wong989

How heartening was it that we gave it to PSG on a night where Ramsey and Willock were in midfield and Miley at RB. Goes without saying Miley just continues to amaze, but Willock and Ramsey, and even Elanga all looked like actual useful players. If we can get consistent performances to what these lads have done in the past it immediately makes our team twice as good. Please God, for those 3 to kick on from here and be assets, it'd be absolutely key to us winning away games and blitzing the second half of the season instead of limping through. Brilliantly done by Eddie tonight, I couldn't have expected such a performance.

Was gunna say, I'd have assumed sprained ligaments. If his ankle ligaments were torn, they'd say 'Bergvall is out with torn ankle ligaments'.

I said we could fend off to a greater extent, and add to that the fact that prior to this season we had a stronger team than Brighton. Consider if we'd had a Caceido/Baleba, Murillo/Hjuisen, Mbuemo/Cunha/Sememyo over the last couple years. Aside from that, we will see this summer that we are far more vulnerable to losing our best players this year having signed Ramsey, Wissa, Elanga because 7-8th place is a high target for us to be aiming for in reality. And we have no talents coming through to replace those who will demand a higher level this summer. A couple summers ago we were dying to spend 65 on Guehi, when Thiaw was available for 25-30. There were numerous players who signed for mid table clubs that summer for 10-20 million who have since tripled in value and would have immensely strengthened our side.

The difference is Brighton have to sell their players as soon as they interest a cartel club, whereas we could fend off to a greater extent, especially if we already had a couple come through and improve the 11.

I’d like to see Hall all over the field, feel like he’d be great as a left or centre mid, could see him as a right winger cutting in in his left foot…hopefully we sign some youngsters and a young left back gives us that option.

Agree with the sentiment that his attitude and commitment haven’t seemed the same since the supposed Liverpool links a couple years ago, and hes definitely regressed. But I think it’s definitely the case he’d look much better in a team that plays high tempo football. We are way too slow and rigid in possession. If the team played quicker and we had a left sided midfielder with better technique and link up, he’d look far better. A Joelinton with some vision, play thru balls, 1-2’s, and emphasise that… our midfield interplay is so tepid. In a way I can understand his frustration, I get frustrated watching us…he definitely has more, doubt we’ll see it here though.

This is what I don't understand about the team seemingly continue to encounter the same problems, maybe being in the job is hindering his ability to think in a different way, but evolution is needed

My concern here is the constant talk of 'a small pool of players'. We should have had a list of strikers for a few years, Wilson had been breaking down more and more. We tried so hard to sign Guehi for near 70 million, we now have Thiaw for 35. In that time, was there no young player in any (all) of our positions which needed strengthening, in depth at least. This summer there will be numerous players who'd strengthen our squad and likely our 11 who were bought for 5-15 million when we had 65 million we were willing to spend on a good, not great center back, just because he was 'prem proven'.

Exactly the problem. How is it, that there seems to a be a reticence to sign a player from a different league, but none for players who have either failed or not experienced playing our style. A player in a foreign league with the attributes to succeed and some potential to improve amongst better players and coaches is a better bet one would imagine. Its worked countless times before. Just like teams signing big name players who then flopped because they weren't used to their strengths has happened hundreds of times.

Its who's being taken off. We've rarely come back in games this year, or even looked dangerous enough for it to be a possibility. But we don't ever play 2 strikers, or push Ramsey up, or anything except continue the same formation which is being easily repelled with different players. Mostly we look more likely to concede than equalize. And the amount of times; this and last season, where it is painfully obvious we're going to be scored against and changes are always made 10 minutes later, after the inevitable goal is scored. I love Eddie and everything he's achieved here and I don't want to make out like I think he isn't an absolutely top coach, but there are some flaws that seem to continue on and on.

Fully agree, we buy too many of the exact same profile of player, we can never really make significant changes to how we play, not even off the bench.

Don’t think it’s down to Bruno, we struggle against low blocks. Yet, either Eddie has told the players ‘do not counter attack, regroup and hold onto possession’. Or the players are incapable of counter attacking. With or without Bruno.

Nothing got to do with being tired or that, our attack, our build up, our ability/willingness to counter is all absolutely pitiful. Since Trips lost his form and stopped being the on field coach and dictating play we have nothing aside from goals off the press. And we have far less of that.

Southgate-esque in build up

People said he was finished the last couple years and I didn’t think so, but he very clearly is, not just defensively, he seems to be worse at nearly everything. edit- forgot injury and multiple games, but he looked 45 years of age out there

Seems like he has a very good staff around him

Maybe about Thiago, but Wissa and Elanga was obvious, Elanga most of all. Struggled badly in a possession team with expectations, killed it in a counter attacking team. Not sure why Eddie is wanting prem experience, but not proven experience of playing something resembling his preferred system. As for Wissa, we’ve needed another striker for years. But we last minute bid 55 mil for a lad whos had no pre-season. The decision making or lack of it at the top is killing us. If we had someone at the top with some vision PSR wouldn’t be anten like the problem it is

Spending 100 mil on Wissa and Elanga, who thrived in counter attacking teams. Should have blind bidded Igor Thiago, saved some money and some years. Right get into em lads FFS, Elanga, Ramsey, give us the lead

Because we play at 5 miles an hour despite buying physical attributes over mental/technical.

It has t be Eddie's tactics, we do it all the time. We buy players with physical characteristics but lacking in technique and flair, and who play terribly when given too much time to think instead of high tempo. We look like a Southgate team so often, but at least Southgate had the Foden, Saka, Grealish, Rice, Bellingham's to play slow pin them in football, and if he'd had the first clue about attacking play they'd be able to create at slow tempo. We can't. I just don't understand what Eddie is looking to do consistently anymore, suppose it was always going to be a struggle with Isak our for Woltemade. That said, these problems didnt start this year.

Whatever’s been going on at the top of the club has hindered us at the exact time we needed ‘big club’ exec and recruitment performance. Will say I think Howe is too picky, risk averse in some ways, but will then buy multiple players who’ve had devastating injuries, and not at a discount either. Best manager we’ve had that I can think of, has he passed Sir Bobby? I don’t know, but imo our narrow view these last windows has hurt us badly.

Same, genuinely love those 2 lads and they have so much quality it seems the ceiling is sky high

This part of PSR needs to go immediately, absolutely ruining the local aspect and spirit of the game, it’d kill me…Anderson still haunts me…shocking business from the ownership it seems, the price was very low and no clauses? Same with Minteh, he becomes a top winger it could be 150mil of talent that we won’t get 20% of.

100% hes worked absolute wonders with the squad, it just seems to be that final level, when you’re a ‘top club’ and teams sit back and counter, it’s been a long time we’ve struggled with that. Think prime Trips made a huge difference, he was like a coach on the field and ran games, we seem to have less fluidity now.

True, I don’t think his football iq allows him to reach that higher level, and maybe this is about as good as his technical level is. Given where he is now, it seems crazy that we didn’t prioritise these qualities on the right and give up a bit of pace, we are very easy to defend against if teams sit back and only counter.