Still TOTL. But, now the pressure starts. Two losses in a row. Two games without goals. But, in this game, we were clearly way below par; below Partey. Not that I can blame Jorginho but I’ll try finding a way.
Listen, it’s a long season and we knew there would be some dips. This though felt more like a throwback performance. We were sloppy for most of the game. Too many simple passes were under hit or put our own players in danger.
It did not help that they had recently installed the Ugly Dyche in place of the Limp Lampard. If only they could have waited another game. They were physical, energized, well-organized. They were Burnley 2.0. They were Burnley with supporters. They were Burnley with attitude. And we were, well, Arsenal of last year.
This will be an interesting test now of how far we’ve come. How do we handle this result and performance. Do we dig in and stop the rut setting in? Today, too many players seemed off the pace. Eddie barely touched the ball but then he barely saw it. Martinelli was up against old-man Coleman. So old that when Arteta was at Everton, they played alongside each other. But he failed to run at him and create any real chances. And he lost possession too easily.
On the other side Saka was being bullied by their Ukrainian. And whenever he received the ball he was marked by three thugs. Odegaard was pretty anonymous in this game and not only had no impact but found it hard to release anyone with his passes. Saka was not helped by White. Against United I genuinely thought White was injured or sick. But, again, today, his distribution was off and he gave too many balls away. In particular, in the first half when, under a little pressure he misplaced the pass to Odergaard which then set up a chance for Calvert Klein and the Andy Caroll pony-tail. Eventually he was replaced by Tommy. I think we’re are the point where Tommy needs to start and have White search for his missing mojo. These two meant that Saka was too isolated. The best passes too him came from Zinny and Xhaka playing cross-field balls. He did nearly score only to have one of their big apes clear the ball off the line.
Saliba was also guilty of little mistakes. Passes that put our midfield under pressure and hesitating too often. Gabriel was pretty solid though, just once, he did lose him man to allow a free header on goal. But he played CL quite well. ZInny was the only one who seemed up for this game. He took on the initiative to try and push the team forward. But they parked the bus and worked tirelessly to shut us down. Unfortunately, as they game wore on and they tired we made substitutions that meant we still weren’t able to create obvious chances.
It’s unlike Arteta to make chances so early but on the 58th minute we removed the ineffective Martinelli and brought on Trossard – who made an immediate difference. Ever since Martinelli signed his new contract his performances have disappointed 🙂 .
And then Partey was replaced by Jorginho. And then Everton scored. I’m not saying it was directly Jorginho fault. But, in the same way last week as soon as Partey was replaced by Sambi we lost the game, we saw the same thing this week. That’s not to say I don’t like Jorginho. I don’t; I hate him. I wish we’d never bought him from LA Chelsea. I hate the idea we gave them money. I hate the idea that, in the long line of Chelsea failures – Willian, David Luiz, Gallas and even Cech – we have to acquire their rejects. He’s too old, too slow and I pray we never let him take a penalty. I don’t trust this guy to fit in. At least with Sambi he had potential to improve. I fear that Jorginho will be a poor-mans Willian. Sent over by Chelsea to ruin our season.
In classic Burnley style they then proceeded to score from a corner. Ramsey had not looked confident on any of the previous corners so this had the feeling of inevitability about it. We’ve seen Ramsdale have issues from corners all season. He seems to get lost in the crowd and can’t decide when to come out. For this one, the box was (again) crowded and he made no attempt to intercept a ball within the 6 yard area. But we had Saka, Jorginho and ultimately Odegaard not marking them men to give Big Ears a clean header at goal.
Our response was muted and inconsistent. We infrequently created chances. Odegaard skyed one after some nice work by Eddie. Trossard had a few shots. Pickford wasted more minutes on his goal kicks than he had saves to make. He is a limited goalie but today we barely tested him. Eddie had one clear chance in the first half and none in the second. Too many times that final pass was overhit or left short.
Until their corner I had thought this would end nill nill. But once they scored I knew we’d lost. And we ended up with a midfield of Jorginho and Vieira. That’s a scary state of affairs. The only one who pushed us forward today was Zinny. He was our best player. Xhaka also left too many simple passes short or overhit his passes behind the full-backs. It was just not happening for too many people today. To be honest I thought Partey looked fine today. He still controlled the midfield and linked us up. It must have been that his rib injury really was impairing him. But once he was replaced you could see the gaps appear in our midfield. Did I mention I’m not a great fan of Jorginho?
Performances like today certainly give you pause in the belief we can win this league. Too many players were off their game. Too many players could not find their rhythm. Too many players were out-muscled. We looked like Man City on a poor day. Just too slow on the ball and unable to find that final pass. Let’s hope City turn into Arsenal come the end of the (last) season.
The pressure will mount now after two losses in a row. How we react and respond will be telling to whether we can withstand set-backs. This loss was different to the one at Old Trafford. That was VAR/referee induced. Here it was entirely on us. This is still a young team. So it will fall on Partey – assuming he recovers – and Xhaka to help guide this team. Of course, you can’t be perfect in each and every game. It’s inevitable there will be games like this. The pressure will mount now along with the inevitable questions. How we respond will tell us how this season will pan out.
A special word for Neil Maupay. What a monumental Cunning Unpleasant Neanderthal Twat. A complete dick. He fouled Gabriel for a non-awarded penalty and then tried to get Zinny sent off right at the end. He is just a nasty little fucker. And a waste of money. But not our money.
Now I have to find a way to enjoy the rest of the week-end. I don’t know whether I should wish for a City win that would push that lot even further behind us and limit their chances of champions League football or for that lot to cause City to lose and not make up any ground on us. Maybe a draw would be the best outcome. With Kane being injured and Son being sent-off. I need something to cheer me up.
For another week though, we remain TOTL. So enjoy that while it lasts.
-LB7