Lush Vlad

For the first 3 at least, it’s pretty obvious. Villa fell short last season in the end and they’re playing in the Europa this season. Much easier to manage than the CL. They also have a manager who always does well in Europe. Howe could rotate better, mind. Plus it is only his second season of doing this. So I’m sure there will be mistakes being made and he’s learning on the fly. No excuse for the away performances, really. Can’t always blame fatigue or 3 games in 8 days or whatever there.

Unless he miraculously sorts out the pathetic away showings. I don’t see how we finish in the European places and I think it will cost him his job. He has found a way and proved me and so many others wrong numerous times. But that away performance is like deja vu. It’s been similar for long spells for every away game bar Everton.

See above.

G and V are next to each other on the keyboard. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

Still invaluable off the ball work. But his sloppiness in possession is fucking us this season. Quite a lot of the basketball phases of play come from him losing it in bade areas with daft, blind passes. I think it took 10 minutes for Bruno to get fed up with him sitting deeper and not building anything. Before he came back and demanded the ball all the while.

Agreed. We were working the ball quite well a lot of the time in midfield. Would have been perfect with the way he pops up in space. Baffling that he didn’t even get 10-15 mins in place of Joelinton. Especially as we are now back to running Big Joe into the ground. He also had large spells of that game where it was like he wasn’t on the pitch. Wasn’t his game at all. Even though I don’t think he played badly.

Is it bad that I was waiting for this from you? Predictable You’ll be fine Wednesday. Your beloved PSG will batter us so you’ll be happy for once, at least

Even factoring in the lack of a preseason and the injury. I’ve found him very disappointing so far. His touch is bad, he is slower than I thought and he was born offside. No idea how he mostly used to play wide. As his fundamentals are not good (there is a theme there with our players). Our team don’t help our strikers at all, mind. Feeding off scraps, isolated and we rarely get them involved in the build up or get players near them. Which must be an instruction from Howe and how he wants us to set up. Not sure what would be worse? If it is an instruction or just a failing of our players and their ability……

I wish he’d attack the ball with some intent and belief. He did earlier in the season and got the goals he deserved. His hold up and link up play was a bit better and he finally got a foul. Nice of the ref to notice. If ever there was a game to play him and Wissa late on. That was it. But Howe just sat on the 0-0 like a load of other away games this season.

We’ve seen that away performance all season. Just pathetic, clueless stuff. First half was fine. If we were then going to build on it. But we managed to get worse. Ramsey left sitting on the bench who would have been perfect for that game and finding space. Willock, even. The game was stretched and might have suited him. The same as the other 0-0 away games this season. We seemed happy to just sit on that and take the point. Then there were the horror shows at West Ham, Brentford and sunderland. We were hardly great at Burnley. It’s only really Everton where we were comfortable. Howe won’t last past this season unless he miraculously figures out how to get us not looking so useless away from home. I love the man. But there is only so many times you can listen to him say we were poor, we need to improve, we know what we need to work on etc. For us to then play the exact same way for the next away game. Passive, uninspiring shite.

Hall has tried to do it all on his own and has been a one man team at times. A few flashes from Barnes. Thiaw has been solid and swept up well. As for the rest of them….. Hard to blame the players too much at this point. Our away performances have ben like this all season and Howe has shown no signs of getting them to improve. Abject.

Our away performances really are pathetic.

This is turboshit. Thought we were fine first half. Put some great crosses in. But we either fail to attack it or have runners in the box. 70 mins with no shot on target against bottom of the league is piss poor, really.

Tonali in possession is becoming a real issue this season. Breaks down so often when he gets it.

Barnes and Trippier not working as a pair at all. Trippier has been particularly bad on and off the ball IMO.

If anything. They’ve been too narrow for a lot of this game. Gordon is coming inside into traffic a lot. Barnes seems to think he’s got a free role he was often everywhere but the right wing.

Very good and composed on the ball for the most part. Wolves defending deep and we look a bit clueless and toothless in the final third away from home, again. Should be ahead through Thiaw/Joelinton. Woltemade should have done better, too. They look reasonably dangerous on the break. But we have controlled the game for most the half.

Crap game. We’ve been neat and tidy for 3/4 of the pitch. Worked the ball and retained possession much better than usual. Just sloppy and careless with the final pass and decision. That said, we should be ahead. Woltemade’s chance was very good and Thiaw and Joelinton have missed from a yard between them. Not Joelinton’s game at all. Been a passenger for most of it. I’d bring Miley or Ramsey on at half time. But we won’t make subs until 60 odd. Barnes and Trippier have been poor. Individually and as a partnership. Barnes looks lost on the right. All over the place positionally and often on his heels. All that said. He’s still probably been our biggest threat.

Caught up with the highlights from yesterday’s games. How Brentford didn’t get anything is beyond me. Two defensive fuck ups for Chelsea’s goals. The rest seemed all Brentford. Wilson at Fulham is so unlikeable for some reason. Thought he could have been sent off. Glad Leeds won. From the highlights. Liverpool didn’t seem as dominant as the stats suggest. It was hardly Krul v Spurs level and the Alamo. Happy to see Callum Wilson bag the winner. A few mates went to Spurs yesterday. They’ve been fed up with Frank for weeks/months.

He’s such a whopper that cunt. The butcher, I mean. Not the toesucker.

Also remember how Murillo and the Big Serb whose name I can’t spell. Were linked with all the top clubs for big money. Now they suddenly don’t look so solid away from Nuno’s tactics. Not saying it is the case with the mackems. As it is too early to say. But you can clearly have system players and also tactics that mask players deficiencies or play to their strengths. It’s not like Howe hasn’t done that himself at times since he got here.

Yeah. Roefs looks tremendous. He’s playing in a very defensive setup and it’s not like he has a lot of space to defend or regularly exposed to one on ones. But he seems proactive off his line and he is decent enough on the ball. So I think he would be fine somewhere in a more expansive setup or if sunderland ever decide to open up a bit. Best keeper along with Raya so far this season from what I’ve seen.

Alright don’t get coarse.

I don’t even go that in depth with them. I just nod along and listen to their woe is me tales. Like they’ve had it so tough all their life

Most of their fans I know, including some actual match going ones and a couple of actual Scousers. Want him gone.