[Albion] counter attacks

[Flagship]

We struggle when teams don't press. I would suggest letting the opposition have more of the ball. I'd be telling to keeper to punt the ball upfield occasionally and let the opposition come forward and attack us.

Webster is a liability, Dunk is a little slower this season and I'm not too sure what Milner is doing at right back; Veltman is much better.

 

[Springal]

Webster is a liability, Dunk is a little slower this season and I'm not too sure what Milner is doing at right back; Veltman is much better.

I don’t really understand why RDZ doesn’t rate Veltman. He was used sparingly end of last season as well

 

[Weststander]

We lost because Webster had a mare - can’t sugar coat it any other way. He’s a liability.

and not playing a proper RB, in position.

 

[GoingUp]

Their 11 man defence was near impossible to break down (BBC reckons we had 84% possession first half) and their 3 goals from breaks were scored by their 3 Players Most Likely To. Tactically we were well and truly outsmarted by Moyes and were always toiling to create anything

This was the main issue, West Ham were so compressed, packed in and well organised. Bit of a Moyes masterclass.

For most the game we were just knocking the ball around in a safe zone (for west ham) then when we tried to work something they were on us in an instant (especially mitoma), won the ball back and countered us. At one point poor Adringa was left as the lone CB!

We definitely miss Caicedo and also Enciso could had possibly given us that creative spark by running at them caused some havoc as there was far too much pedestrian passing from us.............. when we weren't being counter attacked.

 

[West Upper Seagull]

and not playing a proper RB, in position.

Can you honestly say not having a RB for the first and third goal would have changed anything ? Would have made no difference in my opinion - Webster solely at fault both times

 

[Cordwainer]

We struggle when teams don't press. I would suggest letting the opposition have more of the ball. I'd be telling to keeper to punt the ball upfield occasionally and let the opposition come forward and attack us.

Webster is a liability, Dunk is a little slower this season and I'm not too sure what Milner is doing at right back; Veltman is much better.

Much like my marriage, there was almost no penetration. With WH low block and obvious intent to counter, Pedro should have started as he can be direct and carry the ball well. Instead especially in the first half the ball was played in front of the WH back 11 from side to side with ineffective crosses and corners..rinse and repeat. Take MacA, Caicedo and Colwill out of any team and there will be an impact..but the lack of tackling/aggression in the midfield and defence was noticeable, made worse by Webster playing like he’d had several pre match beers. Hopefully an off day and with a couple of decent additions to come, not to be repeated too often.

 

[METALMICKY]

Eddie Howe will be licking his lips at our weaknesses and inability to defend against a fast break / counter.

Bizarrely I'm not sure he will because they wont sit back and pack their defence. They will have better players than West Ham all over the park and will come at us could open it up for us more than today. The big issue will be our lack of pace on the right handball side of our defence

 

[Weststander]

Can you honestly say not having a RB for the first and third goal would have changed anything ? Would have made no difference in my opinion - Webster solely at fault both times

Yes. Veltman would’ve hustled Antonio, he’s a Dutch Master. With Webster covering perhaps.

Webster 1 on 1 at the touchline with acres of space behind him, is like watching Bambi on ice.

 

[trueblue]

Antonio was running them ragged.

Athletically streets ahead and even in pairs they couldn’t take the ball off of him …. as the cavalry of Bowen, Ward-Prowse and Paqueta arrived.

The stats showed they completed a grand total of 13 passes in the first half hour. They can’t have been bossing the game too well!

 

[BN41Albion]

Our defence was in their box, it isn’t that we defended badly, we attacked and they defended better.

I get that, but part of defending is how we set up, and attack is a form of defence. Today our defence (as a team) was nowhere to be seen as WH countered at pace down the pitch on numerous occasions. Therefore as a team we defended badly, which in this set up against teams that set up as WH did, has undoubtedly been a pitfall of DZ ball, and something he needs to work out how to stop.

 

[Weststander]

The stats showed they completed a grand total of 13 passes in the first half hour. They can’t have been bossing the game too well!

Counter attack football is the opposite of bossing the ball and game.

Think of it as calculated highway robbery.

 

[One Teddy Maybank]

and not playing a proper RB, in position.

Surely Veltman will be given a chance soon.

 

[American Seagle]

It’s not the tactic so much as the tactic if we are trailing. Always going to be extremely vulnerable in a game like that where we have all but total command of possession and are chasing an equaliser, as we saw a few times last season.

The same thing happened against Luton and Wolves though and we were winning there as well.
The one critique I can make of De Zerbi so far is we concede too many goals, and often too cheaply.

 

[zefarelly]

It’s tactical (imo anyway), our super high press means that it’s easy to get the ball over everyone’s head and leaving the defenders with too much to do, often in one-on-one situations.

People will talk about losing Mac and Moises, but weren’t they playing when the same happened against Everton?

Which further highlights having two giraffes with child bearing hips in central defence is not the way forward. One maybe, but the other needs to be a bit more racing snake, or at least have a turning circle smaller than a THames sailing barge.

 

[portslade seagull]

A longer season than most thought lays ahead unless the defensive issues are rectified. Missing a DM doesn't help. Replacing them should've have been sorted a while ago

 

[macbeth]

i think if the club are looking to buy a new attack minded player, it should be someone who

a) fits into the pocket of space between the central midfielders and the strikers

b) can take a decent corner

c) has the ability to score from range. all the intricate passing and crossing just led to everything being cleared and blocked, and our one goal came when someone just had a go from outside the area

 

[Cordwainer]

I get that, but part of defending is how we set up, and attack is a form of defence. Today our defence (as a team) was nowhere to be seen as WH countered at pace down the pitch on numerous occasions. Therefore as a team we defended badly, which in this set up against teams that set up as WH did, has undoubtedly been a pitfall of DZ ball, and something he needs to work out how to stop.

Agreed..didn’t see much hustle to get bodies back to defend the counter..certainly next to no tackles. Think Gross comes out with some credit as in the second half he at least tried to play the ball more quickly and through the middle. When you’ve got a unit like Ferguson up front, and playing against WH style tactics, sometimes it pays to go more direct and try to get him one on one with defenders now and again.

 

[trueblue]

Agreed..didn’t see much hustle to get bodies back to defend the counter..certainly next to no tackles. Think Gross comes out with some credit as in the second half he at least tried to play the ball more quickly and through the middle. When you’ve got a unit like Ferguson up front, and playing against WH style tactics, sometimes it pays to go more direct and try to get him one on one with defenders now and again.

Don’t know how we could get anybody one on one with a defender when they pretty much always had at least 5 players behind the ball.

 

[scwiffy]

i think if the club are looking to buy a new attack minded player, it should be someone who

a) fits into the pocket of space between the central midfielders and the strikers

b) can take a decent corner

c) has the ability to score from range. all the intricate passing and crossing just led to everything being cleared and blocked, and our one goal came when someone just had a go from outside the area

Enciso & Bounanotte

 

[GT49er]

Two old time managers, Dyche and Moyes - dinosaurs according to the modern new generation progressive purists (and even one or two NSCers!) - turn up at the Amex and take the piss out of de Zerbi-ball and send it scuttling down the tunnel with its tale between its legs.

Who'da thunk it, eh?