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Wish people would relax about this two up top nonsense. We have scored plenty and could have scored many more with 1 up top. It's just that our strikers didn't take their chances.

 

I'm not particularly fussed by two upfront personally, i just think Gayle and Mitrovic would be more effective than Gayle and Diame has been tbh. Although i am starting to accept that Rafa doesn't agree, still hold out hope he'll play Atsu and Ritchie together mind. :lol:

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Wish people would relax about this two up top nonsense. We have scored plenty and could have scored many more with 1 up top. It's just that our strikers didn't take their chances.

 

 

As if football would be so easy that we put 2 upfront and all of our team issues go away.

[emoji38] :thup:

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Gayle doesn't striker me as a number 10 player, he wants to play right off the last man imo.

 

Never said he has to be, there doesn't need to be a number 10 involved anyway and if one has to drop deep have it be Mitrovic as the type of lay offs and passes he'll be doing will be simple 2-5 yard stuff.

 

Would always want Gayle playing off last man regardless of who his partner is.

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Wish people would relax about this two up top nonsense. We have scored plenty and could have scored many more with 1 up top. It's just that our strikers didn't take their chances.

 

I'm not particularly fussed by two upfront personally, i just think Gayle and Mitrovic would be more effective than Gayle and Diame has been tbh. Although i am starting to accept that Rafa doesn't agree, still hold out hope he'll play Atsu and Ritchie together mind. :lol:

Aye, I don't think it's nonsense to think Mitrovic would have been more effective than Diame like :lol:

 

I'm the same as a seemingly most on here and thought Diame was better in the 2nd half, and hopefully he continues to improve if he has that spot pinned down. So far though I'm struggling to think of too many chances he's helped create?

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Gayle doesn't striker me as a number 10 player, he wants to play right off the last man imo.

 

Never said he has to be, there doesn't need to be a number 10 involved anyway and if one has to drop deep have it be Mitrovic as the type of lay offs and passes he'll be doing will be simple 2-5 yard stuff.

 

Would always want Gayle playing off last man regardless of who his partner is.

He did that last season and was really good. Was it Man Utd where he was all over the pitch winning just about everything?
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I think a big part of the problem has been how little Diame is contributing goal and assist wise, I'm sure Rafa must be sure he's opening up space for gayle to justify his inclusion but right now a player in one of our attacking positions is not chipping in much.

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I think our mentality is a bigger issue than formation. Our first loss during our streak was after our best win, equally after creating endless chances against Villa & Norwich we created far less against the side who have shipped the most goals in the division? We had one Anita cross for Gouffran to volley & an Atsu solo goal that first half? I think the line between being "comfortable" against a supposed easier side and being lackadaisical on the ball was getting blurred a bit.

 

Anita/Atsu were the main two creating and both came in to the side. You could see they'd been given a talking to at HT as they came out with a bit more urgency, they should know to treat every game the same really.

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I think our mentality is a bigger issue than formation. Our first loss during our streak was after our best win, equally after creating endless chances against Villa & Norwich we created far less against the side who have shipped the most goals in the division? We had one Anita cross for Gouffran to volley & an Atsu solo goal that first half? I think the line between being "comfortable" against a supposed easier side and being lackadaisical on the ball was getting blurred a bit.

 

Anita/Atsu were the main two creating and both came in to the side. You could see they'd been given a talking to at HT as they came out with a bit more urgency, they should know to treat every game the same really.

 

we had other chances, like the diame shot that hit their player, but the easiest one of the whole game was the header clark put wide.

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I think our mentality is a bigger issue than formation. Our first loss during our streak was after our best win, equally after creating endless chances against Villa & Norwich we created far less against the side who have shipped the most goals in the division? We had one Anita cross for Gouffran to volley & an Atsu solo goal that first half? I think the line between being "comfortable" against a supposed easier side and being lackadaisical on the ball was getting blurred a bit.

 

Anita/Atsu were the main two creating and both came in to the side. You could see they'd been given a talking to at HT as they came out with a bit more urgency, they should know to treat every game the same really.

 

we had other chances, like the diame shot that hit their player, but the easiest one of the whole game was the header clark put wide.

 

Yeah i meant first half mainly, it was improved second half. Shelvey put no balls through in comparison to the previous games though, Gayle didnt get in behind at all. We were playing a lot of passes back to defence when some could have gone forwards. Great to have control but you do need to score, they were a post away from a draw & I dont feel we were trying that hard to beat them the first half. You can't assume it will come, they need the same drive to score.

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Gayle doesn't striker me as a number 10 player, he wants to play right off the last man imo.

 

Never said he has to be, there doesn't need to be a number 10 involved anyway and if one has to drop deep have it be Mitrovic as the type of lay offs and passes he'll be doing will be simple 2-5 yard stuff.

 

Would always want Gayle playing off last man regardless of who his partner is.

 

Neesy seems to be convinced that if we play 2 up front that it means Gayle will have to play as a number 10. We played 2 up front a lot in the Championship last time and Lovenkrands or Carroll didn't play as a number 10. When we played 2 up front against Norwich, Gayle remained as our furthest man forward most of the time and Mitrovic tried to flick the ball onto him or drew defenders away so Gayle could run into the space in the channels further up the pitch.

 

 

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The problem is that in Rafa's system one of them needs to become an extra midfielder when we're defending. Can't see that working with Gayle or Mitro.

Don't see why Gayle couldn't as he has played wide in the past and I'd assume he'd have had to put in covering work then. Could also take it in turns or focus on the opposition when the player who drops off is decided by which side they bring the ball out etc, we did that a bit with Shearer and Bellamy.
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One thing is, that the press and even the way a lot of clubs including us for a long time are totally wedded to the idea that on the pitch performance is soley tied to the manager himself and the players. All the backroom stuff is less important. We were such a shambles internally for so long and sour feeling among the fans that everything suffered. Just lifting the club up so all the details are done properly improves a lot.

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I also suspect that all this rotation they talk about is why he sticks so strongly to 4-2-3-1, if players are all coming and going he wants it to basically be sure they will always know exactly what the team is doing. I do think it's a shame we aren't sticking 2 up top for at least home games though.

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That's a fabulous read. I had to do a double check to confirm it was a chronicle journalist who wrote it, Mark Douglas as it happens, one of the better local journalists for me.

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The players understand football too. If you explain it right and say ‘You have to do this because this will happen’ and then it does, they will keep following you. But if you say ‘Play long balls, we will be fine’ and you lose they will not follow you.

 

Who does that remind you of?

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The players understand football too. If you explain it right and say ‘You have to do this because this will happen’ and then it does, they will keep following you. But if you say ‘Play long balls, we will be fine’ and you lose they will not follow you.

 

Who does that remind you of?

 

Science  :pardsgrin:

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