The same goal again and again and again and again

[arnie_ni]

I just gave up watching.

How can this keep happening? Who is at fault? The midfield?

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[Bobski]

The manager, giving the DM an impossible job.

 

[Marwood]

It's the amount of space they have as well. Can only be communication. We are a quiet team.

 

[LawCharltonBest]

I just gave up watching.

How can this keep happening? Who is at fault? The midfield?

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Thing that annoys me most about that video is the fingers in the ears celebration

Nobody knows who the fook that is, much less has he been criticised recently

 

[Ballache]

We have no midfield.
For all our issues, and we have plenty, the fact that our midfield can't keep the ball, is not organized well and lacks technical as well as physical ability is by far the biggest problem we have.
ETH insisting on playing with a single pivot when we so obviously don't have the right players for it will be his downfall.
We need 2 cms ASAP (Zubimendi and Thuram) before we sign anyone else.

 

[horsechoker]

Nobody tracks the runner, seems to always happen when McTominay plays too

 

[Pogue Mahone]

I just gave up watching.

How can this keep happening? Who is at fault? The midfield?

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Yes. The midfield not tracking runners from deep is the recurring theme. Although not all those goals are the same there’s enough of them with a similar cause.

 

[DomesticTadpole]

It's the amount of space they have as well. Can only be communication. We are a quiet team.

Agree about that, nobody yells at people to get into position, the only time they shout at each other is when something goes wrong and it is f*ck off.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

Nobody tracks the runner, seems to always happen when McTominay plays too

It does but we’ve conceded to players running off Casemiro and Eriksen as well this season. Brighton game was a good example of that.

 

[ArmchairCritic]

I’m amazed that we basically stopped conceding this type of goal with an 18 year old playing at DM. And then as soon as he went off, we started conceding it again. Says a lot about the application of senior players. Just occupy that space in the box in front of the CB’s and you’ll be grand. Kobbie keeps it simple.

 

[Fortitude]

We're a playground for any decent coach. It is extremely easy to generate opportunities to cutback vs us; is there a chart for this info that states which clubs have conceded most goals and chances from cutbacks?

I'll hazard a guess we're top or top 3 in both categories.

 

[ArmchairCritic]

I’d wager that 80% of our goals conceded are either from penalties, set pieces or cut backs. Our box defending is so costly.

 

[ShinjiNinja26]

This is downright unacceptable for me, it’s bordering on negligence. To repeatedly concede the exact same goal over and over again throughout the season and fail to address the issue on the training pitch is absolutely baffling. There’s only two reasons for this, either the coaching staff are failing to do their jobs or the players are just straight up ignoring their instructions.

 

[100]

We sacrifice midfield and defensive solidity to be an abysmal attacking team too.

It’s one the most ridiculous balancing acts you’ll see in football. Literally setup to be subpar in every facet of the game.

 

[RedIan]

It was highlighted well on Motd last night, a huge empty hole on each goal in the centre in front of our defence.
the midfield are normally jogging around the edge of the 15 yard circle hole Or 40 yds up the pitch.

 

[UnofficialDevil]

The manager

 

[Matt007a]

No midfielders anywhere near the box. You’ve got the back 4 covering the 6 yard box and absolutely no one on the edge of the 18. Any cutback to the edge is a free shot on goal. We’ve also got wingers who don’t track back to help stop the cross.

Whether that’s just laziness or managers instructions I’m not sure. Probably a bit of both.

 

[ArmchairCritic]

I’d wager that 80% of our goals conceded are either from penalties, set pieces or cut backs. Our box defending is so costly.

Did the math. 27 goals conceded in the league, 6 cut backs, 6 set pieces, 2 penalties. So just over half of our goals conceded, not as many as I thought to be fair. Amazing how different our season could be by just stopping crosses and winning headers.

 

[Blood Mage]

Because Ten Hag is fecking clueless and it's gross negligence that he's still in a job right now.

 

[youngrell]

It’s even more frustrating when you think back to last season where we were so compact in defensive transitions.

If we were balancing this with a swashbuckling attack that scored multiple goals per match it may be worth it.

 

[noodlehair]

There was a thread on this after the very first game of the season about how the system ETH is using wont work because it is leaving the DM with an impossible job to do.

Then we had a spell of everyone blaming Casemiro for not being able to do said impossible job. Now we've tried 3-4 different players there and none of them can do it either.

I'm not really that surprised how this season as gone as it looked obvious even in pre-season what would happen, and it was confirmed fully after just the opening two games...well I am surprised but because at the start of the season I said either on here or in some whatsapp group chat that ETH would change it after maybe the second time we get a hiding, and then the problem would be that he's not left himself with the personnel to be able to fi it....it turns out we're over half way through the season and ETH hasn't even reached the point where he's realised he has to change it yet, because he's hiding behind injuries as an excuse (even though it wasn't working at the start of the season when nearly everyone was fit). In our most recent game he literally subbed his DM off and replaced them with no one. The players have given up on trying to make the system work at around 60 minutes into the home game vs Brighton.

The problem therefore is that we have a really stupid manager.

 

[ArmchairCritic]

There was a thread on this after the very first game of the season about how the system ETH is using wont work because it is leaving the DM with an impossible job to do.

Then we had a spell of everyone blaming Casemiro for not being able to do said impossible job. Now we've tried 3-4 different players there and none of them can do it either.

