So no Aubameyang. And a higher tempo. Who would you use to set the higher tempo for you? And it looks like you don't like like us recycling the ball, just to keep possession. How would you change that?
To a point but also take into consideration their form which is every bit as bad as ours. They were recently beaten 3-0 by Brighton.
I think I have said consistently throughout this season that I dont feel these players are fit enough. Therefore I feel they burn out too quickly. I have also said that general care of the ball has been poor, with far too many touches and negative movements because of poor passing. Often we have been our own worst enemies by sloppily giving away possession.
I don't think there is anything negative about today. I still think we are shot shy and kept slipping over in critical positions. I am also frustrated as this has been a graveyard for us for so many years and I genuinely felt with a bit more belief and intent we could have and should have won this game. I don't remember a single shot of power from them that Kepa had to save.
Personally I don't think lack of match fitness is a major problem. However, a lack of athleticism, strength and physicality particularly in midfield is. An example here. Jorginho is match fit. But Strong, physical, athletic?
No, exactly. I think you are actually endorsing my point. There are many contrasting opinions on this forum about Jorginho, but one thing surely everyone can agree upon is that Jorginho will always drop into the hole ahead of the defence to start moving us through the lines. Too often that didn't happen today. It would go Silva to Badiashile, back to Silva, back to Kepa and so on. On the few occasions when Jorginho did drop into the hole and pushed it out to Chalobah, it would invariably be passed back to Sila again.
We haven't had a clinical attack since Costa left us, I'm not sure how its all been Potters fault since then!? How do you 'coach out' an attacking threat? Maybe if we had a couple of half decent strikers our 'attacking threat' would improve, I'm as much a Premier League striker as Havertz is.
There are posters on here that won't consider it a 'good performance' until we start beating Man City by 4 or 5 clear goals every time we play them, probably supporters that have only 'known' us since the turn of the century and have therefore built up unreasonable 'expectations'. And until we thrash everybody we play they will continue harping on about 'sacking' Potter!
My criticism is not that we didn’t win, but rather that we didn’t score. Not only can’t you win without scoring but you are in constant danger of losing to one good opposition attack or some stupid mistake.
You are right, somehow our standard has dropped so low, not losing is counted as a positive, and anything above that is unreasonable expectation. Even during Lampard's first season we had higher expectation that now, and that was a season with no transfer business. We used to laugh at Arsenal for celebrating the 4th spot trophy, we will have a 10th spot street party based on our recent standard and expectation.
This I kind of agree with as well, which I concede isn't only down to Potter, it's this possession for possession sake football that we have developed over the years. The coaching out a goal threat was a light hearted comment but based upon the premise that we seem to focus our efforts so much in retaining possession and recycling the ball that nobody seems to have the stones to attack the goal and the finishing, which as you say has been woeful for some time, seems to have got worse. We just don't ever seem to shoot.
that did make me laugh, he had a 4 x 4 space on the pitch he barely ever left.