my early season review-post whufc

[Giordano]

My thoughts on the issues from that match and season to date are:

 

1. Wanyama is a defensive upgrade. We are better defensively with him in our team. That overrides all other considerations for me in a team that has got Lambert Osvaldo Lallana & Jrod all capable of being fancy on the ball/ scoring. We have greater solidity with him. We are harder to beat with him. The harder we are to beat in this league the more likely it is that eventually, our better players performing the higher risk of failure attacking plays (ie dribbling crossing attacking passes and shots as against horizontal and backward passing) will conjure up some magic and score. So, for me he is performing his prime function very well.

His attacking distribution is not as good as his defensive ball winning and hustling skills at present but we must remember he was brought into the team under great fanfare and has been given prime responsibility in front of the back four- he cannot play fancy-dan football right from the off there... he is ensuring a steady foundation for himself. We know he can defend for us now. Bit by bit I hope his confidence will rise to attempt even more offensive plays than he has to date. I don't doubt his technical ability to do so unlike some. I saw enough direct forward passes from him yesterday, at pace, largely in the middle third to Jrod, Lambert Adam and Osvaldo, to know he can deliver those plus he had a half decent half volley palmed away too by jussi.. He has not got the technical purity on the ball of Cork its true- but I am delighted that if and when he and MS get suspended /injured ( as they will as they are our main enforcers) that we have such a great ready made replacement in the team as Jack. It would be madness to let Cork go to Fulham or elsewhere. His presence ensures Bigvic and MS have to play 100% EVERY game, no coasting because there is no decent replacement for them.

 

2. Lovren is a defensive upgrade too. A really good buy. His presence means Fonte and the other CB's and full backs must play better or lose their place. No guaranteed starting place for Jose this season and he is playing every game like it could be his last- and playing much better than this time last year incidentally, no coincidence its in a team with two better defensive players than then in it.

 

3. Calum Chambers and James Ward Prowse. These are getting regular time out on the pitch. That is fantastic for Saints, and for England. Clyne has the competition he needs now due to the emergence of Chambers and we have the back up if Luke gets injured of knowing Clyne can slot in at left back with Chambers on the right. Chambers imo is already a £5m player. By end of season that will double or treble if his progress continues.

 

4. Morgan is learning how to play with bigvic and its taking some time. But it will happen. Patience. He is an excellent and intelligent player. To me he is playing this year with more apprehension in his game. He has been put under the spotlight due to his fantastic under the radar year last year but this year everyone knows his opta stats and expect 20 interceptions a game etc...he will get into a rhythm and when he does we will be an even better team.

 

5. Boruc. Is our undisputed number 1. KD is an excellent back up, his experience is what you need when you come on for a penalty or the last 34 minutes of a game down to ten men. This is another defensive upgrade on last year.

 

6. What to make of the forwards and attacking midfielders? Well, myth busting number one: we are much stronger than last year. Lambert is now an England striker, Osvaldo plays for Italy. Adam is playing better than this time last year and jrod is about the same as early doors last year ( ie i think he can really improve- im one of those that believes in him and want him to get to Rio...). Myth busting number two. Lambert, Osvaldo, Adam and Jrod cannot play in the same team at the same time together. Yes they can. Can they play effectively together though? I think yes yes yes. They are all four really good players. In time. Patience. By stopping the other team scoring for longer we buy time to get the attacking formula right. The real fun question for me is can we play those four PLUS Ramirez? If it was a CD released at xmas the title would be : Now THAT'S what i call an attacking team formation 2013. The answer for me is NO by the way. But in the same way that Cork is an excellent player to have that ensures that the DM's stay 100% on form, the presence of Ramirez on the bench for me ensures those four must give 100 every game. If Ramirez gets on and plays well, way hey lets go mad and say he scores - well then its up to the subbed player to take his chance next time..and Ramirez IS a high quality player no doubt. Lambert MUST start if fit for me though. The others are more interchangeable than him imo as he has totemic value ( he gives belief to our team that we can still score whilst at same time the opponents are scared of him because they know he can too).

 

7. Subs bench:. Stronger. Better midfield back up, better full back cover, better goalie, reliable centre back cover. Lee is perhaps unlucky not to make the bench this time but i expect him to do so soon. He is a player that could be put on the pitch with the express intention of him going to score a goal.

 

8. The Manager: Is clever. Is skilful. We play the third highest possession football in our league. Proud of that. We are trying to do something new in the league yet are constantly modifying it as others "get wise". WE are one of the innovators in this league along with Swansea under Laudrup, Everton under Martinez, Liverpool under Rodgers. Most of the others are pragmatic football teams. He picks and plays our young British academy players. Unlike Chelsea, Man City, Spurs etc.

