timeEd32

obligatory small sample size warning Corners 2022/23 15.52 xG | 0.41xG/90 | 8 goals (0.21 per game) 6.47 xGA | 0.17xGA/90 | 8 goals against (0.21 per game) 2023/24 9.84 xG | 0.26xG/90 | 8 goals (0.21 per game) 8.56 xGA | 0.23xGA/90 | 9 goals against (0.24 per game) 2024/25 1.71 xG | 0.19xG/90 | 0 goals 1.01 xGA | 0.11xGA/90 | 0 goals against Set pieces (direct free kicks excluded) 2022/23 8.7 xG | 0.23xG/90 | 3 goals (0.08 per game) 2.92 xGA | 0.09xGA/90 | 2 goals against (0.05 per game) 2023/24 6.44 xG | 0.17xG/90 | 8 goals (0.21 per game) 3.51 xGA | 0.23xGA/90 | 3 goals against (0.08 per game) 2024/25 0.80 xG | 0.09xG/90 | 0 goals 0.84 xGA | 0.09xGA/90 | 1 goal against ------------------------------------------- Combined 2022/23 we generated 0.64xG and 0.29 goals per game 2023/24 we generated 0.43xG and 0.42 goals per game 2024/25 we have created 0.28xG and 0.00 goals per game

Just read this in an article about baseball, but it feels very appropriate after yesterday: players’ physical failures are easier to forgive than managers’ unforced mental missteps.

24 hours later and I'm still really annoyed by that game. Isak failing to control multiple passes which led to counters, one of which was the second goal Bruno making 4-5 passes straight to them and they weren't particularly ambitious passes Tonali vacating the right side time and again. Burn deciding it wasn't important to track Jackson until it was too late (not the only one guilty of this yesterday either) Schar doing whatever the hell he was doing all day Obviously it's up to the manager to get the players to perform and I'd be very interested in seeing us try something different, but yesterday feels like a game the players gave away. I'm struggling to remember one with so many obvious individual mistakes. I can't decide if that's more or less comforting than just not really showing up.

It was 100% a foul. Should have been a free kick right outside the area.

A lot of that summer was spent complaining about the Gordon signing and debating where he'd play. I said this on June 1, 2023... Gordon started the season as the LW, but Brentford in September we started with Barnes left and Gordon right. Then three days later we played Milan with Gordon left and Murphy right (Murphy came off for Miggy early 2nd half and Gordon came off for Wilson with Isak shifting wide). Then five days later at Sheffield United we started with Barnes/Wilson/Miggy. It seems the plan was to rotate the front three to deal with the added fixtures, but then Barnes was hurt for ages and Wilson/Isak took turns being injured. Gordon turned into one of the league's best left wingers by the next time we see Barnes. The kind version of what happened is a reasonable plan got derailed by injuries and a previous signing became an excellent LW making the Barnes signing a bit redundant. Not ideal, but understandable. The negative version of what happened is we spent a lot of money on a very specialized player and we did so in the position where we already had the most options. We felt comfortable doing this because we naively thought a 29 year old RW off the season of his life would continue that form and/or we felt we needed to replace the outgoing LW because we weren't sure where Gordon fit. There's some bad luck involved, but also poor planning given our finances. None of this is the fault of Barnes, who will create and score goals, but we'd be in a really rough place if not for Gordon's versatility.

This is written as if there’s no financial restrictions. We spent everything we could and more in summer 2023. It’s largely the reason for everything that has happened since.

Agreed, not sure how anyone thinks he was good yesterday.

Very sloppy today but honestly have a lot of sympathy for him. More than the other underachievers at least. The performances we’re seeing now are why players need to be rotated.

I don’t understand what he was doing today. Felt like he left the right side regularly, which gave Palmer tons of space and left Tino and Schar exposed. If he plays on the left for Italy I’d try him there or I’d be interested in seeing him in the middle.

Things must be grim if you’re losing hope!

Really poor. I’d send his agent the ‘highlights’ of his play today the next time he reaches out.

Players passing to the other team, not controlling the ball, and regularly being muscled off it are not a tactics issue. Neither are missing 1v1s, penalties, or failing to make passes that a U13 coach would scream about.

A lot of words will be spilled in this thread but the main difference in that game is that their best player is genuinely elite and ours 1) aren’t as good as him and 2) were bad today. Eddie needs a good look in the mirror but so do a lot of our players.

And Spurs. And Brighton and Villa draw. Massive missed opportunity.

So incredibly soft.

Tonali’s technical ability with Longstaff’s positioning is the player we need.

I think we’re going to be more solid with Longstaff in for Tonali and I can’t believe that’s a sub I’m happy about. Willock should have lots of space to run.

They are begging to let us back in this game if we can just show a little bit of quality.

Miles off it today.

Is he? Can’t think of anything he’s done well.

It’s hard for me to care about formation and tactics when our players can’t control or pass the ball. So incredibly sloppy.

Genuinely pathetic five minutes.

Nice one Isak

Given other results and current scores we have such an opportunity in these 45 minutes.

Isak’s first touch poor multiple times. Bruno completed at least four passes to them. Tonali is mindlessly wandering around the midfield and leaving Palmer tons of space. Eddie’s right about our Champions League players.