leaving huge gaping holes behind them that opposition teams can easily exploit, like they have been for......the entire time we have been in the PL (since promotion), we are soft, and have a soft underbelly. Yes the others players have to work hard for the team, but we need that specialised, dirty, powerful, aggressive linchpin in that DM role (before anyone loses their mind - they also need to be decent on the ball - but they also need to be top notch at the defensive side). As you say, Nakamba isnt a flash player by any stretch, but he is aggressive, works hard, defends hard, and can make the easy passes to recycle the ball and allow our forward players to play, i think there is a reason we did so well when Gerrard first came in and Nakamba was in the team. That isnt/wasnt because Nakamba is amazing, but i think he did complement the team and he did an important role (the dirty role), we need at least one, top level player who is our Rice, Soucek, Ndidi etc etc (the next level version of Nakamba). we also need a few other players too, but the DM role....if we dont sign one in the summer i think i will just give up.