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Manager Ange Postecoglou

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Was sacking Ange a good idea?

  • Yes, I think it was a good idea.

    Votes: 73 64.6%
  • No, I think it was a bad idea.

    Votes: 40 35.4%

  • Total voters
    113
Can we take a step back a second and look at some of the batshit tactics on display today?

Here was our set up just before the second goal:

(Note, we are 1 minute to half time and somehow we're drawing away at the Emirates. Any novice manager knows, whatever you do now, do NOT concede. Do NOT hand them an easy goal. Just get to half time and then breathe. Anyway, here's how we set up):

2H2a2Wj.jpeg


So we have Djed Spence passing it into Bissouma, who doesn't have a supporting midfielder within 40 yards of him. The centre circle is completely empty. Porro for some reason is making a move up to the right wing (well, we know the reason; this is where Ange has told him to be). HUGE gap between the two centre backs, Archie not even in the picture.

Now, don't get me wrong, Bissouma loses the ball badly. But sometimes players lose the ball, and up to that point Bissouma had had a pretty good game. You can't plan your tactics assuming all your players will do everything 100% right on the pitch; you have to mitigate for the occasional error.

Anyway, what should be completely clear here is, if Bissouma loses the ball here, we are fucked. Woolwich have 6 players ready to pounce, and they are man-to-man on our CBs, who are completely exposed with no protection by Sarr or Bergvall; our right back nowhere to be seen, our 2 other central midfielders pushing up (having been clearly told to do so by the manager).

So, our set up is a joke. Porro should be 20 yards back, and Sarr should be on the centre spot, at the very least.

Beyond that, Spence probably shouldn't be passing to Bissouma there, and Bissouma certainly shouldn't be turning and dribbling with so little cover. I wonder who is telling them to try to dribble and intricate pass it out from here? Probably the same guy who's told Porro to ignore Leandro Trossard and Sarr and Bergvall to push up, don't you think? Because it's the exact same set up we have whenever we have possession. And it constantly leaves us exposed.

Anyway, here we are two seconds later:

eq4nPvz.jpeg


How many times have we seen this? An opposition team bearing down on our poor exposed centre backs with no cover? Too many times this season to count.

Make no mistake; at this point we're already completely fucked. Yes Dragusin should have eventually closed down Trossard better, and Kinsky done better with the shot.

But that's not the reason why we concede here. We concede because
- 1) our absolutely BATSHIT set up leaves us completely exposed whenever we lose possession in this part of the pitch and
- 2) our manager has told our players they MUST pass it out the back even if we're a minute from half time and drawing at the Emirates.

I think sometimes we can get a bit wrapped up in the results side of things, in the Ange in/out argument. But here is cast iron evidence that this man is not coaching this team properly, that he doesn't have a good football instinct of what to get his guys to do on the pitch.

And then to shank our two DMs at half time, and play Bergvall as a solo 6 flanked by Maddison and Kulu was the icing on the cake. As if we needed FEWER defensive mids not more :rofl:

So so utterly out of his depth tactically, not to mention emotionally or anything else. It should be beyond question now.
Great post.
 
I agree. Even making some allowances for appalling reffing and the pitch, it was beyond appalling

It would have been the most humilating result for a Div 1 / Prem team in my lifetime. Was a sackable
Offence no question
Absolutely, to my mind it would've possibly been the biggest FA Cup upset of all time, all things considered. One of the richest clubs in the world beaten by part timers on live TV. At a ground were you can buy a burger while taking a corner. Bigger than Hereford vs Newcastle or Wrexham v Woolwich given the disparity these days. Until last season, Tamworth were in the 6th division.

An enormous bullet dodged.
 
Can we take a step back a second and look at some of the batshit tactics on display today?

Here was our set up just before the second goal:

(Note, we are 1 minute to half time and somehow we're drawing away at the Emirates. Any novice manager knows, whatever you do now, do NOT concede. Do NOT hand them an easy goal. Just get to half time and then breathe. Anyway, here's how we set up):

2H2a2Wj.jpeg


So we have Djed Spence passing it into Bissouma, who doesn't have a supporting midfielder within 40 yards of him. The centre circle is completely empty. Porro for some reason is making a move up to the right wing (well, we know the reason; this is where Ange has told him to be). HUGE gap between the two centre backs, Archie not even in the picture.

