2018/19 Marco Silva - New Poll Added

[Big Fat Sam]

Zouma isn’t a big prospect for Chelsea, he’s been there 5 years and they’re still loaning him out to guff teams. Your justifications for Keane, Tosun and Sigurdsson are utter nonsense too by the way.

So you're denying that most people considered Sigurdsson a set piece specialist? Isn't that not why every commentator, every time we get a free kick (even though he's rubbish at them nowadays) comes up with something like "this is Sigurdsson territory..". He was absolutely deemed one of the best takers in the division.

Tosun - again, absolutely deemed one of the best strikers in Turkey.

Keane - bought on the back of an outstanding season for Burnley.

You're letting your feelings about them now change history and the fact they were all big exciting signings at the time.

I can maybe agree on Zouma.

 

[MikeH72]

So you're denying that most people considered Sigurdsson a set piece specialist? Isn't that not why every commentator, every time we get a free kick (even though he's rubbish at them nowadays) comes up with something like "this is Sigurdsson territory..". He was absolutely deemed one of the best takers in the division.

Tosun - again, absolutely deemed one of the best strikers in Turkey.

Keane - bought on the back of an outstanding season for Burnley.

You're letting your feelings about them now change history and the fact they were all big exciting signings at the time.

I can maybe agree on Zouma.

None of that actually makes them worth the money we paid though. You’re basically saying Silva is failing with £300m worth of talent at his disposal, when it’s really about £50m worth of talent that we paid £300m for.

 

[zzr45]

The problem is that the actual play makers in the team are our two full backs, everything becomes horribly unbalanced when teams counter and leads to numerous set pieces that we can't defend at.

If I was managing this my three priorities would be:
Fixing the inability to defend at set pieces - Figure out what works best for our squad and work with that. Zonal Marking seems a very lazy option in that nothing needs to change from week to week, you have your job and do it. Think about what Bielsa said about the scouting of Derby, Leeds knew exactly what their tendancies were and how to defend it. We seem to have no clue. We need to put hard work in to getting this right and ensuring every week that our squad know their roles for the game.

Sort out our inability to receive a ball - Our absolute inability to control a ball must cost us so many changes in possession in a game. Players look so uncomfortable taking a ball that our attack can actually fully stop. It's getting progressively worse as the season goes on. Again, this seems to be a coaching 'fail' for it to have dropped off so significantly. Our players are making more unsuccessful touches and being dispossessed more this season than last.For me it's a major work on.

Look to take the focus away from the wings - we have good full backs who are the cornerstone of our attack. Unsurprisingly the amount of passes that they are making in attack has shot up from last season. The problem is that we've become utterly reliant on it. Sigurdsson is the major problem as he just isn't a creative outlet at all. Comparing his stats to teams of old, he makes about 25 passes a game. Mikel Arteta made about 62 a game in his final season with us, in fact the entire midfield made more passes than Sigurdsson that season when you break it down by player. We need something more dynamic to get balls flowing through the middle and hopefully help the team keep its shape in attack.

 

[Simon Buttle]

I know they're all crap. But look at them before they joined us and became crap.

Pickford was the hottest goalkeeping prospect in the country.
Keane was rock solid at Burnley.
Mina was one of the star CBs at the World Cup.
Digne had represented Roma and Barca and was a French international squad player.
Richarlison was one of Brazil's top prospects.
Walcott has always been deemed a handful when fit.
Tosun was very much a 50/50 as to whether he'd suit us / the league, yet was deemed as the best Turkish striker and scored loads over there.
Zouma is a big prospect for Chelsea.
Gomes was signed by Barca and they were unwilling to sell as they still believe he could make it there.
Gueye proved his worth with us already.
Lookman ripped it up in the Bundesliga and we rejected 25m+ for him from Leipzig.
Bernard ripped it up in Ukraine and everybody was gobsmacked when we signed him.
Sigurdsson was noted as one of the best set piece takers in the entire division.

With the players we have, it's disgraceful that he hasn't been able to make a team out of them and that they look like complete and utter strangers. It's down to the manager that they've all failed to reach their potential with us.

That's simply just not the case with a lot of the players, Pickford-the hottest goalkeeping property in the country? the reason he had so many loans as a youngster was because they were worried about his development and thought it had slowed right down at one point, his record is terrible for such a 'hot young property' also. Mina was only a star at the world cup because he scored 3 goals, Davison Sanchez got all the plaudits for the defending and rightly so. Richarlison is not one of Brazils top prospects, he has become involved with the national team due to injuries to others, they are so overstocked in that area that over the past few years he has never really made it on to the radar even over in Brazil until recently. Sorry but i don't ever remember Walcott being a handful, more like flatters to decieve. Lookman did not 'rip up' the Bundesliga, the first few games he was there he started complaining about lack of game time, yes he scored a few goals but he also went missing for large parts of games. As for siggy and his set pieces, well he can't even clear the first man most of the time, so i have no idea how he has the reputation as a specialist.

 

[Lanolin]

The problem is that the actual play makers in the team are our two full backs, everything becomes horribly unbalanced when teams counter and leads to numerous set pieces that we can't defend at.

