17-09-2017, 21:42
Well I've had time to let it sink it...
Positives - Hegazi looked a lot more solid and competed well in the air with Carroll. Evans looked back to his normal self and covered Hegazi for his one mistake. Gibbs looked steady and got forward well, was unfortunate not to score.
Negatives - Despite Morrison's introduction, the midfield still looked just as unbalanced as last week. Mozza's off day didn't help, but clearly there's an imbalance with the type of players we have in the middle. We have invested in decent individuals, but without any thought of how they slot into the jigsaw. I honestly have no idea why when we were lacking pace last year, we have signed Gareth Barry as our box to box midfielder. Krychowiak is an obvious improvement on Yacob, but if you were going to spend big money wages for a loan, I have no idea why you'd buy someone to sit in front of the centre backs.
With our style, there remains a huge onus on Phillips, as he's the only player who can actually travel with the ball at pace. When he's playing poorly, which he has last 2 games, we don't look like scoring. It's no surprise that our one decent chance was a result of his run yesterday. Burke maybe will provide this option, but I think we should've invested in someone who can do this from the middle too.
Overall, the team selection 'appeared' a lot better than last week, without the square pegs in round holes, but it still didn't work. Brunt was given his chance in midfield and had a shocker. IMO, he's a reserve left back now. Phillips and Rodriguez were poor.
It's bizarre to say it, after his form at the end of last season, but I think we really need Chadli to come back into the fray. Maybe then we might see more from Barry and Krychowiak. as they will actually have someone in front of them who tries to find the pockets of space.
And I never thought I'd say this, as I spent most of last season berating his woeful passing, but we're actually missing Fletcher. At least he actually played the ball forward a bit quicker at times. Barry is a 'neater' footballer but is far slower at moving the ball forward. He's done okay, but just don't think he's right for us at all.
Positives - Hegazi looked a lot more solid and competed well in the air with Carroll. Evans looked back to his normal self and covered Hegazi for his one mistake. Gibbs looked steady and got forward well, was unfortunate not to score.
Negatives - Despite Morrison's introduction, the midfield still looked just as unbalanced as last week. Mozza's off day didn't help, but clearly there's an imbalance with the type of players we have in the middle. We have invested in decent individuals, but without any thought of how they slot into the jigsaw. I honestly have no idea why when we were lacking pace last year, we have signed Gareth Barry as our box to box midfielder. Krychowiak is an obvious improvement on Yacob, but if you were going to spend big money wages for a loan, I have no idea why you'd buy someone to sit in front of the centre backs.
With our style, there remains a huge onus on Phillips, as he's the only player who can actually travel with the ball at pace. When he's playing poorly, which he has last 2 games, we don't look like scoring. It's no surprise that our one decent chance was a result of his run yesterday. Burke maybe will provide this option, but I think we should've invested in someone who can do this from the middle too.
Overall, the team selection 'appeared' a lot better than last week, without the square pegs in round holes, but it still didn't work. Brunt was given his chance in midfield and had a shocker. IMO, he's a reserve left back now. Phillips and Rodriguez were poor.
It's bizarre to say it, after his form at the end of last season, but I think we really need Chadli to come back into the fray. Maybe then we might see more from Barry and Krychowiak. as they will actually have someone in front of them who tries to find the pockets of space.
And I never thought I'd say this, as I spent most of last season berating his woeful passing, but we're actually missing Fletcher. At least he actually played the ball forward a bit quicker at times. Barry is a 'neater' footballer but is far slower at moving the ball forward. He's done okay, but just don't think he's right for us at all.