[Albion] Team for Spurs

[LamieRobertson]

Want to get Webster warm before the Southampton game and think against Kane/Son he might be needed... but also wouldnt want to change too much/anything. Tough call.

Depends still on fitness….Potter made the comment that yesterday he did the maximum number of minutes possible

 

[Mackenzie]

Caicedo-Bissouma-Mwepu

Those three +8

 

[Swansman]

Depends still on fitness….Potter made the comment that yesterday he did the maximum number of minutes possible

Ok, unlikely to start against Spurs then. Maybe 45 min or something if the game allows it.

 

[Eric the meek]

Ok, unlikely to start against Spurs then. Maybe 45 min or something if the game allows it.

What is Webster like if it kicks off in the tunnel?

 

[dazzer6666]

Has anyone noticed?

Everyone who has suggested an eleven against Spurs, has included Caicedo in their eleven. That's after one game.

Because he’s the fecking business, and - more importantly- the future. Fair play to Tim Vickery, the LatinoAmerican sports journo who was raving about him long before we signed him, and then expressed his amazement that WE signed him and not City or Liverpool. Actually love how the club have made sure he’s ready before properly introducing him - hope he now gets a decent run for the rest of this season so he’s ready to replace Biss next term. I think he might even be better.

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

Want to get Webster warm before the Southampton game and think against Kane/Son he might be needed... but also wouldnt want to change too much/anything. Tough call.

Kulu has made the attack much more potent.

Before you could let moura run and he would do nothing, Kulu has to be watched

 

[Stat Brother]

Because he’s the fecking business, and - more importantly- the future. Fair play to Tim Vickery, the LatinoAmerican sports journo who was raving about him long before we signed him, and then expressed his amazement that WE signed him and not City or Liverpool. Actually love how the club have made sure he’s ready before properly introducing him - hope he now gets a decent run for the rest of this season so he’s ready to replace Biss next term. I think he might even be better.

We only singed him because the club had already done the hard yards with team mate Billy Arse.

Singing Billy could be the deal of the century.

 

[Swansman]

Kulu has made the attack much more potent.

Before you could let moura run and he would do nothing, Kulu has to be watched

Kulusevski is class... real class unlike Moura and Lamela who would indeed do **** all most of the time.

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

Kulusevski is class... real class unlike Moura and Lamela who would indeed do **** all most of the time.

Can’t believe Juve let him go tbh.

 

[dazzer6666]

We only singed him because the club had already done the hard yards with team mate Billy Arse.

Singing Billy could be the deal of the century.

Sprat to catch a mackerel

 

[Eric the meek]

Because he’s the fecking business, and - more importantly- the future. Fair play to Tim Vickery, the LatinoAmerican sports journo who was raving about him long before we signed him, and then expressed his amazement that WE signed him and not City or Liverpool. Actually love how the club have made sure he’s ready before properly introducing him - hope he now gets a decent run for the rest of this season so he’s ready to replace Biss next term. I think he might even be better.

I think it's nailed on.

When I first saw his showreel, I thought 'Christ. He's better than Bissouma'. Then I did a reality check, and realised the opposition in his showreel, wouldn't have been PL standard. Yesterday, we saw him up alongside Bissouma (who several clubs are courting) and against top half PL standard midfielders. He didn't look at all out of place.

Tim Vickery described him as a complete player. He's the real deal. And he's ours.

A phenomenal signing.

 

[Seagull58]

The first one came from the back pass to Veltman catching him off guard and Dunk booting the ball clear.

The goal came from Enock's impressive control and not passing it across the box but back to Partey/Xhaka territory - where nobody was.

A la the 2nd goal.


I reckon Scarlett thought:-
'palace exposed our full backs, I need to tighten that up'.

GPott thought:-
'palace exposed their full backs, he's gonna try and tightened that up so I'll go at him down the middle'.

'Who's in midfield boss?'
'Yes'

Both goals came from out wide and cutting the ball back to the edge of the area. Neither of them came from playing the ball through the middle.

 

[Swansman]

Because he’s the fecking business, and - more importantly- the future. Fair play to Tim Vickery, the LatinoAmerican sports journo who was raving about him long before we signed him, and then expressed his amazement that WE signed him and not City or Liverpool. Actually love how the club have made sure he’s ready before properly introducing him - hope he now gets a decent run for the rest of this season so he’s ready to replace Biss next term. I think he might even be better.

Not sure I would necessarily compare him to Bissouma, seems like more of a two-way midfielder to me. Bissouma is a great vacuum cleaner, one of the best in the world on his day, a real ball winner who shouldnt do much playmaking or forward runs, while Caicedo appears to be more like Macallister or Moder.

 

[Eric the meek]

Not sure I would necessarily compare him to Bissouma, seems like more of a two-way midfielder to me. Bissouma is a great vacuum cleaner, one of the best in the world on his day, a real ball winner who shouldnt do much playmaking or forward runs, while Caicedo appears to be more like Macallister or Moder.

Caicedo is a ball winner as well. Whenever he makes a challenge, he seems to come away with the ball. But he also plays more forward than Bissouma. He made the assist for our second goal yesterday.

