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Napoli (H) Last CL game of the group stage, Tue 1.11

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We haven't turned any corner sad to say, we still look totally out of ideas in the league. We will get topsy-turvey until the club buys new players.
 
A few thoughts:

Much happier with the 4-3-3. There may be longer-term benefits to moving to a 4-4-2 variant but I think from a defensive point of view it's better currently to stick with what's familiar - at least the version of 4-3-3 that had Trent wide rather than coming through the middle. Fabinho didn't seem so overworked with two midfielders closer to him.

Milner played really well - better than Henderson has this season I think. Combined well down the flank, covered well for Trent. Shame he had to go off. If he's fit, I'd start him against Spurs.

I keep holding out hope for Gomez but Konate is streets ahead of him. Imposing, confident, fast, he's got most things in his toolbox. The rest of the defence seemed more confident with him in the side.

Nunez is ace. I wonder whether he is a better replacement for original Mane (before he played through the centre) than Diaz is. I'd be tempted to start him left of a 3 against Spurs.

Pleasantly surprised by Curtis Jones as I mentioned in the other thread. Positive, useful and could have scored.
 
yeah - we have beaten up two of the best in Europe in Man City and Napoli, I feel like maybe our players think that playing these other teams are beneath them, and only wake up when we face an unbeaten team, just to prove a point. We move guys we move, and can I also add that in the first 15 minutes I thought we tried to pass forward with sustained pace, and high intensity. We defended really well, we ain't dead we are just half asleep right now.

this team is far from dead.

Becker
Trent (I know)
Konate
VVD
Robbo
Thiago
Fabs
Salah
Diaz
Nunez
Jota

add two top drawer CMs to that and some up an coming top potential and that’s still a great team of Trent defends better.

if we hadn’t have given away those two cannon fodder games, with the rest that the World Cup will give a lot of our players, we’d have had a great second half to the season. Still may do.
 

Minute 2:48 shows everything that's wrong with Trent. This time he clearly sees the winger behind him. There were no other opposition players around him.

But for some reason, he started running towards the ball. When the cross came in he was nowhere near the player he initially spotted, and was supposed to mark. It was a shit shot in the end but it could have been worse.
 
We haven't turned any corner sad to say, we still look totally out of ideas in the league. We will get topsy-turvey until the club buys new players.
I agree....Result Merchants' will be out in force after the Napoli win. But I think the truth in our season lies somewhere in-between this game and the Notts Forest one.

In reality the Napoli game was a free hit for both teams so it feels hard to say we turned a corner on that game. Let's win every game we have till The Blood Cup starts before even thinking of turning the corner.
 
Minute 2:48 shows everything that's wrong with Trent. This time he clearly sees the winger behind him. There were no other opposition players around him.

But for some reason, he started running towards the ball. When the cross came in he was nowhere near the player he initially spotted, and was supposed to mark. It was a shit shot in the end but it could have been worse.

I saw this too and screamed at the TV as soon as he made a move towards the goal and away from the player he was marking. He knew there was a player behind him, but I guess for some reason thought a low cross to the near post was the bigger danger so he cheated to get to the perceived danger spot first. Just poor defensive instincts.
 
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I agree....Result Merchants' will be out in force after the Napoli win. But I think the truth in our season lies somewhere in-between this game and the Notts Forest one.

In reality the Napoli game was a free hit for both teams so it feels hard to say we turned a corner on that game. Let's win every game we have till The Blood Cup starts before even thinking of turning the corner.
Napoli came to get a draw and maybe snatch a win. Their attitude changed after var ruled out that goal. Up to that point they were just defending in numbers and were were struggling to create anything. That disallowed goal spurred Napoli and they went for the goal and were the better side for a good while after that but them being more adventurous gave us more space to attack.
Bringing on nunez was the game changer, not that he was outstanding or anything, he did well but he just gave us a different opinion upfront. That run and cross at pace was probably the best thing we did, both goals were basically those lucky roll of the ball much like the forest goal but if you arent in the right position to capitalise then it doesn't matter.
 
I loved seeing Konate back on the field. And I appreciated his efforts to break the press with dribbling. But he was making me bonkers with the number of forced passes that ended up turning over possession, as we were advancing into the attacking third. Too risky.
 
Yeah Ibou was understandably very rusty out there the other night, will take him few more weeks to get back fully up to speed.

Hopefully gets blagged of a world cup call up so he can focus on doing just that.
 
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