The College Dropout Posted September 20, 2023 Share Posted September 20, 2023 13 minutes ago, KaKa said: One change I would make for the meantime, in the Joelinton, Tonali and Bruno trio ... is I would have Tonali at LCM and Joelinton at RCM. I think Tonali would do a better job of mimicking some of what Willock provided in overlapping the left winger that cuts in, and would just better link up with Gordon on that side with Burn staying back. On the right side I think Joelinton would offer the defensive support to allow Trippier to get further forward like he did last season when Longstaff was there. Almiron and Longstaff's defensive chops on the right freed up Trippier to be a creator. Tonali played LCM yesterday and didn't link with anyone. Neither Joelinton nor Tonali know how to cover for Bruno. Joelinton is still learning the CM role positionally and Sandro doesn't know what to do positionally yet. For now it's Longstaff + Bruno +1 IMO. Teams are targeting the space behind Trippier when he attacks. When he attacks the RCM is usually in support even if deeper. Trippier mostly sat last night, but Leao & Hernandez broke off him and Murphy to create the Giroud chance. Those 2 combined again for the Leao chance and the one off the line. Here Trippier had pushed forward and Murphy sat but Murphy didn't know what to do defensively and Hernandez played a good ball into Leao. The only true answer to combat that is to have a CB who is great in almost fullback like positions - like a prime VVD or even a Martinez... or a Tomori. That AC Milan left handside is elite mind and Trippier did brilliantly overall. But the reason he's deeper is largely because teams are targeting that space. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KaKa Posted September 20, 2023 Share Posted September 20, 2023 1 minute ago, The College Dropout said: Tonali played LCM yesterday and didn't link with anyone. Neither Joelinton nor Tonali know how to cover for Bruno. Joelinton is still learning the CM role positionally and Sandro doesn't know what to do positionally yet. For now it's Longstaff + Bruno +1 IMO. Teams are targeting the space behind Trippier when he attacks. When he attacks the RCM is usually in support even if deeper. Trippier mostly sat last night, but Leao & Hernandez broke off him and Murphy to create the Giroud chance. Those 2 combined again for the Leao chance and the one off the line. Here Trippier had pushed forward and Murphy sat but Murphy didn't know what to do defensively and Hernandez played a good ball into Leao. The only true answer to combat that is to have a CB who is great in almost fullback like positions - like a prime VVD or even a Martinez... or a Tomori. That AC Milan left handside is elite mind and Trippier did brilliantly overall. But the reason he's deeper is largely because teams are targeting that space. Yeah, so it's probably going to take him playing LCM with Gordon for more than 60 mins in one game to build a relationship there. The other stuff regarding the right side I just don't agree with. Joelinton is well capable of providing more defensive support to Trippier in combination with Almiron. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
McCormick Posted September 20, 2023 Share Posted September 20, 2023 Longstaff is more intelligent off the ball and more aware of which spaces to cover than Joelinton is though. The latter isn’t the most positionally aware (defensively) and mostly relies on his physicality. For me, Joelinton’s best position is on the left wing; he can just run up and down the line without having to really think about where to be. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The College Dropout Posted September 20, 2023 Share Posted September 20, 2023 21 minutes ago, KaKa said: Yeah, so it's probably going to take him playing LCM with Gordon for more than 60 mins in one game to build a relationship there. The other stuff regarding the right side I just don't agree with. Joelinton is well capable of providing more defensive support to Trippier in combination with Almiron. Joelinton is good offensively and defensively at LCM. Why move him? He won't be as dangerous going forward from the right. While he's out. Sure Tonali at LCM. He's trying to run into advanced positions for progression but it's not working, nobody is finding him. We can keep at that but I think we'd be better off trying to pass it forward. Ideally with Hall at LB who can push into midfield and link with Tonali and the winger. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paullow Posted September 20, 2023 Share Posted September 20, 2023 Just watching some of the YouTuber videos and the chant is hilarious if done in a big group because nobody seems to know if 'eats spaghetti' or 'drinks Moretti' comes first, so it comes across one big mess Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The College Dropout Posted September 20, 2023 Share Posted September 20, 2023 3 minutes ago, McCormick said: Longstaff is more intelligent off the ball and more aware of which spaces to cover than Joelinton is though. The latter isn’t the most positionally aware (defensively) and mostly relies on his physicality. For me, Joelinton’s best position is on the left wing; he can just run up and down the line without having to really think about where to be. You know ball. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KaKa Posted September 20, 2023 Share Posted September 20, 2023 1 minute ago, The College Dropout said: Joelinton is good offensively and defensively at LCM. Why move him? He won't be as dangerous going forward from the right. While he's out. Sure Tonali at LCM. He's trying to run into advanced positions for progression but it's not working, nobody is finding him. We can keep at that but I think we'd be better off trying to pass it forward. Ideally with Hall at LB who can push into midfield and link with Tonali and the winger. I explained why in my first post. Tonali's current defensive lapses wouldn't be as costly on the left with Burn at left back and sitting deeper. Gordon's defensive work is also good. Tonali can then focus more on his attacking contributions. On the right I think we need Joelinton's defensive ability there for now to get more out of Trippier. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KaKa Posted September 20, 2023 Share Posted September 20, 2023 8 minutes ago, McCormick said: Longstaff is more intelligent off the ball and more aware of which spaces to cover than Joelinton is though. The latter isn’t the most positionally aware (defensively) and mostly relies on his physicality. For me, Joelinton’s best position is on the left wing; he can just run up and down the line without having to really think about where to be. I wanted Joelinton at left wing this season and a DM brought in, but that ship has sailed. We have Gordon and Barnes for that left wing spot now. I would trust Joelinton to make the adjustment with instructions of exactly what he needs to do there (RCM) and bring more to that side than Longstaff currently does. Just my opinion though. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Geordie Posted September 20, 2023 Share Posted September 20, 2023 Young lad coming to a new country and style of football - it will take him a wee bit of time to adapt. He will be fine. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TBG Posted September 20, 2023 Share Posted September 20, 2023 Wonder if the language barrier could see us recalling Hendrick. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
