The difference in shape and players is almost light and day, especially in our midfield.
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Manager Jose Mourinho
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The difference in shape and players is almost light and day, especially in our midfield.
Two things stand out:Interesting comparison from nearly 1 year ago, this was our 2-1 defeat to United.
1. We have stopped funneling all of our attacks through our RB (who played as a RWB)
2. Our attackers are much more central now (Son, Kane, Tanguy and Bale all tightly bunched) as opposed to wide
This tells me we are able to play amore balanced game with both our FBs being able to push on. As a result, we can focus our attack centrally through a #10 and devastating narrow attacking midfielders as opposed to opting for just crosses from the right.
We're able to do so with the CMs sitting fairly deep as well, which offers our back line a lot of protection.
I'd say the only concern right now is there's no passing between Sissoko/Hojbjerg and Ndombele. Maybe this is a tactic but we don't seem to move the ball up through the middle of the pitch at all. Instead we rely on combinations from Regy to Son and occasionally Toby (who is pushed higher than Dier is generally in possession) to Doherty.
Yeah, that season's early form definitely weighs on my mind too - first half of the season we were 2nd in points, second half we were 12th
We simply stopped scoring - defense only let in a few more, but goals plunged from 42 (+24 GD) to 25 (+4 GD).Tbf our playing style has changed a lot as well - we were dominating possession (even against Pool, we had 60-40, against most midtable to bottom half sides it was 70-30) without really dominating chances. And our away form was especially abysmal (17th in second half of that season), whereas this season I think it will be close to our home form simply because of the way we play; whether that ends up for good or bad, I don't know
I think we do have to improve our performances, but I have to say, if we manage to make it to the end of the year with that season's comparative points haul - no matter how we got there - I'd definitely take that! As it is, our next 7 games taking us to Christmas are against mostly our top 4/6 rivals (City, Chelseaa, Arse, Crystal Palace, Liverpool, Leicester, Wolves) so it should be much more revealing about where we actually stand. As well as whether the thesis we might actually do better against the stronger sides holds up
These Maps are super inciteful
Very consistent shape.
Players clearly doing what Mourinho is asking of them.
Was Kane injured a bunch of this time at all?
I was thinking that too, considering he only made 27 appearances that season, but we did do pretty well initially when he was out. Looking at Harry Kane's previous injuries - he went down in January 2019 but we actually won 5 out of 7 in Jan-Feb (up to that horrendous Burnley game), then he was out April-June, which tbf we did absolutely terribly (won 2 out of 6).
So we were still pretty bad in between Burnley end of Feb and April, when he was back. But Kane usually takes a while to get back to his best when he's coming back from an injury.
And looking at it closer, it seems those were pretty difficult games in March: we lost to Burnley, Chelsea, drew Arse, lost to Southampton, lost to Pool, beat Crystal Palace, then lost Kane for the rest of the season. Out of those 6, you probably only expect us to get better results against Burnley + Southampton. When he was out again, we beat Huddersfield and Brighton, and lost to City, West Ham, Bournemouth, and drew Everton.
So basically, we lost him against easier(ish) teams and had him back against harder teams. Our run in Jan-Feb when we did do alright with him out we basically grinded our way through mostly 1-goal victories against weak teams (Cardiff, Fulham, Newcastle, Watford, Leicester). So it was already looking a little squeamish imo, but hopefully we have some injury luck this season, and if not Carlos Vinicius may hopefully end up a savior
(edit: though perhaps, it's playmaker that we'll really need to fill!)Mourinho team that i know does play turgid football but also freaking hard team to beat ( when all the players follow his instruction ) which is probably because he doesn't tell his players to commit forward too much and prefer stability at the back . if i compared him with weapon , he is like Sniper ( 1 Shot 1 kill ) type, rather than machine gun , 1 goal in and opposition are done for.
Interesting comparison from nearly 1 year ago, this was our 2-1 defeat to United.
The difference in shape and players is almost light and day, especially in our midfield.
