Other Matches - 10th-11th August, 2019

[RandoEFC+]

Just now, LFCMike said:

@RandoEFC can you afford to wait until November for the team to click though when you have a favourable start and a difficult December?

Well what are we going to do about it? This is just what's bound to happen when you have to sign so many players due to poor recruitment by previous managers. 

Got to remember this team hasn't been assembled to break the top 6 or top 4 this season. It's been assembled to gradually improve and compete in years to come. Gbamin 23, Kean 19, Richarlison 22, Iwobi 23, Calvert-Lewin 22, Davies 21. What the club is trying to achieve wont be won and lost between now and November. If we finish 8th or 9th again because we didn't make the most of a tricky start, as long as we can point to where it went wrong and it wasn't down to the players just being shit or the manager being tactically inept, then so be it.

We've done enough business now that we shouldn't have this situation again of a bunch of late signings having to bed in for the first few months of the season. Summers to come we should only have to replace players that leave and a couple of weak positions, instead of having to replace swathes of dead wood and 32 year olds all the time.

Even if we are similar to last season for the foreseeable future, that should still be enough to get home wins against favourable opposition and, if needs be, settle for a draw in fixtures like today.

[Dave]

@RandoEFC his positioning was poor at times. Hes very fortunate to be surrounded by better players.

Well done on winning the transfer window again, I'm sure it will mean a lot when you finish ninth and about seven points ahead of us. 

[LFCMike]

2 minutes ago, RandoEFC said:

Well what are we going to do about it? This is just what's bound to happen when you have to sign so many players due to poor recruitment by previous managers. 

Got to remember this team hasn't been assembled to break the top 6 or top 4 this season. It's been assembled to gradually improve and compete in years to come. Gbamin 23, Kean 19, Richarlison 22, Iwobi 23, Calvert-Lewin 22, Davies 21. What the club is trying to achieve wont be won and lost between now and November. If we finish 8th or 9th again because we didn't make the most of a tricky start, as long as we can point to where it went wrong and it wasn't down to the players just being shit or the manager being tactically inept, then so be it.

We've done enough business now that we shouldn't have this situation again of a bunch of late signings having to bed in for the first few months of the season. Summers to come we should only have to replace players that leave and a couple of weak positions, instead of having to replace swathes of dead wood and 32 year olds all the time.

Even if we are similar to last season for the foreseeable future, that should still be enough to get home wins against favourable opposition and, if needs be, settle for a draw in fixtures like today.

Fair enough. You should be looking to make the most of a decent start in terms of fixtures though

[RandoEFC+]

Just now, The Palace Fan said:

@RandoEFC his positioning was poor at times. Hes very fortunate to be surrounded by better players.

Well done on winning the transfer window again, I'm sure it will mean a lot when you finish ninth and about seven points ahead of us.

I completely disagree about Mina I'm afraid and the stats back me up over you. Palace had two chances today and one of them, if you're being harsh, could have been blamed on him.

Your second sentence also points towards you wanting to criticise Everton. You do know the whole winning the transfer window thing isn't a real thing and is just a joke? Don't really understand why you've got some issue with us. I respect your opinion against the team or our players if that's genuinely your opinion but comments like that, unless you're going to claim you were looking for a "bite" just smack of some bitter agenda against us because we dared to have enough ambition to try and sign Zaha without being one of the anointed Sky clubs who are the only ones allowed to do such a thing. Maybe I'm reading too much into one comment, open to you explaining it in a different way.

[Dave]

16 minutes ago, RandoEFC said:

I completely disagree about Mina I'm afraid and the stats back me up over you. Palace had two chances today and one of them, if you're being harsh, could have been blamed on him.

Your second sentence also points towards you wanting to criticise Everton. You do know the whole winning the transfer window thing isn't a real thing and is just a joke? Don't really understand why you've got some issue with us. I respect your opinion against the team or our players if that's genuinely your opinion but comments like that, unless you're going to claim you were looking for a "bite" just smack of some bitter agenda against us because we dared to have enough ambition to try and sign Zaha without being one of the anointed Sky clubs who are the only ones allowed to do such a thing. Maybe I'm reading too much into one comment, open to you explaining it in a different way.