 

[Seagull58]

Caicedo is a ball winner as well. Whenever he makes a challenge, he seems to come away with the ball. But he also plays more forward than Bissouma. He made the assist for our second goal yesterday.

Classic box to box midfielder in the mould of Brian Horton and Roy Keane.

 

[Bold Seagull]

Both goals came from out wide and cutting the ball back to the edge of the area. Neither of them came from playing the ball through the middle.

I'm not going to 2nd guess [MENTION=435]Stat Brother[/MENTION], but think he makes an excellent point that we setup in a way you wouldn't really think we had much natural width in that team with Cucurella playing 3rd CB, then Gross and Trossard effectively as wingbacks - but that is not how it went.

First Mwepu pops up to cross for Trossard who had ghosted pretty much unmarked into the box, then it's Caicedo who gives a bit of width to pull back for Mwepu. Neither was playing in a role of conventional width; on their average position maps, Mwepu and Caicedo are on the halfway line almost exactly where the centre circle intersects either side. However, Mwepu spent a fair amount of time interchanging with Gross to protect that side against Martinelli and Smith-Rowe, and Caicedo did the same against Odegaard and Saka. Given we love a 'false' in tactical speak, I'd say both Mwepu and Caicedo played a bit like 'false' wing backs. We pretty much played a 3 without conventional wing-backs.

57% of our attacks came from our left – Cucurella and Trossard, whereas only 25% down our right, Gross and Veltman. First goal came from Mwepu going inside to out to pick up that long pass from Dunk from the right, Arsenal asleep in that area with us not showing that much threat out there - hence the 'laid the trap' I think Stat was alluding to.

When it doesn't work, we can look frustrating, especially not taking chances which causes all your hard tactical work to fall on it's arse. Saturday however, the fluidity, flexibility of our tactics, with an intensity and work-rate, and finally taking chances, we go from looking 'doomed' at 2pm, to looking like a very good dynamic side again by 5pm.

 

[Stat Brother]

I'm not going to 2nd guess [MENTION=435]Stat Brother[/MENTION], but think he makes an excellent point that we setup in a way you wouldn't really think we had much natural width in that team with Cucurella playing 3rd CB, then Gross and Trossard effectively as wingbacks - but that is not how it went.

First Mwepu pops up to cross for Trossard who had ghosted pretty much unmarked into the box, then it's Caicedo who gives a bit of width to pull back for Mwepu. Neither was playing in a role of conventional width; on their average position maps, Mwepu and Caicedo are on the halfway line almost exactly where the centre circle intersects either side. However, Mwepu spent a fair amount of time interchanging with Gross to protect that side against Martinelli and Smith-Rowe, and Caicedo did the same against Odegaard and Saka. Given we love a 'false' in tactical speak, I'd say both Mwepu and Caicedo played a bit like 'false' wing backs. We pretty much played a 3 without conventional wing-backs.

57% of our attacks came from our left – Cucurella and Trossard, whereas only 25% down our right, Gross and Veltman. First goal came from Mwepu going inside to out to pick up that long pass from Dunk from the right, Arsenal asleep in that area with us not showing that much threat out there - hence the 'laid the trap' I think Stat was alluding to.

When it doesn't work, we can look frustrating, especially not taking chances which causes all your hard tactical work to fall on it's arse. Saturday however, the fluidity, flexibility of our tactics, with an intensity and work-rate, and finally taking chances, we go from looking 'doomed' at 2pm, to looking like a very good dynamic side again by 5pm.

I'll add I think Scarlett was expecting Flair Hair and The Lamp to be at their full backs all game.
They weren't.

Caiciado looked up 3 times for Enock ignoring the 2 players on the edge of the 6 yard box.
That's where GPott thought the space would be, that's what they trained to do.

 

[Eric Youngs Contact Lens]

Will be interesting to see what GP does. In the game at the Amex, he definitely put a plan in place to screen out Kane dropping deep and he was pretty ineffective in the first half - the scruffy goal changed the game a fair bit and we lost that screening as we changed shape and pushed for an equaliser : Bissouma was one, but think maybe Gross was the other? What excited me about Saturday's goals was the fact that we had multiple runners to the 6 yard box that helps take the defenders deeper, leaving that space for a more angled ball back for a late arrival.. but that might just play into the hands of a counter-attacking Spurs team for whom their two deep sitting midfielders (can't spell their names!!) will do a better defensive job than Arsenal's!. Glad I'm not making the decision.. GP normally goes for high risk-high reward... but I think he will change it from Saturday (and probably play Alzate out of the blue!!)

 

[Barham's tash]

A bit gutted that City didn’t win yesterday as I’d then fancy our chances more there than at Spurs. As it is now whilst they’ll have one eye on Champions League they’ll be looking at taking us on as canon fodder but need to field their strongest team.

V Spurs we just never seem to get the rub of the green. Fully expecting Webster to return only for Kane to end his season by backing in, breaking Webster’s spine, but still somehow winning Spurs the free kick.

 

[Uh_huh_him]

Sanchez
Lamptey Veltman Dunk Cucurella

Groß Bissouma Mwepu

Mac Allister
Maupay Trossard