Gallowgate Toon

I'd play what we had second half, tbh. Thought we looked better in a 4-2-3-1 than 4-3-3 and would keep it that way to get something going between these lads, they need to play together as much as possible now. Anita in for Colback and, if Taylor's fit, sack Captain Fantastic off.

We have defenders that can't handle being left to defend against strikers on their own, midfielders that can't tackle or get a grip of a game and 2 strikers - one of which has gone mentally, the other an unproven, currently unreliable kid. It'd take a seriously, seriously good manager to get this rabble to finish 10th. We might have some talented footballers but that doesn't count for much when you have what is probably the least balanced squad in the league. HTT nailed what's wrong, too many are mentally fucked which is a symptom of the way the club has been run for years.

I think this is a brilliant post. Disagree about the crosses and bodies in the box thing, but everything else is just about spot on. I do think McClaren will turn it around, somewhat, but we're no match made in heaven at all. Steve Black has got a hell of a job on to get these players mentally right.

Watson and Capoue attempted 10 tackles against us. Wijnaldum and Sissoko, the two they were directly playing against for half the game, attempted 1 between themselves.

To be fair, Thauvin and Perez were a rubbish wide combo on Saturday. Both did exactly the same thing, got the ball and turned inside almost every time. They never tried to take the full back on, instead choosing to pass it inside or wait for an overlap. Sissoko made a difference in the second half by being more direct. Maybe things might be different for them with a focal point to play off but I doubt that'd really work unless we're playing teams that defend a bit more openly.

They were the only two willing to go at players with any consistency - they weren't scared if things didn't come off etc. Wijnaldum started to do similar in the second half, I hope that's a sign he's really started to adapt and understand what the league's about.

You'd think a supporting 4 of Perez, Wijnaldum, Sissoko and Thauvin would be enough in that department. Some good pace and technical ability in there. There's not much of a focal point for them to play off... Needs to stop leaving 3 back when we attack against good counter sides, mind, as we're too soft for it. If Janmaat bombs on, just leave Haidara back and get the 4 covering in a diamond shape to have a higher chance of getting second balls. It's hard to say what's going on up front. Even when we get more numbers forward, the final ball is poor, something's lacking etc. I remember him saying a while back that he changed his approach to giving instructions in Holland, letting players think about things more. Perhaps he thinks our attackers are better than they are and is giving them too much decision-making freedom and not enough clarity. We had 40 crosses on Saturday and I can only remember 2 actually being decent, that's also a huge problem, even with Mitrovic in the team. It really can't be that hard to whip a ball in, at least 1 in 10, none of this floated rubbish.

Martial looks a good player. Quick, strong and skilful is a pretty decent combo for a striker.

Good skill from Depay. Perez tried that yesterday and nearly pulled it off, IIRC.

Don't disagree with you at all. The reason I made the point more towards the fullbacks is we need to stay in games longer and currently we are playing with two defenders with one of them being long past his best. From his quotes yesterday I reckon we'll be playing a lot more defensively against Chelsea and Man City. Wouldn't be surprised to see Anita back in the team either. The only problem is we have very little pace up front to counter attack. His aim in the next two games will be to keep the scores down, and rightly so. It's literally the only area he's not copied Pardew so far getting utterly bummed. What? He's clearly set us up to play on the deck rather than Pardew's hoofball. howay man Look, we've been s****, but this "McCarvdew" bollocks is just lazy. We've clearly tried to play it out from the back. Hasn't worked, mind. Explain to me how other than us getting a 4/5/6-0 bumming he's differed from Pardew so far. Eh, I just told you. We've tried to keep the ball on the deck to a greater extent rather than hoofing it at every opportunity. We've also tried different systems and approaches to games too, rather than just one plan every single time. We started last season with a 'new approach' as well if you recall. Knocked it about on the ground without any aim or purpose. Sound familiar? I don't remember Pardew trying to tailor different plans for different games, no. He tried one thing for a few matches and retreated to what he knew. You say it like it's working though It's clearly not working. But that wasn't what you were saying. What I said was other than avoiding bummings he's so far done nothing different to Pardew and I stand by it. It was countered with but we've passed it a bit more, to which I replied that's what we did last season too, just as aimlessly. Pardew even dropped little Vurn and kept Colback So the only positive or thing he's done differently is try different systems, which is only partially true, and none of the changes have worked either. Therefore in conclusion, from what I can see, he's tried different systems that don't work. That's it. That's what sets him apart from Pardew at this point. Good stuff. Well, trying different systems and approaches is quite a big part of the game, like. Edit: I'm curious as to where you think this more incisive play is going to come from, by the way. Ignoring some of the deficiencies in our squad, you need confidence for players to play riskier, more incisive football. It's not as simple as just telling them to do it, they've got to have the character to actually go and perform like that.

