The College Dropout

Gap between the midfield and attack is massive.

Cabaye & Tiote soooo deep there.

I wouldn't go 4-4-2 against the Mackems but I wouldn't start HBA behind the striker either. I'm not the manager so none of this matters.

I don't think Martinez's signings have been good enough though.

People really under-rate the power of momentum. Norwich/Swansea are used to winning. Morale has remained high for a long time for both clubs. That does wonders for your confidence, and a confident footballer is a better footballer. Let's see how they do next year or the year after when the star players get sold. Wigan have been battling relegation/bottom half of the table for years now with their best players being sold and to make matters worse they are never a PL side anyway.

He (Suarez) would be superb alongside a Darren Bent/Defoe type striker. He's not prolific enough to be the main man and at L'pool all the other strikers are "team" players including Bellamy. Suarez is not in that RVP and Ba (based on this season) category of striker who will propel a team to over achieve. If Demba took all their penalties alone they would be much better off.

Refer to the European thread. If another team makes the FA Cup final that are not in the top 7 they will take the 6th European spot. We need a Spurs/Chelsea kinda final.

3 vs 2 though. Naturally we go longer with the passing.

There's a lot more to being good in the air than just being aggressive. Timing, judging the flight of the ball with your run, choosing the correct type of header to execute etc.

It used to be Taylor doing the very same thing. It worked better with Saylor imo and that's really down to him having more strength than Williamson. Not just strength, Taylor is better at every aspect of heading. He attacks the ball greatly, has a more determined leap/timing of a header and he gets greater purchase/direction on them.

Craig Bellamy man. Should've become a Newcastle legend.

Yep. Furthermore, sitting deep and counter-attacking Arsenal has long been seen as a successful tactic against them.

Tbf Bobby's a different breed. There's only maybe a handful of managers in the league that want their players to express themselves and assert themselves the way Bobby did. And now you have people saying Wenger is clueless. Despite Pep's success, tt's a dying breed of football manager.

No question that's a much better side, and illustrates the point I've been trying to make. Four of those players went to Man City, and in the new financial climate, they're difficult for Arsenal to replace. On a side point, I've often felt that Arsenal's style demands a really top striker to make it work. They need someone comfortable on the ball who can participate in their passing style, but who is also strong enough to get on the end of chances in the penalty area. RVP is the only striker they have who looks the part, and even then not always. Agreed totally. Arsene really hasn't adjusted to this as it unfolded.

When i've seen recently he's looked like he actually gives a fuck which for an Arsenal player is something.

He was superb as well.

Very clearly. Has espoused a philosophy that he himself is unwilling to deploy even against a bottom 3 managerless team when we're at home. That alone tells you how little he believes in his "A" team's ability to play his allegedly preferred brand of football. Mind you, with Williamson as a central defender, I'd be scared too. Should have bought someone else. Agreed. And it transmits through to the players.

This post needs more love. Good tactical insight. Cabaye isn't really box to box though. He does a lot of running but is rarely close to any of the strikers. Obertan's never a defensive winger either. I don't really think he has a game plan other than "be solid as f***" but it's too rigid. I'm not sure what he tells the lads tbh. Guthrie plays further forward than Cabaye but he has no issue with Yohan playing so deep. Saylor is an aggressive defender and it's Colo who does the sweeping up when they play. There's not really a covering type system atm. I'm pretty certain that's not Pardew's long term game plan. Earlier on i the season it seemed he wanted creativity to come out wide all the time. If he wanted creativity come from a central he would encourage Cabaye forward more. The main problem problem Pardew has with regards to performances is that it's the worst we've seen from one of our "good" sides when in ascendancy in the last 15 years.

Wham.

I'm not one for glorifying Hughton's tenure but this was truly the best part of his time. When teams where there to be beaten, he wouldn't hold the players back. Today we let Wolves into it for no reason. It took 30 minutes of submissive play from us and a jammy goal to get them really going. Had we come out in the second half, dominated for the opening 15 minutes and not conceded (or scored) Wolves would've gone back into their shell and the game would've been over. "Defensive tilt" is Pardew's predisposition.

Been trying to work out what happened there myself. Don't think it's as simple as Wilko for Saylor, but Santon's forward play certainly has Colo pulled out to the wings more than I would like. It really is Willo for Saylor like. Saylor's Bramble-esque with the mistakes no doubt about it. But he can be a colossus at times. He's faster, stronger and better in the air than Willo (and Colo too tbf) but crucially, he's a pretty good footballer like. He's not afraid to have the ball at his feet and he naturally plays short passes. Mike & Danny are shit scared of the ball and it has a huge overall detriment to the team.

Yep. Scared to play on the front foot.

Surely Pardew tells Krul to go long? Ridiculous how often he does it. Probably not telling him to do it. But he could certainly tell him to stop at ANY moment.

The whole set-up was wrong. I know we have trouble playing with a very high line but we played VERY deep. The gap between our midfielders and strikers was huge. We played on a defensive tilt unnecessarily and I primarily blame Pardew. Everyone seemed asleep. We needed Pardew to shake things up and come out in the second half firing. We came out worse than before.

The issue is that they've had the vast majority of the play and the possession for the last 40 minutes or so, allowing them that chance. We've lacked urgency and quality despite playing a team winless in 9, in the bottom 3, and without a permanent manager. THAT is the problem. I agree that I'd like a bit more urgency. Other teams are alwaysg going to have chances and shots on goal though. We have been poor but there's still time for us to take the reins when Wolves run out of chuff. Are you watching?