I'm not really that surprised how this season as gone as it looked obvious even in pre-season what would happen, and it was confirmed fully after just the opening two games...well I am surprised but because at the start of the season I said either on here or in some whatsapp group chat that ETH would change it after maybe the second time we get a hiding, and then the problem would be that he's not left himself with the personnel to be able to fi it....it turns out we're over half way through the season and ETH hasn't even reached the point where he's realised he has to change it yet. In our most recent game he literally subbed his DM off and replaced them with no one. The players have given up on trying to make the system work at around 60 minutes into the home game vs Brighton.

The problem therefore is that we have a really stupid manager.

Mainoo’s not conceded this type of goal…yet!

 

[acnumber9]

This is why our high turnovers stat isn’t worth a shite. We sacrifice every other element of being a football team to gamble on winning the ball back high up the pitch. When we don’t do it, teams have a free run at goal. It’s tactical and it’s on the manager.

 

[Amar__]

It's quite clear from watching us that our manager doesn't quite grasp what midfielders' job is, and watching this video is another proof of that.

 

[Marwood]

AWB can see everything that's happening for the second goal. He's next to Gibbs White at one stage but goes with the fullback instead.

That in itself isn't a problem but he doesn't communicate because he's practically a mute on the pitch. He doesn't tell the CB's to pickup Gibbs White once he leaves them.

Basic stuff.

 

[ArmchairCritic]

AWB can see everything that's happening for the second goal. He's next to Gibbs White at one stage but goes with the fullback instead.

That in itself isn't a problem but he doesn't communicate because he's practically a mute on the pitch. He doesn't tell the CB's to pickup Gibbs White once he leaves them.

Basic stuff.

Varane sees it too as soon as we lose the ball but decides to run off and mark Wood instead, even though Evans is there. McTominay needed to press the ball carrier to control the transition, Dalot had Elanga, Evans had Wood, Varane and Wan Bissaka didn’t communicate. One needed to take Hudson Odoi, the other on Gibbs White. I expect a lot better from someone of Varane’s stature to be honest.

 

[Oranges038]

Been conceding these same goals for years.

It's like a video game where you figure out how to score and just exploit it over and over again.

 

[Ayoba]

But but but according to our manager, "we must stick to the plan".

 

[tomaldinho1]

Midfield. No need to go into more detail.

I will say this happens to all teams, we just don’t do it at the other end which is why it looks so alien to us. Out crossing is atrocious so we forget what normal football looks like when it’s done against us.

 

[Marwood]

Varane sees it too but decides to run off and mark Wood instead, even though Evans is there. McTominay needed to press the ball carrier to control the transition, Dalot had Elanga, Evans had Wood, Varane and Wan Bissaka didn’t communicate. I expect a lot better from someone of Varane’s stature to be honest.

Yeah true there are various ways to stop that goal.

I picked up on AWB just because he was next to Gibbs White at one stage.

What makes it worse is that Gibbs White was absolutely knackered by this point.

 

[Ash_G]

I totally agree with all the frustration in terms of lack of communication/ laziness in defence/midfield that causes a lot of these goals but I think we shouldn't forget how much our attacking approach contributes to this. It feels like we're way to open to a counter attack where we're in control in attack to one poor decision and half the team are out of the game defensively. Something has to be fundamentally wrong throughout.

 

[ArmchairCritic]

Yeah true there are various ways to stop that goal.

I picked up on AWB just because he was next to Gibbs White at one stage.

What makes it worse is that Gibbs White was absolutely knackered by this point.

That’s what makes it galling. Both teams basically have the same opportunity, we don’t score and they do. Wonderful.

 

[Ali Dia]

No midfielders anywhere near the box. You’ve got the back 4 covering the 6 yard box and absolutely no one on the edge of the 18. Any cutback to the edge is a free shot on goal. We’ve also got wingers who don’t track back to help stop the cross.

Whether that’s just laziness or managers instructions I’m not sure. Probably a bit of both.

Whereas our opposition always do brilliantly at crowding us out in those areas and fighting us back and are more clinical up front. We are shite.

 

[CM]

This is why our high turnovers stat isn’t worth a shite. We sacrifice every other element of being a football team to gamble on winning the ball back high up the pitch. When we don’t do it, teams have a free run at goal. It’s tactical and it’s on the manager.

Absolutely, and it was abundantly clear from early on that it wouldn't work either. His refusal to accept that and change should cost him his job.

 

[noodlehair]

Mainoo’s not conceded this type of goal…yet!

But we are still a pile of shite with no midfield when he plays

 

[Lay]

We’re a soft team.

 

[MyOnlySolskjaer]

Abysmal coaching.

 

[stefan92]

Mainoo’s not conceded this type of goal…yet!

The most damning thing about this is that he apparently was substituted for tactical reasons. He seems to do the right thing in our perception to shield the defence, but if EtH prefers the "energy" McTominay brings it seems like that's not even what he is supposed to do.

 

[ArmchairCritic]

But we are still a pile of shite with no midfield when he plays

Hard to disagree.

 

[ArmchairCritic]

The most damning thing about this is that he apparently was substituted for tactical reasons. He seems to do the right thing in our perception to shield the defence, but if EtH prefers the "energy" McTominay brings it seems like that's not even what he is supposed to do.

I thought Mainoo looked a bit confused at his role last night, it seemed like Eriksen was dropping to be first receiver and Mainoo wasn’t sure if it was a double pivot or if he should push up. It’s very odd how ten Hag asks his midfielders to do different things game to game and sometimes within the same game.