Now, don't get me wrong, Bissouma loses the ball badly. But sometimes players lose the ball, and up to that point Bissouma had had a pretty good game. You can't plan your tactics assuming all your players will do everything 100% right on the pitch; you have to mitigate for the occasional error.

Anyway, what should be completely clear here is, if Bissouma loses the ball here, we are fucked. Woolwich have 6 players ready to pounce, and they are man-to-man on our CBs, who are completely exposed with no protection by Sarr or Bergvall; our right back nowhere to be seen, our 2 other central midfielders pushing up (having been clearly told to do so by the manager).

So, our set up is a joke. Porro should be 20 yards back, and Sarr should be on the centre spot, at the very least.

Beyond that, Spence probably shouldn't be passing to Bissouma there, and Bissouma certainly shouldn't be turning and dribbling with so little cover. I wonder who is telling them to try to dribble and intricate pass it out from here? Probably the same guy who's told Porro to ignore Leandro Trossard and Sarr and Bergvall to push up, don't you think? Because it's the exact same set up we have whenever we have possession. And it constantly leaves us exposed.

Anyway, here we are two seconds later:

eq4nPvz.jpeg


How many times have we seen this? An opposition team bearing down on our poor exposed centre backs with no cover? Too many times this season to count.

Make no mistake; at this point we're already completely fucked. Yes Dragusin should have eventually closed down Trossard better, and Kinsky done better with the shot.

But that's not the reason why we concede here. We concede because
- 1) our absolutely BATSHIT set up leaves us completely exposed whenever we lose possession in this part of the pitch and
- 2) our manager has told our players they MUST pass it out the back even if we're a minute from half time and drawing at the Emirates.

I think sometimes we can get a bit wrapped up in the results side of things, in the Ange in/out argument. But here is cast iron evidence that this man is not coaching this team properly, that he doesn't have a good football instinct of what to get his guys to do on the pitch.

And then to shank our two DMs at half time, and play Bergvall as a solo 6 flanked by Maddison and Kulu was the icing on the cake. As if we needed FEWER defensive mids not more :rofl:

So so utterly out of his depth tactically, not to mention emotionally or anything else. It should be beyond question now.
Thank you for the post, that's perfect! We concede because we are dumb and naive tactically and still people try to blame the players all the time. It's just easy as fuck to create chances like that against us, we are flooding the final third, where the ball will never arrive unless is a long ball, and that is easily defended by any players. So it leaves the opposition with more players confortable to press us at the back and bingo, eventually we'll lose the ball and give chances. The way Ange plays is suicidal, not to say stupid, we don't need so much player so high on the pitch when we are working the ball in the defense, it's absolutely pointless.
 
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Basically it's not his fault. His system is flawless and a sure thing, it's just them damn players who didn't play the way he's taught them to, otherwise of course they'd have won.

He is such a cunt, I hate him.
 
It's the lack of fight and guts that is most worrying, if we get dragged into a relegation fight you need both in spades. Unbelievable how many aerial contests we either fail to compete in or lose miserably, I don't think I have ever witnessed a team so poor at them or at anything that resembles a 50 50 challenge.

Johnson typified that when he came on!
 
i dont think a lot of people realise how fucking bad that was. thats a team of semi pros! in a competitive game against the first team!

you could argue its the worst result in the clubs history! if not its very close to the top. that should not be happening in a million years.
i still don't understand how more people aren't freaking the fuck out. we were a whisker away from possibly the most embarrassing defeat in football history and now we're staring down a relegation fight.
 
Gazza....you know it wont matter who we bring in.... most of those players are not good enough to move us up a gear....its another rebuilding ...untill the next rebuilding....so on..& .so on
Disagree. These players are as good as many other teams in the PL. However other teams have a manager who understands the requirements of defending and building a team philosophy. We have got a guy who everyone is laughing at because he plays schoolboy football.
 
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