And he’s back. By popular demand. Possibly. Maybe. Well not quite. By fuck it. I’m back.
So it’s been a while and while there’s a lot to cover I might defer some of that to a latter post (just like I delayed the part II of last season to infinity – and beyond).
We were not at our best today. But, then, I don’t think we’ve been at our best for a number of games this year. Sometimes the results have made us look better than we really are. I have no doubt that we are a better team than last year. I like the impact of Alexis in the Giroud position. It makes us less predictable. But we weren’t that much better than Hull nor Sunderland. No complaints with those scores but it does falsely set expectations. And then we have to adapt to results such as today. And performances.
We still have a number of issues to figure out. The balance/mix is just slightly off. And at this level with the competition at the top of the table, a 1% difference will have a disproportionate impact.
It’s hard to be too upset with this score. We were not dominant enough. Not incisive enough. And there were long periods were we did not assert ourselves. They were fielding a weakened tea and we should have taken advantage of that You can be sure at there places we will be under much more pressure.
I like we way we started with a high press game. But I don’t think we adjusted to their 3 at the back. It allowed them to flood midfield with Rose and Walker playing more like wingers. Whereas our “winger” aside from a thunderous shot that hit the post and was easily worthy of a goal we fairly restrained. Our game seems more suited now to a counter-attacking one. We looked at our best when we broke from our own half after defending. Creating chances around a packed box remains frustrating. Ironically, it’s only when Giroud is on the field do we look like scoring in those situations because of his aerial strength and touch. Ironically, it’s his presence though that slows up the entire team and causes us to play tippy-tappy around the box though.
Conversely, their quick breaks in the first half looked quite dangerous. Maybe it’s a German thing but Mustafi jumping into challenges at the half way life – just like the BFG at Liverpool – exposed us and they really should have scored from some of these chances. It does not feel like the two center-backs have quite figured out their relative positioning. It’s always nerve-racking when Bellerin/Walcott lost the ball to see them counterattack down the right hand side. Without our pacy right-back to provide cover we are always exposed. Whereas in the second half when they broker down the left hand side he was able to jump over to the other side of the box an intercept. In fact both full-backs saved us today with great interceptions It’s the 2 CB that seem to loose men between them and expose us to chances. As with Middlesborough though Cech was there to save us. How invaluable is this guy?
Some random thoughts now on players:
- How pissed was our Coq when he was substituted? I was not happy either but it worked out. I hated seeing Ramsey coming in – he worries me. But, he actually played quite well. I would have taken off Xhaka he played well but I’d prefer to keep my Coq about me.
- How sucky was Chamberlain again? Some of his decisions and passing was just crap. He needs to grab his chances when they come along – not just against second string teams.
- Ramsey was really not too bad. There I said it.
- Iwobi. I fear he’s going to become my new Ramsey it’s been a a couple of games now where I’ve been thoroughly underwhelmed. Against Sunderland. And again today. He is a liability defending. In the first half his covering to Monreal was non-existence. There was a point where he over chased the ball to go after the same man as Monreal and left Ericksson wide open on the corner of the box for him to send in a cross for Kant to head wide. A number of times his passing resulted in turnovers and breakaways. Most of the counterattacks started down his side and he just does not cover back enough. And then there was his miss in the first half from the perfect breakaway play. He demonstrated a complete lack of confidence Compare that shot to the breakaway again Everton last season. He is overthinking it. And that shows when he slows the game down on the counterattack. I fear he’s going to be our Walcott/Chamberlain of previous years (though he’s younger and more talented) but is so frustrating.
- We missed Santi again today. He is the glue of this team. He keeps the game flowing and can pivot out of tight positions. I like Xhaka but Santi operates at a different level. We are like a finely tuned machine and Santi is that 1% that will separate us from the crowd We missed him this time last year after his injury against Norwich. Let’s hope this insanely unnecessary and stupid international break gives him sufficient time to recover. We will need him against MU on resumption of play.
- Giroud misses the one chance that could have gotten us the 3 points. He was largely anonymous when he came on. But he had one golden chance and he headed right at Lloris. This is why people go made at him. That infamous world-class striker would have buried it. This is why Giroud is an A- kinda guy. I’ll take his goals against Sunderland. He’ll aways score but this was one we really needed him to place on either side of Lloris. These are those gaming defining moments. And, unfortunately, it defined him in the wrong way.
- Formation wise we seem a little rigged now. Most teams are now into this fancy smancy oh so fashionable 3 at the back. I don’t care for that. But I think the 2 holding midfield players were getting overrun today. Their fullbacks pushed on more than ours. But I felt nervous when they broke because we did not seem to know who to pick up. I think they are a better team when Kant is not playing up front – he slows them down. When they have Ali and KimJanypoohSong together they are much quicker and inventive.
- Back to our center-backs. Koschelny should never have jumped into Dembele. He was going nowhere and was surrounded. Of course it started down our left again (Obe-1 reference). But he has to do better there. Too many time Mustafi had to make desperation interceptions.
So I’l take the point. For Sp*rs that point will help them in their relegation battle. For us, even if we had lost I would not freaked out (spot the lie) – it’s a long long season and we’re surrounded by some exceptional and inconsistent teams. There will be plenty of times to pick up points. But only if we fix the balance in our team. We are just a player or two away from striking the right balance. If Chamberlain could step up and grow into the player we had hoped that could be it. He should be furious that he’s essentially lost his starting place to Obe1. It just does not seem like he feels that way. We need someone on the left hand side who has the Alexis work ethic and speed inconjunction with the talent. TW14 this year is working harder and trying to be more physical – we need the same on the other side. And we need our CBs to work better together. Still, as we have in the past with Manu, they were there for the taking – I’m guessing they expected to lose given the run they were on. And therefore we missed a chance to plunge the knife in. Having said that I hate these debris because I can’t bear the thought of losing to them and therefore I’m too excepting of a draw – the lesser of two evils.
It’s a long season. It’s a long winter. It won’t take much for us to get it right or wrong. The margins are thin. And we need the team to evolve. One thing I saw today that I liked was when TW14 got an elbow from Wanpyjamas that – like in the old days with Veira and Adams – Xhaka and others stepped up to push back the Sp*rs players. That’s the spirit we could never have when we had Fabregas and VanDickHead.
So, I remain positive. This is a better team than last year. But we have better competition. And, did I mention, it’s a long season. How some of these younger players evolve will determine whether we progress – which does not have to mean we win the league – but it does mean we have to be genuinely competitive in challenging for the title right up until the end.
Up next that utter fuck-head Darth-Vader. Let’s hope his political equivalent does not win on Tuesday either.
Ah, it’s good to be back.
– LB7