Just hear me out, hopefully a bit of sense to the circus.....

[Del]

Moyes bought defenders so apparently that means Martinez doesn't have to

Ok

 

[AndyC]

can anyone possibly explain how Distin let Giroud score that header off his "meaty French forehead?" That one bugs me to no end.

Jags missed the cross that Distin may have been expecting him to cut out... and Giroud was quicker to the ball, simples.

 

[McBain]

I don't understand rational men getting all Fox News.

Haven't you been looking at this football thing long enough to know that?

 

[Christiffa25]

It's total panic for some....Just chill, Jags will be fine come WBA. As will Distin and we have young stones in the wings.

I wanted another CB in the window. A quality one tho, not just anyone to satisfy panic at a slow start by our current 2. The problem is alcaraz because he's never fit. But looking thru other squads our numbers in defense are simlar if not better.

Jags ALWAYS takes 3/4 games to get up to speed after injury/time out etc....I'm astonished people write our players off so quick lol

 

[CahillsCornerFlag]

We also conceded 0 vs Chelsea and arsenal and have let in 8 to those 2 this time round.

Is right, completely different kettle of fish this time round. We look more fragile at the back than I've ever seen us.

We've obviously got enough quality up top to win games so the next window or two needs purely focusing on the defence.

How often do you score 7 goals in 3 games and win none of them...

 

[tim cahill]

Whilst McCarthy has not been brilliant, he at least has been better than Barry. Genuinely surprised Besic hasn't featured more thus far, because Barry has looked badly fatigued in the second half of every game so far.

If you're right about Barry not being able to last 90mins then we've made a big mistake giving him a 3year contract! I'm hoping as the season goes on his stamina will improve.

 

[orly]

we will go to anfield and old trafford and win, not sure what the fuss is about.

etoo and lukaku upfront

 

[Tree13]

If you're right about Barry not being able to last 90mins then we've made a big mistake giving him a 3year contract! I'm hoping as the season goes on his stamina will improve.

I don't think the three year contract is a mistake in itself. If we use him correctly he could still perform to very good level for at least another 18 months, and we might recoup some of the transfer fee by selling him on to an MLS club in the states.

The mistake will be expecting Barry to play 90 minutes, week in week out, for a season that could potentially be sixty games long. Every player has a finite level of fitness, and age takes it's toll. In our formation we use two CDMs and it's generally agreed that we have four senior players for those positions: Barry, McCarthy, Gibson and Besic. It follows that in any game, two of them will start and a third will be on the bench - it is important this season for us to rotate our starters and to use our bench options in order to keep everyone as fresh as possible, but so far Martinez has not done that for the CDMs.

Leicester: Barry and McCarthy start, both play entire game. Both tire visibly (along with most of the team) as game progresses, and Barry picks up a yellow for a poor challenge as his pace and positioning let him down. Generally agreed to be lucky to stay on the pitch as more fouls follow. Leicester look fitter and stronger as the game gets into the final 30 minutes and we start to lose the battle in midfield. Martinez only uses two subs, both coming on in the last ten minutes - neither is a CDM, Besic is on the bench but is not used.

Arsenal: Barry and McCarthy start, both play entire game. Both tire visibly (along with most of the team) as game progresses but in fairness they dominate Arsenal in the first half. Arsenal look fitter and stronger as the game gets into the final 30 minutes and we start to lose the battle in midfield to the extent that rather than compete there we drop back and defend deep, inviting pressure. Their first goal is scored by a midfielder, Ramsey, coming from deep with no-one tracking him - he's by no means the most advanced attacking player, so our CBs appear to be concentrating on Giroud, Cazorla and Campbell, all three of whom came on as substitutes and took up very attacking positions. Martinez uses all three subs, but two come on in the last fifteen minutes. None of the three is a CDM, Besic is on the bench but is not used.

Chelsea: Barry and McCarthy start, both play entire game. Barry visibly tired on 60 mins, totally ineffective by 70 mins. McCarthy covers more and more ground as game progresses, tiring noticeably in the process. Chelsea score three late goals as our defence is left exposed by two shattered CDMs. Martinez only uses two subs, the second one coming on with three minutes left in the game.

Summary: Barry and McCarthy started the season below optimum fitness (like almost everyone) and have played every minute since. Barry particularly has struggled with this, evidenced by the fact that by the time Chelsea are scoring their fourth goal, he is moving at a walking pace despite the ball being passed through his area of responsibility just outside the box. By failing to close Matic down he allows the Chelsea man to advance with the ball and line up a shot between Distin and Jags. For the fifth goal many have been pointing the finger at McCarthy for not tracking Ramires but why is McCarthy having to defend on Barry's side of the field in the first place? I think it might be because Barry was unable to cover the ground and get there.

It's foolish to not rotate when we have the squad to do it. All three subs should have been used against Leicester and Chelsea, but they weren't. Only one of our substitutions this season has been made with MORE than fifteen minutes left to play, despite several players looking completely spent after 60 minutes in each game. And that one was because of injury.

