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Thread: It's still on

  1. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by LEGS View Post
    Salah has had a tough season pretty much 120 mins in every AFCON knockout game then two hard games in world cup qualifying.

    He needs a rest and its about time FIFA put a total stop to tournys played during a season.

    I wouldnt play him on Wednesday.
    We should play Ox at RFWD on Wednesday, he does a very decent job when used as a forward, scored 2 in 3 in his last stint this season I think, does a decent job at LWFD or RFWD
    "If Everton were playing at the bottom of my garden, i'd close the curtains”

  2. #12
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    Fab wasnt good today no getting away with that.

    Makes me wonder did that bang on the head midweek cause concussion ?? He was sluggish all game.

    Fab is an important player for us and its rare he plays like this but City midfield is better than most.

  3. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by Nineteenx View Post
    We should play Ox at RFWD on Wednesday, he does a very decent job when used as a forward, scored 2 in 3 in his last stint this season I think, does a decent job at LWFD or RFWD
    Id go with that seems he was not on bench today as well.

  4. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by CCTV View Post
    When Gini was in midfield we played 433.
    When Gini was here and we played 4231 mostly, neither he nor Hendo were in the 3.

    When Gini was here, routinely one of our front 3 was in form. Often two.
    The front 3 presently, the big part of it, Mane & Mo are not at their level.
    Produced a moment today but nowhere near their level.

    Were hendo not our kdb counterpart/10, we could have had him in the 2.
    We could have had Bobby or Diaz in the side. With Fab or Thiago an option off the bench.

    We need to stop playing hendo in a 10 role.
    One thing we have changed, is per the other thread is he have lost a lot of our direct ability, one thing that we regularly did in games like today's, including in 19-20 when we won the league was we played a midfield 3 of all 3 sitting in midfield, all 3 forwards pressing and our full backs looking to get ahead of either our LCM or RCM to become the extra attacker, usually being release in time and space via a switch from the opposite full back, with one of the 3 CMs also joining if/when our No9 had dropped deep into midfield to get a foot in

    Would we have been better playing that 4312 system today and a lot better than playing the 4231 you have such a boner for that we haven't played for nearly 2 seasons, yes all day long, we'd have probably won

    You DO NOT evolve by ditching things that made to Champions League and Premier League winners, you evolve by further developing them and adding other elements to your game/strings to your bow
    "If Everton were playing at the bottom of my garden, i'd close the curtains”

  5. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by LEGS View Post
    Fab wasnt good today no getting away with that.

    Makes me wonder did that bang on the head midweek cause concussion ?? He was sluggish all game.

    Fab is an important player for us and its rare he plays like this but City midfield is better than most.
    That's a good call. I'd totally forgotten about that! He was truly awful today.

    It was sloppy today. But, we always give ourselves a chance and we battle. We could have easily been blown away today but theg stood up and had a bit of a go in the 2nd half.

    They still have to win all of their games. I'll be honest, I'd have taken a draw today from the start. Still keeps it interesting.

    Assuming we win our remaining 7, we'll have dropped points in only 1 game (against likely champions) in half a season.

  6. #16
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    Next League matches for us are Everton and Man United - both at Anfield.

    Only one trip to Wembley to disrupt our preparation in the coming weeks before the Newcastle trip.

    It's dig deep time. For all we know that draw was actually enough today. That Mahrez miss may yet prove similar to Barcelona failing to go 4-0 up at Camp Nou in a certain Champion's League tie.

    Besides our games against them going forward (FA Cup semi-final, possible Champion's League Final) we have to go into every match now with heads held high, believing we are the better side and then proving to the opposition that we are.

    What will be will be.

  7. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by jozza800 View Post
    Assuming we win our remaining 7, we'll have dropped points in only 1 game (against likely champions) in half a season.
    That's the type of thing that absolutely must be carried into next season.

    There are 114 available points in a League season and 108 of them come from sides not named Man City. It's our job to hoover up as many of those as humanly possible. If we win matches against Man City as a bonus then great but 2 draws against them (this season) is hardly bad going at all - they didn't gain on us, we didn't gain on them. Considering the financial doping and the VAR calls in their favour we have put up an absolutely phenomenal effort and even if fans/pundits from other sides forget it, we cannot.

    We can be very proud of the lads to have gotten into a position where the gap is only one point.

  8. #18
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    City just did to us today what we used to do to them, they were better in the press and counter press, most of their attacks were through releasing players in behind with medium to longer balls and releasing players in space in wide areas with switches

    Nothing to do with a bump on the head, i've got SSN right now, seen clips of the goals and near goals numerous times, they haven't change since the first look, Fab and Thiago never got anywhere near Bacon face all game, Thiago was in the LCM controller role, perhaps a great many of you have had a bump on the head and forgotten how comfortably Gini regular dealt with him in that role, Thiago was nowhere near him, I was staggered people were saying he was playing great

    In case you didn't notice watch the highlights a couple of times, watch them take good press and counter press positions, watch them be patient and watch then go whooooosh when the ball in played to Fab. It's what teams do, they let him have it and pick everyone else up because he's not good enough with the ball, or they wait for the ball to go to him and press rapidly

    City also put most of their play through inside and outside left and right forward positions all game, and looked to release those players from a little deeper, we needed a midfield 3, not a 1 and a 2 or a 2 and a 1 and midfield 3 all pressing and counter pressing in unison, as we've always employed against them

    It was maybe concentration or a lack of it also, they spent most of the game not playing in the area Fab was positioned, as a sitting DM in front of our 2 CBs, so he was a spare part for most of it, then on the few very isolated occasions they did come into his area, mostly De Bruyne. he was sleeping
    "If Everton were playing at the bottom of my garden, i'd close the curtains”

  9. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by Nineteenx View Post
    One thing we have changed, is per the other thread is he have lost a lot of our direct ability, one thing that we regularly did in games like today's, including in 19-20 when we won the league was we played a midfield 3 of all 3 sitting in midfield, all 3 forwards pressing and our full backs looking to get ahead of either our LCM or RCM to become the extra attacker, usually being release in time and space via a switch from the opposite full back, with one of the 3 CMs also joining if/when our No9 had dropped deep into midfield to get a foot in

    Would we have been better playing that 4312 system today and a lot better than playing the 4231 you have such a boner for that we haven't played for nearly 2 seasons, yes all day long, we'd have probably won

    You DO NOT evolve by ditching things that made to Champions League and Premier League winners, you evolve by further developing them and adding other elements to your game/strings to your bow
    The plan is to Play

    Fab, Thiago & Hendo far too much in a 3
    Naby rotating essentially

    With too few minutes for our front 5 players

    With 2 of Bobby, Mane, Diaz, Salah or Jota on the bench 🤔

    It stinks for competition and it stinks tactically.
    Make hay while the sunshines 4231

  10. #20
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    That 14-point gap they had on us that's now a 1-point gap.

    They didn't drop those points against us - they dropped them against other sides. We haven't gained on Man City by beating them.

    5 draws for them this season (2 against us) means there's 3 draws and 3 losses from 29 League matches they've played against non-LFC opposition - essentially they drop points in roughly 1-of-6 matches and there are 7 left.

    Cross all fingers and toes and let's take care of our own business irrespective of what they do.
    Your hobbies are rollerblading and you're also a bit of a rat-hound? Steel Wool
    Sid knows he's crazy and he likes it. Balinkay

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