2020/21 Carlo Ancelotti

[Saint Domingo]

Olsen

Holgate Keane Mina Godfrey

Allan Docuoure

James

Iwobi Richarlison Digne


Next two games please with King and DCL (I’ve presumed he’s not fit) providing attacking support for the front three.

I don’t want to see a combination of Coleman Siggurdson Davies Bernard or Gomes on the pitch all at the same time. That team above has shown itself to be defensively solid and capable of winning games. That’s what we need for a run of games now.

 

[Death]

Pitch dimensions, home comforts and familiarity I suppose.

It's almost cheating.

 

[Blue Magic]

We do indeed
So 2 midweek games
Considering most of the teams around us have Europe as well we are better placed fitness and freshness wise to finish the season strong
Keeping all our players fit is crucial
Our best 11 playing week in week out should do well

That’s absolutely right. It’s keeping that best 11 fit that will make the difference one way or the other. We’ve been lucky so far this season in that only Liverpool have had any injuries.

 

[Blue Magic]

If we get EL ,then 4 or 5 first team signings will leave the likes of Coleman ,Holgate Siggy Gomes Delph ,Davies Nkounkou to do the heavy lifting in the early qualifying rounds of Europe

Yes, if we get those 4 or 5 signings as you say that should give us the squad depth that we need and that we’re so badly lacking at the moment.

 

[quasi modo]

He's really stuck with the squad he's got,it seems to work when the players are up for it,Leeds, Leicester, Arsenal. Too often they don't appear to want it enough.

Every new manager is stuck with the squad they inherit, it's up to the manager to motivate and get them to play.

I still don't know 14 months after he joined what he is trying to implement in a way of playing, if anything the football has gradually declined.

 

[COYBL25]

Every new manager is stuck with the squad they inherit, it's up to the manager to motivate and get them to play.

I still don't know 14 months after he joined what he is trying to implement in a way of playing, if anything the football has gradually declined.

Yet, we`ve just managed to compete and win in one of the most exciting cup ties in recent times

The league is bonkers this year, with only City showing any signs of proper consistency.

 

[Saint Domingo]

That’s absolutely right. It’s keeping that best 11 fit that will make the difference one way or the other. We’ve been lucky so far this season in that only Liverpool have had any injuries.

I think we’ve been a bit unlucky. In a season like this you might expect more injuries to hamper rivals. We’ve had Holgate, Allan, James, Digne, missing for absolutely crucial parts of the season especially over Christmas. Add to Gbamin and Delph as long term injuries. Allan James Digne are some of our best players and we’ve added Richalrison and DCL to that at times also. It’s only really Liverpool who have had a really bad time with injuries. City have but their squad is so good it barely affects them but they’ve only really missed Aguero and recently De

Spurs have kept Son and Kane fit almost all season almost every match.

Chelsea haven’t had any injury problems apart from Ziyech missing some games and Gilmour but they’ve had suitable cover for both.

West Ham missed Antonio for a run but I can’t remember any others.

United have been pretty strong, the odd injury here or there but nothing major and their key players are nearly always available

Leicester have had it quite bad in fairness.

We need to be able to start putting out close to our best 11 every week and hope that opposition teams start to lose key players like we have done. The difference is though when we lose Allan we’re into championship standard midfielders. When Leicester lose Pereira they bring in James Justin, when they lose Soyuncu Fofana comes in, when Vardy is out they have Perez Iheanacho, Ndidi goes they have Mendy or De Praet.

We needed a perfect run this season without injuries because our squad depth is woeful but it hasn’t happened. Other rivals as well as having stronger squads to deal with injuries also haven’t been too badly affected yet (Liverpool and Leicester aside)

 

[BlueToff]

Richarlison has played a few times as a central striker with his back to goal. And hasnt played well in any of them.

I mean don’t play him as a lone striker against Fulham at home then?
Get on the front foot in a proper front three.

Carlo got it wrong. The players didn’t perform, but were set up badly. Hopefully tomorrow is different

 

[quasi modo]

Yet, we`ve just managed to compete and win in one of the most exciting cup ties in recent times

The league is bonkers this year, with only City showing any signs of proper consistency.

