Bedfordspurs
Gary Lineker
We will be going long more for sure
I think the way your describing us playing is a result of who is available
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2025/26 pre-season
- Thread starter tommysvr
- Start date
I think the way your describing us playing is a result of who is available
SpurMeUp
David Ginola
Funny how a loss - even in a friendly away with limited squad - launches an existential crisis.
Are our fans so ephemeral and insecure. Of course we are!
We do need a different mindset now. Rather than hoping and dreaming we’ll instantly elevate into a CL club because of Franks aura, we need to get into a mindset of slow and steady development and progress forward. Starting from bottom half of the table.
Expectations need managing. And then we might surprise ourselves…
Are our fans so ephemeral and insecure. Of course we are!
We do need a different mindset now. Rather than hoping and dreaming we’ll instantly elevate into a CL club because of Franks aura, we need to get into a mindset of slow and steady development and progress forward. Starting from bottom half of the table.
Expectations need managing. And then we might surprise ourselves…
It's funny how people keep saying this is an over reaction to a friendly - when the same things about this squad have been repeated for over a year now. It is utter gonads to make out that this is all to do with taking a beating to Bayern, it is just yet another game that has merely highlighted the deficiencies....
Bedfordspurs
Gary Lineker
What is missing in the squad?
Silly McSilly Face
Neil Sullivan
The first 10 games were up there with the best we'd seen since the Poch era I'll give you that. The second half of the first season and the whole of the second season were some of the most painful to watch since ENIC took over for me and last season in particular reminiscent of the worst of the Sugar era in that we rocked up home and away, played some ok football in patches, before losing. And fundamentally that a lot boils down to what Eric Dier said about Ange's training: that there are no positional or tactical drills, it is all about working on playing the way he wants them to play with the ball. That showed on the pitch consistently in that we were very vulnerable off the ball and often did not seem to have a plan to deal with the opposition with players left unmarked if they drifted and gaps all over our midfield and defence.
I'm not going to get into this again, it's been done to death mate. What I think most can agree on is that AM and LB are a priority right now....
Silly McSilly Face
Neil Sullivan
We did become European champions. PSG became European champions. The reason we finished 17th is that we couldn't defend, we were poorly drilled and easy to get at. That was the fundamental reason why we lost so many games.
Silly McSilly Face
Neil Sullivan
I think a CB is a priority over a LB and in Ally Gold's last video he said the club agrees with me. Frank apparently does not have full confidence in Romero and VDV's fitness and stamina and wants a starting XI quality CB and a No. 10 over any other position.
Bedfordspurs
Gary Lineker
But we do have 6 AMs
LB is a worry that we just don’t seem to want to address for some reason
SpurMeUp
David Ginola
How did you feel after the goon game? I don’t see the same messages!
I've said the same thing repeatedly, regardless of pre season results win lose or draw it's about what goes on the pitch. Our attack looked pretty blunt against the Goons, a goal from the halfway line doesn't change that.
If you think this squad is adequate to challenge on all fronts then that's great, there are plenty who have said otherwise and for some time. So to make out like this is an over reaction to an isolated friendly is plain wrong....
Silly McSilly Face
Neil Sullivan
OK, the teams we beat to win the trophy: Elfsborg, Hoffenheim, Ferencvaros, Qarabag , AZ, Frankfurt, Bolo Glimt, Manchester United.
I am just sick and tired of the sort of post I replied to where they're basically saying that Frank doesnt need time and needs to hit the ground running as Ange got us back into the CL after 2 seasons. We finished 17th. We were utter dogsh*t last season and there is a loooooong way back from the total sh*show of the last few seasons which for me includes appointing Ange in the first place.
