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You've answered your own doubts in this post. Son not taking a shot twice in this game isn't the only time we've not executed a good opportunity. xG is a tool that should be used in conjunction with everything else, it doesn't tell the whole story, which is essentially what you're implying.
?Tbf you weren't the only to have the impression you did. The Extra Inch guys felt the same (and about Porro and Udogie). I always think their analysis is somewhat stymied by the fact they aren't usually at the game so don't have the wider top down view of the whole pitch. But I think you were at the game - and others who were also felt what you did so who knows
The one thing Nathan said that did resonate with me is that Maddison's game was reminiscent of Eriksen playing on the left in the good old days.
The other thing I think is that we need two (in form) James Maddison's - one to drop deeper and play through their midfield and one to play higher and unlock the low block.
If wishes had wings etc...
Yes xG is a blunt tool, no I'm not saying it tells the whole story, especially not over the course of one game. But over the long term it's a good measure of a team's chance creation. By the end of the season our goals scored will be roughly the same as our xG created, within a few % either side.
Three way race for the Title
I think this is what most are really talking about, it's not the scuffed/missed/ballooned shots (which are always part of football); it's the crosses that never come, the shots that aren't taken, the progressive passes that aren't seen, the safe backwards pass when there's a through-ball or a chip on into the box etc. etc.
Agreed. 5 games into the season though is not an adequate data sample to track against. Even so, it is still only a part of the overall story. Going back to your point about Son's chances, which to my mind were gilt edged, which wouldn't even have registered in the xG, shows the flaws in basing a view solely on that xG. It was the same against Leicester and, to a lesser degree, Newcastle. Good opportunities wasted because the execution in the final third was sub par. Good opportunities to score being wasted aren't just those where the shit is poor, it would include the final ball either being poor, going to the wrong player etc. None of which would be reflected in xG.
Again, I disagree. Being clinical isn't the sole preserve of the final finish. It can also be the decisiveness of the final ball, that split second where the ball is delivered as opposed to cut off. Clinical can be in the decision making, i.e. picking the right pass. We've been profligate in all of those aspects up until Saturday, and even that saw us missing a high number of opportunities in all of those aspects. They're getting better though.
Fair point, but you can't expect them to have that "telepathic" understanding after just what, 2-3 games together? Even Maddison himself alluded to that in his post match interview. With familiarity comes that greater understanding. I think they'll grow into their roles well.
I'm sorry but I simply cannot agree with you stating that Brentford took control of the midfield. They had a purple patch around the hour mark for less than 10 minutes. The rest of the match we owned the midfield. As to the rest of the above, I return you to the paragraph above. They've just started working in those roles together, it's rarer than hens teeth to see any partnership just click from the off.
As above, far too early in the partnership to say it is or isn't working. Insofar as Newcastle is concerned though, using a single instance, in a 90 minute match where they never got the opportunity to do that previously, is really stretching it.
I would, so I guess we'll have to agree to disagree. I don't think they have the personnel to deal with our movement and incisive passing, if we play in the same manner as we did against Brentford.
We're talking about Maddison and Kulu in midfield, are we not? And yes Brentford's purple patch came after half time for about 20 minutes I'd say, at which point Ange made one change (Bissouma for Bentancur, did nothing) and then because that hadn't worked he made a second (Sarr for Brennan, moving Kulu out to the wing) and that was what reestablished our control over midfield for the rest of the game.
True but we created better chances because we were more clinical with the execution of the execution of the situations we created chances from.
It most definitely wasn't 20 minutes, I watched the full game again last night. From about the 60 minute mark they looked like gaining control, but we snuffed them out. As you say, the changes helped with that, but that doesn't negate what Maddison and Kulusevski achieved for an hour. With the intensity those 2 played at, you have to expect them to slow down. Kudos to AP for recognising that early and adjusting accordingly.
Again, we'll have to disagree on the timeframe, but no biggy. I noted the actual time on the clock when the carved out their first real chance in the second half, it was just after 60 minutes. Up until then, the biggest take I took from those 2 was how well they hurried Brentford into rushing passes and, as a result, making mistakes that saw us recover the ball.
They won't play better than us if we manage the same intensity we did against Brentford, they don't have the personnel, apart from Fernandez maybe, to keep the calm you need under the sort of constant pressure we'll put them under.
We put 6 past them under Poch at their place, when they had a better team than they do now.
So not really any different to any other game. If we perform and execute we should win. Utd don't have the defence Woolwich do, they don't even have the defence Brentford do.
) Will keep an eye out for when they had their good period how the balance of Kulu/Madddison looked in the 2nd half.