If I was managing this my three priorities would be:
Fixing the inability to defend at set pieces - Figure out what works best for our squad and work with that. Zonal Marking seems a very lazy option in that nothing needs to change from week to week, you have your job and do it. Think about what Bielsa said about the scouting of Derby, Leeds knew exactly what their tendancies were and how to defend it. We seem to have no clue. We need to put hard work in to getting this right and ensuring every week that our squad know their roles for the game.

Sort out our inability to receive a ball - Our absolute inability to control a ball must cost us so many changes in possession in a game. Players look so uncomfortable taking a ball that our attack can actually fully stop. It's getting progressively worse as the season goes on. Again, this seems to be a coaching 'fail' for it to have dropped off so significantly. Our players are making more unsuccessful touches and being dispossessed more this season than last.For me it's a major work on.

Look to take the focus away from the wings - we have good full backs who are the cornerstone of our attack. Unsurprisingly the amount of passes that they are making in attack has shot up from last season. The problem is that we've become utterly reliant on it. Sigurdsson is the major problem as he just isn't a creative outlet at all. Comparing his stats to teams of old, he makes about 25 passes a game. Mikel Arteta made about 62 a game in his final season with us, in fact the entire midfield made more passes than Sigurdsson that season when you break it down by player. We need something more dynamic to get balls flowing through the middle and hopefully help the team keep its shape in attack.

Agree with the general points but i'm not a fan of changing between zonal and man marking on a game by game basis. As you said, you need to work on these things to get them to work, and switching between the two would just lead to even more confusion in my opinion.

 

[BlueToff]

He sets them up that way. His failed zonal marking system has cost us dearly this season, as it did for him at Watford. Surely that is more than a coincidence?

Zonal marking works if you have good players. Man marking also failed for Koeman, Martinez and Sam.

We are simply dreadful defensively, and have been for years. We don't defend with any composure and we have zero leaders on the pitch who organise. There's no talking, not players putting others in their places.

The last we had was Neville, God forbid.

 

[GrandOldTeam]

Cringing at the focus of zonal marking in this press conference. I understand it, it's needed but how bad is it when a manager is drilled so much on something as basic as setting up to defend a set play.

 

[BlueToff]

Agree with the general points but i'm not a fan of changing betwwen zonal and man marking on a game by game basis. As you said, you need to work on these things to get them to work, and switching between the two would just lead to even more confusion in my opinion.

People act like zonal marking is at fault. It ain't, it's the application of it.

We were just as crap at man marking. It boils down to the players - which in turn also boils down to the manager in training etc - not doing their jobs.

The two best teams in the country use zonal marking.

 

[Big Fat Sam]

That's simply just not the case with a lot of the players, Pickford-the hottest goalkeeping property in the country? the reason he had so many loans as a youngster was because they were worried about his development and thought it had slowed right down at one point, his record is terrible for such a 'hot young property' also. Mina was only a star at the world cup because he scored 3 goals, Davison Sanchez got all the plaudits for the defending and rightly so. Richarlison is not one of Brazils top prospects, he has become involved with the national team due to injuries to others, they are so overstocked in that area that over the past few years he has never really made it on to the radar even over in Brazil until recently. Sorry but i don't ever remember Walcott being a handful, more like flatters to decieve. Lookman did not 'rip up' the Bundesliga, the first few games he was there he started complaining about lack of game time, yes he scored a few goals but he also went missing for large parts of games. As for siggy and his set pieces, well he can't even clear the first man most of the time, so i have no idea how he has the reputation as a specialist.

Disagree with absolutely all of that, but that's your opinion and you're entitled to it pal. I think you're trying far too hard to put the players down.

 

[Efcjake]

We've been crap for years yet people want Silva out after just a few months. It's madness.

I remember when the kopites wanted Klopp out...

I bet you do

 

[BlueToff]

Cringing at the focus of zonal marking in this press conference. I understand it, it's needed but how bad is it when a manager is drilled so much on something as basic as setting up to defend a set play.

I'd rather they ask him meaningful questions like why does he persist with a system that has failed the last three Everton managers...

 

[GrandOldTeam]

Journo asking Marco Silva is there's a lack of leadership in his squad.

Also asking if his players just dont listen to him with regards to zonal.

 

[BlueToff]

The lack of response in the second phase is what worries me... that should be instinctive not taught

Yep, and that's on the players.

 

[Big Fat Sam]

None of that actually makes them worth the money we paid though. You’re basically saying Silva is failing with £300m worth of talent at his disposal, when it’s really about £50m worth of talent that we paid £300m for.

Probably comfortably about 150m of talent bought for nearly 300m tbh.

I have no idea how you can come up with such a ridiculous valuation for our squad.

 

[Simon Buttle]

So you're denying that most people considered Sigurdsson a set piece specialist? Isn't that not why every commentator, every time we get a free kick (even though he's rubbish at them nowadays) comes up with something like "this is Sigurdsson territory..". He was absolutely deemed one of the best takers in the division.

Tosun - again, absolutely deemed one of the best strikers in Turkey.

Keane - bought on the back of an outstanding season for Burnley.

You're letting your feelings about them now change history and the fact they were all big exciting signings at the time.

I can maybe agree on Zouma.

James Tarkowski was the key part to the Burnley back line then, not Keane, hence why recently with their injuries the RS have been linked with him because he is a decent player and a leader.