What is our biggest problem?

[Rooney_Tunes]

Generally being inconsistent. One week a player can look like a world beater then next week they might as well have stayed at home scratching their arse. We have good players, we dont have enough good players to cover injuries and European fixtures but the players are good enough to compete for a European place and a good cup run. They just seem to have a habit of picking and choosing when to show up and when not to.

AND there it is; the TRUTH shall set you free!!!!

 

[Rooney_Tunes]

1. Injuries have obviously kept two of our signings out for long periods of time, James and Allan. So while we added Godfrey and Doucoure, we're still very much last year's team. The FA Cup game where we had two less subs named than Spurs was embarrassing.

2. Carlo challenging the team to play more attacking football against lower sides and failing. Picking Coleman and Digne opened up as more, I only watched the highlights but one if not both goals came from the RHS. But against better teams, we've played more defensively and won.

3. I generally prefer sticking with the same team and building the winning mentality until a team beats us. I get why Carlo rotates the players to keep them motivated, but the defence could do with less rotation.

4. Pace and endurance to press defensively. One of the most average pressing sides I've seen, mostly defending the final third.

5. These lads are probably too nice. Even Doucoure who gets about, is too nice, don't see the players getting in other people's faces. We could have done with Zlatan, when those rumors in the summer were floating around. Maybe he didn't want to play the backup role to DCL here, but we need someone like that.

 

[The binman chronicles]

At this stage it is that we haven't been liquidated. I will forgive them if we beat them lot but even if we do we have missed a massive opportunity to be right near the top of the league and it sucks balls.

 

[marsh]

Not knowing how to play a different way is costing us big style, against the likes of Fulham, Newcastle etc we need to push further up the pitch and take the game to them, instead we treat every team like its prime Barca and sit in deep

 

[TheBigIguana]

1. Injuries have obviously kept two of our signings out for long periods of time, James and Allan. So while we added Godfrey and Doucoure, we're still very much last year's team. The FA Cup game where we had two less subs named than Spurs was embarrassing.

2. Carlo challenging the team to play more attacking football against lower sides and failing. Picking Coleman and Digne opened up as more, I only watched the highlights but one if not both goals came from the RHS. But against better teams, we've played more defensively and won.

3. I generally prefer sticking with the same team and building the winning mentality until a team beats us. I get why Carlo rotates the players to keep them motivated, but the defence could do with less rotation.

4. Pace and endurance to press defensively. One of the most average pressing sides I've seen, mostly defending the final third.

5. These lads are probably too nice. Even Doucoure who gets about, is too nice, don't see the players getting in other people's faces. We could have done with Zlatan, when those rumors in the summer were floating around. Maybe he didn't want to play the backup role to DCL here, but we need someone like that.

Not being able to play a more open game than what we did in December without getting beaten badly isn't acceptable. I also think it is worth noting that even if we go defensive today we're probably looking at 0-0, same as we were against the Geordies, because we didn't create anything. Still not good enough.

And we aren't an average side at pressing because of pace or endurance so much as because the pressing system is terrible with the midfield and backline often becoming very detached from the forwards leaving easy gaps to play through. Also we don't do it very often, which might contribute to it being terrible.

 

[TheBigIguana]

Not knowing how to play a different way is costing us big style, against the likes of Fulham, Newcastle etc we need to push further up the pitch and take the game to them, instead we treat every team like its prime Barca and sit in deep

For me the issue is we don't have a way of playing. In possession there is nothing especially when it comes to getting the ball from defense into attack and out of possession we just drop off and defend deep which for me hardly counts in modern football. Most teams can sit behind the ball in two banks of four and put a shift in to keep teams out here and there. I don't think we need a different way so much as a first way.

 

[Melba Toast]

We have to learn how to be the aggressor sometimes. It’s all good sitting deep and hitting on the break against the bigger better teams. But we’re sitting deep and letting every team just walk all over us and do what they want. It doesn’t matter if it’s Fulham or Leicester city, we’re letting them dictate the play while we just hang on and try to hit on the break. This is what I thought Carlo was going to change, but we’re being outplayed, and out possessed by.... Fulham??

 

[arbok]

Not being able to play a more open game than what we did in December without getting beaten badly isn't acceptable. I also think it is worth noting that even if we go defensive today we're probably looking at 0-0, same as we were against the Geordies, because we didn't create anything. Still not good enough.

And we aren't an average side at pressing because of pace or endurance so much as because the pressing system is terrible with the midfield and backline often becoming very detached from the forwards leaving easy gaps to play through. Also we don't do it very often, which might contribute to it being terrible.

Yes you're right about the pressing system being bad, its always out of sync, you get one or two pressing, but its not followed up, and then the midfield starts dropping back. And technically with guys like Iwobi, Richarlison, DCL we should be good at pressing from the front, but our midfield and defence are often left stranded.

 

[AussieToffee11]

Not having a quality RB.

We are continually unbalanced, either overly defensive, or neither great defensively or from an attacking perspective when Coleman plays there.

The other clear area is a lack of attacking pace. Look at what Lookman did to us tonight, he isn't a star, but having a pacey outlet can really drag the defense.

 

[big nev lookalike]

Our biggest problem is not putting the bins out on the right day.

 

[2xpetes]

Players on long well paid contracts who have reached the top and are coasting

 

[marsh]

For me the issue is we don't have a way of playing. In possession there is nothing especially when it comes to getting the ball from defense into attack and out of possession we just drop off and defend deep which for me hardly counts in modern football. Most teams can sit behind the ball in two banks of four and put a shift in to keep teams out here and there. I don't think we need a different way so much as a first way.

In possession we pass it round at the back slowly then pass the goalie to wack it up and the other side win possession. Honestly just pushing the whole team further up the pitch would help us massively, yeah we may leave space in behind but so be it other teams do it. They just annoy me so much haha

 

[Saint Domingo]

Gylfi Siggurdson and Seamus Coleman

 

[PhilM]

Not knowing how to play a different way is costing us big style, against the likes of Fulham, Newcastle etc we need to push further up the pitch and take the game to them, instead we treat every team like its prime Barca and sit in deep

I agree that we don't really know how to play a different way, but as @TheBigIguana rightly mentions I still feel that we lack identity: what is our ideal style?

Yet, I think the latter point is a different question entirely and one that deserves its own thread. For me, the lack of depth is partly to blame for our inflexibility.

Offensively, we're somewhat shackled by having few viable options either with the starting XI or coming from the bench: there's too much rigidity.

We find it difficult to press teams and put them under pressure, which may come down to not having fresh legs or having those options to play a different way.

 

[barneygumble]

I mean...

After settling down from last night, the clear and obvious thing is the players just aren't good enough.
I didn't realise how much of an impact he was making but Doucouré had an off day yesterday, and the midfield became overran. But he's played out of his skin since Allan has been out, and Gomes and Sigurdsson rarely show up, finally, Davies looks like he could be becoming a more reliable member of the midfield.

I'm quite frustrated by possible favouritism. Coleman had a good game against Spurs, but I can't remember the last time he was any good. But one good hour, was worthy of a start, when Keane (who's been our best defender) was dropped. Likewise with Sigurdsson and Gomes.

But Allan, James, Godfrey and Doucoure suggest to me, that we're getting our recruitment right this time round, and that's a huge positive for me.

But make no mistake we've taken zero points from Newcastle x 2, Fulham and West Ham. Our players on paper should walk them, but there's no drive and hunger. I watched Fulham yesterday, and they wanted every ball, chased everything. We didn't thats the difference, We'll get better, but we're still rebuilding under Ancelotti.