Lotus

I also think it takes that bit of spark out his legs that allows him to do something special.

We’ve had some ropey runs in the past and subsequently put in some excellent performances so we’ve been here before. Obvs hope this time is like last time.

I think the jump in results and performances from when Howe took over to our stellar season seems largely based on physicality. We were so fit and our players had that underdog mentality and they bought into the notion that we could overrun teams. It largely worked and they derived a lot of confidence from it. We could force and pressure players to f**k up and we’d be there, all over them like a rash getting in good positions with their defences all over the place and we’d get good opportunities. Wilson was in good form and we did well. It was a tremendous effort though for the players to completely empty the tank week after week. I was expecting us to use that confidence to develop a style that was sustainable (because flogging your players each and every week is not). It looked like there may have been the green shoots of a stylistic change at the start of last season. Specifically post the 1st Milan game. For whatever reason it didn't seem to stick and I think the mentality of players like Bruno, Gordon and Isak feels reluctant to run themselves to the point of injury again. The style of the squad has not progressed into something yet workable. It will need to or the top players are going to start thinking about playing elsewhere. At the same time we’ve not built a squad that Howe is comfortable interchanging and we’re in a limbo. Not really effective at anything right now. Not enough ballers to keep the ball and not enough runners to keep everyone fresh.

Soon as a I saw Morgan Rodgers for Villa I thought they’ve bought their own version of JL. Only he’s younger and (I’m sure) on a much lower wage. £8m ffs.

That’s a valid criticism but I’m hoping it’s because he’s trying the Hollywood pass. If he had clear instructions to recycle the ball and just keep it moving we might see much better passing accuracy stats. I would also hope him having Bruno and either JL or JW showing for a pass as well as both FBs he would have plenty of options to move the ball quickly and then get himself into space to receive it back as an option. EH doesn’t seem to see this as a valid option (or not yet) so he must see reasons in training that it won’t work.

Think he suffers a bit from Bruno being the MAIN MAN. Would still try Tonali playing at 6. He’s got good movement to be available for passes from the defence and I think he looks fairly press proof. He’s got speed if it goes tits up. It would get in the game more and have the added bonus of allowing our only really creative player, Bruno to play higher up.

Have to agree. Imagine we bought Tino for £40m and then 6 months later spend another £40m on another RB in case Tino wasn’t going to be good enough. If you trust in your reasons that a player is right for the club and they end needing a bit of work you stick to the plan, surely?

Something I don’t understand is that our midfield is really very porous and easy to play through. Yet at the same time creates almost nothing going forward. We nearly always do the U shaped thing and try from the wings. Very little incisive play cutting through the lines centrally. Normally when I see a midfield that can’t defend its back line It’s because it’s full of creative attacking players. Ours just can’t achieve either objective. If you’ve Bruno and Sandro as 2 out of 3 in there you’d have to think it’s not a personnel/talent problem.

Tbh, I thought he was largely poor until the 70 minute mark. As oppo players tire he doesn’t (or doesn’t as much) and he has a bit of space and looks good. Would only bring him on as a sub with 30 to go. 10 mins to get up to speed and then 20-25 mins of bullying everyone. He doesn’t have the kind 180° vision to play in midfield, especially facing his own goal.

So, you never watched them with any regularity?

I bet they were the only 2 Dortmund games you saw.

Terzic????

I’m hoping they were thinking about the carbon emissions….

It’s exactly the kind of game where we could put in a surprising performance a lá Villa last season. But, we’re far from predictable in our performances or results so far this season so, no idea.

The list of clubs outside the PL who would (realistically) think to buy Isak is incredibly short. RM? Do they need him? Barca? Financial mess. Bayern? Possibly but they’ve got Kane. Athletico? Just bought Alvarez. PSG? Maybe… Napoli could probably afford him if they sold Osimhen but doubt they would invest it all in one player. Problem with PL prices and valuations is that you get to a stage where only other PL clubs can afford them. If we’d be happy selling to another PL club then Isak’s valuation could be high as long as he stays fit and scores plenty of goals this season. Otherwise I think talk of getting £80-90M for him is fanciful.

Glad he’s signed. Now let’s sell him and buy Arda Güler

You’d lose a lot of his positive play and his running by playing Tonali as the 6 but I think, of all our midfielders he’s probably the best suited to it. Him and Bruno can do it, they can both play further forward too but I think has more creativity and can be a bit more unpredictable. Also, Tonali has the pace to cover the 2 CBs. That is, until we find someone else to do it.

I think BDB is a much more important part of the squad than Longstaff. I just think the style we’re trying to play doesn’t suit him very well. I think that’s true for a couple of our players.

That defensive header was poor but he looked like he slipped. Think it was BDB who bailed him out.

From what I remember (which may be fallible) he was not tight to Ferguson. So if he’s chased a forward deep and can’t get anywhere near him he should really be playing closer to his own box. I do agree that 3 of our defenders should’ve done considerably better off 2 attackers doing a simple 1-2. But BDB is a good defender in a low block but not so useful with the way we’re trying to play. Clearly, Kelly is even worse in training so BDB is the better option.

BDB is fantastic at the last ditch stuff. But a high press needs CBs to get super tight to forwards as they drop deep to make options for the opposing team to play out. There he is badly exposed. He hasn’t the pace to get tight and he’s the most easily turned. His recovery pace is non existent.

We looked better when he was higher up the pitch. We have so few decent passers of the ball it really hurts us when one goes off. Hope to God he’s not injured and it was just a workload thing.

Don’t understand what he was doing for their goal. Also, his inability to get tight to a player outside his penalty box is problematic. But, he put in some crucial tackles/blocks today. That bit is undeniable.

Without trying to be hyperbolic, I kind of feel the U.K. Government is guilty of all the things on that banner with the possible exception of beheadings.

In the absence of watching all of the football played everywhere the usual data sites do provide an idea of what kind of player someone is. Tonali is still an exciting prospect. We still haven’t seen him be a dominant force over a stretch of games. He certainly looks like he can be but it hasn’t happened yet (when he’s been available). Lots of mitigating factors but at some point he has to actually do it to be worth the money and the hassle. I also think his natural style is being hampered by the lack of quality around him. Bruno, Isak, Hall and Tripps would, I think fit in with his style very well of fast paced passing and some decent movement to create a bit of time and space.