 

9. Lastly, PACE. Shaw is fast. So is Clyne so is Chambers so is Jrod. Osvaldo is ok, Ramirez is ok, Lambert is lightening quick but his intelligence makes him speed-of-light quick, which i think is marginally quicker as its got less particles in it but a physicist might be able to help on that point ;-). Adam is fast thinking but slow running ditto Cork, JWP is fast thinking with ok pace, SD is slow but intelligent and reads the game very well hence does not get made to look slow too often (lets forget about the other night with CR..), Big Vic is ok-ish, big unit hence looks slower than he is- but try stopping him when he gets a bit of a run going! MS is fast thinking that makes him looker faster than he is, which is about average really, We have less pace on the bench than once upon a time. It is not an massive issue though. Our game, the modern game, is much more about speed of thought and speed of passing than pure running speed. The fixation with speed of running is a throwback to the 80's, 90's and 2000's. Tell me, anyone, who the pacy player(s) is at Barcelona? Or the Spanish National team that wins Euro championships and World Cups/everything? If i recall correctly half their team make Adam look like Usain Bolt.

 

That's my start of season review for you...

Edited 16 September, 2013 by Giordano

[Fitzhugh Fella]

wow that took some putting together but feel you are glossing over some cracks the biggest of which is the poor first touch of both Rodriguez and Lallana - it cost us yesterday. Also I note Cork is not even on the bench these days, which is a bit of a concern.

[Olallana]

Great summary Giordano, people that think it´s just getting players in and make it work from the off might wanna take a look on a lot of other teams in the league, can find those even in the big five.

 

Patience is a must.

[Barry Sanchez]

How many goals have we scored again?

[Olallana]

How many goals have we scored again?

 

Last year we scored five from first four games. This year it´s two.

 

How many points did those 5 goals give us last year?

[Shufty Zubrik]

Excellent OP that only a lunatic would contest. Form a queue here then .........

[badgerx16]

How many goals have we scored again?

 

We have more points from the first 4 games than from the corresponding fixtures last time round, so that is improvement, yes ?

[DuncanRG]

When we hit our stride we'll be pretty fearsome. We've just got to ensure it happens relatively soon and lasts. I think most of it's in place but there's no time for complacency.

[Sour Mash]

My thoughts on the issues from that match and season to date are:

 

1. Wanyama is a defensive upgrade. We are better defensively with him in our team. That overrides all other considerations for me in a team that has got Lambert Osvaldo Lallana & Jrod all capable of being fancy on the ball/ scoring. We have greater solidity with him. We are harder to beat with him. The harder we are to beat in this league the more likely it is that eventually, our better players performing the higher risk of failure attacking plays (ie dribbling crossing attacking passes and shots as against horizontal and backward passing) will conjure up some magic and score. So, for me he is performing his prime function very well.

His attacking distribution is not as good as his defensive ball winning and hustling skills at present but we must remember he was brought into the team under great fanfare and has been given prime responsibility in front of the back four- he cannot play fancy-dan football right from the off there... he is ensuring a steady foundation for himself. We know he can defend for us now. Bit by bit I hope his confidence will rise to attempt even more offensive plays than he has to date. I don't doubt his technical ability to do so unlike some. I saw enough direct forward passes from him yesterday, at pace, largely in the middle third to Jrod, Lambert Adam and Osvaldo, to know he can deliver those plus he had a half decent half volley palmed away too by jussi.. He has not got the technical purity on the ball of Cork its true- but I am delighted that if and when he and MS get suspended /injured ( as they will as they are our main enforcers) that we have such a great ready made replacement in the team as Jack. It would be madness to let Cork go to Fulham or elsewhere. His presence ensures Bigvic and MS have to play 100% EVERY game, no coasting because there is no decent replacement for them.

 

2. Lovren is a defensive upgrade too. A really good buy. His presence means Fonte and the other CB's and full backs must play better or lose their place. No guaranteed starting place for Jose this season and he is playing every game like it could be his last- and playing much better than this time last year incidentally, no coincidence its in a team with two better defensive players than then in it.

 

3. Calum Chambers and James Ward Prowse. These are getting regular time out on the pitch. That is fantastic for Saints, and for England. Clyne has the competition he needs now due to the emergence of Chambers and we have the back up if Luke gets injured of knowing Clyne can slot in at left back with Chambers on the right. Chambers imo is already a £5m player. By end of season that will double or treble if his progress continues.

