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Unintentional, my apologies. I'm not particularly attached to it but I can't see a way to change username. I'll abandon this one and register a new one.
Ah right I see, I was so focused on the tangle of feet looking for a trip that I missed Rangel's push. I thought Firmino had just lost balance and fallen forward.
Honestly thought it was a very harsh decision, not clear cut at all. But given his other decisions throughout the half I felt the ref was looking to give them something as soon as he got the chance. No way would we have got the same at the other end.
Erm... you know the way Ben Davies plays LB for his club, but CB for Wales... or the way Ki is a midfielder but once played CB for us in a quite important game? Well, Amat could (theoretically) play at left back. Not that I agree with it mind, just saying.
Watching the game Sunday, it was clear that barely a single player was aware of where the rest of their team mates were. I lost count of the number of times a player had a decision to make and inevitably took the wrong option. Several times a clear through pass was on to move forward and attack, only for them to knock it 3 feet sideways or backwards, totally oblivious to anything outside their own little 10 foot wide circle of the pitch.
And the endless bloody dithering... on the edge of the opponent's box, on the halfway line, on the wing trying to decide if we should cross, every time we have a throw in (90% of which we just throw to the opposition anyway - seriously, have you seen any team concede possession from throw ins as often as we do?) First thing must surely be to just get some urgency about our play and coach some awareness and speed in decision making so we stop looking so pedestrian.
Exactly. I'm not 100% sure I'm buying all the excuses about Llorente being isolated. Sure he's not getting brilliant service, but good strikers have the knack of popping up in the right place at the right time and making opportunities from half chances, they don't need it laid out inch perfectly on a plate for them in acres of space, otherwise anyone with a modicum of talent would be a premier league striker. Llorente has been fed a fair number of crosses now over six or so games, and he's been in the wrong place for almost every single one. Then, as you say, Borja is on target within 10 minutes. Borja to start next game.
I take back what I said about seeing us worse, we're playing like total sh!t. WHY isn't Borja on? WHY isn't Montero on? What the actual fu*k are they doing?
I almost have time to go and make a cup of coffee in the time Naughton dithers on the edge of the box wondering what to do. Mind you, there wasn't a single player making themselves available and presenting him with an option, so I suppose it's somewhat understandable.
Siggy needs a kick up the arse and stop trying stupid flicks to no one. Llorente needs to try looking slightly more skillful and threatening than my cat, Naughton, Kingsley and Barrow need to stop dithering and just cross the ball in at pace, and the entire team needs to step up three gears. Apart from that, I've seen us worse. I'd swap Llorente for Borja now, and either Sigurdsson or Ki for Montero, depending on which one actually wants to man up and take charge of the midfield.
With the benefit of some lip reading analysis from these guys it actually doesn't seem so bad, but at the time in the heat of the game it looked like Taylor was being totally disrespectful and giving Guidolin an ear full:
Nothing to do with a dislike of Taylor. Unfortunately the formation was wrong, and correcting it meant taking Taylor off, not so much for his performance but because of the position he was playing. We were trying to play every out ball through him like he was Montero. He might manage it in internationals against Moldova, but he just doesn't have the skillset or pace to do what Montero does at Premier League level.
To be fair, it's not his fault he was picked there to do that job, but it wasn't working and it wasn't going to work. His reaction to being taken off for the good of the team was disgusting, and personally if I was Guidolin I'd drop him immediately until he learns his place.
Indeed we seem to be going with a 5 at the back scenario with Naughton, Fernandez, Amat, Taylor and Kingsley all on the field. And neither of Montero or Barrow starting.
How would you see the rest of the team lining up if we had say Fernandez, Mawson and Amat as the 3 CB's? Kingsley and Naughton as wing backs? In this set up who would we sacrifice from the midfield compared to how we play at the moment?
Are we generally accepting that Mawson is here to take a first team place as soon as humanly possible? Who will he replace? Could van der Hoorn ever step up? What the hell happened to the Fernandez/Amat pairing we saw at the end of last season?
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