Cheers. Shows what we know from then (and also playing under Poch for the last year before that), you could drive a bus through our midfield. Especially when Winks and sissoko were paired together. There is much more discipline in that midfield now, probably thanks to hojbjerg's presence. Also with balanced fullbacks it means Sissoko doesn't have to go walkabout. Again, I wonder how much that is to do with PEH and him being vocal about the team and it's shape.
Also, the newer diagram backs up my thoughts as to how much better we could become with a better player than Sissoko in there. It really is one of the last missing pieces of the jigsaw.
Also, the passing stats in the right hand side paint a much better picture.
If you want to get the anger flowing, no better place than this steaming pile of pretentious excrement from The Graun's Jonathan Liew, a man who really, really loves himself.
What strips my fucking gears about the paper's football coverage - mirrored in the comments below - is how everything has to be about the narrative, it has fuck all to do with supporting a team, being happy when they win, pissed off when they lose, the things that everyone who's followed a team since they were kids have understood all their lives. They've turned it into some smug, self-congratulatory plaything.
Fuck off off with your cunting narrative, fuck off with your football as the Islington intelligentsia's Eastenders.
It says nothing to me about my life. Yours neither I'd imagine.
2020/nov/09/pandemic-football-suits-jose-mourinho-a-man-at-home-in-sinister-circumstances
What strips my fucking gears about the paper's football coverage - mirrored in the comments below - is how everything has to be about the narrative, it has fuck all to do with supporting a team, being happy when they win, pissed off when they lose, the things that everyone who's followed a team since they were kids have understood all their lives. They've turned it into some smug, self-congratulatory plaything.
Fuck off off with your cunting narrative, fuck off with your football as the Islington intelligentsia's Eastenders.
It says nothing to me about my life. Yours neither I'd imagine.
2020/nov/09/pandemic-football-suits-jose-mourinho-a-man-at-home-in-sinister-circumstances
The midfield is still a big conundrum for Jose. And I don't think he has yet found the perfect mix.
What is he looking for? I think of his Chelsea 04-06 side. Possibly the best version was 4-3-3, with Makelele-Essien-Lampard in midfield. Duff-Drogba-Robben as front 3. He played a lot against 4-4-2, so the tactical challenges are now different. But I think he still likes that kind of mix of player types in there.
A. A ball recovery expert (Makelele)
B. A box-to-box high energy / physical all rounder (Essien)
C. A goalscoring attacking midfielder (Lampard)
I think he's found a solution for A. in this team, even if Hojbjerg is deployed further forward than Makelele ever was.
For C, Dele was the obvious fit, with Lampard-like goals & assists, but it hasn't worked out. It's looking like a shoot out between Tanguy and Gio for this spot. And my guess is, Gio has a better chance long term. Tanguy is there for now, but arguably is less well suited. He rarely runs beyond the defence, and hasn't been a big goalscorer in his career to date. Gio on the other hand, has posted good numbers at Real Betis, if not here yet.
The interesting one is B though. If this is the kind of mix Jose is looking for, I would say Sissoko, with his physicality, is a better match for Essien than either Tanguy or Gio. So Jose's natural instinct is probably, as we've seen, to play Hojbjerg-Sissoko plus one of Gio or Tanguy. But he also no doubt knows this isn't perfect either because of Sissoko's technical limitations.
So when he talks about the need for Tanguy and Gio to get fitter in order to play together, that's a sign that he is at least open to the possibility of playing both. And for that to work the ACM has to offer a significant pressing / defensive contribution to overcome the lack of out and out physicality in their midfield partner.
I think the most likely version of this is with a fit Gio as a roving ACM, and a fit Tanguy behind him (but always with the threat of Sissoko replacing him if he doesn't pull his weight defensively).
This is all highly speculative, but understood from his previous teams Tanguy is the one who isn't a natural fit. So fair play to Jose for persevering with him. And it could be a sign he thinks that if he can get Tanguy even fitter, and working really hard, as well as offering his on the ball talent, he'll have a spectacular unique player.
All highly speculative, but it's both a mouth watering prospect and a reminder of the challenge both Gio and Tanguy have to displace Sissoko.