I was hoping the emoji was enough to show I wasnt being serious 

As I previously said, the stats dont cover how often he was out of position. If we had a forward with pace he would have been in a world of trouble. Having players alert around him saved his bacon. His yellow card summed him up. If you want to progress you need better players. 

It was frustrating for us that Hodgson bought on Wickham as it made life very easy for him. Camarasa could have fried his brain. But if we have to pay 15m for 20 appearances maybe that was a decision out of Roy's hand.

I'm quite surprised about your comments that you think it will take up to November to get up to speed. Your fixtures to begin with are lucious. Will Marco Silva even get up to November if you dont take advantage of it? Sam and Koeman wouldn't.

[RandoEFC+]

3 minutes ago, The Palace Fan said:

I was hoping the emoji was enough to show I wasnt being serious 

As I previously said, the stats dont cover how often he was out of position. If we had a forward with pace he would have been in a world of trouble. Having players alert around him saved his bacon. His yellow card summed him up. If you want to progress you need better players. 

It was frustrating for us that Hodgson bought on Wickham as it made life very easy for him. Camarasa could have fried his brain. But if we have to pay 15m for 20 appearances maybe that was a decision out of Roy's hand.

I'm quite surprised about your comments that you think it will take up to November to get up to speed. Your fixtures to begin with are lucious. Will Marco Silva even get up to November if you dont take advantage of it? Sam and Koeman wouldn't.

Apologies, you must have edited the post to add the emoji afterwards as I didn't notice it .

Our biggest weakness looking at our squad is the central defensive pairing. I think they're both good individually but both of them lack pace. Last season Keane and Zouma were a perfect pairing because Zouma was fast and physical where Keane isn't. I still have faith in Mina though. The jury was out on him after last season, where he was disrupted by injuries and had a couple of dodgy performances. I definitely think there is a player in there though but if there's any area in our defence which will get exposed on multiple occasions this season, it is the lack of pace in that pairing, and if Holgate plays he isn't lightning fast either.

Silva will only lose his job if we are a disaster, and that's not what I think we will be at all, I just think we won't be a huge amount better than last season until then, because we're starting with the same squad more or less. Delph, Iwobi, Sidibe weren't in the squad today, Gbamin and Kean made their debuts from the bench having not played a minute with us for pre season and only trained for a week. Gbamin was also at AFCON until late, so I think in terms of big steps forward, it will take a while.

Our current standard should he similar to the second half of last season, which means we should be looking to win any home games against non-top 6 sides, get a point at the likes of Palace, Newcastle, Bournemouth, and win at the teams who are likely to be battling relegation. By no means am I expecting us to "struggle" throughout the first 14 games or whatever it is where our fixtures are meant to be decent.

[Dan+]

That's a brilliant result for Brighton. I did say I think they'll be a different beast under Potter.

Burnley as well, a lovely start for them.

Fair play to Sheffield United too. Didn't fold.

[Stan]

Already getting nervous about how tomorrow goes.

Can't rest on our laurels just because Wolves played on Thursday in Armenia. They're still a super-efficient and well-organised side and if anything, might be even more prepared for tomorrow given they've had some competitive games already.

I think we're well set to go and there shouldn't be any passengers, but I wouldn't be surprised if we only get a point. Obviously would love a win but Wolves are a decent side. They're gonna be around us at the end of the season so could be quite an even match.

[Fairy In Boots]

I picked Brighton & Burnley to struggle but I think I’ve errored I think Watford will after that 

[Dan+]

3 hours ago, Stan said:

Already getting nervous about how tomorrow goes.

Can't rest on our laurels just because Wolves played on Thursday in Armenia. They're still a super-efficient and well-organised side and if anything, might be even more prepared for tomorrow given they've had some competitive games already.