timeEd32 Posted September 20, 2023 Share Posted September 20, 2023 1 hour ago, The College Dropout said: Aye. I'm unsure what he's meant to do, he looks unsure. It's hard to judge. He's lazier off the ball than I hoped for though. There were at least two moments last night where you could apply the 'lazy' tag if you want to be harsh. But I hesitate to call it laziness -- I think it's very likely he's in his own head and the combination of a new system and a new language are getting in the way of his play. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The College Dropout Posted September 20, 2023 Share Posted September 20, 2023 3 minutes ago, timeEd32 said: There were at least two moments last night where you could apply the 'lazy' tag if you want to be harsh. But I hesitate to call it laziness -- I think it's very likely he's in his own head and the combination of a new system and a new language are getting in the way of his play. He gets back. But it's a jog, you know? Sometimes Willock is a bit of a jogger too tbf. Longstaff, Bruno & Joe run back like the other team stole something from them. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
timeEd32 Posted September 20, 2023 Share Posted September 20, 2023 1 minute ago, The College Dropout said: He gets back. But it's a jog, you know? Sometimes Willock is a bit of a jogger too tbf. Longstaff, Bruno & Joe run back like the other team stole something from them. I saw it. I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt. If that's just how he is then it's inexcusable to be honest. They had multiple chances last night that you could tie to his positioning and jogging. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Gleebals Posted September 20, 2023 Share Posted September 20, 2023 15 minutes ago, TBG said: Wonder if the language barrier could see us recalling Hendrick. Just spat out my cuppa tea Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadow Puppets Posted September 20, 2023 Share Posted September 20, 2023 19 hours ago, Myleftboot said: I thought some bloke from Italy had joined the coaching team. Nope, Eddie refuted that at the time. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
WinstonFC Posted September 20, 2023 Share Posted September 20, 2023 He needs to be played as a 6 or an 8 for a continuous run of games. This interchanging just isnt working. We look lost in midfield. Trippiers deliveries into the box have dropped off massively due to the disconnect. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
OverThere Posted September 20, 2023 Share Posted September 20, 2023 Looks to me as if both he and Bruno are 6's. Do we have to switch to 4-2-3-1? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
timeEd32 Posted September 20, 2023 Share Posted September 20, 2023 12 minutes ago, The College Dropout said: He gets back. But it's a jog, you know? Sometimes Willock is a bit of a jogger too tbf. Longstaff, Bruno & Joe run back like the other team stole something from them. One other thought on this -- we like to use him as a second option on free kicks like the goal we scored against Villa. Depending on the location this also puts him as one of the last men back. That's how one of their breaks started last night and Longstaff must have made up 20-30 yards on him to intervene in the end. He can't be one of the last men back and jogging like it's someone else's job there. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The College Dropout Posted September 20, 2023 Share Posted September 20, 2023 4 minutes ago, WinstonFC said: He needs to be played as a 6 or an 8 for a continuous run of games. This interchanging just isnt working. We look lost in midfield. Trippiers deliveries into the box have dropped off massively due to the disconnect. TBF he's not interchanging. Sometimes Bruno goes forward and Tonali is doing whatever it is Tonali is doing.. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadow Puppets Posted September 20, 2023 Share Posted September 20, 2023 (edited) 2 minutes ago, The College Dropout said: TBF he's not interchanging. Sometimes Bruno goes forward and Tonali is doing whatever it is Tonali is doing.. You’re insufferable man. Honestly. Boring as fuck. Edited September 20, 2023 by Shadow Puppets Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SUPERTOON Posted September 20, 2023 Share Posted September 20, 2023 In fairness to Tonali, he’s probably played more than he would have and more than Howe would have liked at this stage. The injuries to Willock and Longstaff initially, and now Joelinton have meant he has been thrown in quicker and more regularly than he would have been imo. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The College Dropout Posted September 20, 2023 Share Posted September 20, 2023 Just now, Shadow Puppets said: You’re insufferable man. Honestly. Boring as fuck. It's just my observation. I don't think Tonali is being set up correctly. I think a lot of our midfield work has been improvised by the lads playing because Tonali genuinely doesn't look like he knows what he's meant to do or where he's meant to be.. apart from really far up the pitch. Longstaff is always looking for Bruno so he sits in. But Tonali seems to focus on doing whatever he thinks he's been told to do.. to worry about filling in for Bruno. That can be fixed on the training ground. The jogging is all him and a bigger issue for me. From what I've seen he's not as intense off the ball as I thought he would be. But part of that again might be tactical as in he's not sure what to do or where to be... maybe. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TBG Posted September 20, 2023 Share Posted September 20, 2023 (edited) 26 minutes ago, Dan Gleebals said: Just spat out my cuppa tea Seems too much of a coincidence that there's been a dip in form/performance following Hendrick, Hayden and Fraser being moved on. Edited September 20, 2023 by TBG Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr.Spaceman Posted September 20, 2023 Share Posted September 20, 2023 41 minutes ago, TBG said: Wonder if the language barrier could see us recalling Hendrick. He wouldn't need time to gel either, knows the league, the city and has probably been to Greggs before. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myleftboot Posted September 20, 2023 Share Posted September 20, 2023 3 minutes ago, Dr.Spaceman said: He wouldn't need time to gel either, knows the league, the city and has probably been to Greggs before. He can play as a ‘6’ as well. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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