 

4. Morgan is learning how to play with bigvic and its taking some time. But it will happen. Patience. He is an excellent and intelligent player. To me he is playing this year with more apprehension in his game. He has been put under the spotlight due to his fantastic under the radar year last year but this year everyone knows his opta stats and expect 20 interceptions a game etc...he will get into a rhythm and when he does we will be an even better team.

 

5. Boruc. Is our undisputed number 1. KD is an excellent back up, his experience is what you need when you come on for a penalty or the last 34 minutes of a game down to ten men. This is another defensive upgrade on last year.

 

6. What to make of the forwards and attacking midfielders? Well, myth busting number one: we are much stronger than last year. Lambert is now an England striker, Osvaldo plays for Italy. Adam is playing better than this time last year and jrod is about the same as early doors last year ( ie i think he can really improve- im one of those that believes in him and want him to get to Rio...). Myth busting number two. Lambert, Osvaldo, Adam and Jrod cannot play in the same team at the same time together. Yes they can. Can they play effectively xmas the title would be : Now THAT'S what i together though? I think yes yes yes. They are all four really good players. In time. Patience. By stopping the other team scoring for longer we buy time to get the attacking formula right. The real fun question for me is can we play those four PLUS Ramirez? If it was a CD released at call an attacking team formation 2013. The answer for me is NO by the way. But in the same way that Cork is an excellent player to have that ensures that the DM's stay 100% on form, the presence of Ramirez on the bench for me ensures those four must give 100 every game. If Ramirez gets on and plays well, way hey lets go mad and say he scores - well then its up to the subbed player to take his chance next time..and Ramirez IS a high quality player no doubt. Lambert MUST start if fit for me though. The others are more interchangeable than him imo as he has totemic value ( he gives belief to our team that we can still score whilst at same time the opponents are scared of him because they know he can too).

 

7. Subs bench:. Stronger. Better midfield back up, better full back cover, better goalie, reliable centre back cover. Lee is perhaps unlucky not to make the bench this time but i expect him to do so soon. He is a player that could be put on the pitch with the express intention of him going to score a goal.

 

8. The Manager: Is clever. Is skilful. We play the third highest possession football in our league. Proud of that. We are trying to do something new in the league yet are constantly modifying it as others "get wise". WE are one of the innovators in this league along with Swansea under Laudrup, Everton under Martinez, Liverpool under Rodgers. Most of the others are pragmatic football teams. He picks and plays our young British academy players. Unlike Chelsea, Man City, Spurs etc.

 

9. Lastly, PACE. Shaw is fast. So is Clyne so is Chambers so is Jrod. Osvaldo is ok, Ramirez is ok, Lambert is lightening quick but his intelligence makes him speed-of-light quick, which i think is marginally quicker as its got less particles in it but a physicist might be able to help on that point ;-). Adam is fast thinking but slow running ditto Cork, JWP is fast thinking with ok pace, SD is slow but intelligent and reads the game very well hence does not get made to look slow too often (lets forget about the other night with CR..), Big Vic is ok-ish, big unit hence looks slower than he is- but try stopping him when he gets a bit of a run going! MS is fast thinking that makes him looker faster than he is, which is about average really, We have less pace on the bench than once upon a time. It is not an massive issue though. Our game, the modern game, is much more about speed of thought and speed of passing than pure running speed. The fixation with speed of running is a throwback to the 80's, 90's and 2000's. Tell me, anyone, who the pacy player(s) is at Barcelona? Or the Spanish National team that wins Euro championships and World Cups/everything? If i recall correctly half their team make Adam look like Usain Bolt.

 

That's my start of season review for you...

 

1 - Not sure how much Wanyama is a defensive upgrade on Cork.

 

2 - Agree, Lovren has been class.

 

3 - They both have plenty of promise and potential, but Chambers is still a very long way off being a £15m player.

 

4 - Hope you're right on that one, Schneiderlin was a key player for us last season, if he's not at his best, we're a weaker team.

 

5 - Not really a change from last season, Boruc was our first choice for a large chunk of it. His kicking at times puts our defence under unnecessary pressure.

 

6 - I don't think anyone knows yet what our best attacking line up is or how to get the most out of the undoubted talent we have in those positions, don't think MP has worked it out yet either.

 

7 - Agreed, very strong bench, with some very good players missing out, not sure how well the subs have been used though, JWP generally isn't a game changer for me when chasing a winner.