I think we're well set to go and there shouldn't be any passengers, but I wouldn't be surprised if we only get a point. Obviously would love a win but Wolves are a decent side. They're gonna be around us at the end of the season so could be quite an even match.

I am a little bit as well. Really think this is the best prepared we've been for a while going into a season and the possibility of losing at home to one of our nearest rivals, probably the most catchable side who came above us last year, at home, is a bit worrying even if I am probably building it up a bit more than I should.

Early goal would do us wonders. Atmosphere will be good early doors. Capitalise on that.

Excited now though. Lets see what Rodgers has prepared.

[Honey Honey]

To get beat 3-0 home or away to Brighton or Burnley has got to have anyone asking serious questions. I wonder if we are going to see more big wins this season than the usual scraping by with 1 goal.

[LFCMike]

1 hour ago, Harvsky said:

To get beat 3-0 home or away to Brighton or Burnley has got to have anyone asking serious questions. I wonder if we are going to see more big wins this season than the usual scraping by with 1 goal.

I actually thought Southampton would be decent this season after a pre season under their new manager. Was quite worried about us playing them in their first home game. Could still be a difficult game but that result certainly makes me a little more confident

[Honey Honey]

11 minutes ago, LFCMike said:

I actually thought Southampton would be decent this season after a pre season under their new manager. Was quite worried about us playing them in their first home game. Could still be a difficult game but that result certainly makes me a little more confident

I've just had a look at form and they won 1 of their last 7 games at the end of last season. Could be one of the first to be sacked this season perhaps.

[LFCMike]

1 minute ago, Harvsky said:

I've just had a look at form and they won 1 of their last 7 games at the end of last season. Could be one of the first to be sacked this season perhaps.

Yeah didn't know that but they looked good against us for about 45-60 minutes at the start of April so I thought with a pre season and a few signings they'd be threatening the top half this season.

[LFCMadLad]

Just watched highlights of the Bournemouth v Sheff Utd game. Away fans absolutely class! Proper scenes at the end there when they equalised. 

Going to enjoy them this season, hope they stay up. 

[RandoEFC+]

1 hour ago, Harvsky said:

I've just had a look at form and they won 1 of their last 7 games at the end of last season. Could be one of the first to be sacked this season perhaps.

I've seen a few people tout them to do well. I'm yet to jump on the Hassenhuttl train, I know he did well at Leipzig but doing better than Mark Hughes and steering clear of a Brighton-Cardiff relegation duel is hardly sing from the rooftop stuff. Not sure what major business they've done this summer to improve either.

[Honey Honey]

32 minutes ago, RandoEFC said:

I've seen a few people tout them to do well. I'm yet to jump on the Hassenhuttl train, I know he did well at Leipzig but doing better than Mark Hughes and steering clear of a Brighton-Cardiff relegation duel is hardly sing from the rooftop stuff. Not sure what major business they've done this summer to improve either.

One new signing in their team yesterday and didn't play well apparently.

[Stan]

2 hours ago, LFCMadLad said:

Just watched highlights of the Bournemouth v Sheff Utd game. Away fans absolutely class! Proper scenes at the end there when they equalised. 

Going to enjoy them this season, hope they stay up. 

The positioning of where the away fans are located really helps tbf. Taking nothing away from the celebrations though. Especially given it was a late goal. 

[RandoEFC+]

Leicester 0-0 Wolves. Didn't see any but Leicester dominated position. Wolves had a goal from a corner rule out by VAR. @Dan has been converted already .

