Poor. Very poor. Had a chance to take 3rd and threw it away. Marina and co need to work on defensive reinforcements in a huge way.
A real leader. Sorely missing a voice. The whole back four have had a shocker and Alonso just repeating the same lazy behaviour that's been rewarded time and again by multiple managers with a consistent starting place. And remember... we've conceded 4 goals tonight.
Awful awful awful, one of the worst (if not THE worst) performance of the season (and there has been some really sh*t ones) apart from William and Pulisic everybody else were sh*t, Lampard has to drop players for a period of time here, let's be honest it should have been 4-2. Here is something to 'mull over' - Relegation threatened West Ham have done the double over us, they've picked up all six points, that is shameful!
Though I still think Kepa gets an inordinate and often undeserved amount of blame, and is a decent keeper, to Chelsea up an analogy from above, even if we had an in prime Cech, Cudacini, and the Big Cat himself all playing in goal at once, our back 4 would have them conceding goals That said I have switched, just don't think Kepa is or will be quite good enough for our ambitions, had some shaky play lately, some bad ones today (not as bad as the back 4 mind you), and some shakier distribution. Call Ajax and fire sale Kepa or take the Valencia bad loan and hope he gains value
Hope some of that is directed at himself. A lot of the mistakes we commit have been apparant all season. Needs to be addressed on the training ground. As much I love our shiny new toys, it's old fashioned grit and sawdust we need to bring in. Nothing flashy, just competent.
I had little doubt watching that a good bit was directed at himself. I think he is rather hard on himself now, and as a player. On one hand he could not bring in any defensive players, on other against big size teams, why is Az marking in 6 yard box, Tammy and Ollie should be there ala Drogs, with Az more forward; and his system exposes Alonso, who by now he must realize does not get back like Ashley Cole, and Barkley wtf must be a great practice player; and he must not recognize Jorgino with lock-down hair everywhere and think he is a youth players making practice numbers; and cb's our biggest issue, not much he can do now other than let Tomori get another shot and pray... He made improvements and adjustments over break which seemed to work better but we reverted again, and since we don't finish chances well he has a decision, to go more Jose,or Big Sam, and let his system wait til next season(next month) or make smaller choice, I really at a loss as to which would be better path. Think I'd bring in Jorg to go with Kante and Kov, Mount Pul and Gerrard and really control possession in a less risky, a bit less advanced way to protect the back 4 and Kepa and try to steal chances here and there and turn it on next season.
Ashley Cole crankier than KDB about AC defending: https://metro.co.uk/2020/07/01/ashl...nsen-costly-mistake-west-ham-defeat-12931790/
We need CB help. AC had no idea where Antonio was all night. Rudy’s lazy flick that led to a corner. Do we have anything in the middle? Timori? Depressed.
It is remarkable how unfocused this generation of players appears to be compared to our last spine (Cole, JT, Lamps, etc.). Mental fortitude almost non existent among these teams even in winning seasons. You're as liable to get a W over City as you are some of the worst defensive displays you'll ever pay witness to. Outside of buying a couple of world class entities, I'm not sure how you fix this other than absolutely nailing things tactically.
Hes bang on. Defending is a full time occupation not something that starts when your player has the ball. JT was never the quickest but he was always watching the game AND working out where he needed to be and then getting there. Not sure if its work rate, mentality or a lack of ability but as a defender you constantly need to be moving and adjusting. Ashley is dead on. Unfortunately my crankiness will continue until the basics are addressed. There is so much focus on elegant CBs who can seamlessly knit moves together, move with speed and precision and hit a long ball to a man in space. I'll just take a CB who can clog up the box on set pieces, work hard to get into position, tackle well and lead his unit. Our back 4 made Antonio look like a 30 goal a season super threat yesterday when he should be kept firmly in someone's pocket.
The back absolutely needs to be improved. However, to be fair. This is what happens when you play a high line and aggressive press. Your CBs need to be extremely mobile and great in space. Your outside backs need to be able to run for days. And your GK needs to be a shot stopper.