 

8 - Full marks to MP for showing faith in our academy products, if anything too much at times. Don't think the football we've played is in anyway innovative or particularly different to a lot of other clubs in the league, no shame in that though.

 

9 - Our problem is pace, but not in individuals, but the speed we move the ball at times, too slow and often all played in front of the opposition.

[Lallana's Left Peg]

An interesting view - thought I'd reply with my own on a few points:

 

My thoughts on the issues from that match and season to date are:

 

1. Wanyama is a defensive upgrade. We are better defensively with him in our team. That overrides all other considerations for me in a team that has got Lambert Osvaldo Lallana & Jrod all capable of being fancy on the ball/ scoring. We have greater solidity with him. We are harder to beat with him. The harder we are to beat in this league the more likely it is that eventually, our better players performing the higher risk of failure attacking plays (ie dribbling crossing attacking passes and shots as against horizontal and backward passing) will conjure up some magic and score. So, for me he is performing his prime function very well.

His attacking distribution is not as good as his defensive ball winning and hustling skills at present but we must remember he was brought into the team under great fanfare and has been given prime responsibility in front of the back four- he cannot play fancy-dan football right from the off there... he is ensuring a steady foundation for himself. We know he can defend for us now. Bit by bit I hope his confidence will rise to attempt even more offensive plays than he has to date. I don't doubt his technical ability to do so unlike some. I saw enough direct forward passes from him yesterday, at pace, largely in the middle third to Jrod, Lambert Adam and Osvaldo, to know he can deliver those plus he had a half decent half volley palmed away too by jussi.. He has not got the technical purity on the ball of Cork its true- but I am delighted that if and when he and MS get suspended /injured ( as they will as they are our main enforcers) that we have such a great ready made replacement in the team as Jack. It would be madness to let Cork go to Fulham or elsewhere. His presence ensures Bigvic and MS have to play 100% EVERY game, no coasting because there is no decent replacement for them.

 

I think there are other aspects to our team that allows us to defend better beyond the presence of Wanyama. At this stage I couldn't attribute him making a significant contribution to our defending. No doubt he adds a presence and he has good instincts, but beyond the obvious physical things I don't see him as an irreplaceable name in the team.

 

The one thing we are doing, rather bravely, is releasing Morgan to go forward leaving just Wanyama on his own at times. I don't think we would do that with Cork, at least to my eye we never did. But we haven't seen any gain from Morgan bombing forward yet, although with a bit of luck and more understanding I can see how it may work.

 

2. Lovren is a defensive upgrade too. A really good buy. His presence means Fonte and the other CB's and full backs must play better or lose their place. No guaranteed starting place for Jose this season and he is playing every game like it could be his last- and playing much better than this time last year incidentally, no coincidence its in a team with two better defensive players than then in it.

 

Lovren has been brilliant. He makes other players better. He is decisive and makes the right decision. He is also a leader. He should be Captain if he keeps this up.

 

 

4. Morgan is learning how to play with bigvic and its taking some time. But it will happen. Patience. He is an excellent and intelligent player. To me he is playing this year with more apprehension in his game. He has been put under the spotlight due to his fantastic under the radar year last year but this year everyone knows his opta stats and expect 20 interceptions a game etc...he will get into a rhythm and when he does we will be an even better team.

 

Morgan looks out of sorts to me. He is pushing further up the pitch but he looks unsettled. He is not winning challenges he did last year either and that is independent of anything else - that is an individual battle. He breaks forward brilliantly but he looks confused when he has the ball on the edge of the box. I hope it comes but he is several steps away from last season.

 

6. What to make of the forwards and attacking midfielders? Well, myth busting number one: we are much stronger than last year. Lambert is now an England striker, Osvaldo plays for Italy. Adam is playing better than this time last year and jrod is about the same as early doors last year ( ie i think he can really improve- im one of those that believes in him and want him to get to Rio...). Myth busting number two. Lambert, Osvaldo, Adam and Jrod cannot play in the same team at the same time together. Yes they can. Can they play effectively together though? I think yes yes yes. They are all four really good players. In time. Patience. By stopping the other team scoring for longer we buy time to get the attacking formula right. The real fun question for me is can we play those four PLUS Ramirez? If it was a CD released at xmas the title would be : Now THAT'S what i call an attacking team formation 2013. The answer for me is NO by the way. But in the same way that Cork is an excellent player to have that ensures that the DM's stay 100% on form, the presence of Ramirez on the bench for me ensures those four must give 100 every game. If Ramirez gets on and plays well, way hey lets go mad and say he scores - well then its up to the subbed player to take his chance next time..and Ramirez IS a high quality player no doubt. Lambert MUST start if fit for me though. The others are more interchangeable than him imo as he has totemic value ( he gives belief to our team that we can still score whilst at same time the opponents are scared of him because they know he can too).

