Ronald Koeman discussion

JLW · August 22, 2017

roydo said:
He could have put player A B or C on, and we might have got a second.

He could have put player A B or C on and City get 2 and win.

He put player A B or C on and we got a point.

Whichever way you look at it is a great result.. I would take exactly the same performance and result against Chelsea on Sunday

Osamabindiesel · August 22, 2017

JLW said:
Whichever way you look at it is a great result.. I would take exactly the same performance and result against Chelsea on Sunday

Great result. Tad disappointing in hindsight, but I would have taken 1-1 before this game every time.

willo30 · August 22, 2017

Osamabindiesel said:
Great insight. Let me ask you a serious question: Do you think Koeman makes the same substitutions after the outcome of the game? I want you to answer honestly.

Yes. It was a mistake by us that gave them a point. They were overrunning us down the middle of the pitch and were on the verge of scoring.

chippy1722 · August 22, 2017

More than anything it showed the difference between us and a top 4 team, not only technically but mentally.

No other team in the top 6 would have played the way did last night, so it shows how much we have to improve to compete with them.

We seem to go into the games with quite a defeatist attitude, expect to get beat but hope to come away with something.

Myself, I would have took a point before and If we can get through the next three PL games with similiar results then fair enough.

Osamabindiesel · August 22, 2017

willo30 said:
Yes. It was a mistake by us that gave them a point. They were overrunning us down the middle of the pitch and were on the verge of scoring.

Fair enough. That midfield overload is exactly what made them so vulnerable though. Their back line proved that they couldn't handle pace. Lookman and Mirallas may have fared better against their back line.

JLW · August 22, 2017

Osamabindiesel said:
Great result. Tad disappointing in hindsight, but I would have taken 1-1 before this game every time.

Of course we all would! One defensive error cost us, but it's a point in which will probably be our toughest away game even with them down to 10 men

roydo · August 22, 2017

willo30 said:
Yes. It was a mistake by us that gave them a point. They were overrunning us down the middle of the pitch and were on the verge of scoring.

It was a mistake by them that gave us the lead. Ergo, a point.

NilesRossly · August 22, 2017

Osamabindiesel said:
We had plenty of cover in the midfield. What we didn't have was support for DCL. You get one runner with a bit of pace and trickery (Sandro would have probably been brought on had he been available), and City suddenly look very stretched. We weren't going to win the midfield against City. Let us dominate the counter attack instead.

The tactics worked and would have resulted in a win but for a bad error. City had all the ball but they were never laying siege and ironically the main times they threatened was on the counter attack.

cromofo · August 22, 2017

I think he's got the defensive part on point. Looking really solid. Top 6 in the league I'd dare to say.

Just sort out the striker position and I'm good.

Osamabindiesel · August 22, 2017

NilesRossly said:
The tactics worked and would have resulted in a win but for a bad error. City had all the ball but they were never laying siege and ironically the main times they threatened was on the counter attack.

This is true. What I will say about this is we were trying to get men up field to support DCL. If we had one of either Lookman or Mirallas to run up field, we wouldn't need to get as many numbers forward to support DCL. Therefore we might have more security against the counter.

NilesRossly · August 22, 2017

Osamabindiesel said:
Great insight. Let me ask you a serious question: Do you think Koeman makes the same substitutions after the outcome of the game? I want you to answer honestly.

Depends if he likes a gamble. The subs he made got us a point. The subs he didn't make might have won the game but also might have lost it. The real problem was a lack of composure and too many long balls. Mirallas and Lookman are quick but they also give the ball away a lot. Subs can never be judged with hindsight.

suey_11 · August 22, 2017

To me them going down a man really galvanised them and put the wind in their sails.

Plus Walker being sent off surely strengthened them.

Osamabindiesel · August 22, 2017

NilesRossly said:
Depends if he likes a gamble. The subs he made got us a point. The subs he didn't make might have won the game but also might have lost it. The real problem was a lack of composure and too many long balls. Mirallas and Lookman are quick but they also give the ball away a lot. Subs can never be judged with hindsight.

I personally think he would try to put the game to bed if he had the chance to do it again. The thing I appreciate about Koeman is he usually changes things up if he feels he got something wrong, so it will be interesting to see how he approaches the Chelsea game.

ijjysmith · August 22, 2017

I did like the way he again pressured the board to keep spending by saying 'if we want to move to the next level we need a striker'.

I mean we can all see it, but he's making it very clear.

NilesRossly · August 22, 2017

Osamabindiesel said:
This is true. What I will say about this is we were trying to get men up field to support DCL. If we had one of either Lookman or Mirallas to run up field, we wouldn't need to get as many numbers forward to support DCL. Therefore we might have more security against the counter.

But you need to get the ball to them. Our passing was the issue.