Lack of athleticism...

[IdLiketoRogerMoore]

I can't be arsed getting involved in the Wilder hounding, or the player/tactical analysis and whether our £45m strikers are up to it...

However, the glaring difference tonight (and in most games this season) is that the other PL teams seem to be quicker, stronger, more agile.

Last season we outworked teams, whereas this season we look like a bunch of over 35's playing against a bunch of Under 21's...

We look to be woefully short in all areas of physicality. How has that changed in 6 months???

 

[robbiez666]

They look like their pre-match ritual is smoking a pack of Benson and Hedges each. Then a 10 pack top-up at half time

 

[Greasy Chap Butty]

I don't know if it's speed, or confidence, but we never seem to break at speed. Just start doing it , pause, let them get 10 back then carry on jogging forward and sideways.

 

[Bladeinleeds]

Physically slow and slow of thought.

A piss poor combination

 

[Camden Blade]

We look slower than the opposition every game. It may only be a split second but we take too long on executing the basics pass and move. And there's not enough movement. We also have some sub par players. Little to no confidence and we can't score goals. It's looking like this team is irredeemable. The question is whether CW is the man to rebuild the side?

 

[FriethBlade]

We look to be woefully short in all areas of physicality. How has that changed in 6 months???

It hasn't mate, it was the same last year , the difference is the overlapping centre backs, no injuries and championship players playing above themselves meant we were winning by one goal not losing by one goal.

This year injuries, our system not working and confidence at rock bottom has left these deficiencies blatantly obvious.

We are a slow unathletic team. Apart from headless chicken Burke and George the side is bereft of pace and athleticism.
Look at Robinson, Osbourn, Stevens, McBurnie Norwood etc. they look like Sunday league footballers not top professional athletes !

 

[Nah den]

We look slower than the opposition every game. It may only be a split second but we take too long on executing the basics pass and move. And there's not enough movement. We also have some sub par players. Little to no confidence and we can't score goals. It's looking like this team is irredeemable. The question is whether CW is the man to rebuild the side?

I agree. The movement is none existent and the players are showing no bravery at all. It's easier to turn backwards and give it to a team mate in defence with no marker than it is to try and do something with it. Probably due to a lack of confidence but also a lack of ability ultimately. The only one I think shows bravery with the ball is Bash, but unfortunately he lacks good technique.

 

[Foody]

There's very little pace, but I could live with that, if we had the technical players or even the physicality to counter that. We don't though, at all.
I genuinely don't don't know what our strengths are or what we're particularly good at. We tend to get labelled as a 'physical' team, but we're actually not a particularly big team and certainly aren't physically strong. By far our strongest player is Jack O'Conell, who gets better with every weeks absence, I'm now convinced he is 6ft 10, 5ft wide, can run the hundred meters in 10 seconds flat, can swing a ball onto the penalty spot from the halfway line and covers 40 miles in a single game.

 

[GuangzhouBlade]

Bernard isn't an amazing player but he changed the game when he started to take men on. Yes he lost the ball a couple of times but he created space and when he did beat a man things happened.

We've no one that can beat a man and do something on his own. It's too easy for teams to mark us out wide and force us central knowing no one can go past a man to drag a defender around. Even Fulham and West From have Lookman, Anguissa and Perreira, Diangana respectively

 

[Withington Blade]

Couldn’t agree more. It’s sad to see Norwood at the moment. He looks absolutely woeful out of possession, so weak and slow - opponents are literally strolling passed him. I expected more from Ampadu, although in his defence, he’s a young, inexperienced kid coming into a poor team playing with no confidence.

 

[Sithblade]

McBurnie was the most realist target I wanted us to sign after promotion . He ticked all the boxes for age and overall stats for what he did at Barnsley and Swansea and ready to make the step up.
For us he's looked like a teenager who's grown 4 inches over summer and hasn't quite got used to the coordination of his new size.
Captain Hindsight says we may as well signed Madine instead.

 

[Latters]

I can't be arsed getting involved in the Wilder hounding, or the player/tactical analysis and whether our £45m strikers are up to it...

However, the glaring difference tonight (and in most games this season) is that the other PL teams seem to be quicker, stronger, more agile.

Last season we outworked teams, whereas this season we look like a bunch of over 35's playing against a bunch of Under 21's...

We look to be woefully short in all areas of physicality. How has that changed in 6 months???

I don’t think it’s a case of us being less athletic than our opponents, there was a stat last week that showed we’d run more than any other club in the division. I think the problem is that, due to our inferior technical ability, we use all our fitness and physicality chasing the ball, rather than using it to our advantage. Yes, our players are shrugged off the ball easily, but again, I think this is down to a lack of balance and technique, rather than strength. Our players are fit enough, just not good enough.

 

[IdLiketoRogerMoore]

I don’t think it’s a case of us being less athletic than our opponents, there was a stat last week that showed we’d run more than any other club in the division. I think the problem is that, due to our inferior technical ability, we use all our fitness and physicality chasing the ball, rather than using it to our advantage. Yes, our players are shrugged off the ball easily, but again, I think this is down to a lack of balance and technique, rather than strength. Our players are fit enough, just not good enough.

