2020/21 Carlo Ancelotti

[catcherintherye]

These players have struggled to win away games under multiple different managers. Sometimes we’ve only won 3 in a whole season. We won the first two this season yet we expect these players without five of our first team players available to suddenly start turning over decent midfield table teams away from home regularly? Not going to happen. These types games would have been difficult for us last season even with a full first team out.

It takes longer than a few months to flick a switch and erase decades of a culture of mediocrity. Everyone at the club before Carlo arrived has had a mindset of ‘a point here will do’ ‘expected losses’ ‘best of the rest’ ‘we’re good at Goodison’. This had gone right from the top down to the players. People can’t expect that to change in a few months and the likes of Sigurdsson Iwobi Mina etc to go from being players comfortable not having to turn up every game to being ones who suddenly start being prolific winners. Not going to happen.

I can’t tell if Carlo is getting it right or wrong because some of the attitude of the players is still so poor. When players are pulling out of 50:50s, underhitying simple passes, over hitting crosses and set pieces, making simple positional errors defensively. Is that his tactics? If Gomes has defended that situation slightly better and some of our midfield players had tried to be premier league footballers rather than passengers was that game not possible for us to win? Of course it was. We went away from home and dominated possession and limited them to a handful of half chances. From that foundation you’d expect our attacking players to go and make stuff happen and our defenders not to make silly mistakes. The quality and concentration wasn’t there which is exactly what Carlo said in his post match interview.

The reality is, we are not much better than Southampton. Ings, Romeo/Ward Prowse, McCarthy would all get into our team fairly comfortably. They have had about 12 months longer with their manager too, which shows. I don't think its a game we just rock up at and win. I doubt many teams do.

Newacstle are worse than us. However you take 4-5 players out for us and it becomes an even game. It was a game that turned yesterday on a mistake from Gomes. Ultimately we asre not good enough, to be missing 5 players, give the opponent a goal and get something from the game.

As I've said a few times, I am still really angry with Richarlinson and Digne. Completely stupid from both of them. It's not the first time Richarlinson has done this either.

 

[edge]

The issue is, who do you change too? There aren't a lot of options below the first 11.

True , but there are people employed to make sure there are.
Let's face it there are at least half a dozen of are players who offer little or nothing, when was the last time you have seen Gomes, Iwobi, Bernard , have a decent game?
There were signs before the current injury ,suspension crisis that we had become to predictable , just target the space behind Hamez and double up on that fullback , it had happened a few times.
Are performances havnt been that good in quite a few games to be honest despite the results
I dont entirely blame Carlo but he should have some say in the comings and goings, as it stands the season could be in danger of drifting away for the sake of getting a few players in a wide man and a attacker, his hands might be tied by finance within the club in fairness, but those are positions that we all knew needed filling from last year, throw in getting rid of two on loan in those positions, and it does make much sense.

 

[Lanolin]

These players have struggled to win away games under multiple different managers. Sometimes we’ve only won 3 in a whole season. We won the first two this season yet we expect these players without five of our first team players available to suddenly start turning over decent midfield table teams away from home regularly? Not going to happen. These types games would have been difficult for us last season even with a full first team out.

It takes longer than a few months to flick a switch and erase decades of a culture of mediocrity. Everyone at the club before Carlo arrived has had a mindset of ‘a point here will do’ ‘expected losses’ ‘best of the rest’ ‘we’re good at Goodison’. This had gone right from the top down to the players. People can’t expect that to change in a few months and the likes of Sigurdsson Iwobi Mina etc to go from being players comfortable not having to turn up every game to being ones who suddenly start being prolific winners. Not going to happen.

I can’t tell if Carlo is getting it right or wrong because some of the attitude of the players is still so poor. When players are pulling out of 50:50s, underhitying simple passes, over hitting crosses and set pieces, making simple positional errors defensively. Is that his tactics? If Gomes has defended that situation slightly better and some of our midfield players had tried to be premier league footballers rather than passengers was that game not possible for us to win? Of course it was. We went away from home and dominated possession and limited them to a handful of half chances. From that foundation you’d expect our attacking players to go and make stuff happen and our defenders not to make silly mistakes. The quality and concentration wasn’t there which is exactly what Carlo said in his post match interview.

So just to be clear, you're going to keep the attitude that you believe is causing the problem?! Interesting idea.

 

[BlueToff]

there are, he just isn’t using them

I really don't know if there is.

The options are not good enough - and we have no balance.

We have three 'left wingers' who, really, all want to do the same thing which is cut inside.

We have no natural right-sided winger and nobody to stretch teams.

We are very, very imbalanced.

We couldn't play a 3-5-2 from the off yesterday because we only have one fit striker who is any good. Tosun coming on is bad enough, without factoring in the fact he's not played since February due to a serious knee injury.

