Brighton (H) 30/4: Build-Up & Match Thread

[Elephant Pyjamas]

We only have a notional chance of Europe given we're very likely to lose at least 3 of our remaining 5 games, and if we play as we have for most of the last 2-3 months we'll lose on Saturday anyway.

As a manager or a player you can't have the mentality of "we are likely to lose 3 of our last 5 games so fuck it" attitude though, and if we did that would be far more sackable than any of the cumulative poor performances.

And as i keep saying why would a back 4 make us any better given how poor we have looked when we have tried it?

There is far more evidence to suggest that getting Podence and Neves on the pitch will make us better than knee jerking to a formation that our players have little to no experience of and haven't trained for.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

As a manager or a player you can't have the mentality of "we are likely to lose 3 of our last 5 games so fuck it" attitude though, and if we did that would be far more sackable than any of the cumulative poor performances.

And as i keep saying why would a back 4 make us any better given how poor we have looked when we have tried it?

There is far more evidence to suggest that getting Podence and Neves on the pitch will make us better than knee jerking to a formation that our players have little to no experience of and haven't trained for.

How do you know we haven't trained for it...

Podence has a whole one league goal, I'm not sure he's the silver bullet (though I would play him if fit).

We have to change something, we look awful. It's not like we're losing but playing quite well, we're losing and playing terribly. If you're not going to change formation and/or approach after 6 defeats in 9, when are you going to do it?

 

[Elephant Pyjamas]

Because we play 3/5 at the back, why would we have?

Podence makes us look far more fluid, he carries the ball and we look better with him in the team.

What would make us look better is Podence and Neves (our best player) returning to the team.

We currently have our best defender, best midfielder (and player generally) and best attacker all out of the team, of course we look worse.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

Well, we look shit, not worse.

All teams get injuries and suspensions, it's up to the manager to work around that. He isn't very good at it by the look of things.

 

[Elephant Pyjamas]

Well, we look shit, not worse.

All teams get injuries and suspensions, it's up to the manager to work around that. He isn't very good at it by the look of things.

I don't think we look shit, but i know you won't agree with me on that, i hated the performance against Newcastle, but i thought until Burnley scored we looked better.

Yes all teams get injuries and suspensions, few are given just 3 senior midfielders to work with though. Especially at this level.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

West Ham (A)
Palace (H)
Leeds (H) after the red card - caused by the manager doing absolutely nothing to react
Newcastle (A)
Burnley (A) (to my eyes at least, especially after we conceded)

All dreadful and all within the last two months.

 

[Johnny75]

I don't think we look shit, but i know you won't agree with me on that, i hated the performance against Newcastle, but i thought until Burnley scored we looked better.

Yes all teams get injuries and suspensions, few are given just 3 senior midfielders to work with though. Especially at this level.

We look shit with Hwang at inside forward. We look miles better with Jonny on the right and RAN in the team.

3-4-3 doesn't work with Hwang at all on any level. There's a reason we look miles better with him out of the team.

That's just rank management.

 

[Elephant Pyjamas]

Watford, Villa and Tottenham (plus the first half against Leeds and 2nd half v Everton) are all within the last 10 weeks too.

It's the nature of being a decent mid table team with a small squad and a lack of a goalscorer, lack of consistency.

Fortunately we were very consistent from mid December (and played well) to late February where we picked up 19 from 24 points. It seems that is 100% forgotten now.

 

[Elephant Pyjamas]

We look shit with Hwang at inside forward. We look miles better with Jonny on the right and RAN in the team.

3-4-3 doesn't work with Hwang at all on any level. There's a reason we look miles better with him out of the team.

That's just rank management.

Yep, he's had a blind spot regarding Hwang and Marcal all too often, I hate it just as much as you do.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

Saunders won 4 out of 5 at one point, didn't mean it mitigated what a shithouse he was.

Not that Lage is on that level though he does occasionally mimic his nonsense selections and inane gibberish.

 

[PuntsWolf]

Good to see the old “we can’t play with a back 4” myth is back already.

There is literally no evidence for it, unless we’re counting 135 minutes in preseason with half a team out, half fit players, under a new manager.

 

[Elephant Pyjamas]

Good to see the old “we can’t play with a back 4” myth is back already.

There is literally no evidence for it, unless we’re counting 135 minutes in preseason with half a team out, half fit players, under a new manager.

It's not so much "we can't play with a back 4" is what i'm saying, it's that trying to do so now is a risk.

Our CBs have trained and played religiously in a 3/5 for years, so until they have a good period of time to train in it and play within it i think it's a major risk to attempt it when we still have something to play for.

It may be that the likes of Kilman, Coady, Boly and Saiss can adapt to play in a 4, for what it is worth i think they can, but with 5 games left of the season (with City and Liverpool to come) and our wing backs playing well in the current system it seems barmy to attempt it right now when a far less risky and better alternative is to get back Neves and Podence back in the team and get Hwang out of it, that would improve us no end instantly, without any risk.

 

[Elephant Pyjamas]

There is literally no evidence for it, unless we’re counting 135 minutes in preseason with half a team out, half fit players, under a new manager.

That's not literally then is it?

 

[PuntsWolf]

I don’t think it’s much of a risk, we are losing, conceding goals while still not looking like scoring goals.

I’m not that bothered about it as it’s not going to be the magic solution. Doesn’t matter what formation your in if your poorly set up/coached and play rubbish players.

 

[sycophantia]

It's not so much "we can't play with a back 4" is what i'm saying, it's that trying to do so now is a risk.

Our CBs have trained and played religiously in a 3/5 for years, so until they have a good period of time to train in it and play within it i think it's a major risk to attempt it when we still have something to play for.

It may be that the likes of Kilman, Coady, Boly and Saiss can adapt to play in a 4, for what it is worth i think they can, but with 5 games left of the season (with City and Liverpool to come) and our wing backs playing well in the current system it seems barmy to attempt it right now when a far less risky and better alternative is to get back Neves and Podence back in the team and get Hwang out of it, that would improve us no end instantly, without any risk.

I get what you're saying, it will be a risk changing our formation and tactics while we're still in with a shout of Europe, but we seem to be regressing atm so also a risk to keep doing the same old thing with no guarantee we will come good.

 

[Elephant Pyjamas]

But surely we have regressed because we have lost our best player(s)? Rather than the formation?

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

Nope, we were crap before Neves and Podence got injured. Kilman over Boly/Saiss is neither here nor there really, they're all about the same level.

 

[Elephant Pyjamas]

Nope, we were crap before Neves and Podence got injured.

I don't agree, else by definition you are saying that Neves has no effect on how well we play, and i'm not having that.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

Palace, West Ham, Arsenal at home, all rubbish, all with Neves playing. Very lucky to beat Leicester at home too and arguably Southampton should have got a draw.

 

[Elephant Pyjamas]

Maybe Neves isn't actually very good then....

We aren't going to play well and win every game, even under Nuno in the first and second season there were dour games and performances, he had a far better squad then too. (Huddersfield twice, Watford at home, dreadful) and that's without talking about last season.