Looking at the stats Sir Tom Moore covers a lot of ground too!

Not saying you're wrong, but every midfield we've played this year seems to have one, or two in some cases, 6ft+ decathlete in there. Our own version (Berge) is as strong and athletic as an asthmatic girl guide. And without him, we look even more powder puff.

Last year Lundstram looked like he'd spent the Summer training in a UFC fight camp and even Fleck & Norwood moved like they meant it. This year it's been men V boys every week. Although I never really rated him, a Besic type player is what we lack...

 

[Gannon's perm]

I don’t think it’s a case of us being less athletic than our opponents, there was a stat last week that showed we’d run more than any other club in the division. I think the problem is that, due to our inferior technical ability, we use all our fitness and physicality chasing the ball, rather than using it to our advantage. Yes, our players are shrugged off the ball easily, but again, I think this is down to a lack of balance and technique, rather than strength. Our players are fit enough, just not good enough.

I'm not surprised we've done more running than any other team. We never have the ball , so are constantly chasing after it.

 

[IdLiketoRogerMoore]

McBurnie was the most realist target I wanted us to sign after promotion . He ticked all the boxes for age and overall stats for what he did at Barnsley and Swansea and ready to make the step up.
For us he's looked like a teenager who's grown 4 inches over summer and hasn't quite got used to the coordination of his new size.
Captain Hindsight says we may as well signed Madine instead.

Me and my mate were having a tongue in cheek discussion that turned serious very quickly as to whether Madine and Hogan were much different to McBurnie and Brewster...

We're certainly now seeing why 3 consecutive teams ditched Norwood the minute they got promoted and why signing Berge wasn't quite the coup we thought it was...

 

[Tynemouth Blade]

I can't be arsed getting involved in the Wilder hounding, or the player/tactical analysis and whether our £45m strikers are up to it...

However, the glaring difference tonight (and in most games this season) is that the other PL teams seem to be quicker, stronger, more agile.

Last season we outworked teams, whereas this season we look like a bunch of over 35's playing against a bunch of Under 21's...

We look to be woefully short in all areas of physicality. How has that changed in 6 months???

One of my biggest gripes is how we constantly turn an attack into a back pass to Ramsdale!
In mean, what the fuck do they do in training????

 

[IdLiketoRogerMoore]

One of my biggest gripes is how we constantly turn an attack into a back pass to Ramsdale!
In mean, what the fuck do they do in training????

If you look at the Man U game when we were up for it and everyone was on the money, there was movement, we looked athletic, there was pace, energy - and a couple of defensive ricketts aside, we looked decent. When we were down to 10 men V Brighton, everyone put in a shift and we looked a lot better.

Fast forward to today (and the Southampton game) where we look flat, no movement and the only options are to lump it long or pass backwards.

The system (and changing it) won't make any difference if we're just jogging around the pitch with our heads down and passing backwards every time.

Maybe getting a man sent off early doors is the answer???

 

[Tynemouth Blade]

If you look at the Man U game when we were up for it and everyone was on the money, there was movement, we looked athletic, there was pace, energy - and a couple of defensive ricketts aside, we looked decent. When we were down to 10 men V Brighton, everyone put in a shift and we looked a lot better.

Fast forward to today (and the Southampton game) where we look flat, no movement and the only options are to lump it long or pass backwards.

The system (and changing it) won't make any difference if we're just jogging around the pitch with our heads down and passing backwards every time.

Maybe getting a man sent off early doors is the answer???

It's like watching walking football at times!

 

[IdLiketoRogerMoore]

It's like watching walking football at times!

I lost count the number of time Osborn got the ball, looked up and Didzy coming short aside (which Everton soon realised was our only outlet and snuffed it out) there was no option but to pass backwards to Long Throw Jackie who invariably shit his pants and lumped it long into the channel to their CB...

 

[bartman]

what the fuck do they do in training????

certainly not coached to improve technical performance from what we have seen this season

 

[Tezza1889]

Playing dinasour longball..

Thats the problem..

I'm not surprised we've done more running than any other team. We never have the ball , so are constantly chasing after it.

Because as soon as we win it we hoof it, thier centre half laps it up, passes it to the midfielder and he runs at us, we're then all tracking back defending, in comes the cross then its that nervous few seconds wondering if its time for ramsdales one costly mistake, it doesn't happen, we win possession then we hoof it up field and turn possession over again then we're back to resetting to defend the next attack..

Route one, predictable hoofball from the 80s, it don't work here anymore.. We haven't caught a single team cold with this tactic, why we continue I don't know..

 

[PrestwichBlade]

One of my biggest gripes is how we constantly turn an attack into a back pass to Ramsdale!
In mean, what the fuck do they do in training????

It would seem this frustrates some of the players too. There was one point in the 2nd half where we were crapping around with it across the back 3, Ampadu showed for it unmarked, slightly ahead of them, but they inevitably decided to just pass it back to Ramsdale instead. Ampadu wasn't happy. I imagine it then just got hoofed up field and ended up back in Everton's possession shortly after. It's turgid.