33 Minutes Of Foulquier

Add to that limited to non-existent technical ability of our defenders who are more than happy to boot out of play or hoof long under no pressure and it's particularly obvious that this is where our major issue has been this season.

 

If the defence was better, the midfield could support the attack more. If the attack was better the midfield could sit deeper and protect the defence more. We might have the highest number of clean sheets, but it's at a cost of having very little attacking intent (qsf). Defence play with anxiety because they know one error and we lose. Apart from the last 2, which are the only 2 games won from a goal down.

Conclusion. Midfield are at fault.

 

Toothless attack. Heavily-pressured defence playing at their limits. Formerly much-vaunted mid-field gone AWOL (except Hughes, always except him). Poor physical fitness. Huge chicken-livered loss of confidence. Preparation for season badly awry. Long-term coaching planning in need of a re-think. Short-term coaching failures double-whammy. Increased sugar-daddy financial competition from other clubs. Ruthless and selfish big-club network within the Premier L. Appalling stupidity amongst refereeing policies and decisions - (just those three wrong VAR calls at Newcastle and at Spurs have robbed us of 4 points - end of problem) - but I mean across the league and throughout the season.
Etc.
It is amazing that we are still in with a slim chance of staying up.
For those of you who think just having a good defence is enough, steel yourselves to watch Brighton or Palace week-in, week-out.

 

Nobody had said we ‘just’ need a good defence?

 

Agree with everything apart from Brighton as a defensive example. They’ve got two more points and have conceded 2 less goals, nothing for us to aspire to.

Only palace and Norwich have scored less than us, it’s pretty obvious what the issue is.

 

Spot on. You attack and defend as a team. The fact our defenders are so poor on the ball (especially the centre backs) means that potential attacks are snuffed out before they begin. Think how many mindless and panicked hoofs you’ve seen from Dawson, Cathcart, Mariappa over the season. Add to that the way QSF set us up so negatively which boosts the defensive raw stats and diminishes the stats at the other end and I don’t think just pointing at goals conceded tells us the true picture. Anyway next season we can at least try something different with Cucho and Suarez. (Or sell them and go with Deeney and Gray of course

 

And I’m not even joking when I say that’s what I’m expecting. I wouldn’t even offer odds to anyone that Deeney starts as our striker next season, that’s how certain I am of it. I think Cucho will come in and be used sparingly, Joao Pedro will be the same - and only one of them will get on the bench. And Suarez will be sold.

 

That would be deeply disappointing. We really need to freshen it up. If we get relegated I think it would be fair to sell Suarez and it immediately plugs a financial gap and the player won't want to play in Championship anyway. If we stay up I really hope Cucho/Suarez/Pedro all get a chance.

 

It's not our attack per se, it's our strikers. Sarr and Deulofeu are sensational attackers.

I strongly believe that:

1. If Deulofeu hadn't got injured and
2. We had kept okaka (who is shyt by the way)

we'd have 50 points by now.

 

Ah, but I was only addressing those thinking it, not those saying it.

 

I sort of agree with the defence but what we don't have is defenders, especially centre backs, that can play out from the back. Deeney up front on his own doesn't help with hoofing but equally I'm not sure I trust Kabasele, Cathcart or Dawson on the ball.

 

That would be horrible, I can't see muff winning. But I can see them coming out of it with their goal difference in tact, which wouldn't be ideal. Everton fans are convinced they will lose to Villa, hopefully it's an overreaction from the Wolves game. I can't imagine Carlo letting them cruise through the final few games, he's a serial winner and will want to end the season as well as possible.

 

But...are they? Really? If they are then they certainly aren't consistently sensational, or even consistently good.

 

For a tinpot club like us they are sensational. We've never had players like them since john barnes. If we had one striker of their quality and inconsistency, we'd easily have 50 points.

Deulofeu is unplayable 1 game in 5. Deeney/Gray/Success are terrible 5 games in 5.

 

Whatever you think of Deeney it’s a bit unfair lumping him in with Success. Actually it’s even a bit unfair lumping Gray in with Success.

 

Unplayable...but has only two more goals than Gray despite playing a lot more football. More often than not he lacks end product.

 

he's a winger, Gray is a striker!

 

Deeney is one of our greatest ever legends. But the current version of Deeney is absolute plopsies.

 

Dawson is a defender, but Deulofeu has only scored two more than him as well despite being 'unplayable'.

 

So now Gray and Dawson are better goal scorers than Deulofeu?

I don't know why I bother getting into these debates with obese geriatrics who can't put on a pair of trousers without getting out of breath.

 

I've not said Gray and Dawson are better goal scorers than Deulofeu. But to say the bloke is 'unplayable' when his end product is as poor as it is seems a bit generous.

Maybe the likes of Deeney, Gray et al aren't as bad as people make out, and possibly the likes of Deulofeu, Pereyra aren't as good as made out. Between the lot of them they've not done enough this season - and that is down to all of them.

 

Whilst I agree it’s collectively an issue, in RC’s defence, he did say he was unplayable 1 in 5 games. I’d say it’s more 1 in 8-10 games personally - but it’s true. And it’s a criticism Deulofeu has been hit with his whole career - hence why he’s at Watford and not Barcelona. But can you honestly remember the last game where you could label any of our main strikers ‘unplayable’?

As for the second paragraph, while I think I know what you’re getting at, Deulofeu and Pereyra have played at a far higher level than Gray or Deeney and have also had international recognition from 2 good international sides. Gray and Deeney could never.

The criticism to put at Pereyra’s door isn’t ability - it’s motivation.
The criticism to put at Deulofeu’s door isn’t ability - it’s consistency.
The criticism to put at Sarr’s door isn’t ability - it’s inexperience...and even that’s ridiculously harsh.

The criticism to put at Deeney and Gray’s door is ability.

 

Yup. Deulofeu and Pereyra have much more ability but don't use it - that irks me more than limited players that are at least having a go.

 

If it goes down to goal difference (and that's a pretty ****** way to stay up) you could argue several of Bournemouth's results have gone in our favour to counter-balance that so we still have a chance on that score.

No one expected them to lose at home 6-1 on aggregate to Palace and Newcastle, or lose as heavily as they did at West Ham, not to mention against us.