 

I found the above a bit contradictory, but in a way it reflects the confusion that exists in the final third on the pitch. No-one can be sure those front four can play with each other. I don't see enough understanding from them to give me any encouragement. It looks like it has a bit of everything but that doesn't mean anything to me unless there is a degree of common understanding of what they are doing or in what they have been asked to do. It all seems rushed, a bit panicked, and in cohesive. A long long way to go for me. I didn't particularly enjoy watching it either, it just seemed a mess to me.

 

 

 

8. The Manager: Is clever. Is skilful. We play the third highest possession football in our league. Proud of that. We are trying to do something new in the league yet are constantly modifying it as others "get wise". WE are one of the innovators in this league along with Swansea under Laudrup, Everton under Martinez, Liverpool under Rodgers. Most of the others are pragmatic football teams. He picks and plays our young British academy players. Unlike Chelsea, Man City, Spurs etc.

 

Early season review should only consider the first part of the season in my opinion, and 2 goals in four games against the teams we've played is poor. Thank goodness for our defensive record.

 

I've seen a departure from the sort of football Pochettino established at Espanyol and it isn't easy on the eye. I like our patience at the back but there is a massive fail in how we work the ball through the midfield to the forwards. I don't know if it is the system, the players, the mentality, or whatever. But I expect Pochettino to sort it soon. From my perspective when a player receives the ball with their defender behind them we lack anyone with the control or power to shift it a yard and turn a corner, making the defender think twice about getting so tight. Right now they get tight because they know no-one in our team can take a man on without his second touch going 10 yards in front of him.

 

9. Lastly, PACE. Shaw is fast. So is Clyne so is Chambers so is Jrod. Osvaldo is ok, Ramirez is ok, Lambert is lightening quick but his intelligence makes him speed-of-light quick, which i think is marginally quicker as its got less particles in it but a physicist might be able to help on that point ;-). Adam is fast thinking but slow running ditto Cork, JWP is fast thinking with ok pace, SD is slow but intelligent and reads the game very well hence does not get made to look slow too often (lets forget about the other night with CR..), Big Vic is ok-ish, big unit hence looks slower than he is- but try stopping him when he gets a bit of a run going! MS is fast thinking that makes him looker faster than he is, which is about average really, We have less pace on the bench than once upon a time. It is not an massive issue though. Our game, the modern game, is much more about speed of thought and speed of passing than pure running speed. The fixation with speed of running is a throwback to the 80's, 90's and 2000's. Tell me, anyone, who the pacy player(s) is at Barcelona? Or the Spanish National team that wins Euro championships and World Cups/everything? If i recall correctly half their team make Adam look like Usain Bolt.

 

Speed and pace are over-rated unless you use them to your advantage. For a team that has intelligent players we move the ball far too slowly. The tempo is awful at times. I don't know if it is the man with the ball or the lack of movement, but neither are an appropriate excuse for me. Second half on Sunday was much better. But why didn't we move with tempo in the first half? The players look confused and unsure to me.

 

From my perspective something isn't right in the team and I think that unfamiliarity is anything more than just one of the contributing factors, and not the most significant factor on its own. You tell tell from the verve and body language of the players.

[once_bitterne]

wow that took some putting together but feel you are glossing over some cracks the biggest of which is the poor first touch of both Rodriguez and Lallana - it cost us yesterday. Also I note Cork is not even on the bench these days, which is a bit of a concern.

 

 

Why is it a concern?

[Toomer]

Bottom line is we should be four points better of than we are we should have won both of our home games against ordinary sides.

[Giordano]

wow that took some putting together but feel you are glossing over some cracks the biggest of which is the poor first touch of both Rodriguez and Lallana - it cost us yesterday. Also I note Cork is not even on the bench these days, which is a bit of a concern.

 

JRod and Adams first touches were below par yesterday - agreed, yet Ads is playing better this year than last year early doors. Jrod - personally I'm disappointed he has not burst out the blocks after his preseason goalscoring but I think we WILL find a way to play to his strengths I'm sure and he will get back to that level, he is back to last six matches of last season kind of performance. I want to see the unstoppable run with the ball take people on with strength and pace and skill Jrod of versus Liverpool etc...

