Fulham at home

[Pablo]

So glad that I work from home and don't have to go in and face the hilarious office football banter at the moment.

[Doc_Piptorious]

I think that is why I get frustrated with pass completed stats etc, risk free, afraid to lose possession or take a chance so then nothing actually happens. Any runs by the front lads (who knows if they even do that anymore) are not spotted or found and teams just get into their setup and compact the box, the ball goes out to Trent or Robbo who either shank/under hit the cross (usually hits first man) or if they do manage to somehow get it into the box it is easily cleared as we have zero aerial threat. To watch this happen time after time after time after time is frustrating. We don't know how to attack any more, there is no dynamism or speed to our attacks and it kills who were are as a team.

That's why if you look at pass stats you don't just look at the bulk figure or the completion %. You look at the breakdown of the passing so you get to see what % of the passes were forward, what % were into the final third, what % were made under pressure, what % created a chance and so on. The stats alone are only of so much use but added to what you can see they help paint a better picture of what a player was doing well or doing badly as they fill in some of the gaps or help conform what you saw.

One of the worst guys in our team of late on those terms is Wijnaldum. He generally makes less overall passes, makes less forward passes, makes less chance creating chances, takes more touches of the ball to make a pass, and gets dispossesed more than some of the other midfielders.

Milner yesterday also fared very badly when his passing stats were broken down that way. A few times he actually started just lashing balls on the volley and half volley out wide as soon as the ball got to him a few times. Just getting the ball away fom him as quickly as he could.

[Tribute]

That's why if you look at pass stats you don't just look at the bulk figure or the completion %. You look at the breakdown of the passing so you get to see what % of the passes were forward, what % were into the final third, what % were made under pressure, what % created a chance and so on. The stats alone are only of so much use but added to what you can see they help paint a better picture of what a player was doing well or doing badly as they fill in some of the gaps or help conform what you saw.

One of the worst guys in our team of late on those terms is Wijnaldum. He generally makes less overall passes, makes less forward passes, makes less chance creating chances, takes more touches of the ball to make a pass, and gets dispossesed more than some of the other midfielders.

Milner yesterday also fared very badly when his passing stats were broken down that way. A few times he actually started just lashing balls on the volley and half volley out wide as soon as the ball got to him a few times. Just getting the ball away fom him as quickly as he could.

No idea on the stats but Naby looked more composed and positive in possession than Gini yesterday. Massively miss the Fab/Hendo pairing... Thiago/Jones or Naby alongside those two would be much better fayre. Shows we need a cover CDM in the summer transfer window...as we might have an abundance of midfielders but none can play where Fab/Hendo plays...

[ChesterDave]

Though Baby Keith was decent yesterday. Looked to have a bit of fight in him to recover the second ball.

[Kenneth]

[Buzzo]

He was taking responsibility as the game wore on. I think that the next stage for him, trying to dominate games a bit more. He is really tidy on the ball.

[Tribute]

He was taking responsibility as the game wore on. I think that the next stage for him, trying to dominate games a bit more. He is really tidy on the ball.

...and most importantly, he moves the ball quickly.

[Scratch]

Now he just needs to stay fit and get a run of games going.

[Doc_Piptorious]

No idea on the stats but Naby looked more composed and positive in possession than Gini yesterday. Massively miss the Fab/Hendo pairing... Thiago/Jones or Naby alongside those two would be much better fayre. Shows we need a cover CDM in the summer transfer window...as we might have an abundance of midfielders but none can play where Fab/Hendo plays...

Henderson would have been that cover CDM had we not broken Fab at CB and then broken Henderson there

The guy I would have liked to have seen us get in last summer either to buy or loan would have been Tonali and then get in an athletic DM type as well, maybe someone like Zakaria.

Those two would have added a little size/height to the midfield and between them we would have physicality/guile/passing range and aggression to our back up options.

Would see Zakaria as the cover/competition for the roles Fabinho and Henderson play in and Tonali as cover for either the pivot role or the number 8 role. Given they are 24 and 20, both would be potentially long term signings as well.

Given we could be losing Wijnaldum in the summer and guys like Grujic, Milner and Chamberlain could get trimmed from the squad, then there would be room for two young mobile midfielders to come in, alongside Jones as the three next in line back ups to the three/four starters.


Lot of people seem to like Yves Bissouma at Brighton too and I can see why as he is a mobile physical player who likes to have a pop at goal. Slightly reminds me of a taller Kante type player at times or maybe a little similar to Ndidi at Leicester. But the two strikes against him for me would be that he would be another that would be gone when the African nations cup is on and also that he might cost more coming from another PL club.

[BigChief]

Now he just needs to stay fit and get a run of games going.

And here endeth the tale of Solomon Grundy.