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"Champions of 3rd place, we know what we are"

We have a run of easier games coming up.

Think we will know more after these.

We can’t drop many more stupid points, which I can’t see us doing
 
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Hopefully we end up having as good a December as we always do.

However, to only have scored a maximum of one goal in home games against Swansea, Burnley, Palace, Bournemouth, and now WBA is massively concerning. It feels like we are back to where we were under AVB and Harry - that annoying middle ground where we are too good for any team that we should beat to turn up and give us an open game, but not good enough to break teams down well enough that play for a draw. We then need to make up those dropped points away from home or against the bigger sides and that unfortunately just isn't predictable enough.

The good thing is, under Poch we have had strategy, and any challenge he has faced he has ultimately come up with the solutions. WHL's small pitch used to be a hindrance, and then it became a massive advantage. We need to get used to playing on bigger pitches, because the new WHL will be similar. Hopefully though, as our superior fitness kicks in, we should hopefully have a good December (although Poch was saying pre-WBA that we may not this year due to the bigger pitch).

It's tough, he has always come up with solutions but I am a little concerned this challenge is one to do with the make up of our squad. If Lamela can come back and play well he will massively help, because we do need clever players on a bigger pitch, and right now Eriksen is going to struggle as the only one we really have, and teams are going to shut him down. Dele and Son are decent, but instinctive players rather than necessarily clever in the same way. Emirates Marketing Project have Silva and De Bruyne and in reserve another Silva, and they don't seem to struggle to break teams down.

I think at Wembley, we need Dele to learn how to play a deeper role rather than being a more advanced creator. It means not losing the ball in dangerous situations and tracking runners, concentrating all the time. Because he isn't good enough to be incisive further forward. We need Lamela to make an impact. We need someone like Barkley to provide another option, and hopefully Edwards has sorted his attitude and can come in. Poch is going to handle the youngsters with care and he won't put anyone in the first team if they don't have the right attitude, so we need Edwards to step up quickly. If not, Shashoua. But I feel this is not necessarily about tactics, it's about players with the appropriate skill set to break down these sides. And if we can't sign anyone, it may be time for an academy player to provide a spark.
 
Can someone ecplain to me why a bigger pitch hurts us???

Surely it gives us more room to play in and it’s not like we need to press the bus Parker’s
 
Bedfordspurs said:
Can someone ecplain to me why a bigger pitch hurts us???

Surely it gives us more room to play in and it’s not like we need to press the bus Parker’s
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I am assuming it is because we don't use the full width of the pitch much and most of our play is through the middle. At WHL this allows us to press more as its more condensed where as on wider pitches there is more open space to cover giving more potential outs and we have no viable options to stretch the play in terms of the squad. I think this was negated slightly with Walker/Rose able to use their pace to act as wingers to get beyond their full backs but being without that speed on the wings this season we are just moving the ball back into the middle where we can be crowded out. Of course that's just my opinion and may be a load of old tosh but this seasons play seems a lot slower and mechanical when compared to last season. I also think the athleticism of Wanyama is missing in the middle as he was also able to drive forward which is something Dier doesn't have and we have sorely missed an on song Dembele.
 
Libero said:
I have to say I disagree. I think although we have dropped points against Burnley, Swansea and now WBA at home we will still win enough in those away games to compensate. We won't get near our 86 points of last season and I would expect it to be somewhere like 75/76 overall at the season's end. I don't see Arsenal managing to go too long before imploding with some recycled nonsense regarding team spirit + Ozil/Sanchez and Liverpool are far too brittle defensively and looking like Mane could have ongoing issues with his hamstring.

I think next season could be our best chance of winning the title to be honest. I think the season at Wembley will mean the players are relieved to get back home and therefore negates the fact we are in a new stadium. Zaha would be a real shout for me. Personally speaking, If we could sign Zaha/Mahrez + Richarlson and Sessegnon over the Jan and Summer windows then I would be very, very happy. We are in desperate need of 2 players like Mahrez/Zaha in the squad for me because we don't actually have anyone who can beat a player other than Dembele and that are able to carry the ball of long distances.
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Really hope you are right on both scores. We all know we need new blood in Jan, but honestly just dont see us spending until Summer, not unless we sell Rose to free up some funds
 
Bedfordspurs said:
Can someone ecplain to me why a bigger pitch hurts us???

Surely it gives us more room to play in and it’s not like we need to press the bus Parker’s
Click to expand...

