Formation

Southampton and Everton were awful but also Man City which I know had possibly more contributing factors like more injuries and short recovery time but still even against class opposition if we had been set up more pragmatically then surely we would have conceded a lot less than 7.

Those sort of damaging defeats could be the difference between staying up or not. Hopefully it won't come down to our goal difference which I think is a pretty accurate reflection of how good a side you are.

We have a bottom 3 goal difference so clearly so far this season our defensive side of things has been very poor and certainly for Sunday and the rest of the season this area of our performance needs working on the most.

comment by Macca: Emily Bishop's love child (U8194)
posted 24 minutes ago
Southampton and Everton were awful but also Man City which I know had possibly more contributing factors like more injuries and short recovery time but still even against class opposition if we had been set up more pragmatically then surely we would have conceded a lot less than 7.

Those sort of damaging defeats could be the difference between staying up or not. Hopefully it won't come down to our goal difference which I think is a pretty accurate reflection of how good a side you are.

We have a bottom 3 goal difference so clearly so far this season our defensive side of things has been very poor and certainly for Sunday and the rest of the season this area of our performance needs working on the most.

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Goal difference could be a factor at season end so the big losses we have suffered could cost us big time. We are conceding far too many and we are needing to score 3 goals just to draw lately.

I hope Bielsa has a plan to firm up the defence, maybe by having a bit of midfield protection in front of them

With regards to goal difference the Everton game was the first time we have lost by more than 1 goal with 3 at the back this season. The 2 previous defeats were against Spurs (2-1) & Southampton (1-0).

I always put our problems down to playing out from the back against a high press. The Spurs game, we were running them ragged until Conte got them in at HT and started the high press. Arteta did the same in the Cup tie when we were in the Championship. Lampard knows it too! James, Raphinha and Harrison are among the quickest in the league…give them something to chase!

I personally think it is the midfield in front of the defense which dictates how well the team does whether it's a back 3 or 4.

Presumably Foreshaw starts but Koch who has been used in the midfield worries me there so I would swap him with Struiyk and play Koch alongside Lorente in a back 4.

Dallas is looking like he is out so I think we need a similar player to him which I don't really like Rodrigo filling that role and would prefer Klich Shackleton or even Bate there.

When Klich has been used as a more attack minded midfielder v Burnley and West Ham he has played well but more defensively he has been awful so you would hope Bielsa if he plays Klich he plays him more attack minded with Foreshaw and Struiyk the other two solid defensive holding midfielders.

However I think Bielsa will persist with Rodrigo but I hope if he does Foreshaw and Struiyk or even Koch and Foreshaw are with him as we need at least 2 tough solid midfield tacklers to accommodate Rodrigo's more lightweight presence.

KP was a massive loss. His injury was key.
We've conceded 46 goals so far this season.
Yes, we've conceded a fair few with him.

But, he's the glue player. Sadly, we have no
one who can cover his loss adequately.

An interesting question and one I have often thought about. Whilst the stats may paint a certain win percentage with this formation I don't think it passes the eye test from a performance level and we don't look as fluent.

Allied to a vacuum in midfield and a fatigued Klich (who ran himself into the ground vs Villa with cramp etc) playing out of position and a talented but ineffective Rodrigo in defensive aspects of a midfield role the balance of the side in the middle just instinctive felt wrong from the first whistle.To make matters worse with Forshaw ideally suited to step into that position Klich was playing and give us more composure and a chance of keeping possession it all added up to a perfect mess of a tactical storm.

As an opposition manager seeing that, if you could you'd be tempted to play two up top because of the default 3 at the back response almost like a chess player who always makes a certain move every time and also drag centre backs deliberately out of position on purpose to expose the man marking.

It will be interesting to see if there is any adaption of this or whether we press on and hope against hope the players execute the plan and tactics better.

comment by RobLUFC Have you ever seen a better goal or one better timed? (U5692)
posted 26 minutes ago
An interesting question and one I have often thought about. Whilst the stats may paint a certain win percentage with this formation I don't think it passes the eye test from a performance level and we don't look as fluent.

Allied to a vacuum in midfield and a fatigued Klich (who ran himself into the ground vs Villa with cramp etc) playing out of position and a talented but ineffective Rodrigo in defensive aspects of a midfield role the balance of the side in the middle just instinctive felt wrong from the first whistle.To make matters worse with Forshaw ideally suited to step into that position Klich was playing and give us more composure and a chance of keeping possession it all added up to a perfect mess of a tactical storm.

As an opposition manager seeing that, if you could you'd be tempted to play two up top because of the default 3 at the back response almost like a chess player who always makes a certain move every time and also drag centre backs deliberately out of position on purpose to expose the man marking.

It will be interesting to see if there is any adaption of this or whether we press on and hope against hope the players execute the plan and tactics better.




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I think it's clear that playing with Klich in the holding role wiht 3 at the back doesn't work. I think that's clear regardless of formation though.

Against Everton the plan before kick off was never to play Klich there as we expected to be playing 4-1-4-1 as a repeat of the game against Villa. Bielsa should have made a chnage in the first 10 minutes. Maybe Dallas Injury is what prevented him from doing so. In hindsight we would have been better with Ayling at RCB and Koch in the holding role with Harrison as LWB.

Some sides will definitely look to exploit our weakness, which is to force us to play a formation the selection is not suited to. Especially is that can be 3 at the back. However there is only a few sides that won't hinder themselves more by playing a formation they are not used to. And if Bielsa is prepared to make a sub early, like he has in the past, he shoud be able to negate the problem. This is exactly the reason Bielsa wants to have a squad full of players capable of playing multiple positions.

The problem as I see it is, is that the system has glaring weaknesses in it. It always has. But as shown, if we can dominate the ball and control the game then the weaknesses are hidden. The strengths of the system and coaching is that it's so good you can dominate sides without the need to have better players. The problem is when the opposition has much better players, and especially when the opposition can press well enough to exploit the limitations of some of ours on the ball.

The decision with Bielsa is will he stick around long enough for us to build a squad good enough to do this in the prem. Will he let the club sign the players required to do this or will he remain too loyal. Will the squad fall apart before we get there? And of course, will we avoid relegation during the transition?

Morning Faith. Have you done any football coaching? Not being funny asking that as a genuine question.

Despite my constructive criticism of Bielsa I love the guy hope we survive and hope he sticks around and adapts a few things and we kick on. I think if the 49s take full control we could see a change regardless.

comment by RobLUFC Have you ever seen a better goal or one better timed? (U5692)
posted 37 minutes ago
Morning Faith. Have you done any football coaching? Not being funny asking that as a genuine question.

Despite my constructive criticism of Bielsa I love the guy hope we survive and hope he sticks around and adapts a few things and we kick on. I think if the 49s take full control we could see a change regardless.
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I wish!!!

I too love Bielsa. I don't know what I would do if I ever bumped into him. And the thought of him leaving breaks my heart.

He does need to adapt though doesn't he.

I also do not understand why he does so much analysis of opposition teams and then starts the same 11 regardless. He must know when James up front will likely work and likely not dependent on opposition?