Midfield getting overran

comment by 🎤Mike drop🎤 (U15513)
posted 23 minutes ago
Truth for me is... Bielsaball is a system like all others and that means. The system once put into an environment of greater resistance, it requires better components.

We need better players all round. As it stands, we look like huff and puff against these bigger, faster, more agile and intelligent players.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
It had to happen one day, Mike’s right

The system we play is the system we play and that's not going to change. Mike drop is spot on when he says we don't have the quality to implement it against better players. We're a dozen games in and you can see that increasingly teams have watched and worked out how to nullify our attack and beat our defence. So we do need better players but that's not going to happen overnight, which means the players we have got need to step up, as they did in early season. There were too many poor individual performances tonight and I was shocked at the casual way we gave the ball away time after time in the second half. Personally, I felt Philips and Meslier were our two best performers but even Philips indirectly cost us a goal. Marcelo said after the match 'We will work to solve set piece problems' but it's been a problem we haven't been able to solve for the last two seasons in the Championship, so I don't hold out much hope we can improve it now. So overall my point is: Every man needs to raise his performance if we're to avoid a relegation battle. Contentious, yes, but that's what I believe.

In a nutshell we're not good enough, I knew this last year. Yeah we got promoted (which was great ) but then we needed to add a lot of quality into the team and we didn't and the inevitable is we're going to struggle and a real threat of relegation

Last game of the season v West Brom could be very decisive

We don't have enough midfielders. Klich looks tired and we can't rest him. Should have replaced Forshaw. Need a bit of steel in there also, not much physicality or height.

Lowfields - ‘not good enough’ for what?

Genuine question and would be interesting to know what your expectations for this season were/are.

I certainly believe we're good enough to survive in the Prem this season.

I don't think we've had as much control over games since August 2019 when Forshaw was in the team before he got injured. We've dominated possession sure, but that midfield of Phillips, Klich, Forshaw had so much control, there was less space in the middle and the opposition were restricted to almost nothing.

Bielsa likes to play with two '8s' as his preferred system but we only really have one at the moment in Klich and then shoehorn someone else in like Pablo or Rodrigo (or Roberts) and it leaves us so much more open as they are all more attacking players than Forshaw.

That signing that fell through for Cuissance from Bayern makes more and more sense when you watch us.

I've said it many times on here before but last night was a classic case - two midfielders operating/hunting in pairs - Rice and Soucek. Fundamental basics just like a Bremner/ Giles or Batty /Speed ( in the latter case passing the ball to the more creative players).

I hear tactics to the nth degree but football at its best is simple - quality players and simple formations such as plugging a gaping motorway in our midfield.

Sorry but last nights second half performance was insipid with the exception of Kalvin and Illan.

Worryingly most of all was the lack of anything other than Rodrigo's header in their final third.

I am concerned that the lack of squad depth is starting to tell.

Finally no excuses despite possession stats we were well beaten last night.

comment by Best Fans - ¡Leeds Carajo! (U2196)
posted 8 minutes ago
I don't think we've had as much control over games since August 2019 when Forshaw was in the team before he got injured. We've dominated possession sure, but that midfield of Phillips, Klich, Forshaw had so much control, there was less space in the middle and the opposition were restricted to almost nothing.

Bielsa likes to play with two '8s' as his preferred system but we only really have one at the moment in Klich and then shoehorn someone else in like Pablo or Rodrigo (or Roberts) and it leaves us so much more open as they are all more attacking players than Forshaw.

That signing that fell through for Cuissance from Bayern makes more and more sense when you watch us.
----------------------------------------------------------------------

This is spot on. I don’t think Rodrigo was signed to play where he has been. I think Cuisance was that player but the failed medical has meant that we have had to rethink plans. It must still be the priority to sign an 8 now. If the right player isn’t available in January I would still wait until the summer though. I think we will be fine without one.

"Midfield getting overran"

You're not kidding, where has it gone?!

I think we have to be orthodox to get better results....
we need an orthodox system like the well tested 442.
Man to man marking and interchangeable positions can be used occasionally but not general policy.
Players are too often out of position, opponents have worked out how to counter.
We need to move Phillips further up to midfield role, the defence should be more disciplined, dare I say more static....and yes we need more quality players some are looking to be near a sell by date, financial considerations mean we can't go for the real top players but they're still quality to be had, to improve the team.