Dr Jinx

1 minute ago, Mr Raspberry Jam said:

 

We're gonna get walloped mate. 

Probably, and will be totally expected but it's a funny old game. The times when I think we're going to do ok we never do and then anomalies happen from time to time.

We were equally pessimistic before we beat City a few years back, it was totally unexpected and served to give us a lift for the following fixtures, we picked up 14 points from the next 10 fixtures.

As good as Liverpool are, they crumble when VVD isn't there, it just goes to show that in order to play that slick attacking football you need a total rock at the back (or two) to give that confidence. The only player we've ever had which could be described as that (in the modern era) was Woodgate, however all around him were a calamity.

Rafa turned us into a well drilled outfit rapid on the counter but man for man such a poor team, makes the job he did here all the more remarkable.

We've been having more of the ball, actually 50% against Leicester but we give the ball away so poorly in almost all areas that we're sitting sucks. Decision making is something the manager will have to work on.

Like ASM (who needs a rest btw) gets dispossessed so often in the middle of the opposition half, just tries too much all the time. Skip past someone grand, but if there's no great option to continue a run, just keep the ball, play a simple pass. It's why Ritchie or Murphy should play there tonight.

Rest ASM sporadically between now and New Year, unleash him when there's some competent defenders around and a proper holding midfielder, we see a totally different player imho

So that graph, does it mean Lascelles or Clark is the worst defender?

Same backline, as much as I detest Lascelles currently, I want Clark nowhere near the team again.

Drop ASM for Murphy. Hayden in for Willock.

Dubs

Manq Schär Lascelles Lewis

Hayden Shelvey Almiron

Murphy Wilson Joelinton

Launch a streaming service for Saudi, monthly fee like Netflix or whatever. Have a team creating content for them so it looks legit.

Saudi has a population of nearly 35m, say we have 2 million “subscribers” for around 20 quid a month, rolling annual contract. That’s 480m income a year.

Whatever would be on our shirt would be irrelevant. Would also have no need to rename the stadium.

PIF/Saudi need to start flexing their financial muscle a bit. The clubs wait and see approach so far is a little concerning.

He does it time and time again, gives us the real him, ie turd.. no tracking back, average passing, never imposes himself on a game etc.

Then has 1 or maybe 2 half decent games for us. Reset button. Repeat. How he's lasted as long at the club as he has is a mystery. Rafa knew.

Eddie, you should know by now. It's close enough now until January, you can start getting these cunts away from the first team, at least give the young lads a taste of it. We're on a hiding to nothing anyway.

He'll have learnt things in that game that we've known for ages.

Not that i think we have a chance to get anything against Liverpool, but if he picks the core of that midfield and backline again he deserves to have some questions asked.

Lascelles brain will capsize if Salah goes anywhere near him. It just shouldn't be done.

                      Dubs

Trippier Botman Tarkowski Lewis

    Joelinton Gilmour Rice

   Saint-Max Wilson Lingard

Midfield terribly unrealistic but it would be awesome.

Yep, have no idea why people are making excuses for the Longstaff brothers, yeah Steve Bruce has probably been a big part of that but i've said this many times over, if a player is not getting the right training, do what Joelinton did, take responsibility for it. Do the extra on your own time/cost, it has the potential to extend or save a career when you look at our current lot.

Matty has/had the potential to be a Paul Scholes type player, am not for a minute suggesting he'd be that good, what i mean is box to box, neat passer, bit of a shot on him, gets on the ball, dictates tempo etc.. it's not all about pace and strength, there's something not right mentally about the pair of them

It's the same with so much of our squad, get into a rut of having stinkers, giving away goals/penalties/red cards. Then they'll have the odd half decent game and all is forgiven until they revert to type soon after.

Fede has intelligence and physicality, but he doesn't have the pace for this league. Ok if we're playing deep, not for how manager likes to set up teams to play.

Schar can pass and defend ok but is vulnerable to physicality and aerial prowess.

Lascelles can head the ball but will still get muscled out of it on a regular basis. Can't pass, makes stupid decisions and just doesn't seem to have any understanding of how to read a game. No leadership.

Clark used to be dependable but bang out of form, liability. Not up to it at this level.

Lewis, again, one of the ones who reverts to type. Bad positional play, not strong enough on the ball or without it.

Manquillo will often give chances away with poor positional play. Even the things he does ok just aren't good enough for this league.

Dummett constantly injured but probably our most reliable defender when he is fit. But he rarely is so..

Murphy better than Manquillo at RB but has flaws and vulnerable in the air.

Ritchie all huff and puff and probably overall better than Lewis at LB but it's not where he should be.

