Yeah, he needs to up his game. But I also think the other 3 will be more effective coming off the bench than Armstrong. I expect Armstrong to have a rest at some point, there's too many games coming up to avoid that but when we need game changers, bringing on a fresh Redmond or Walcott or Djenepo against a tiring defence will have more impact.
Th problem with Moussa is that in non-COVID times, he gets fouled, goes down as if he has been shot and we are all looking around for the gun carrier. In COVID times, it just looks stupid as there is no way one of his team mates or subs will be able to get away with pulling the gun out and shooting him.
Recovering from Coronavirus could have impacted Armstrong's fitness but it could be the lack of a high press meaning less space for him to do his thing. With Redmond and Ings in the side hopefully we will press higher than in the last three games which could help as we saw with glimmers against Brighton in the second half.
Despite all of our possession in the last couple of games we haven’t created much, be nice to have an actual number 10 in the squad who can turn some of our possession into chances.
Stuey's the nearest we have but he has been a bit off recently. I think our options aren't too bad against the lesser teams and we are scoring pretty freely overall this season.
Redmond flatters to deceive imo. Is good one in five, we can definitely upgrade imo. Admittedly most wingers tend to be a bit hit or miss at our level, consistent ones usually end up at the top teams,
I mentioned this during the Arsenal game: For me there are 2 who prefer RAM (Walcott and Armstrong) and 2 who prefer LAM (Redmond and Djenepo) so best balance would be one from each pair. On current form the best two players are Walcott and Armstrong, but this leaves us with the issue of imbalance, particularly when they get subbed for Redmond and Djenepo It also depends on opposition. E.g. against Fulham I'd want to see Djenepo as I think he's our best chance of creating something from nothing against a team who will presumably look to defend. I was surprised against City it wasn't Armstrong as I think he gives most midfield support. So against Fulham I would choose Walcott and Djenepo (hence I've voted for this) BUT I'd happily see the other two against West Ham 3 days later
Our biggest weakness with the first XI is our wide left as neither Redders or Djenepo are good enough for competing at the higher levels. If we have any money in January I would like to see a new left side midfielder
I'd give Tella a start, with Adams and Walcott up top. Give him a directive to keep fizzing balls behind the defense as he did a few times today. He put more balls into dangerous areas as a nominal striker moving wide than our pseudo-wide players did all match.
Same. I understand that Tella's a long-term striker in a lot of eyes, but he seemed to get caught in two minds a lot of the time between coming to the ball and timing runs behind the defense. His deliveries though were really good: simplify his role a little by letting him operate in space, and let the more experienced players handle the complexities of interplay between the two strikers.
I finally realised what Djenepo reminded me of today. His arms and legs seem to be all over the place, making random moments, and he reminded me of a string puppet. It’s as if he doesn’t know what his legs/feet are going to do and as a result he comes across as indecisive. Yet, when he decides to go outside his defender, to the byline, he looks like a footballer. Didn’t expect him to go past Walker, though, because Walker is really quick.
Not Theo up top for me. He can’t hold the ball up; not strong enough and we need a striker who can do that. He can still be a threat with balls in the spaces, when he plays deeper because he is quicker enough to get there. I also think we miss his running with the ball from deep if he starts further forward.