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[Albion] Rationale for starting line up and formation
- Thread starter Giraffe
- Start date
I think you're being too harsh - the bottom line is, we won. Things weren't great ( very poor, in fact) first half, but changes were made and we came from behind....to win....away...at Burnley....in our first match.
Give some credit, eh?
I think you're right. He was dead set on starting with a back 4, lost burn then last night lost Veltman, probably then redeployed Gross leading to a cascade of minor **** ups totalling a complete balls up.
I think part of the reason he didn't change earlier in the game was he had so much to put right there was no way of doing it before half time.
I think you're being too harsh - the bottom line is, we won. Things weren't great ( very poor, in fact) first half, but changes were made and we came from behind....to win....away...at Burnley....in our first match.
Give some credit, eh?
THIS
We could easily have been three down at half time. Thankfully we weren't and the rest is history . . . . . I have no explanation for the first half, other than the 'lets manage the physicality' card . . .if that was the case we rode it bareback and got lucky . . . Twisting later worked a treat
Burnley are predictable, in the past we've played good players/teams against navvies/farm hands and struggled, maybe it was a deliberate ploy . . . .be agricultural, then spring into action. IF that was the case, it worked.
Burnley are predictable, in the past we've played good players/teams against navvies/farm hands and struggled, maybe it was a deliberate ploy . . . .be agricultural, then spring into action. IF that was the case, it worked.
- Oct 17, 2008
- 14,563
Delighted with the win, but that first half set up was utterly batshit crazy. Webster at right back was bad enough, but Groß at left back was the strangest selection I can recall since Leon Best played for us. We were all over the shop and were very lucky to be in the game at half time.
But, we won! Somehow! Finally some luck and some excellent substitutions. I find it hard to praise the tactical change though, because that is like congratulating someone for taking their fingers out of a plug socket. It was a stupid thing to do in the first place.
But, we won! Somehow! Finally some luck and some excellent substitutions. I find it hard to praise the tactical change though, because that is like congratulating someone for taking their fingers out of a plug socket. It was a stupid thing to do in the first place.
With foresight -yes.....hindsight, maybe not.
It truly seemed crazy, to me...but I'm no Premier League manager, so what do I know?
I think you're being too harsh - the bottom line is, we won. Things weren't great ( very poor, in fact) first half, but changes were made and we came from behind....to win....away...at Burnley....in our first match.
Give some credit, eh?
The whole bottom paragraph is praise, he's put together a decent machine that when it's going well its super slick poetry in motion.
When he reverted back to that we easily won, making the first half even more baffling.
read my whole post.
Kosh
'The' Yaztromo
The first half was a tactical car crash, a mess and irrespective of where the players were playing they looked bereft of energy and (yes) were miles off the required pace. When you consider this was Burnley back in front of an energised Turf Moor, the lack of adrenaline from us remains worrying. Following that half I feared the worst. Unbelievably we managed to strike back, although clearly reverting to tactical shape and type saved the day. I have to praise GP for putting it right and the players for considerably upping their game during the second half.
As for what GP was thinking setting up the way he did, I just can’t fathom ... unless it was a curve ball punt, a recruitment team SOS, a Dyche confusion bomb... alas, it didn’t work at all and here’s hoping where injuries allow we never see Gross at LB ever again.
As for what GP was thinking setting up the way he did, I just can’t fathom ... unless it was a curve ball punt, a recruitment team SOS, a Dyche confusion bomb... alas, it didn’t work at all and here’s hoping where injuries allow we never see Gross at LB ever again.
Icy Gull
Back on the rollercoaster
- Jul 5, 2003
- 72,015
I do wonder whether playing away in front of a crowd against a bunch of professional fouling thugs, a few injuries for first team players and only having had 3 pre season games as opposed to 7 for Burnley had something to do with our poor first 45? Going a goal down so quickly won’t have helped, especially the manner of it.
