• Dear Guest, Please note that adult content is not permitted on this forum. We have had our Google ads disabled at times due to some posts that were found from some time ago. Please do not post adult content and if you see any already on the forum, please report the post so that we can deal with it. Adult content is allowed in the glory hole - you will have to request permission to access it. Thanks, scara

Igor the Interim

Gutter Boy said:
I'd go same as yesterday against Forest, except Romero in for Dragusin. Udogie will be great to have to bring off the bench.

I'm really not sure what I'd do against Athletico. Go for glory and go full strength. Or just play the U21s + van de Ven.
Click to expand...

Vic
Spence, Danso, VDV, Souza
Gray, Sarr
Simons
Muani, Solanke, Tel

If Gray or Sarr are in the red zone then we might need Gallagher in the middle.

No point going out on a whimper. An early goal for us would be interesting.
 
harr1984 said:
The thing is our home games are going to be completely different to the Anfield game. Creatively we are going to struggle with Gray and Sarr in the middle with the onus on us to attack, it's different to sitting back and counter attacking.

At home we are going to have to find a way to play Simons, without him our attack will once again look all too predictable IMO....
Click to expand...
Its a good point. Yesterday ended up not too disimilar to a game vs City. Open...end to end...with periods of being camped-in outside our box.
 
Last edited:
harr1984 said:
The thing is our home games are going to be completely different to the Anfield game. Creatively we are going to struggle with Gray and Sarr in the middle with the onus on us to attack, it's different to sitting back and counter attacking.

At home we are going to have to find a way to play Simons, without him our attack will once again look all too predictable IMO....
Click to expand...
I think you make a good point. But also Simons has been very hit and miss. Think two strikers, going more direct and focusing on crosses/ball progression wide and using Simons more as a sub is a decent option.

While I personally wouldn't fault Simons on effort or caring he seems to struggle badly for form/confidence and finding a way to play well in these difficult circumstances. I'd trust the players who have shown themselves capable of playing well in these circumstances first, use others from the bench if needed.
 
braineclipse said:
I think you make a good point. But also Simons has been very hit and miss. Think two strikers, going more direct and focusing on crosses/ball progression wide and using Simons more as a sub is a decent option.

While I personally wouldn't fault Simons on effort or caring he seems to struggle badly for form/confidence and finding a way to play well in these difficult circumstances. I'd trust the players who have shown themselves capable of playing well in these circumstances first, use others from the bench if needed.
Click to expand...
I think an obvious advantage of Richie and Solanke as a two, is they'll always be a physical nuisance for the opposition defence at bare minimum. It'll never feel we've got no-one up there, it's got a double chance of sticking if we go long.
They can split donkey work. Both good targets for crosses.

And just perhaps they'll start developing a partnership

Muani and Simons are both good sub options, both are tricky and Muani pacy. Good for a tired or softened opponent OR for us to switch it up if things aren't going our way.
 
braineclipse said:
I think you make a good point. But also Simons has been very hit and miss. Think two strikers, going more direct and focusing on crosses/ball progression wide and using Simons more as a sub is a decent option.

While I personally wouldn't fault Simons on effort or caring he seems to struggle badly for form/confidence and finding a way to play well in these difficult circumstances. I'd trust the players who have shown themselves capable of playing well in these circumstances first, use others from the bench if needed.
Click to expand...
Simons hasn't been consistent, I have my own opinions why that is. But regardless, I'd hazard a fair guess based on past experience that at home against Forest with Gray/Sarr combination it will be a turgid display (through no fault of either player).

It was mostly long balls and running which we could make effective because Liverpool leave space. It's not going to be anything like that this weekend, and for his faults will likely need Simons to create (I do think he will be on the bench though)....
 
What was most interesting and impressive about Tudor is that he did something yesterday which is out of keeping with how he’s usually gotten to success in his other firefighting roles.

It seems like for him, the ‘keep it simple’ was to get teams already used to playing a 3 at the back to have a more rigid approach with the ball as a way to earn some quick wins. But with Spurs, he’s found that putting us into a 3 at the back just added to more confusion.

I would also say, he’s taken a lot of flack for his ‘cold’ style but A we don’t know what he’s like behind the scenes and B maybe it took a little while for the message to sink in. He’s quite philosophical, and in his own way has gotten across that the players should fight and block out the noise. Maybe it just took a few weeks to start sinking in.

Will be very interesting what he does with Forest. Part of me thinks that Danso and Radu worked well yesterday because we wanted to defend the box more, and they are better box defenders that Romero and VDV, who get caught out by being too aggressive. But against Forest we need to take the game to them. I would say as long as the players are comfortable with the overall system, and there isn’t going to be horrible break downs in communication, we can play Romero back in and potentially VDV at left back.

We also played yesterday like a cup final and kept running, kept trying to break forward, so perhaps credit the fitness there.

Overall though, here’s hoping it’s the turning point. Probably the best performance in the league since Brentford at home. It’s been so long to have something to hold on to, to feel proud about.
 