I think the tighter WHL pitch played into our hands with the press - so it meant that we could win the ball, really squeeze teams high up and turn defense into attack pretty quickly.

Now, we've got a bigger pitch and teams will sit back, and although we will always have a bunch of possession, we're less likely to win it high up where the opposition is disorganized. So we have to be better at pulling them apart.

Emirates Marketing Project are capable of doing it, as they have both incisive, creative passers and pace. I'm not convinced Poch is too bothered about having rapid full/wing backs, and I think he thinks clever, incisive passing and good movement is what is required. Unfortunately I think we have a bunch of players more suited to our WHL game than what our big pitch game needs to be. Against bigger teams we've adjusted well and know how to counter-attack and stay solid when required, but we clearly aren't there when a team expects us to come at them. And while we may always drop points in at least a couple of very winnable games in a season, to still not have scored more than one goal in matches where we are clear favorites indicates a massive problem to me. I back Poch to figure it out, but it is tough.

We have a bunch of players that are better if they are given space - Son, Dele - but only really Eriksen can provide the incision. IMO we need Lamela, we need Barkley, and we need to trust a youth teamer - or move Dembele further forward in these more winnable home games, and then we will see some improvement. Or we play a pure 4-4-2, start Llorente and bank on putting cross after cross into the box, hoping a few of them will land. But 4-4-2 still meant we dropped points under Harry - so we need to figure out a way, or build the squad capable, of breaking teams down on something of a regular basis.
 
bjholmem said:
The playing surface at Wembley is one meter wider than White Hart Lane's was. That is 20 cm more pitch width to cover per player in a back five. Why is this so significant?
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The size is not the problem as much as the characteristics of the way it plays.
I've always thought the bounce was higher than most and its sponginess is also very sapping on the legs of players.
This is exasperated as we play there far more regular than any other team ever has.
Thus our tiredness at present.
 
StephenH said:
The size is not the problem as much as the characteristics of the way it plays.
I've always thought the bounce was higher than most and its sponginess is also very sapping on the legs of players.
This is exasperated as we play there far more regular than any other team ever has.
Thus our tiredness at present.
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And there is also the theory that some players from visiting teams are more motivated by playing at The Crown Jewel of Football's Most Prestigious Stadium.
 
StephenH said:
The size is not the problem as much as the characteristics of the way it plays.
I've always thought the bounce was higher than most and its sponginess is also very sapping on the legs of players.
This is exasperated as we play there far more regular than any other team ever has.
Thus our tiredness at present.
Click to expand...

If that’s the case then it’s our fault for not insisting on permission (and paying) for a new surface to be installed.

It’s not like Levy to let something so trivial be an issue.

Also, we played there last season, if an effect was noticed why not tweak the training regime this season to counter act it.
 
galeforce said:
If that’s the case then it’s our fault for not insisting on permission (and paying) for a new surface to be installed.

It’s not like Levy to let something so trivial be an issue.

Also, we played there last season, if an effect was noticed why not tweak the training regime this season to counter act it.
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I read somewhere that last season the squad trained on a pitch of Wembley proportions prior to CL games at 'home'. Perhaps the quality of the surface is an issue - I wonder if our grounds people are in control of the surface. And also wonder whether the other events that have taken place there - NFl, Rugby League - have an impact on the surface. Irregardless, the club should take measures to improve our performance if it is impacted by the pitch.
 
galeforce said:
surely it would inspire us too?
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Not really, all the negative press soon put pay to that in our players mind especially when consider our record at WHL over the past two seasons.
But the pitch being relayed by us is a good point.
I hate the Wembley since when first clapped eyes on it when I was there for one of the first games against Brazil.

The bounce is still too high imho.
 
StephenH said:
Not really, all the negative press soon put pay to that in our players mind especially when consider our record at WHL over the past two seasons.
But the pitch being relayed by us is a good point.
I hate the Wembley since when first clapped eyes on it when I was there for one of the first games against Brazil.

The bounce is still too high imho.
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The grass was changed in the summer of 2010 after that infamous semi final of ours and is now the same as at least 17 of the other 19 PL stadiums. I could not find anything on what Bournemouth and Southampton have got.
 
Jordinho said:
The grass was changed in the summer of 2010 after that infamous semi final of ours and is now the same as at least 17 of the other 19 PL stadiums. I could not find anything on what Bournemouth and Southampton have got.
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Good to know, but I still think the pitch is odd/different. The stadium has the same atmosphere as the emirates.
 
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