Polkadot wrote:
Indeed, under Bielsa there was a huge difference with Kalvin or without.
With Marsch we have taken 1 point from 4 games with KP playing a full 90 and 10 points from 6 matches with Kalvin not playing or playing less than 31 minutes. But this stat is probably mostly because we have played 3 top 6 teams in the period with KP on the pitch. Also before KP got injured before Christmas we lost 3 out of 3 against the top 6 with KP playing.
We definitively need big KP performances in the last two.
I believe that KP went out against Brentford just before our three game stretch against Chelsea, Man City and Arsenal. He definitely was the key to success.
KP is an absolute diamond but he is only slowly coming back to full match fitness and finding his match legs. He's a way to go until we see the very best of him and actually there aren't enough matches left in this season. It has not helped that he's come back into a struggling team.
Great to see him back on the pitch and I hope to see a bit more fine tuning on his radar
We won't see the best of Kalvin until he has someone to get on the end of his long passes. Sure he'll break up play win the ball but his biggest attacking asset was launching long diagonal balls to our wingers.
The fact we are now playing so narrow he no longer has that out ball.
In the last few games the biggest problem we've had is our inability to play the ball out of our half constructively. The guys at the back and the goalkeeper can play the ball effectively amongst themselves (mostly! ) but after that we get stuck in some sort of vacuum. There's no one in the middle of the park to get the ball and then do something creative or effective with it and playing so narrow there is no one at the front to play the ball up to. When we do get the ball we don't keep it for long and seem to give it away carelessly more often than not. Add that to the fact that suddenly the players seem not to be able to pass the ball accurately to each other is a recipe for a group of players that are very jittery and playing without any confidence. The opposition teams find it easy to pin us in our own half from where we ain't scoring or winning any matches It has been very hard to watch especially considering that just last year we were able to give anyone a game.
We have our issues with availability of players for the next matches but somehow Jesse Marsch and the players need to turn this around and I don't know how they are going to do this
Well, I wanted to give MArsch a chance, but dear God we look awful. I have no idea what he is trying to do and I don't think the players do either. They look lost, bereft of confidence and frustrated. I can't see us staying up and have no confidence Marsch will get us back.
I agree with that. After some of the wonderful play we saw under Bielsa, even in defeat, It's baffling that we can't seem to string two passes together at times.
Polkadot wrote:
Indeed, under Bielsa there was a huge difference with Kalvin or without.
With Marsch we have taken 1 point from 4 games with KP playing a full 90 and 10 points from 6 matches with Kalvin not playing or playing less than 31 minutes. But this stat is probably mostly because we have played 3 top 6 teams in the period with KP on the pitch. Also before KP got injured before Christmas we lost 3 out of 3 against the top 6 with KP playing.
We definitively need big KP performances in the last two.
I believe that KP went out against Brentford just before our three game stretch against Chelsea, Man City and Arsenal. He definitely was the key to success.
KP is an absolute diamond but he is only slowly coming back to full match fitness and finding his match legs. He's a way to go until we see the very best of him and actually there aren't enough matches left in this season. It has not helped that he's come back into a struggling team.
Great to see him back on the pitch and I hope to see a bit more fine tuning on his radar
We won't see the best of Kalvin until he has someone to get on the end of his long passes. Sure he'll break up play win the ball but his biggest attacking asset was launching long diagonal balls to our wingers.
The fact we are now playing so narrow he no longer has that out ball.
In the last few games the biggest problem we've had is our inability to play the ball out of our half constructively. The guys at the back and the goalkeeper can play the ball effectively amongst themselves (mostly! ) but after that we get stuck in some sort of vacuum. There's no one in the middle of the park to get the ball and then do something creative or effective with it and playing so narrow there is no one at the front to play the ball up to. When we do get the ball we don't keep it for long and seem to give it away carelessly more often than not. Add that to the fact that suddenly the players seem not to be able to pass the ball accurately to each other is a recipe for a group of players that are very jittery and playing without any confidence. The opposition teams find it easy to pin us in our own half from where we ain't scoring or winning any matches It has been very hard to watch especially considering that just last year we were able to give anyone a game.
We have our issues with availability of players for the next matches but somehow Jesse Marsch and the players need to turn this around and I don't know how they are going to do this
It's often the issue for a defender or midfielder picking a forward pass when the movement in front of him is not there.
Bringing our wingers inside to play narrow shuts down the space as the defence also go narrow.