SissokoWasGood (BoL) said:
What was most interesting and impressive about Tudor is that he did something yesterday which is out of keeping with how he’s usually gotten to success in his other firefighting roles.

It seems like for him, the ‘keep it simple’ was to get teams already used to playing a 3 at the back to have a more rigid approach with the ball as a way to earn some quick wins. But with Spurs, he’s found that putting us into a 3 at the back just added to more confusion.

I would also say, he’s taken a lot of flack for his ‘cold’ style but A we don’t know what he’s like behind the scenes and B maybe it took a little while for the message to sink in. He’s quite philosophical, and in his own way has gotten across that the players should fight and block out the noise. Maybe it just took a few weeks to start sinking in.

Will be very interesting what he does with Forest. Part of me thinks that Danso and Radu worked well yesterday because we wanted to defend the box more, and they are better box defenders that Romero and VDV, who get caught out by being too aggressive. But against Forest we need to take the game to them. I would say as long as the players are comfortable with the overall system, and there isn’t going to be horrible break downs in communication, we can play Romero back in and potentially VDV at left back.

We also played yesterday like a cup final and kept running, kept trying to break forward, so perhaps credit the fitness there.

Overall though, here’s hoping it’s the turning point. Probably the best performance in the league since Brentford at home. It’s been so long to have something to hold on to, to feel proud about.
Click to expand...
Spot on brother.

If anything it’s given me a glimmer of hope. However if he goes back to 3 at the back and sits back the whole game against Forest then I would say that he is not going to save us .

Understandable that it’s a mental rollercoaster, but a win against Forest would be monumental in our favour.

I don’t want to jinx it but from the last two games alone with our injuries and backs against the wall I think Igor has gone up in my estimation.

Personally after that interview post game I’d love it to stick it down the throat of that interviewer by going on a winning run.
 
Gazza said:
Spot on brother.

If anything it’s given me a glimmer of hope. However if he goes back to 3 at the back and sits back the whole game against Forest then I would say that he is not going to save us .

Understandable that it’s a mental rollercoaster, but a win against Forest would be monumental in our favour.

I don’t want to jinx it but from the last two games alone with our injuries and backs against the wall I think Igor has gone up in my estimation.

Personally after that interview post game I’d love it to stick it down the throat of that interviewer by going on a winning run.
Click to expand...

Yes. Indeed. I’m curious as to whether he goes back to what he thought he was originally going to have to do, eg the 3 at the back. Or whether he says ‘hey, we found something at Anfield that works, let’s build on it.’

There’s a chance that his own willingness to adapt and get outside his comfort zone is the thing that sets us right. Everyone was saying before the match that a Redknapp or similar coming in and simplifying everything would be the way to go. If Tudor took some of that on board, it shows great humility.

Above all though, I’m just pleased we showed some actual fight, and we didn’t make any amateur mistakes. It’s been a long time since we haven’t just conspired to lose a game with our own stupidity, so hopefully something to build on.
 
Did he say that Gallagher's absence made him tear up his plans within 24 hours of ko, and adapt to the players he finally had available? Sure I heard something like that...if so he may not learn the lesson and will revert to his favoured 3 at the back. We can only hope not..........
 
One swallow doesn't make a summer; it's clear there is still a hell of a lot of work to be done. Our median return from the 8 games remaining (4H+4A) is 6.5 points. The median for both West Ham and Forest is 8 points. For Leeds, it's 9.5. It's probably going to go to the wire.
 
Last edited:
lurker of old said:
Did he say that Gallagher's absence made him tear up his plans within 24 hours of ko, and adapt to the players he finally had available? Sure I heard something like that...if so he may not learn the lesson and will revert to his favoured 3 at the back. We can only hope not..........
Click to expand...

He did, but I wonder if that then was the call to put Souza on the right rather than Gallagher, rather than tearing up the entire plan. I think having Romero and VDV out probably did the most to dictate how we set up yesterday.
 
lurker of old said:
Did he say that Gallagher's absence made him tear up his plans within 24 hours of ko, and adapt to the players he finally had available? Sure I heard something like that...if so he may not learn the lesson and will revert to his favoured 3 at the back. We can only hope not..........
Click to expand...
He did but there is nothing to suggest that he wasn’t going to play 442.

Also sometimes just sometimes the universe gives you a nose in the right direction when least expected.

Hopefully Tudor has the acumen foresight and humility to give 442 or anything else that may work.
 
Does he still need a "Head of Morale" brought in? Someone who, in the words of .... Oh, I don't know ... Harry Redknapp, let's say, would "go in there and just give the place a lift"?

... Or would that just inevitably create mixed messaging?
 
mudshark said:
Does he still need a "Head of Morale" brought in? Someone who, in the words of .... Oh, I don't know ... Harry Redknapp, let's say, would "go in there and just give the place a lift"?

... Or would that just inevitably create mixed messaging?
Click to expand...
I think it would undermine Tudor. We don’t need the circus.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back