 

[TheBlueBlitzer]

True , but there are people employed to make sure there are.
Let's face it there are at least half a dozen of are players who offer little or nothing, when was the last time you have seen Gomes, Iwobi, Bernard , have a decent game?
There were signs before the current injury ,suspension crisis that we had become to predictable , just target the space behind Hamez and double up on that fullback , it had happened a few times.
Are performances havnt been that good in quite a few games to be honest despite the results
I dont entirely blame Carlo but he should have some say in the comings and goings, as it stands the season could be in danger of drifting away for the sake of getting a few players in a wide man and a attacker, his hands might be tied by finance within the club in fairness, but those are positions that we all knew needed filling from last year, throw in getting rid of two on loan in those positions, and it does make much sense.

Neither does playing one and a half attackers out of 11! (DCL and siggy)it's like we played a team to dominate a midfield but got dominated in midfield

 

[TheBlueBlitzer]

I really don't there is.

The options are not good enough - and we have no balance.

We have three 'left wingers' who, really, all want to do the same thing which is cut inside.

We have no natural right-sided winger and nobody to stretch teams.

We are very, very imbalanced.

We couldn't play a 3-5-2 from the off yesterday because we only have one fit striker who is any good. Tosun coming on is bad enough, without factoring in the fact he's not played since February due to a serious knee injury.

We did have Simms on the bench like

 

[jaycee]

Think the idea yesterday was to dominate midfield/possession and try to get the 2 fullbacks pushing up,the problem was no real pace anywhere,when Newcastle lost the ball they would drop back into two blocks of four so there was nowhere for the fullbacks to push,we looked comfortable enough containing them but without any pace or vision we were not going to cause too many problems,it doesnt help when you have Gylfi floating corners in abd Delph failing with 5 successive chances to cross hitting the 1st defender everytime,until a good few are shifted out we will struggle to improve much

 

[BlueToff]

We did have Simms on the bench like

The lad is 19 and has never played a senior minute in a competitive match.

The club have briefed to trusted press that they don't think he's ready yet - which makes not getting a forward in even more ludicrous.

We were down to bare bones yesterday due to Godfrey's injury so it was him on the bench or nobody.

 

[BlueToff]

Whatever way you look at it, the club have messed up not signing a forward. There's no excuse, it was negligent.

That doesn't excuse yesterday from Carlo or the players, but they're going to have to run Dom into the ground and pray to God he doesn't get injured.

 

[BlueToff]

Think the idea yesterday was to dominate midfield/possession and try to get the 2 fullbacks pushing up,the problem was no real pace anywhere,when Newcastle lost the ball they would drop back into two blocks of four so there was nowhere for the fullbacks to push,we looked comfortable enough containing them but without any pace or vision we were not going to cause too many problems,it doesnt help when you have Gylfi floating corners in abd Delph failing with 5 successive chances to cross hitting the 1st defender everytime,until a good few are shifted out we will struggle to improve much

We tried to stifle a team whose entire gameplan is to stifle and get one or two chances that Wilson will take.

It's what they've done in every game so far.

You can't out-Bruce Bruce.

 

[TheBlueBlitzer]

The lad is 19 and has never played a senior minute in a competitive match.

The club have briefed to trusted press that they don't think he's ready yet - which makes not getting a forward in even more ludicrous.

We were down to bare bones yesterday due to Godfrey's injury so it was him on the bench or nobody.

Had Davies played a competitive match when he debuted? Without Coleman and digne there really is no point playing with RB and LB

 

[jaycee]

We tried to stifle a team whose entire gameplan is to stifle and get one or two chances that Wilson will take.

It's what they've done in every game so far.

You can't out-Bruce Bruce.

Yes its been there game plan all season,as I said the lack of pace in our team gave them time to get back into position throughout the 90 minutes,I just thought after the first 45 you could see they didnt pose any real threat,but the lack of options on the bench meant there wasnt really much we could do,I doubt Gordon would have made a real difference,it was a case of a dubious penalty breaking the deadlock after that they had no reason to change their set up

 

[GwladysBlue]

We tried to stifle a team whose entire gameplan is to stifle and get one or two chances that Wilson will take.

It's what they've done in every game so far.

You can't out-Bruce Bruce.

I think that is why everyone is so shocked with the approach Ancelotti took for this game. It was incredibly poor from him and it is very worrying just how wrong he has got it the past two games.

 

[BlueToff]

Had Davies played a competitive match when he debuted? Without Coleman and digne there really is no point playing with RB and LB

I get the point, but I don't think we can just say 'well he had Simms on the bench'.

The lad should not be having to be called on at this stage in a season when the club themselves have briefed they don't see him as being ready.

I'd have no issue with him playing if needs be but there seems to be a real push from fans when really it's the last thing that's needed right now.

 

[BlueToff]

I think that is why everyone is so shocked with the approach Ancelotti took for this game. It was incredibly poor from him and it is very worrying just how wrong he has got it the past two games.

I can kind of see why it could have worked but we just had no attacking threat.

Could have changed just one player to at least give us some thrust in some sense at the start of the second half.

As it was he waited and inevitably they got a bit of luck and took their chance. From then on we were chasing the game.