When we have the ball at the back we need Raph & Jack hogging the touchline to receive the ball with defences spread and more space for everyone.
Keep your face always toward the sunshine - and shadows will fall behind you.
Forgive my tactical ignorance but what's the rationale behind playing it narrow? Whatever it is, it doesn't seem to be working for us and it leaves us horribly exposed on the flanks.
frogmill0 wrote:Forgive my tactical ignorance but what's the rationale behind playing it narrow? Whatever it is, it doesn't seem to be working for us and it leaves us horribly exposed on the flanks.
I couldn’t tell you! It seems daft to me. I’ve not heard of any other coach who uses this narrow set-up. I wish the lads would just do their own thing in these last two games, if this system isn’t working, like Harrison out wide and Kalvin getting a pinpoint cross over to him.
I don’t even know if I want to renew my membership (and my husband’s, who had to get one in order for both of us to get match tickets and sit together) for next season - the football will be so boring and mind-numbing if Marsch stays and plays this farcical narrow system, whichever league we are in.
frogmill0 wrote:Forgive my tactical ignorance but what's the rationale behind playing it narrow? Whatever it is, it doesn't seem to be working for us and it leaves us horribly exposed on the flanks.
I couldn’t tell you! It seems daft to me. I’ve not heard of any other coach who uses this narrow set-up. I wish the lads would just do their own thing in these last two games, if this system isn’t working, like Harrison out wide and Kalvin getting a pinpoint cross over to him.
I don’t even know if I want to renew my membership (and my husband’s, who had to get one in order for both of us to get match tickets and sit together) for next season - the football will be so boring and mind-numbing if Marsch stays and plays this farcical narrow system, whichever league we are in.
A few teams have played narrow especially when they don't have decent wingers.
It's often those that rely on a couple of big strikers then boom the ball to them. Only width comes from wing backs.
It doesn't work here because part of our strength is our wing play its where our best play comes from and one thing we don't have is big bustling strikers.
Coaching can be simple look at your squads strength and use it. Clearly Jesse hasn't worked that out.
frogmill0 wrote:Forgive my tactical ignorance but what's the rationale behind playing it narrow? Whatever it is, it doesn't seem to be working for us and it leaves us horribly exposed on the flanks.
I couldn’t tell you! It seems daft to me. I’ve not heard of any other coach who uses this narrow set-up. I wish the lads would just do their own thing in these last two games, if this system isn’t working, like Harrison out wide and Kalvin getting a pinpoint cross over to him.
I don’t even know if I want to renew my membership (and my husband’s, who had to get one in order for both of us to get match tickets and sit together) for next season - the football will be so boring and mind-numbing if Marsch stays and plays this farcical narrow system, whichever league we are in.
A few teams have played narrow especially when they don't have decent wingers.
It's often those that rely on a couple of big strikers then boom the ball to them. Only width comes from wing backs.
It doesn't work here because part of our strength is our wing play its where our best play comes from and one thing we don't have is big bustling strikers.
Coaching can be simple look at your squads strength and use it. Clearly Jesse hasn't worked that out.
Seems to me that in playing narrow we are neither an attacking team (as we were under MB) nor are we a counter-attacking team. Our play is so slow and ponderous that the opposition has plenty of time to pull ranks together when we have the ball and they pin us down in our own half. The wingers are redundant literally double marked and of course we have no centre forward. Also we have gone from man marking to no marking. Shocking also is to see Firpo, who has no positional sense whatsoever (and who does not know how to tackle or mark an opponent ) chasing the ball all over the pitch like a headless chicken, abandoning the left back area he is supposed to be patrolling and no one on the touch line it seems takes issue with him about it. I wonder if they do any work with him in training
frogmill0 wrote:Forgive my tactical ignorance but what's the rationale behind playing it narrow? Whatever it is, it doesn't seem to be working for us and it leaves us horribly exposed on the flanks.
) but after that we get stuck in some sort of vacuum. There's no one in the middle of the park to get the ball and then do something creative or effective with it and playing so narrow there is no one at the front to play the ball up to. When we do get the ball we don't keep it for long and seem to give it away carelessly more often than not. Add that to the fact that suddenly the players seem not to be able to pass the ball accurately to each other is a recipe for a group of players that are very jittery and playing without any confidence. The opposition teams find it easy to pin us in our own half from where we ain't scoring or winning any matches 