[Storts]

I watched all of the Leicester/Wolves game on a stream. Again not a classic, thought Leicester were better in the first half and then tired second although they had a late push towards the end. Wolves are really frustrating to play, good at the back, well organised and break quickly. Draw probably fair although Leicester had more of the game

On the disallowed goal that’s never handball in seasons gone by, hit him from such a close distance but with the rule change as long they are consistent can have no complaints 

[Stan]

2 hours ago, Storts said:

I watched all of the Leicester/Wolves game on a stream. Again not a classic, thought Leicester were better in the first half and then tired second although they had a late push towards the end. Wolves are really frustrating to play, good at the back, well organised and break quickly. Draw probably fair although Leicester had more of the game

On the disallowed goal that’s never handball in seasons gone by, hit him from such a close distance but with the rule change as long they are consistent can have no complaints 

 

20 hours ago, Stan said:

Already getting nervous about how tomorrow goes.

Can't rest on our laurels just because Wolves played on Thursday in Armenia. They're still a super-efficient and well-organised side and if anything, might be even more prepared for tomorrow given they've had some competitive games already.

I think we're well set to go and there shouldn't be any passengers, but I wouldn't be surprised if we only get a point. Obviously would love a win but Wolves are a decent side. They're gonna be around us at the end of the season so could be quite an even match.

 

Yep, pretty much as I thought it would be.

Wolves are probably one of the most organised sides in the league. They defended well today and also caught us on the break a few times - there was one time where Jota got in to the box and looked for all the world to score; tripped over his own stepovers and that was the end of the attack and the half .

We found it very hard to break them down. With the way they set up, they were happy to sit back and let us have the ball even in to their half. Says a lot that our first shot on target was in 83rd minute. But I'd put that down to Wolves being quite reslient as opposed to lack of anything we did. We tried to break them down and had a couple of decent opportunities but not a lot clear-cut. It got a bit cagey at times and a bit flat.

RE: VAR - everyone knows I'm a fan of it and willing to back it. Was a bit of waiting time after the goal scored today by Dendoncker and for me wasn't that clear on the replay on the screen. However, the new rule is that if it hits the arm, intentional or not, and directly leads to a goal which it did today, then it gets ruled out. As @Storts says, if it gets used like that for the rest of the season I don't see how anyone can have any complaints. Taking out the intentional angle, it cuts out any ambiguity in this kind of scenario. Hits arm, score, no goal given. End of. 

I'd give Soyuncu man of the match. Rock solid and already an apt replacement for Maguire. Got in a few situations with Jimenez and Jota and handled them well I thought. Strong in the air and capable on the ball. Judging on today, he's the reason why there's no mad rush to get another CB in. 

Happy with a point given how decent Wolves are. Happy with a clean sheet as well. 

On to Chelsea next week...

[Dan+]

Storts' assessment fair. We were OK but it was a little bit Puel home game like for my liking. For all our possession I can't remember forcing a single save and that's poor.

Chilwell was poor. Maddison was frustrating. Perez for me struggled to get into the game, as did Vardy. I thought it was all a bit too congested and this was precisely my fear. I also think I'm quite vindcated in thinking that the wide areas are a bigger priority to upgrade on than our defence. Soyuncu had a very good game I thought.

Not converted by VAR. I wouldn't be moaning right now if that goal had stood.

Very frustrating game. Not a terrible result but a real damp squib, two teams who were more scared to lose than anything.

[Stan]

3 minutes ago, Dan said:

I thought it was all a bit too congested and this was precisely my fear

More down to Wolves than us, I think. They were camped in their half for the most part.

[Dan+]

15 minutes ago, Stan said:

More down to Wolves than us, I think. They were camped in their half for the most part.

It still works that bit too well aganst us. I can't remember a single decent chance we created. From an attacking pont of view it was very disapponting.

[Stan]

18 minutes ago, Dan said:

It still works that bit too well aganst us. I can't remember a single decent chance we created. From an attacking pont of view it was very disapponting.

True. As said above it is something we need to work on to break those teams down but I'd say Man City are probably the only other team that are that super-organised in their tactics and structure. 

Vardy could have bagged when he missed the cross from Tielemans in first half when he was inside the 6-yard box. Other than that I don't think we tested them much either and resorted to long distance shots, only one of which from Barnes brought their keeper in to action.