We've run the same two of our CDMs into the ground in three successive games and paid the price three times. One of our backup CDMs has been on the bench for all three games, and played a sum total of about six minutes.

 

[TGW89]

we will go to anfield and old trafford and win, not sure what the fuss is about.

etoo and lukaku upfront

If we get 6 points from Anfield and Old Trafford, I will do that thing off the Bruno film with my own chopper and put it on Youtube.

 

[tim cahill]

I don't think the three year contract is a mistake in itself. If we use him correctly he could still perform to very good level for at least another 18 months, and we might recoup some of the transfer fee by selling him on to an MLS club in the states.

The mistake will be expecting Barry to play 90 minutes, week in week out, for a season that could potentially be sixty games long. Every player has a finite level of fitness, and age takes it's toll. In our formation we use two CDMs and it's generally agreed that we have four senior players for those positions: Barry, McCarthy, Gibson and Besic. It follows that in any game, two of them will start and a third will be on the bench - it is important this season for us to rotate our starters and to use our bench options in order to keep everyone as fresh as possible, but so far Martinez has not done that for the CDMs.

Leicester: Barry and McCarthy start, both play entire game. Both tire visibly (along with most of the team) as game progresses, and Barry picks up a yellow for a poor challenge as his pace and positioning let him down. Generally agreed to be lucky to stay on the pitch as more fouls follow. Leicester look fitter and stronger as the game gets into the final 30 minutes and we start to lose the battle in midfield. Martinez only uses two subs, both coming on in the last ten minutes - neither is a CDM, Besic is on the bench but is not used.

Arsenal: Barry and McCarthy start, both play entire game. Both tire visibly (along with most of the team) as game progresses but in fairness they dominate Arsenal in the first half. Arsenal look fitter and stronger as the game gets into the final 30 minutes and we start to lose the battle in midfield to the extent that rather than compete there we drop back and defend deep, inviting pressure. Their first goal is scored by a midfielder, Ramsey, coming from deep with no-one tracking him - he's by no means the most advanced attacking player, so our CBs appear to be concentrating on Giroud, Cazorla and Campbell, all three of whom came on as substitutes and took up very attacking positions. Martinez uses all three subs, but two come on in the last fifteen minutes. None of the three is a CDM, Besic is on the bench but is not used.

Chelsea: Barry and McCarthy start, both play entire game. Barry visibly tired on 60 mins, totally ineffective by 70 mins. McCarthy covers more and more ground as game progresses, tiring noticeably in the process. Chelsea score three late goals as our defence is left exposed by two shattered CDMs. Martinez only uses two subs, the second one coming on with three minutes left in the game.

Summary: Barry and McCarthy started the season below optimum fitness (like almost everyone) and have played every minute since. Barry particularly has struggled with this, evidenced by the fact that by the time Chelsea are scoring their fourth goal, he is moving at a walking pace despite the ball being passed through his area of responsibility just outside the box. By failing to close Matic down he allows the Chelsea man to advance with the ball and line up a shot between Distin and Jags. For the fifth goal many have been pointing the finger at McCarthy for not tracking Ramires but why is McCarthy having to defend on Barry's side of the field in the first place? I think it might be because Barry was unable to cover the ground and get there.

It's foolish to not rotate when we have the squad to do it. All three subs should have been used against Leicester and Chelsea, but they weren't. Only one of our substitutions this season has been made with MORE than fifteen minutes left to play, despite several players looking completely spent after 60 minutes in each game. And that one was because of injury.

We've run the same two of our CDMs into the ground in three successive games and paid the price three times. One of our backup CDMs has been on the bench for all three games, and played a sum total of about six minutes.

I'm certain that Martinez will rotate things in midfield as the season goes on, but players shouldn't be showing any signs of fatigue just yet.

 

[EvertonFury19]

Jags missed the cross that Distin may have been expecting him to cut out... and Giroud was quicker to the ball, simples.

Sounds like a failure on both of their ends.

 

[orly]

i think we should play Besic with his back to goal and task him only being snide and doing backheels

 

[bluestevon]

We also conceded 0 vs Chelsea and arsenal and have let in 8 to those 2 this time round.

So on average what your saying is that we on schedule to let 4 in more than we did last year against every team this season on average.

either that or you've just shown statistics mean bog all really, we will concede goals to teams we shut out last year, and we will get clean sheets to teams that scored, its called a new season like

 

[bluestevon]

Interesting how no one has actually noticed we are 2nd top goalscorers this season as well like, so for everyone who thinks we are doomed, the chances are we wont finish that high on the scoring charts and similarly we wont finish that low on goals conceded, its called a early season blip - probably in both areas actually

 

[mythbuster]

Positives from all three games regard our attacking play, Each of those games the defence has been a shambles

Arsenal had 3 shots on target. Proper shambles of a defence that was lad.