Oh well that's sound then, let's forget about the last 5 home league games.

 

[Lanolin]

I know it probably sounds like I'm on a mega moan here, which I don't like doing, but we have a squad full of players who basically aren't very adaptable. If you put them in their optimum position, with the right players around them, they're great. But you ask them to do something slightly different, or change partner, or play a different way and they fall apart. We are well in contention for top 4 currently, but it's a castle built on sand. We shouldn't be getting complacent at all. This is probably why most of our players aren't at top clubs.

Within that, there is obviously an understandable criticism of both the recruitment, and the players themselves, which is an important discussion but also a seperate one in this instance.

Then you have Ancelotti, who I have concluded at times can't shift that he's not manaaging Real Madrid, (or peak Chelsea or Milan). This isn't asking Casemiro you're asking to do a job out wide, or Malouda you're asking to go from left to right- where you know they still give you a a base level good performance, and to use a football phrase "do a job" for you. Our reserves are also not of the same quality as those sides had, and in honesty the mindset of our reserves being good enough to defeat teams just doesn't exist.

So to keep weakening the team against poorer teams, and shoving people out of position (or giving them over complex half and half jobs) just seems to baffle the players and it really needs to stop.

At the risk of straying, it's a big reason why I've become so defensive of the 4 CB thing. At least we have some evidence it works and the players look fairly comfortable in it. With this team, for who'm 8 or 9 of them I would say struggle in anything other than their prime position, to have stumbled upon a bit of balance is a bit of a miracle. It will be a bigger miracle if we can do it again, especially if we keep changing it every week.

Most of the lead up to that is not Ancelotti's fault, but how he deals with it is on him. If he doesn't fsncy four CB's fine but at the very least we need simplicity, consistency in selection and people (where possible) playing where they are best suited.

I think there's something in that. I would extend it to say that at times we seem to have a fairly laissez-faire approach to the way we play. Although it's a very different set up, it feels at times a little bit like it did in the latter days of Martinez, as though the plan to win the game is literally 'just go out there and be better at football at them'. There's often little evidence that we've worked on specific plans to deal with opposition players, or worked on passages of play to help us break teams down; it can feel as though we're just sort of knocking the ball around waiting for an opportunity to give it to James or to get a cross into the box, if that makes sense? It's the type of thing that works with the best teams because more often than not they will just overwhelm the opposition eventually due to superior quality, but we're just not good enough to do it. I always think back to the Anfield cup debacle last season when there was talk of the players blaming the tactics, I remember saying at the time that I wouldn't be surprised if they weren't saying the tactics were wrong as such, just that they weren't actually capable of executing them. I think we work best when everybody is given a clear role in the team and they stick to it, which is why I think the identities of the back 4 was less important than the instructions the team were given.

None of that is meant to be a suggestion that he's not doing a good job or isn't the right manager for us (although of course i'm aware some people will claim it is), it's just one of the areas that I think is causing us a problem in these home games.

 

[COYBL25]

Oh well that's sound then, let's forget about the last 5 home league games.

Should we turn to the housewives favourite, Eddie Howe or David Moyes ?

 

[MikeH72]

Yet, we`ve just managed to compete and win in one of the most exciting cup ties in recent times

The league is bonkers this year, with only City showing any signs of proper consistency.

Is he wrong though? Can you tell me what our style of play is? What are our strengths as a team?

 

[DanEFC92]

Not won a single game comfortably since Brighton at the beginning of October.

 

[MikeH72]

Not won a single game comfortably since Brighton at the beginning of October.

Cruising against Leeds and still decided we needed to camp inside our penalty area for the whole second half. We are an extremely negative team.

 

[msb]

Cruising against Leeds and still decided we needed to camp inside our penalty area for the whole second half. We are an extremely negative team.

We have an Italian manager, really what do you expect?

He'd have been horrified at 5-4, 1-0 is his ideal. Not a criticism, just an observation.