Lotus

Looks like to me he's struggling with the intensity of the league a bit. Understandable. And i say that given he hasn't looked anywhere near as good as he did in Holland. I'm sure he has it in him and i hope he turns into a great player. Not really contributing much to general play at the moment though.

Worse than Haidara defensively last night.

How can people post this as a serious response? Speak your mind then.

Jamaat was not good defensively. Far from it. Mbemba headed a ball weakly into the midfield (twice), school boy error. Colback, and i don't particularly mind him tbh, really did nothing. Anita isn't good enough at one thing. Wijnaldum was ineffective. Our wide players, especially Thauvin always seemed to be double marked but despite that we had no one from midfield taking advantage of the space that will create. Cisse was awful. Can't even pass half the time.

I was gonna go but have to look after the kids instead.

I enjoyed learning about gegenpressing....

Not sure what the statement 'He's fairly quick but it takes a lot for him to cover ground' means tbh. He's quick enough to do it and he's not blowing out of his arse after 30 minutes so i don't really get what you said there. A fast runner can cover ground well up and down. Straight sprints to be precise. Anita is good at that. However, footballers often move laterally. Or just plain jog. For whatever reason, Anita isn't very good at this. You rarely feel like Anita is dominating an area of the pitch. So when a team is passing the ball around midfield, it takes a lot for him to keep up with play. He's fine when he's sprinting. But just moving around, he doesn't cover the ground well. I think Wilshere suffers from a similar thing. He's no slouch but it takes a fair bit for him to get around a pitch. Someone like Ramsey is no quicker but is able to cover ground easier. Apparently, I sound pretentious. But i'm talking about a technicality here. Just because you can run fast, doesn't mean you get around the pitch well to force your presence. Makelele was short, not lightening but somehow managed to fulfill the action. I would love to know this. I would also like 1 example of when Anita's passing has "made us tick". I get s*** for saying "gegenpress" which has explicit actions. "Make us tick" is a lazy cliche that doesn't mean anything. Especially when used for Anita. I think i understand your point. I do think he did as you described at Man U actually. I think his positioning made them choose passes to areas he wasn't in at times. They hardly moved the ball quickly though so i'd say it wasn't typical.

Not sure what the statement 'He's fairly quick but it takes a lot for him to cover ground' means tbh. He's quick enough to do it and he's not blowing out of his arse after 30 minutes so i don't really get what you said there.

Anita Sissoko Wijnaldum De Jong Thauvin Perez Diamond in the middle, 2 wide lads cutting in towards goal, De Jong making late runs into the box so he's difficult to pick up.

Maybe it's just quicker to say gegenpress. I'm not really understanding the reaction to TCD on this one. Unless it's an accumulation of things that maybe have got on peoples tits.

Think it's been described that way of Dortmund. I'm guessing it's a German word.

Is it just high pressing though? It seems it's more to do with systems of pressing no matter where you lose the ball. It's a strategic type of pressing in order to regain the ball after losing it within 5 seconds. You can blitz non discrimantely, cover the available players, cover the passing lanes, etc. I'm sure our coaches are familiar with it and it's nuances.

Seems there's a few different ways to do it though: http://spielverlagerung.com/2014/10/07/counter-or-gegenpressing/ It's in English...

I have to say, i wish i knew more about the game, tactics etc. It would probably make watching the game more enjoyable for me i think. TCDs mention of gegenpressing has made me look up a few things. It's all good.

How does one use Gegenpressing successfully? There are several prerequisites for successful counterpressing. The decisive factor is the overall positioning of the team and their playing style right before attempting to counterpress. The players must play as close to one another as possible so that they can press together as a unit right after the ball is lost – which is a given in short passing football. At the same time, they should not stick so close to one another that they neglect to cover enough space. Usually, a good layout in possession and a good shape behind the lost ball go hand in hand. Some trainers use the basic rule of thumb to “occupy the fewest possible zones with individual players, but the greatest possible distance between the players within those zones so that they don’t occupy the same space” to make the positioning simple to understand; although, with a rule of thumb like this, some aspects are lost in terms of complexity.

Well, i'd never heard the term and now i've looked it up and learnt a new word. Also, having read the first find on google search (i'm that well informed) i can see that 'gegenpressing' would be hard for us as we play a bit too spaced out. I have been elevated!

Maybe he's just on a relatively low paid deal and the likes of Gini have come in on better wages and he wants a rise. I'm just guessing. I'm sure a new deal would keep him happy.

Nicky Butt for me like I know! What a decision!!

Would love us to have a Carrick type player. Great positional sense and a full array of passes of either foot.

I still think we'll set up to concede the majority of possession and try to catch them on the break.

I haven't seen the goals but i'm sure you can be a good defender but if the other 3 are doing their own thing then i reckon they will all look bad. For the price being quoted for him i'd much rather we tried for someone like Matip. He can play in front of the back 4 too so that would be a huge added bonus.

Was it a Celtic fan? Tend to find the Old Firm lot massively overrate their own players when it comes to the wider context. Thought i heard John Hartson say it the other day.

Sorry, but in the circumstances we faced last night, this is laughably ridiculous. Wait - are we taking the cup runs seriously or are we playing the kids? I'm confused. Not picking on either Lotus or Liam here.....because hindsight is a wonderful thing. This time we played a small team and won easily. Last season we played Peterborough and lost. I do wish that we would push Kemen into some serious game time if he is worth it, and perhaps the Cup games are the way to do it. But its also a risk and we have been banging on about taking the cup runs seriously. Given the other 'serious' players on the pitch and the bench, playing a guy we're trying to get rid of who has shown no promise in a position that is not even his own when you have a reservist who is a specialist there is more of a gamble.

Sorry, but in the circumstances we faced last night, this is laughably ridiculous.