Lush Vlad

Really? I thought him and Burn both looked a bit indecisive and shaky. Again, sounds ridiculous when we kept a clean sheet. But I thought they were below the levels they usually play at.

Not to try and put a dampener on a great couple of results. But Schar has been pretty bad the last 3 matches. Sounds unbelievably harsh typing that out after 2 clean sheets in a row. But he has been too loose and casual with some of his play.

I expect us to see a lot more of the ball than the Chelsea and Arsenal wins. Theie possession stats this season are some of the lowest in the league. Hard to leave Willock or Longstaff out after two decent performances and results. But it isn’t Colts football. You can change a winning side. I’d like to see Tonali come in for this one.

There is a whole thread on Twitter highlighting all his fouls and how bad the ref was. I mean, of course there is. Arsenal lost a game. So they have to blame someone

Yep. Rata taking that free kick early on near the East Stand. Was fucking about for ages and took forever to take it. They’ve been like it all season, mind. Probably a lot to do with being down to ten men and also in games where they’ve shut up shop after getting a lead. But they’ve still been keen to slow things down. More fool them. Helped us yesterday.

That’s the beauty of the Big Joe/Little Joe left side combo meal. Joelinton does often tuck in and appear in central areas even when he’s not playing CM. He covers 2 positions and also pops up as an auxiliary fullback at times. He didn’t do it as much today. He stayed pretty wide, with Willock getting more of a free role and taking up the central areas. But they compliment each other so well with the positions they take up. Worked like a charm.

Combination of both, I think. Some of their passing in the final third was atrocious. But then again, when we get it right. We often hear opposition fans say how bad they looked. So our setup certainly does nullify teams.

Yeah. I wasn’t really referencing the questions or people wanting him gone. More just my thoughts on the teams we have played and the performances we have seen in those games. Versus what those other teams have done since. We have had some poor, flat performances for sure and some questionable tactics, subs, lineups etc. But just trying to put some objective opinions up as best I can and not subjective.

Not to try and be smart after the event. But some of our results and performances don’t look quite so bad in hindsight. Bournemouth are looking like a bit of a monster at home. Outplayed us for the most part, beat Arsenal, battered Chelsea and somehow lost, easy win against Southampton. 2-0 against City with 20 to go. Brighton still winning at Anfield and should have been 2-3 up at half time. That first 35-40 was dominant against them and we still had chances we should have buried second half. Everton we know we should have won. Chelsea wasn’t great, but again, a close game. Hopefully we are finding our groove and can start replicating the home performances away. Or at least improving them, as we have not been good enough on the road for a long while. EDIT: The Brighton score went well but my point still stands.

Mirroring the twat in the dugout. The same as their fans.

The bitterness oozing out of Arteta after the game. Referring to how we play, their ‘big’ chances and that we didn’t create much. Implying we play a stop/start physical game and they don’t FFS. Awful bloke.

Just come in to say this. Mad that our best half of the season is still probably that Brighton game. Not looking so bad that result and performance. As it stands, of course.

I dunno like. If you want to go back 20 odd years then you might have a point. But they were blatant and always going to get called. Pulled back Saka when he could have started a break and bodied Saliba I think we are also ignoring Bruno. Who won at least 2 fouls today that were never a foul in a million years

Yes and no. That setup and XI won’t necessarily be the best for every game. I’ve not checked. But I bet Forest have some of the worst possession stats in the league, for example. We would have more of the ball and better territory. The high press probably wouldn’t be so effective. So perhaps a game for Tonali to come in from the start and maybe even try to get a more attack minded player in like Barnes. Who can score goals out of nothing. Nice to have those options and a decent’ish looking bench.

Agreed. But Joelinton gave away 4-5 fouls I think and some were pretty blatant and no attempt to play the ball. Got away with a yellow and a ban. So I’ll let the Tonali one slide.

True. But Forest have been brilliant this season. If we don’t get at least 4 points from Palace and West Ham I’d be disappointed.

This. This is what he is on about…. ⬆️

Not that much of a tactician. But just out-coached Lego Head, the disciple from Pep’s coaching tree. Not bad, Eddie.

Some boy.

Seemed like he had a bit of a free role? Presses high with Isak as a 2 when out of possession. Then found pockets of space time and again. I lost count of him just appearing near the centre circle, receiving it and then starting a counter. Hall a deserved MOTM. Could have given it to one of 5-6. But I thought before he went off. He was our best player today.

Did the dirty work well, was really aggressive with his blocks and tackles. The usual underlapping runs were there, as was his covering for Schar (below par again IMO) when he stepped in to press. Much better on the ball was the most noticeable thing for me. Nowt flash, just looked to move it quickly and keep it simple. The 3 in the middle finally interchanged really well. Willock almost in a bit of a free role at times and Joelinton staying wide/playing his usual 3 positions at once.

I for one am glad nobody did their load early on here and admit defeat before a ball was kicked Struggling for MOTM today. I thought only really Schar and Burn were below their best.

He is. Compared to the other chimps in the PG Tips advert.

We also played a similar (ish) lineup in this fixture last season and it was a very close game, not many chances for either side and we won 1-0. Does that have less or more bearing on today’s game and setup?

Bench is looking pretty strong, at least. Few options going forward and defensively. We might be slowly starting to find a bit of balance.