 

One other thing i reckon is worth pointing out - No other EPL team has burst out of the blocks smashing everyone and playing wonder footy. So i see no reason to despair. Im not complacent either but the facts are this: Liverpool, Spurs and Arsenal are playing good.... and two of those have already got beat once out of 4 already....Chelsea and Man City have got beat, Everton looked clueless until they beat Chelsea...West ham frighten nobody already lost at home to Stoke, Man Utd don't look awesome, Swansea got mashed at home as did Newcastle, Fulham cant beat West Brom at home, Villa can't keep clean sheets, Palace Hull Cardiff im not overly concerned ....everyone can beat everyone yet again in this league. So we only got 5 points from 4 games, all four of which are "bogey" teams - west brom, sunderland, west ham and norwich...? Not worried. I think we will play better against the so called "better" teams, just a hunch.

 

As for lack of goalscoring. Yup we have not scored as many as this time last year. But we are tighter defensively. That sounds a trite and rather obvious a response - but many seem to have overlooked it. Should we have scored v west ham you think? I think yes. Whats our goals per shot ratio this year compared to the average for last year? That's an easy way to see if we are ahead or behind the schedule. And if we are behind, ( i think not- we scored 5 v barnsley...) ah well its only Liverpool away next week and we will get at least two up there id say...

[Toon Saint]

Excellent post as ever from Giordano, and one that has helped to blast away some of yesterday's gloom (my own included).

 

A couple of side-notes:

 

While I do rate Big Vic, and I agree he is defensively superior to Cork, I would question whether he should be playing home games against average opposition. I think Cork helps us shift the ball a lot quicker and carries it further up the pitch. West Ham offered so little going forward yesterday that I would hardly say he was needed in there to protect the back 4. Great to have competition for places as you say, but Cork wasn't even in the matchday squad yesterday which hardly amounts to him breathing down Wanyama and Morgan's respective necks.

 

I still remain concerned with the balance of the team. It's easy to pin this on new signings arriving and unsettling the balance, but in truth it has been an issue since we beat Reading away last year. Lallana and Rodriguez just don't stitch between midfield and attack well enough for me or offer enough natural width, and I think that whenever they have played in tandem we have struggled. I'd like to see stats relating to our points total when those two have played together - it seems that our struggles from last year began to arise when Lallana was re-introduced into the starting line-up at the expense of Puncheon. While we have the personnel to reconcile this I'm worried that it is a more long-standing issue than just early season teething problems.

[Giordano]

While I do rate Big Vic, and I agree he is defensively superior to Cork, I would question whether he should be playing home games against average opposition. I think Cork helps us shift the ball a lot quicker and carries it further up the pitch. West Ham offered so little going forward yesterday that I would hardly say he was needed in there to protect the back 4. Great to have competition for places as you say, but Cork wasn't even in the matchday squad yesterday which hardly amounts to him breathing down Wanyama and Morgan's respective necks.

 

I have considered this too and i think you are right, but to quote a Dire Straits early track (Romeo and Juliet) its just that the time is wrong. I think Bicvic needs a run in the side to find his real mojo. He was bought because he has got upward mobility in part to improve. He was also bought to be a main DM man for us so he is starting whoever the opposition is, it just happened to be a load of similar-ish solid teams. Liverpool away he is necessary, and indeed most away matches, but as you say, perhaps at home not so much - but then again, how many did Cork score last year and how many assists? I think Bigvic has already had more shots than Jack normally would for example...its just his speed of passing is not up with Corks and this causes knock on effects throughout the team and the coordination of our attacking play which the rest of the team are having to re-synchronise themselves to.

 

I hope there is nothing irresolvable about Corks absence but it did look like JWP took his place on bench. I can see why KD is there, I can see why Chambers was there, I can see why Ramirez was there, and to drop JWP entirely seems unfair as he has probably the best set piece delivery in our team plus a good engine as they say...and that leaves Jos - and i think it was a reasonable call by MP to put Jos on bench given the nature of opposition and the type of goals he would expect them to try to score - so unlucky Maya but that's football, play better in training mate.

 

No Cork, No Yoshida - both compulsory starters mid last season when we started doing better after having to play all the best teams first ten games ....

[Fitzhugh Fella]

Why is it a concern?

 

Suggests he is further down MP's estimation books than ours? Underlying problem, carrying an injury? - I don't know, I would have just expected him to be nearer the starting 11 than he currently is. The fans rate him and see him as potentially being an alternative to Wanyama but for some reason he has been sidelined.