Oh and Krafth, just not really at that level. Kind of like Clark in that sense. I can see why he gets picked though because he's got more intelligence than some of the others, just not the physical attributes to make a difference.

And that's our whole backline, there's question marks over every single one of them.

We have decent players going forward but how on earth can they play with any confidence when it's that bad at the back. That's not even to mention the lack of protection the midfield give them.

And that is what Rafa had to do, play 5 across the back and two midfielders to help out, only then did they look in any way comfortable at defending. As soon as we try to make things happen and push players forward, this creamy goo of a mess is exposed for what it is.

Christ, embarrassing. I fear for what Liverpool or Man City are going to do to us.

I watched it earlier on, before that interview Alexander-Arnold was being interviewed and he chimes in “Hi Trent, it’s Michael Owen here” like the lad gives a fuck.

He’s got the personality of a turnip. Why he gets gigs as a pundit I’ll never know.

Were we good or they really poor that game?

https://youtu.be/v1tBYDN6DHw

I think these Twitter parasites were feeding off the absolute desperation of the situation of wanting rid of Mike Ashley, now it’s happened I just don’t think there’s the appetite for their nonsense anymore.

They'll disappear one by one.

Just now, kisearch said:

Absolutely guarantee that most of the people on here will be exactly the same a couple of years after tasting a bit of success. Not even a shadow of a doubt in my mind.

Nope, it's all about perspective. I've seen us rise, fall, rise again and then fall for a long time with just an anomaly season (Pardew 5th) to break up the despair.

No matter what comes next I'll never lose sight of that. I was lucky enough to see SBR build that team that was ready to challenge the top 4 but there was also a few years where we were not so great before we got to that point. So to see that side become what they were felt extra special because there was context there. I was only really old enough to have seen one or two seasons of Andy Cole, and then after it was cherries on top type football for the next two seasons.

Looking back, Kenny Dalgish is every much of a villain as Steve Bruce in my eyes, dismantling a title challenging team to give jobs to his geriatric Liverpool mates is something I'll never get my head around. If SBR hadn't come in to save us a few years after I don't even want to contemplate where we might be now.

Well that's the gauntlet laid out for him.

1 minute ago, gjohnson said:

This may be this first time in years where a set of fans actually seems worried about playing us?

 

What's wrong with them?.....even with the Howe improvement they could still probably put 3 or 4 past us with their reserves

We won there last season, with Steve Bruce in charge. Any team can lose on a given day.

If they are at their best we will lose, if they are not, we have a chance to win the match.

What a bunch of ungrateful bastards, the time they've had over recent seasons.

8 minutes ago, Lazarus said:

It wasnt so long ago that having DoF was seen as unneccesary and disruptive.

 

Now its viewed as essential to our future success and we might fail without one.

I think it all depends on the type of person they are. Too many egos will never end well, we need someone to come in who buys into Eddie Howe's philosophy and will be there to only support him in achieving what he wants.

Bringing someone in who thinks he knows better and will work against those interests will cause tension and ultimately, failure.

It's why I think that Edwards guy from Liverpool could be a real option, they are good mates so there would be no issue about egos there.

Well Spurs game is under review so if they are being consistent.. also we had a game called off for less, against Villa iirc?

Money talks though and we have lots of it.

I'd be doing everything we could to be getting a few key performers in the league currently. Mings is one of them, Rice another. Both players offering something we have absolutely none of at the back or in midfield, athleticism and physicality.

We've been a soft touch in midfield ever since Tiote to be honest, maybe make an argument for Diame but he didn't play all that much in that position for us, maybe half a season.

Then if you manage to get that into the squad, you pair it up with intelligence and creativity. It's not rocket science. Also 100% the reason West Ham are doing so well. Soucek is the perfect foil for Rice, you can really pick holes in a lot of their squad but the middle where it matters is as solid as anything.

Tyrone Mings would be great. He’d probably move too if Villa accepted an offer.

4 minutes ago, mighty__mag said:

The Ben Mee, and Tarkowski link I feel could be a masterstroke, one they already know each other, but the biggest one of all, it's a shrewd move, if we pulled it off it leaves Burnley missing their two first choice Centre Backs.

 

If that left them scrambling around in January to replace them, it could prove hard, it could potentially relegate them.

 

Genius, although they're not my ideal defenders, I welcome the idea of it unsettling Burnley. 

Only genius if they think we're going to sign them and then don't. To be honest, focussing on crippling the fodder around us is small time thinking, we should be looking further up the table to turn players heads. And then ultimately, signing none of them because we've got something better lined up.