Rafa c'mon time for a damn change!! - My thoughts on the Villa game

Don't be fooled dummet is crap and so is gouffran

 

Good solid away performance first half. Terrible lazy inviting pressure 2nd. We need a striker badly, Gayle is not the answer.

It just confirms what we all already knew, if we do go up, massive revamp required.

 

If we go up its down again more than likely

 

that diame is lifting

 

**** it...

 

Fundamentally it's a draw at VIlla Park. Beginning of the season, we'd all be hoping for that anyway. Our frustration is we should have won by half time, but surely that's a good sign?

The goal was sloppy. We gave it away stupidly before they won the first corner, but then my opinion was "goal kick", so undone by that decision. Again, can't complain, there are two teams in this and Villa came at us to earn that point. Was a fair result; I think we've been spoiled by the QPR hammering and lost sight of what needs to happen a bit.

That said.....Sels is appalling. He's just a bad goalkeeper. He doesn't seem to know what he's doing, terrible positioning, bad reflexes, worse decision making, bang average kicking. Darlow needs to come in to take the heat off, maybe he'll come good, but he just looks rubbish. And I also don't understand why we sit deeper and deeper. 4-4-2 seems to be an obvious solution. Maybe there's too much obsession with having a DM? It's not like many clubs at this level have superb No.10's running things "between the lines", I wonder if this is where Rafa's 15+ years experience is counting against him? We end up sitting too deep and not supporting the striker. I think with the players we have we could go 4-3-3 and just really take it to teams.

The striker thing is also not right. For me, whilst no world beater, it's got to be either Mitrovic in the middle of a 3, or alongisde Gayle/Perez in a 4-4-2. When Mitro's carrying a niggle, rotate for Murphy. We've got to move away from Gayle in a 4-2-3-1, it doesn't work.

I'd be tempted to try Hayden/Colback at DM, and Gouffran/Shelvey ahead in CM with a front 3 of Atsu/Perez, Mitrovic and Ritchie.

 

Rafa's tactics sadly cost us the win. We have the players to attack teams and kill them off. Gayle up top alone is not working. Diame is a waste of space.

 

Would have took a point before the game, but my word they were dreadful, if Gestede had started or Adomah had played the 90 minutes then Villa win. We were dreadful as well apart from a 20 minute spell in the first half, were we could and should have been 3-0 up.

 

You have to take points when they are available mate. Nothing to do with being spoiled. We displayed an arrogance and complacency again 2nd half. If we don't buck our ideas up we'll find ourselves in a play off lottery. You can't **** about. Rafa was very very slow to realise we were casually letting our grip on the game slip. I think he was hoping to nick something on the break which is fine, but you have to still be closing down and doing the work. We weren't.

Why do you want to play Perez? It makes no sense at all, he has been gash. He needs to find his form in the reserves/u21. The solution is simple - play Mitrovic. He is no great shakes but hasn't had a decent chance.

Sels has not been great but I think everyone is going way over the top. I'd still put Darlow in.

 

If Diame scored the brace he should have, we'd have been 3-0 up and with Villa's mentality may have gone on to QPR-ing them. But that's what happens when you don't take chances, doubts creep in. Yes, the workrate should have been upped - Colback for Shelvey perhaps. All hindsight though. The fact we should have been out of sight before the second half laziness is there for all to see.

I want us to find an identity that suits, whoever that features. We do agree on Mitrovic being the constant. We have to get him on form, into the pace of games. He can at this level do anything that's required and is far more likely to encourage supporting attacks than Gayle can. I'm no fan of Perez, happy to see him earn his stripes elsewhere, the only point I was making was we could be far more attack minded in this league. We don't need to sit back, ever.

 

I blame Pardew.

 

tiote looked like they just picked him out the crowd ..how bad was he aswell .

problems started when yedlin went off ..but diame god he is slow ....and like a rabbit in the headlights when in front of goal ... poor signing

 

Yedlin was on fire in the first half, hope he's not gonna be out for a while, defence was all decent, Clark looked good....just Sels FFS. He's completely shielded by the defence most of the time, but just looks all over the place any time he has to actually do anything; every corner they had was a nightmare. Darlow looked perfectly decent on Tuesday, it's time to drop Sels.

As well as not finishing them off in the first half, we gave them far too much possession in the second, not enough retention in midfield, obviously when it's a non stop barrage of corners, something's likely to go in eventually and that's what happened. Really dissappointing result - Gayle, Diame and Sels out for the next match.

 

maybe so, but Dummet played well yesterday and gouffran has played well recently

 

In Rafa we need to trust lads.
He's got a new team to gel too.
He will assess where we are and what we need in January and I'm sure funds will be available for the final push.

 

Have to disagree with Dummett playing well. He wasn't bad and did do some decent things but his distribution too many times wasn't up to scratch. Would still play him Wednesday but need to look at giving Yazaar some game time.

 

With the players we have, I think we should play:
-------------------Darlow---------------------
-------Mbemba, Lascelles, Clark---------
Yedlin -------------------------------- Lazaar
------------ -------Hayden --------------
Ritchie ----------Shelvey ----- --- Gouffran
----------------Mitrovic ------------------

 

Okay , well-ish. Not ****e. Did his job.

 

It's not hindsight though. I was with a load of mates all discussing what was happening. The commentator even said we had a couple of warnings. But neither players nor manager seemed aware, were viewing something different or just chose to not do anything. Any of the three are concerning. Not killing the game was obviously a killer but I'm concerned by the lack of leadership on and off the pitch 2nd half. Not sure we've learnt much from last year in terms of getting a grip when things go pear shaped. I like lascelles a lot but captain? It concerned me then and it concerns me now. He didn't say dick all - he should have been at the whole lot of them but I don't think they view him as leader.

 

Personally would go back to the 10 outfield players that won 6-0 at QPR, with Darlow in goal, if that team had played yesterday I have no doubt we would have won. Mitrovic might miss chances but he would have scored at least one of those that Diame didn't even try at.