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Reply | Chair - positional change
at 06:30 28 Jan 2025
So the system that put us at the top of the form table for a while was the wrong one and we should change it to accommodate Chair ?
I love Chair but he’s not the same player he was, he is not Bannon and he’s not a natural number 10. Even if he was, why would you potentially throw the results away for something that may not work and lose the benefits of Chair’s contributions from the left ? |
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Reply | Chair - positional change
at 13:52 27 Jan 2025
He’s waiting for the (green) bikini formation.
Two up top, a bare midfield and the rest behind, covering arses.
Popular with Brazilian teams. |
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Reply | Team selection for next match
at 10:33 26 Jan 2025
It's a full week to cover and not much travel so I would drop Chair and bring in Kolli to see if that works better with Frey BUT I would change that up shortly after half time if it's not working and try Alfie Lloyd instead of one of them. That's three very different types of threats to deal with across 90 minutes and if one of the combinations/relationship works, I think it's a good model for similar games.
I don't think you can change the midfield so much and hope that we can do the job of 3 with 2, especially where one is Colback who isn't 100% fit. We've tried that and failed baldy until we switched systems. I think Colback's role is now more of a late sub for game management IF we are ahead and not chasing the game like yesterday.
Who plays on the left at CB ? Both Cook and Edwards are primarily right sided and I think Edwards plays well there (RCB) when next to Dunne but I don't think I have seen Cook or Edwards at LCB yet, only Morrison (and JCS & Fox).
So, if we want Cook back, I would start him at RCB with Morrison at LCB and maybe bring on Edwards for Cook if he's short of fitness. Fox for Morrison on the left as a sub (or vice versa if Fox starts).
So:
Nardi
Paal Morrison (Fox) Cook (Edwards) Dunne
Field Varane (Colback) Morgan (Colback)
Kolli (Lloyd) Frey (Lloyd) Smyth (Saito) |
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Reply | Richards???
at 09:15 26 Jan 2025
I would guess he will be comfortable financially but imagine living another 50-60 years with that approach to life.
What is he going to do with all that time on his hands because if you can’t apply yourself to a sport you should enjoy, you are going to find it pretty tough going in the real world - even if you don’t need a job for money, you probably need something meaningful to occupy the time.
We should probably do the same and let him get on with whatever he has going on. I doubt we’ll see him back at the club and I doubt he will play much again, for anyone else. |
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Reply | Oh well.
at 09:10 26 Jan 2025
And as for the pre match analysis of them being weak on crosses….did no one listen to that in prep ? |
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Reply | Oh well.
at 09:09 26 Jan 2025
When Paal was told to deliver to the far post, it did it nearly every corner previously and we headed it back into the danger zone.
So this game we switch that tactic to shirt corners and hitting the first man.
And then we let Chair start taking them. Ok, better than Captain floaty Madsen but that’s a seriously low bar.
WTF is that all about ? Over adjusting because they have big defenders ?
We have some fairly big, decent headers ourselves that I would back - if the ball went into the mix a few times more occasionally. Edward’s nearly scoring was a pretty big clue FFS. |
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Reply | Oh well.
at 09:04 26 Jan 2025
This - plus Varane came off two minutes before they scored and he wasn’t tired - in fact, he looked pretty pissed off to be subbed.
His job is to sit and break up attacks, which he does effectively. That’s helped us with our defence massively at times when we needed the extra protection.
Morgan’s role is more attacking, which kept Bannon busy for a while.
So we took both Varane and Morgan off…doesn’t make sense, does it ? |
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Reply | Oh well.
at 08:59 26 Jan 2025
Millwall will do exactly the same - we need to find a way to deal with instead of continuing the banging of that head against the brick wall.
It’s like the old joke….
Doctor, doctor - it hurts when I do this - well, don’t bloody do it then ! |
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Reply | Oh well.
at 08:57 26 Jan 2025
Whilst I agree (hate it) and sympathise - we have all got to realise that this is now the norm for behaviour and find a better way to deal with it.
We’ve also done it in some games when it suits us so we are not exactly whiter than white either. We don’t cheat but we do stretch the rules in our favour to break up play if we are ahead or want to stop momentum.
The older players need to start having the right words at the right time with the Ref. I don’t think the Refs support/favour either team when they start the game but they do shift their decisions to the team that influences them most because they aren’t particularly good/secure/strong and very few seem to have played the sport so they naturally follow what they get told by senior professionals that have. Natural human behaviour - whether we like it or not.
Cook coming back will help. Watch how he talks to the ref, he’s measured and makes his points quickly. Dunne will learn how to do the same eventually as will a couple of others.
It won’t completely fix the issue but it does counter the crap and the other teams know that too. Yesterday, they took full advantage of the fact that we didn’t have anyone fighting our side with the ref - in the right way. |
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Reply | Oh well.
at 08:09 26 Jan 2025
Classic rope a dope from Weds, plus we made the wrong subs and we made them too late. It was nearly 10 mins to get the first three on after they stripped and that appeared to be problematic in its own right, perhaps unsettling players not knowing if they were coming off.
In terms of attack, I think we had three attempts on target and they were defenders. Edwards and Paal from memory.
Frey was back to his ‘clunky’ running again and should have been subbed at half time or shortly after for some pace and guile. Chair should have been taken off earlier too.
Would it have made a difference - we will never find out but I feel we were out-thought and then out-played as a result. Could have just as easily gone the other way with a bit more nouse.
Maybe the coaching staff were also tired from travel and had limited planning for this game compare with others. We had a strong bench but we didn’t use it very well or at the right time.
Here’s hoping we plan and execute better for Millwall because it’s likely to be more of the same from them in terms of physicality. |
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Reply | If It's Wednesday, This Must Be Belgium match fred
at 18:13 25 Jan 2025
Hindsight is easy but….
Don’t think Varane needed to come off. He looked a bit pissed off.
Colback was off the pace.
Kolli should have come on for Chair much earlier on - around 55mins. Before Alfie and Saito for sure.
Dunne was running on empty but no way Ashby was coming on. Maybe that’s why he picked a fight at the end.
No point risking Cook late on but maybe we could try Morrison in midfield if we have a man unbalance of CBs for the rest of the season. |
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