The Inquest Now The Dust Has Settled

[TrickySte]

I have to admit that I get a bit annoyed at the widely accepted perception on this forum that every team should strive to play possession football and that the only reason for a team not doing that is because they don't have players that are good enough. I strongly disagree with that perception. There are lots of good teams in Europe with great players that chose not to play possession based football and have great success following a different tactical model.

I don't think it's a case of needing to 'play possession football' but we 100% need to be better in possession.

[wassy04]

I have to admit that I get a bit annoyed at the widely accepted perception on this forum that every team should strive to play possession football and that the only reason for a team not doing that is because they don't have players that are good enough. I strongly disagree with that perception. There are lots of good teams in Europe with great players that chose not to play possession based football and have great success following a different tactical model.

I don't think it's a case of needing to 'play possession football' but we 100% need to be better in possession.

I actually really like our tactics, you felt we had a chance of winning every game even against the top sides. Not just a chance but we were often looking more likely to win. We just need to find a way to play when teams sit back and allow us possession. 

Most of our losses early on came when teams let us have possession and we didn't know what to do. We need to be able to create more chances in these games, possibly by changing tactics.4231 rather than 4141 or even 442.

[Mcforest]

i agree and the problem is we don't have those players who can use the ball better and we sure as hell don't have the players who can allow us to have that special player who is missing in games for large periods but can then make magic happen.

[audiosmee]

I think our tactics need a 'burst'- a set time or command where the players know they are expected to ramp up the tempo with a high press for a sustained period- maybe only 10-15min but after a period of tactical denial that shocks an opponent onto the back foot. We don't need to have possession to win- just to be able to create chances.

However, personel has dictated our approach- until we have dynamic and technical midfielders willing to look for the ball in space and under pressure (and team-mates able to pass to them) we are limited in our approach.

[Sniffer Dog (Admin)]

I think the tactics are ok but we need better players to implement them and to perfect them. At the moment it's like we are trying to renovate a house with a 9.99 pound tool kit from Wilkos.

[Tricky]

I think the tactics are ok but we need better players to implement them and to perfect them. At the moment it's like we are trying to renovate a house with a 9.99 pound tool kit from Wilkos.

Love the analogy there Sniff  :D

[ozzyten10]

Exactly sniffer! Taking the whole season off bro account we had no right to challenge with our squad. It’s not as good as we like to think. We have a decent first 11. Ameobi should have been a squad player playing 20-30 games- he became our only weapon late on in the season. Diakhaby was shocking. I do wonder how much of a priority we are for Marinakis?
We could have piggy backed more on oly. Podence would have been a great 6 month loan and increased his value for oly.
We will sell cash for 10 - 15m, I have a feeling lolley will go to villa and Worrall may well go to a prem club. Again ripping the heart out of the side.
Did Sabri use all the tools at his disposal the best he could is the only question that needs answering and I think it is a yes on the whole.
Carvalho Bostock and walker were underused for me. Walker could have played the wide forward role too.
But recruitment more to blame than Sabri.
If only we could keep Worrall, cash and lolley and add rather than sell to fund crap. That is what I fear.

[ThePromisedLand]

The manner in which we capitulated might just be a godsend.
The big man can’t ignore what happened.
Our weaknesses have been - if they weren’t already - magnified for all to see.
Over to the big man - and the silence is deafening.

[Paplane]

Exactly sniffer! Taking the whole season off bro account we had no right to challenge with our squad. It’s not as good as we like to think. We have a decent first 11. Ameobi should have been a squad player playing 20-30 games- he became our only weapon late on in the season. Diakhaby was shocking. I do wonder how much of a priority we are for Marinakis?
We could have piggy backed more on oly. Podence would have been a great 6 month loan and increased his value for oly.
We will sell cash for 10 - 15m, I have a feeling lolley will go to villa and Worrall may well go to a prem club. Again ripping the heart out of the side.
Did Sabri use all the tools at his disposal the best he could is the only question that needs answering and I think it is a yes on the whole.
Carvalho Bostock and walker were underused for me. Walker could have played the wide forward role too.
But recruitment more to blame than Sabri.
If only we could keep Worrall, cash and lolley and add rather than sell to fund crap. That is what I fear.

I've always had the feeling that, as part of the owners test, EM had to demonstrate to the EFL that he wouldn't abuse their rules by switching players on loan between the two clubs. And he's probably keeping a low profile here to stay under the radar. 

I reckon we'll lose one of our decent players and that's probably going to be Cash, as he's shown he can play in a way that's close to modern premier league football. I don't think Lolley is good enough for the prem myself. He may have the odd good game for a club but IMO they're not going to splash out the £15m or so we'd presumably be asking for an impact sub. He's not a young lad any more.

Sabri's made mistakes, but you can't see past the poor (and lack of) recruitment in the 2 last windows.

[Woan]

The manner in which we capitulated might just be a godsend.
The big man can’t ignore what happened.
Our weaknesses have been - if they weren’t already - magnified for all to see.
Over to the big man - and the silence is deafening.

Agree. He will have to take notice.
Without factoring in the money from possible player sales (Worrall, Cash, etc.), does anyone know how much we have available to spend on transfers? Do we have to sell first in order to buy? Cheers in advance.

[Strawberry Avenger]

I think the tactics are ok but we need better players to implement them and to perfect them. At the moment it's like we are trying to renovate a house with a 9.99 pound tool kit from Wilkos.

We just didn't have quality cover down the spine of the side.


summer and January.  Recruitment didn't do their job well enough.

SA.

[Strawberry Avenger]

The thin squad was out on its ass at the end.

There was nothing left in the tank.

SA.