Burnley away Sunday 14th Sept 2pm

[Harv]

Anyone else notice how much Oliver got in the way in that second half. Was almost like an extra midfielder for them FFS. Constantly blocking passing lanes and forcing us to go around him.

[banditos]

He was in the right spot when it counted to give us the pen though

[BG1973]

We're not marginalising him at all. He's been ****ing wank and loses the ball any time he tries to do something. LB's have him in their pocket.

I cannot believe Slot didnt sub him yesterday. Wirtz gets hooked and was actually trying to link things and really getting into the game as we piled on the pressure. Salah ****ed up over and over again.

But yeah...he scored a pen, so it all gets swept under the carpet as usual

All true. Chiesa should have replaced him on the right.
I suppose when you need a goal though you'd kick yourself for taking him off if you didn't get it.

[Mark79]

We're not marginalising him at all. He's been ****ing wank and loses the ball any time he tries to do something. LB's have him in their pocket.

I cannot believe Slot didnt sub him yesterday. Wirtz gets hooked and was actually trying to link things and really getting into the game as we piled on the pressure. Salah ****ed up over and over again.

But yeah...he scored a pen, so it all gets swept under the carpet as usual

So far this season, we’ve been getting the ball to him far far less than before.

Admittedly he was poor when he did get on the ball yesterday. But it’s still true that he’s been far less involved this season because we’re just not getting the ball to him like before.

[RedReet]

Look at the bigger picture.

Big changes to the squad. Both RB’s have been out meaning Dom has played there the last two games and when he’s back in the midfield you can see the difference he makes.

Alexis isn’t match fit yet and is a big part of the team. Some of the new players haven’t settled in yet which is normal, players get accustomed at different rates. Look at Fab and Robertson and how good they ended up being.

Isak took longer to get in and I think he’ll make a massive difference and unlock a lot of the attack and take the pressure off Ekitike.

And the tweaks Slot has made to the system. And I said it before they might have made changes to the preparations for the season to address the regular second half of the season dip the team has consistently had. Maybe they’ve looked at ways to get the team to peak in the second half of the season and it’s making things a bit slower to start the season.

Then you add in how players might be dealing with the loss of Jota and maybe their escape from the world used to be getting on the pitch and training and playing has now become a constant reminder of him.

Personally I'm quite encouraged by how well we've tightened up at the back. Goals will always come, Wirtz will settle, Isak will score, Mo will take off at some stage, so it was important that we stopped conceding easy goals.

Grav has obviously played a huge part coming back in and we'll only get better once the new players settle.

[Exiled_red]

didn't feel like that.

That's expected goals on target right? If they didn't have a shot on target then that's inevitable.

[SB]

Rio played a great pass to Frimpong to create one of the few chances in the game.

That was a superb ball that needed to be hit first time by Frimpong instead of taking a touch.

[Kenneth]

In case anyone thought that Phil McNult knows what he's talking about, this is his piece on our late goals where he pretends that Fergie time wasn't corruptly extending games until utd score.

What was once "Fergie Time" is now "Arne Time".

It was a phrase used to describe the uncanny habit Sir Alex Ferguson's all-conquering Manchester United side had of breaking opponents' hearts with late, late shows.

The sight of teams slumped on the turf and opposing managers stunned while Ferguson and his players cavorted on the sidelines became a constant narrative as a great team achieved great successes.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cvg07nj09xjo

[danperkins]

You reckon?? I thought he was far too two dimensional. Basically all he can do is either cut in and shoot (which easily gets blocked in a game like that) or he goes to the byline and floats in a cross that is easily cleared.

Like he wasn't bad, but his style of play is so slow and predictable IMO.

Rio totally changed things when he came on running at people and taking the game on.

He does cut in most times onto that right foot but that style also got him 18 Goals 7 Assists last season & he has 1 Goal 2 Assists so far this season. Those figures with 0 pens or set pieces are very impressive.

Gakpo has very deceiving pace and is one of the fastest in the team & that's what that extra yard when he inevitably cuts in, he just doesn't have that fast twitch first 5 yards. He also has a fantastic strike of a ball. IMO he's under rated. Rio looks great and will get mins but needs to be introduced slowly this season.

[memzey]

Cody is one of our best strikers of a ball, proper elite in that regard. Very fast over the ground too, once he gets going, that is. I thought he did well against Walker yesterday, although his shooting was off.

I like him a lot. He's another that delivers his contribution in the G/A column but doesn't necessarily blitz the eye test in the way that some others do.

[Cerbie]

Cody is one of our best strikers of a ball, proper elite in that regard. Very fast over the ground too, once he gets going, that is. I thought he did well against Walker yesterday, although his shooting was off.

I like him a lot. He's another that delivers his contribution in the G/A column but doesn't necessarily blitz the eye test in the way that some others do.

It was always going to be tough for him to cut inside and find space for his shot against a well-organised low-block side.

Rio can be a bit more direct and unpredictable. I'd have liked to see him on the pitch earlier yesterday because we weren't getting much luck with shots on target in the second half, despite 84% possession.

[Catrin]

Odd game. 27 shots but only 4 of which were on target. 44 crosses is a bit weird for us though I don’t know if corners count towards that total. I guess if more teams are going to park the bus someone needs to look up the French equivalent of “target man” for Hugo and give him an Andy Carroll compilation.

[Scratch]

I think that stat is skewed by the fact that a blocked shot, whether on target or not, is just counted as a shot. Altho whether that is true for a shot that is blocked (not saved) on the line or not, I don't know. Maybe the ball has to travel a certain distance?

[Charly]

Personally I'm quite encouraged by how well we've tightened up at the back. Goals will always come, Wirtz will settle, Isak will score, Mo will take off at some stage, so it was important that we stopped conceding easy goals.



Grav has obviously played a huge part coming back in and we'll only get better once the new players settle.

My big concern is that we dont have proper cover for Grav. Perhaps if Slot trusted Endo more

[vlahka]

I'm actually going to defend robertsons corner. When he stepped up I noticed corner flag and clothes whipping away, like it had gotten pretty strong. I think he misjudged the strength because of the wind pushing the ball back. And everyone knows how to play against Salah now which is why hes so ineffective of late. Just grapple him when the ball comes and the ref will never give a free kick. Happens almost every time.