I think I read we had 30 crosses and only 4 connected. How embarrassing.

Interesting comments about him on Supplement. Of course, the North East shite is bollocks, but I can imagine the stuff about him not wanting to play may well be true. Probably got a deal close for January and is desperate to not get injured again. I think we've brought some good characters into the club, over the Summer, and the quicker they put their stamp on the dressing room, the better.

We've been really bad at getting players in the box for years now. That is going to take time to put right, assuming McClaren thinks it needs putting right. We had 4/5 players in the box on numerous occasions yesterday. Their positioning and deliveries, on the other hand, were shit.

Don't disagree with you at all. The reason I made the point more towards the fullbacks is we need to stay in games longer and currently we are playing with two defenders with one of them being long past his best. From his quotes yesterday I reckon we'll be playing a lot more defensively against Chelsea and Man City. Wouldn't be surprised to see Anita back in the team either. The only problem is we have very little pace up front to counter attack. His aim in the next two games will be to keep the scores down, and rightly so. It's literally the only area he's not copied Pardew so far getting utterly bummed. What? He's clearly set us up to play on the deck rather than Pardew's hoofball. Still defensive. Still turgid. Turgid, yes, but not always defensive. What? We've had the least shots on target in the league. That doesn't necessarily mean it's always defensive. That could signal many things. Swansea was defensive, Arsenal was defensive, Man U second half was. I don't think the other 3 games have been, though. We were just poor.

Don't disagree with you at all. The reason I made the point more towards the fullbacks is we need to stay in games longer and currently we are playing with two defenders with one of them being long past his best. From his quotes yesterday I reckon we'll be playing a lot more defensively against Chelsea and Man City. Wouldn't be surprised to see Anita back in the team either. The only problem is we have very little pace up front to counter attack. His aim in the next two games will be to keep the scores down, and rightly so. It's literally the only area he's not copied Pardew so far getting utterly bummed. What? He's clearly set us up to play on the deck rather than Pardew's hoofball. howay man Look, we've been s****, but this "McCarvdew" bollocks is just lazy. We've clearly tried to play it out from the back. Hasn't worked, mind. Explain to me how other than us getting a 4/5/6-0 bumming he's differed from Pardew so far. Eh, I just told you. We've tried to keep the ball on the deck to a greater extent rather than hoofing it at every opportunity. We've also tried different systems and approaches to games too, rather than just one plan every single time. We started last season with a 'new approach' as well if you recall. Knocked it about on the ground without any aim or purpose. Sound familiar? I don't remember Pardew trying to tailor different plans for different games, no. He tried one thing for a few matches and retreated to what he knew. You say it like it's working though It's clearly not working. But that wasn't what you were saying.

Don't disagree with you at all. The reason I made the point more towards the fullbacks is we need to stay in games longer and currently we are playing with two defenders with one of them being long past his best. From his quotes yesterday I reckon we'll be playing a lot more defensively against Chelsea and Man City. Wouldn't be surprised to see Anita back in the team either. The only problem is we have very little pace up front to counter attack. His aim in the next two games will be to keep the scores down, and rightly so. It's literally the only area he's not copied Pardew so far getting utterly bummed. What? He's clearly set us up to play on the deck rather than Pardew's hoofball. howay man Look, we've been s****, but this "McCarvdew" bollocks is just lazy. We've clearly tried to play it out from the back. Hasn't worked, mind. Explain to me how other than us getting a 4/5/6-0 bumming he's differed from Pardew so far. Eh, I just told you. We've tried to keep the ball on the deck to a greater extent rather than hoofing it at every opportunity. We've also tried different systems and approaches to games too, rather than just one plan every single time. We started last season with a 'new approach' as well if you recall. Knocked it about on the ground without any aim or purpose. Sound familiar? I don't remember Pardew trying to tailor different plans for different games, no. He tried one thing for a few matches and retreated to what he knew.

