The College Dropout

Bournemouth are in decent form. Everyone assumes they are awful but they have been steady and picking up points

Yeh a relegation battle you can win or lose it based on one off games. Top 4? Teams are good… but not that good. You need to be consistently good but the odd slip is fine.

If we beat spurs their season could implode. We would need to avoid defeat to Brighton and win another 3-4. IMO we can win the next 3 and cruise to the CL.

Brighton also play a double pivot and try to get their wide players in behind fullbacks and defenders. We need an actual plan for that.

We need wins as to not let the others get into the race. Need to get 7 points from the next 3 and a W against Spurs.

Vieira’s last 5 opposition: Arsenal Brighton City Villa Liverpool Hodgsons first 5 games: Leicester Leeds Southampton Everton Wolves Thats top 8 for Vieira and bottom 8 for Hodgson.

Young wasn’t getting that far forward. They have a lopsided system like ours. They played a midfield 5 of Buendia, McGinn, Ramsay, Luiz, Dendocker. All of which want to get on the ball centrally. Playing 3 in there we were always going to struggle. Trippier kept getting dragged in by the wide 10 because there wasn’t a central midfielder to pick them up. We needed the wide players far more deep and engaged in their defending. Or a different shake entirely.

Everybody wants him to succeed. He’s had a slow start. We all hope he comes good. Many didn’t rate him before he joined and he’s done little to change their minds. I wanted him to start today. But tbh I think he’s better off the bench. He was up against a 37 year old former winger today and got nothing from him. Young is someone he should look to emulate in his professionalism, dedication and application. Never a world beater himself but was a really effective winger at his peak and has had a great ans long career at the highest levels.

I think this is more on Eddie than the players. You would need Rice, prime Kante and Bellingham in there to compete against the Villa 4 today.

Good discussion in here today lads.

It’s also a numbers game. Villa had 4 or 5 in central midfield areas, we had 3. There’s always going to be an open pass in that setup for them to play around us.

Aye. Usually the midfield is competitive and solid. Teams usually have to rush that ball over the top so the quality isn’t good and we can deal with it with Pope’s aggressive sweeping. Today those Vila wide players kept having loads of time to time and weigh their passes. At times they are playing with 5 central midfielder and we are playing with 3. There was space to attack Villa in behind and wide but we never had the quality to lay a glove.

His blend of pace and power is fairly unique and he’s in great confidence and is making consistent penetrative runs. He used to make more selfless runs before in the channels. They also play with wingers who are technically strong and are more 10s than actual wingers. Play that narrow box midfield where they can play balls in behind from half spaces and they had no pressure today for 90 minutes. And obviously the defenders are human. Their heads must’ve been rattled from 30 seconds in. Their composure went out the window but imo that’s because the setup was all wrong

It was the midfield. Ramsay and Buendia kept having the ball between full back and CB with little pressure from midfield. Easily knocking it behind the defence or bouncing it off Watkins and sustaining the attack. This happened for 90 minutes.

No. Neither of them have any real pace. Watkins has scored his goals running between CBs. We were always going to be vulnerable to that and it needed active mitigation. Maybe a deeper line, a defensive 3, stopping the supply lines etc. I don’t know but we clearly didn’t have much of a plan for Villa’s strengths. Anyway. These things happen. As someone pointed out, nobody turned up. We go again.

People are so sensitive. Even Pep has weaknesses. He can overthink and change his system too much based on opposition. And he’s the greatest manager of all time. Fergie was often schooled tactically in Europe etc. I can say Howe is a little inflexible in setting up his team va the opps strengths

I agree with this. I’ve struggled to accept that Dan Burn is the horse for every course but that’s how Howe sees things.

Stop being so sensitive. Howe has done miracles. He’s been great. We know this. But we came to play the exact same game we always try to play. When it didn’t work, we had no idea how to stop the opposition. The 10s kept getting the ball in the half spaces and doing whatever they wanted. The left back kept exploiting space out wide. Bruno was piss poor but he was often running between two 10s. We kept being vulnerable to Watkins runs between central defenders. Botman was playing like he didn’t realise Watkins was right footed. These are things we can mitigate and prepare for.

Exactly this. Spurs won’t do it though. But the others might.

This is what I mean. Villa’s default style is LB pushing high up. Both ‘wingers’ are more central players anyway and will come inside into the half spaces and will try and link up with Watkins and get him into balls between the CBs. Then 3 midfielders and 3 defenders deeper. One of the midfielders can push on to support. And we looked totally unprepared for it when it worked well from the off. Bruno got nowhere near Buendia or Ramsay and needed more support and positional sense in there. The LB was in tons of space time and time again. we either needed a back 3 or to be stiffer in midfield. I saw a tifo video on Villa yesterday. They attacked exactly as the video said. We looked totally unprepared for it and didn’t cope with it at all for a full 90 minutes.

That’s his plan B. And it’s firmly plan B. What I mean is ‘the opposition will setup like this… so I will set us up a little different to counter it’. Like Pep will alter his time a little when facing a back 3. He’s not so much a horses for courses manager. We have the finances to make plan A and B brilliant though. I think Klopp is the same. They are doing what they are doing, it either works or it doesn’t.

His YouTube highlights are not impressive either.

He had excellent marketing at Everton. And he’s quick.

Learning a lot about Eddie. He’s not the most tactically flexible is he?

Loved Schar this season. But we need some pace in central defence.