I presumed it was to put five dogs of war on the back line to stand up to Burnley,
With added protection from Biss and mwepu in defensive mid.
And then hope our small, nimble guys catch them on the break.
It sort of sounds alright in theory, until the reality of gross at lb hits home and the midfield turns into….something.
The game ended up being the best and worst of potter - overthinking his way into the initial abomination, and then having the nous to make the right changes and quickly come up with a winning formation.
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- Jan 3, 2012
- 17,357
……….. indeed! In which case it makes the second half a work of motivational as well as tactical genius on GP’s part!
el punal
Well-known member
The art of being a good manager - if plan A doesn’t work go to plan B, identify the weaknesses, address them and rectify the problem. Graham Potter did that yesterday and we won. There were many Premier League managers yesterday who didn’t and their teams lost.
prawnsarnies
Well-known member
- Jan 20, 2010
- 1,111
The players that played out of position looked so uncomfortable, surely he had tried the formation in training. I thought Potter looked like a rabbit in the headlights when the half time whistle went, but we got over the line and we move on, hopefully lessons learnt.
Half Time Pies
Well-known member
It did seem to be a completely baffling selection however to be fair to Potter sometimes his odd selections actually do end up working! He's certainly not scared to take risks, sometimes it comes off and sometimes its a complete disaster.
One thing is absolutely certain, do this against Watford and we'll get murdered on the break. They took Matt Targett apart yesterday, who's a proper full back. I can only think this was either because he only believes Duffy can play in a back four or - terrifyingly - because he feels he has to fit Mwepu in somewhere. I really don't get why we're trying to shoehorn him into the side when most other new signings get eased in gently. Not only that but you lose Gross's creativity if he's stuck at the back and he's started ahead of the experienced Lallana and Moder who looks uber versatile. I've no idea why we're playing Moder off the bench when he can play in the middle, helped create the overloads on our left against Man City (a position he also scored from against England) and yet popped up on the right with an assist within minutes of coming on yesterday.
Or, perhaps, Potter was just trying to be too clever for his own good. This is the thing that's wrong with the cult of coaching. Sometimes football is a much more simple game. I don't just mean to apply that to GPott - if you look at Bielsa yesterday he resolutely refused to put Phillips on even though Leeds were crying out for him, presumably because he wasn't "murder ball fit". The BBC mealy mouthed something about half a pre-season - Luke Shaw, who played, was also in the Euros. White played 90 mins having been on holiday with Phillips. So, the win went to the more pragmatic Ole who overloaded his midfield with talent and bossed the game.
Credit where credit is due to GP though. We saw the issue and dealt with it. This was the opposite of last season. For once it was us getting luck with the woodwork, us having the better second half, us making the meaningful substitutions, us shithousing them to frustration. But only after a very strange opening 45.
Or, perhaps, Potter was just trying to be too clever for his own good. This is the thing that's wrong with the cult of coaching. Sometimes football is a much more simple game. I don't just mean to apply that to GPott - if you look at Bielsa yesterday he resolutely refused to put Phillips on even though Leeds were crying out for him, presumably because he wasn't "murder ball fit". The BBC mealy mouthed something about half a pre-season - Luke Shaw, who played, was also in the Euros. White played 90 mins having been on holiday with Phillips. So, the win went to the more pragmatic Ole who overloaded his midfield with talent and bossed the game.
Credit where credit is due to GP though. We saw the issue and dealt with it. This was the opposite of last season. For once it was us getting luck with the woodwork, us having the better second half, us making the meaningful substitutions, us shithousing them to frustration. But only after a very strange opening 45.
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Change at Barnham
Well-known member
And we exceeded our xG.
Several things not quite right for us, but plenty of things were very positive from a depleted squad playing against a horrible side that upset most opponents.
For once we got a few breaks, and it is the other team that are moaning about bad luck.
My most enjoyable clip?
Watching the Neal Maupay's post-match interview and hearing in the background the Albion fans singing to the Neanderthals, "One nil and you fúcked it up!"