Don't disagree with you at all. The reason I made the point more towards the fullbacks is we need to stay in games longer and currently we are playing with two defenders with one of them being long past his best. From his quotes yesterday I reckon we'll be playing a lot more defensively against Chelsea and Man City. Wouldn't be surprised to see Anita back in the team either. The only problem is we have very little pace up front to counter attack. His aim in the next two games will be to keep the scores down, and rightly so. It's literally the only area he's not copied Pardew so far getting utterly bummed. What? He's clearly set us up to play on the deck rather than Pardew's hoofball. Still defensive. Still turgid. Turgid, yes, but not always defensive.

Don't disagree with you at all. The reason I made the point more towards the fullbacks is we need to stay in games longer and currently we are playing with two defenders with one of them being long past his best. From his quotes yesterday I reckon we'll be playing a lot more defensively against Chelsea and Man City. Wouldn't be surprised to see Anita back in the team either. The only problem is we have very little pace up front to counter attack. His aim in the next two games will be to keep the scores down, and rightly so. It's literally the only area he's not copied Pardew so far getting utterly bummed. What? He's clearly set us up to play on the deck rather than Pardew's hoofball. howay man Look, we've been s****, but this "McCarvdew" bollocks is just lazy. We've clearly tried to play it out from the back. Hasn't worked, mind. Explain to me how other than us getting a 4/5/6-0 bumming he's differed from Pardew so far. Eh, I just told you. We've tried to keep the ball on the deck to a greater extent rather than hoofing it at every opportunity. We've also tried different systems and approaches to games too, rather than just one plan every single time.

Was glad to see Perez in there, didn't have too many complaints before the match. I think watching yesterday made me think maybe the formation and team selection isn't as much of a problem as what seems like a chronic lack of morale, teamwork and drive amongst the players. They looked like total strangers who've never played with each other before in their life, no communication, no unspoken understanding of where to move or where to pass the ball - players feeding a ball through on the outside of a defender just as the player they were passing to checked his run and darted in to the middle, things like that. No-one was working for each other, there was no gestures of "unlucky mate" or hands up of "my fault, good idea". Conversely, the players didn't look comfortable enough with each other the criticise a wrong decision or bad pass, aside from some undirected looking at the sky. It's usually the kind of stuff I'd scoff at as being a bit David Brent, but it looks like these lads need to go and play paintball together and do some f***ing trust falls or something. Excellently put.

We did try and speed it up yesterday but were absolutely shite at it. To be expected, I suppose, considering how low confidence seems to be. If only we had more players with the mentality of Daryl Janmaat, he's not always brilliant but he always takes risks, tries to be positive and is determined. Wijnaldum has been a bit disappointing in that he's been quite passive with some of his play; he seemed to get more of a grip of it in the second half yesterday so I hope that's something he can push on from.

What do you think is actually midtable about our squad? A midtable team has a solid spine, we don't. I'd say our natural position with this team is about 15th. Until we buy a proper defender, a combative central midfielder and a competent striker (as back up to Mitrovic, at the very least), that's how it'll remain.

Yeah, I think with a good manager there's enough to be around mid table. And you're twisting s*** because you only say "more than adequate" but not for what thus implying something people don't actually say or believe. Our central defence is a joke, we have little-to-no presence in midfield and we've got one striker with any physicality. Our squad isn't a midtable one.

Watching this back, we weren't as generally awful as I thought we were in the first half (still shit, obviously). Going forward, we had a couple of decent opportunities and there were good numbers in the box on occasion but our final ball was often woeful (stop floating crosses, FFS) and some of the finishing was absolutely terrible. We tried to press them a bit higher up the pitch in the opening quarter but it's a disaster plan when 2 of the 3 covering central are Colback and Colo, so slow and weak. Thauvin was better than I remembered, despite a couple of wayward balls. Wijnaldum and Sissoko were poor off the ball, Sissoko was especially bad for their first, just let his man sprint past him and only jogged back when we were clearly in a lot of danger. We were after Capoue at one point, weren't we? He was absolutely tremendous, got tackles in in key areas when we were attacking and set them off on counters for fun.

We tried to play through the middle more, yesterday, tbf, but repeatedly lost it. Capoue, someone we're absolutely crying out for, absolutely owned the lot of them in central areas.

That first goal is an utter joke. How do we go from making them pass it back to the 'keeper to then being left 5 on 5 in our own third within a matter of seconds?