What is he looking for? I think of his Chelsea 04-06 side. Possibly the best version was 4-3-3, with Makelele-Essien-Lampard in midfield. Duff-Drogba-Robben as front 3. He played a lot against 4-4-2, so the tactical challenges are now different. But I think he still likes that kind of mix of player types in there.
A. A ball recovery expert (Makelele)
B. A box-to-box high energy / physical all rounder (Essien)
C. A goalscoring attacking midfielder (Lampard)
I think he's found a solution for A. in this team, even if Hojbjerg is deployed further forward than Makelele ever was.
For C, Dele was the obvious fit, with Lampard-like goals & assists, but it hasn't worked out. It's looking like a shoot out between Tanguy and Gio for this spot. And my guess is, Gio has a better chance long term. Tanguy is there for now, but arguably is less well suited. He rarely runs beyond the defence, and hasn't been a big goalscorer in his career to date. Gio on the other hand, has posted good numbers at Real Betis, if not here yet.
The interesting one is B though. If this is the kind of mix Jose is looking for, I would say Sissoko, with his physicality, is a better match for Essien than either Tanguy or Gio. So Jose's natural instinct is probably, as we've seen, to play Hojbjerg-Sissoko plus one of Gio or Tanguy. But he also no doubt knows this isn't perfect either because of Sissoko's technical limitations.
So when he talks about the need for Tanguy and Gio to get fitter in order to play together, that's a sign that he is at least open to the possibility of playing both. And for that to work the ACM has to offer a significant pressing / defensive contribution to overcome the lack of out and out physicality in their midfield partner.
I think the most likely version of this is with a fit Gio as a roving ACM, and a fit Tanguy behind him (but always with the threat of Sissoko replacing him if he doesn't pull his weight defensively).
This is all highly speculative, but understood from his previous teams Tanguy is the one who isn't a natural fit. So fair play to Jose for persevering with him. And it could be a sign he thinks that if he can get Tanguy even fitter, and working really hard, as well as offering his on the ball talent, he'll have a spectacular unique player.
All highly speculative, but it's both a mouth watering prospect and a reminder of the challenge both Gio and Tanguy have to displace Sissoko.
It was well known that teams Poch managed finished very badly.Yeah, that season's early form definitely weighs on my mind too - first half of the season we were 2nd in points, second half we were 12th
He burns them out and doesn't know how to manage 25 men so over uses his main 11.
No way Jose likes Gio and Tanguy together. It leaves PEH to play a deep lying DM role that does not come naturally to him.
I think its a combination we are really only going to see rarely when we are chasing a game for the last twenty minutes. May develop over time if our defence starts inspire more confidence but i dont see it. On current form PEH is un-droppable so its a complete non starter.
I think its a combination we are really only going to see rarely when we are chasing a game for the last twenty minutes. May develop over time if our defence starts inspire more confidence but i dont see it. On current form PEH is un-droppable so its a complete non starter.
Why? What do they incite you to do? Batter the next cunt that posts one?
No cover for the defence in that though. Thats my point. He's not going to play without a DM leaves a dodgy back four too exposed. (and I agree with him). We need to play those 3 GLC - Tanguy - PEH plus a DM
Only works with a 4-4-2. Drop one of the front 3.
I'd prefer that we did that as i think the team would be more balanced. The FB's could push on with a bit more confidence and we would be able to transition through the midfield much more effectively.
Thats the only way we are going to see GLC and Tanguy together consistently. Given their potential I hope it happens soon.
Compelling counter argument......
Winningly enough, it also ignores recent statements from both Jose & TN that relate to the prospect of that line-up happening in the immediate future.
It provides more cover for the defense than we have now with Sissoko playing over GLC.
The worst thing we can do to our defense is have them under pressure because we can't control the ball or make errors when pressed. With GLC in instead of Sissoko we get a much better defensive player and someone who can help us control the ball, who can take the ball from them when under pressure and reduces the amount of high pressure attacks by removing the terrible Sissoko giveaways.
:mourfacepalm:
He's not deep lying my friend