And one of the biggest fall outs from the Ange era could well be the numbers of players across the squad that will really struggle staying fit. Once you have had a major injury its a case of constantly having to manage it. I myself have a deep deltoid ankle tear thats full of scar tissue and it will cause me issues for the rest of my life. Many in our squad have had major injuries in the last 2 seasons and as we have seen with Maddison you are always vulnerable in that location afterwards. Or less major multiple pulls in the same location. Hamstrings are a notorious example of that where if you pull your HS and then pull it again you'll build up inflammation and scarring to the point where youre basically a ticking time bomb for it going again - its what ruined Sessegnon and VDV will constantly be on the treatment table because of it from now on.
Ange himself says these injuries are part and parcel of how he trains and plays but he has never been at a club more than a couple of seasons in his career so he never deals with the fall out from that where e.g. the club are prioritising a CB because the feeling is that VDV and Romero will no longer be able to play a full season of top level football.
We possibly partly expected Romero to head off this season but interest has never materialised in him and his fitness has got to be a key part of that
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Bedfordspurs
Gary Lineker
We hit the post twice and missed an open goal IIRC in that game
Muttley
Teemu Tainio
The way I see it is that despite mitigating circumstances under Ange we still conceded over 60 goals in 2 consecutive seasons. Therefore, any observation that Frank is going to be more defensive minded is music to my ears. Let's face it, in Ange's main system you couldn't be less defensive minded. My opinion, but it was a completely aspirational system and actually quite reckless at times.
I also say Ange's "main system" above because it wasn't that which won us the EL. It was a heavily defensive counter system that got us through the final hurdles. It was actually way more defensive than we've seen from Frank so far. The difference perhaps is that Ange then played his league games at the weekends and went back to his other system.
I do remember a lot of fans refusing to judge Ange until multiple transfer windows had passed. They refused to judge him because of the injuries and fatigue that swept through the squad. They were incredibly patient. I do hope those same fans afford Frank the same luxury. He is missing 4 first team at the moment and another couple of key squad players. He's likely to get a couple more from the transfer window as well.
What I'm hoping is that the sheer intensity and quality of BM and PSG will drag our team up some levels. By the time they play the first couple of league games the opposition will seem way more manageable. In the split second, everything will be that little bit slower. We'll get way more time on the ball to do our own thing.
Bedfordspurs
Gary Lineker
IMO the Bayern game was a great eye opener for Frank
He can see the level we need to be at and he can also see how some of the players do drop off
That’s what you want from pre season games
Just met an Arsenal supporting friend (ish) whilst walking the dog. They have had a mare pre season. Nothing clicking and new signings not being good enough already
Now I’m not saying football fans over react but…
We had 6 shots all game compared to Arsenals 15, and one of those hitting the post was direct from a corner. We were distinctly average going forward, luckily Frank is going to be working a lot on set pieces because our attack is not particularly creative and will be massively reliant on Kudus....
Bedfordspurs
Gary Lineker
It will
I think there is a balance in our wide players if used right
You can’t play tel and Johnson
But you can play tel and Kudus because they give us different things on each side
Simiallry Odobert and Johnson (left/right) may balance
But we obviously have our 2 tens our injured and we’re sticking with Richy as a CF option
I said the other day that I hate this idea that players can play CF when they have spent the vast majority of their development playing other roles. It’s why the art of the striker has changed and it’s not for the good imo.
We need 2 real strikers as a minimum. 2 guys who have played there their whole career and know the nuances of the role.
CF and Keeper are so specialised for me
But back to that game and also Bayern… we sing gonna create though the middle without a creative player in the middle. This now either needs some magic from Frank or a buy
With Maddison age and injury history the buy option seems the most logical to us as fans. And there are some really good options too
I don’t think we were average going forward. I think we were effective. They were average. They didn’t really scare us and didn’t know how to break us down
Mikey10
Chris Perry
Add in a striker and a CB and I’d agree.
Oh I agree, I think there's a lot more work to be done to this squad for where we apparently want to be. But some think less so, I'd say immediately we need a creative AM and a LB as bare minimum and ideally the positions you mention aswell....