Save Our Season

[Best Believe It]

I'd be interested to see if we put a new formation in place. There's no question that the Premier League is going through some changes in terms of playing style and things are coming back in vogue that maybe weren't a few years back. Would be nice to feel like we're getting ahead of that in some way.

 

[Squiggles]

I'd be interested to see if we put a new formation in place. There's no question that the Premier League is going through some changes in terms of playing style and things are coming back in vogue that maybe weren't a few years back. Would be nice to feel like we're getting ahead of that in some way.

Here's hoping. Slots’ plan to stop 6ft 7 (the tallest CB in the league), Dan Burn, in both games was to put Mac Allister on him. That choice does not fill me with confidence. It suggests he is not the manager who will get this group to cope with the physical and direct approach we are seeing again in the league. It's the thought process of an idiot.

 

[JohnnyRocket]

If we suddenly shift to a back three it will just showcase the sense of cluelessness in the club at the moment - and will stink of Rodgers final year where he experimented with anything that might work.

Also a back three is a fundamental shift in how a team plays and sets out. Amorim is still struggling to to get it entrenched at United 18 months on. And also, aside from VVD and Konate, our only other CB is Gomez, who is guaranteed to break if asked to play more than once fortnight.

Slot and co would be better served forgetting about a back three and actually implementing some basics. Like getting someone to own the defensive midfield position. Like playing players who will work hard and are in form. Like protecting the full backs more. Like getting the pressing system right.

 

[Best Believe It]

Here's hoping. Slots’ plan to stop 6ft 7 (the tallest CB in the league), Dan Burn, in both games was to put Mac Allister on him. That choice does not fill me with confidence. It suggests he is not the manager who will get this group to cope with the physical and direct approach we are seeing again in the league. It's the thought process of an idiot.

Yeah that was weird

 

[Best Believe It]

If we suddenly shift to a back three it will just showcase the sense of cluelessness in the club at the moment - and will stink of Rodgers final year where he experimented with anything that might work.

Also a back three is a fundamental shift in how a team plays and sets out. Amorim is still struggling to to get it entrenched at United 18 months on. And also, aside from VVD and Konate, our only other CB is Gomez, who is guaranteed to break if asked to play more than once fortnight.

Slot and co would be better served forgetting about a back three and actually implementing some basics. Like getting someone to own the defensive midfield position. Like playing players who will work hard and are in form. Like protecting the full backs more. Like getting the pressing system right.

It's not really, we've sort of done it at points this season, where one of the full backs drops in and the other one bombs forward. In a way it would compensate a bit more for a lack of a traditional holding midfielder and might get both Isak and Ekitike into the side. I agree that throwing shit at a wall is not a great sign, but at the same time I would rather have someone who adapts to the players he has rather than a sort of ideologue like Amorin who only has one way of playing.

 

[JohnnyRocket]

Its an interesting football philosophical question.

Do I prefer the manager who is adaptable and changes tactics based on the current team and league. Or do I prefer the manager with a crystal clear view on how he wants to play, and over time builds the team to achieve that.

You could argue that Klopp as Liverpool manager only had one way of playing. But it did take him 3 years to put together that great team of 2019 - 2021. On the flip side you have Amorim who still looks a bit lost trying to implement his rigid philosophy.

I think I respect the manager that stays steadfast in his philosophy and sticks to it and builds a team over time based on it. But if that goes wrong, you've wasted 3/4 years.

 

[Judge Jules]

I don't see this as a simple either/or. A manager does need to have clear ideas and be able to communicate them, but he also needs to be able to adapt them when the need arises.

Klopp could certainly do so BTW. For example, when we beat Tottenham to win no.6 it was three weeks after the end of the Prem season and our momentum was gone. Klopp knew it and had us playing far more within ourselves than usual on the big day.

 

[Woland]

I prefer the pragmatist to someone whose ego is dominant. My way or the high way just isn't it for me. It doesn't work anymore. There's too many moving parts.

 

[Beamrider]

Here's hoping. Slots’ plan to stop 6ft 7 (the tallest CB in the league), Dan Burn, in both games was to put Mac Allister on him. That choice does not fill me with confidence. It suggests he is not the manager who will get this group to cope with the physical and direct approach we are seeing again in the league. It's the thought process of an idiot.

I remember before Burn scored against us in the League Cup final last season. Gary Neville specifically called out that our defensive set-up wasn't right as they were taking the free kick, I think he specifically mentioned the threat from Burn, and then he scored.
It's probably the only time I can remember a pundit / commentator saying something that then happened immediately. And it pissed me off that Gary Neville, worst manager in Valencia's history, could see it, and our coaching staff couldn't.
But it was only the league cup and we were pretty much nailed on to win the league, so I got over it.

 

[peekay]

Its an interesting football philosophical question.

Do I prefer the manager who is adaptable and changes tactics based on the current team and league. Or do I prefer the manager with a crystal clear view on how he wants to play, and over time builds the team to achieve that.

You could argue that Klopp as Liverpool manager only had one way of playing. But it did take him 3 years to put together that great team of 2019 - 2021. On the flip side you have Amorim who still looks a bit lost trying to implement his rigid philosophy.

I think I respect the manager that stays steadfast in his philosophy and sticks to it and builds a team over time based on it. But if that goes wrong, you've wasted 3/4 years.

Just get a winning manager. We will always find reasons to like him, till he stops winning.

 

[Halmeister]

I remember before Burn scored against us in the League Cup final last season. Gary Neville specifically called out that our defensive set-up wasn't right as they were taking the free kick, I think he specifically mentioned the threat from Burn, and then he scored.
It's probably the only time I can remember a pundit / commentator saying something that then happened immediately. And it pissed me off that Gary Neville, worst manager in Valencia's history, could see it, and our coaching staff couldn't.
But it was only the league cup and we were pretty much nailed on to win the league, so I got over it.

To be fair, I've noticed this a lot with Carragher and Neville on commentary. I can understand why people don't like them, but I do, and find their insights illuminating.

I can't remember if it was Carra or Neville against Newcastle again this season, just before they scored the equaliser. They called out the high line off the freekick. Further alarm bells have been going for me since Carragher has been calling out Slot for his tactics early on in the season. They know their stuff, and they're rightly picking out the flaws in our game.

 

[Markeh]

i wrote a long post the other day with my worries about slot basically being too much of a student of the game but i deleted it because it kind of read like a gcse business studies text book. man management and innovation featured extensively.

 

[beejay]

The summer transfer business does suggest we will morph into some variation of 5 at the back.

Frimpong and Kerkez are best suited to that style, Wirtz is a No 10 behind Ekitike and Izak.

We are short on CB's in that formation but Leoni would have been an option and obviously we missed out on Guehi at the last minute. Plus we might have used Gravenberch deeper.

Who knows but the money we spent must have been a succession plan for the loss of Trent and Diaz who wanted to go, Jota and in a year Salah. That's a big step change in our output.

When everyone is fit and we get past the January window we might see a different system