I agree with most of this. I do feel that at the core of our problems this season has been the lack of settled central defensive partnership. I'd be willing to bet that if we'd signed Ben White we'd have several more points in the bag. In this regard I think that the impact of Berardi's injury in the penultimate game of the season has been underestimated. Statistically we actually do better with Berardi in the team, and, like White, he's thoroughly schooled in the Bielsa system. It seems to be very difficult for new signings to just step into a Bielsa team, even if they have the required physical fitness. Cooper's injury on Scotland duty and Llorente's with Spain have further complicated matters. This is probably part of the reason why we are so vulnerable at set pieces. I also agree that we need to put our spending this summer to better use on the field. How many promoted sides keep their club's record signing on the bench? He's Spain's centre-forward, he should be starting. All that being said, I expect (and fervently hope) that we'll see a reaction against West Ham. Cheers! Sean
-----Original Message----- From: John Lee via Leedslist <leedslist@gn.apc.org> To: Nick <n...@6haroldplace.co.uk> Cc: leeds list <leedslist@gn.apc.org> Sent: Sun, Dec 6, 2020 7:37 am Subject: Re: [LU] Chelsea In agreement with Nick & Rich’s summaries - Lampard, who I have come to despise with a passion, already knew what to expect and did a great job tactically, and with better quality players than us in probably every position, the result was inevitable. It is easy to criticise, and probably futile, but I was pretty glad Philips has no pace a couple of times, as he was clearly looking frustrated and wanted to clatter someone, but he wasn’t quick enough. I don’t know why he was pushed so far up the pitch, but Chelsea did a job on him after minute 4. I think it is now time for Marcello to consider the conundrum between not changing your players, and playing our best xi. Loyalty is great etc, but to progress we have to build a team around our best players, meaning Llorente and Rodrigo should be starting and we should play with a left back at left back. My other ‘worry’ is that we have gone from a team who regularly play some of our young uns, to ‘experience is all’. I would rather have Struijk gaining game time, than Cooper and his predictability. I would rather see Davis in, and I still think Shackleton should be in, maybe at Klich’s expense. Also, if Jack Harrison cannot cross, there is a decision to be made re him, Poveda and Raphina! Is Hernandez injured by the way? We needed some guile and having him come off the bench might have helped. When we all said at the start of the season that there would be days like this and acted all philosophical about it then, it still doesn’t make it any more palatable when it happens! Sent from my iPad > On 6 Dec 2020, at 11:05, Nick <n...@6haroldplace.co.uk> wrote: > > Hard not to agree that Chelsea were better than us in most aspects of the > game - whereas Leicester soaked up pressure and sucker-pinched us with speed > and skill (rope-a-dope) - Chelsea showed basically what our system looks like > with better quality players. > > Cooper, Alioski, Dallas, Klich, Harrison (and perhaps Ayling…) all looked > this was the level that was just beyond them. Which is harsh given how superb > all have been for the last 2 or 3 years, and given the improvement that each > has seen in their own game. We’ve seen that these guys can make it happen to > a level just around the European qualification mark but that to be truly > pushing at the top we can’t have that many players out of 11 not quite making > it. All of which sounds like damning them, it is not meant to, I have been > stunned by how much better our team and these individuals have got in the > last 26 months - and how much I have enjoyed watching us play, for the first > time since O’Leary really - and if we finish where we are now in the league, > the fact that that would feel like a small disappointment tells you how far > we’ve come - but in the end there are limits to what training and coaching > will achieve, especially against bottomless wallets. > > Bamford’s goal was absolutely top drawer - the pass out of defence, Phillips’ > first time ball (I have rarely seen a better weighted pass, and with his > ‘wrong' foot), and the first touch and the finish - he still had work to do > to get the finish right. Yes, their keeper made a strange decision. No > stranger than their winger who somehow cleared that ball off our goal line > via the crossbar a few minutes later. > > It felt like we were in the game for the first hour, but their second goal > really did for us - they apparently score a lot from corners - the delivery > is good and that time Zouma absolutely dominated the box for that header. A > bit like Liverpool’s second, and like that one, there were bodies tumbling in > box in the path of the onrushing goalscorer - it looks like American > football, where teams chuck in blockers to clear a path for the quarter back > - hard to tell if it is a tactic or just luck - either way we need to be > tougher and cannier when defending set pieces. > > I thought we struggled down our left all game - which may be the result of > their right back, James, who really was something else - but as Rich says, > we’re playing someone out of position at left back…and Cooper is at his > limit. We may be better with 3 CHalfs and 5 across the middle, if we can’t > find a good full back. I thought Llorente did OK in what were difficult > circumstances for him - when fit, I see him and Koch as the natural CHalf > pairing. > > We do have to find a place for Rodrigo to start, he gives a muscularity and > drive that we seem shy of, when pushing forward. Raphina did OK when he was > in the game…and could very well have got us a second with that shot and > rebound in the second half, but we didn’t get the ball to him enough. > > We commented after about 55 minutes that names we hadn’t heard from the > commentators anything like as much as we normally do were Dallas, Klich, > Harrison…which shows that our midfield was second to pretty much everything. > > I dislike Frank Lampard just a little bit more now. > > Nick > > >> On 6 Dec 2020, at 10:32, Richard Walker via Leedslist <leedslist@gn.apc.org> >> wrote: >> >> For the first time this season we were comprehensively outplayed, outfought >> and outrun (apparently !) in that 2nd half. Chelsea have quality players all >> over the park who have time on the ball and were able to side step our >> terrier like defences and create chance after chance. I've never seen Klich >> look so out of his depth and as for Philips in that 2nd half, well he just >> couldn't play against that level. No shame in that though, these are top, >> top players and when you lose your best defender in the opening part of the >> game then it's always going to be difficult. >> I thought we matched them in the first half and started brightly with a >> great left footed pass from Philips through to Bamford who still had a lot >> to do. He sidestepped the keeper and calmly slotted home but what the hell >> was the keeper doing ? He made it really easy for Bamford and if Chelsea had >> a weakness last night I thought it was their keeper. >> We caused them problems especially down our right with Raphinha looking >> lively again. Unfortunately, Harrison on the other wing was having one of >> those days where he shows us his knack of being able to pick out nobody with >> a great overhit cross. Harrison has improved beyond recognition over the >> past 12 months but I feel he's struggling at this level at the moment and I >> think it is time to give someone else a chance. >> Here's my scores: >> Miesler - 7. Kept the score sensible with some great saves however I can't >> help feeling that our set piece problem which has returned massively is in >> some part down to him. >> Ayling - 7. I thought he did well generally. >> Allioski - 5. They had too much space down our left. He's not a defensive >> left back so we are going to struggle against the better teams. You can't >> get away playing defenders who are not that good at defending. >> Koch - 5. Not on long enough. It was obviously a gamble to play him. >> Cooper - 7. Possibly his best game this season which seems strange given he >> fell over for the 2nd goal and we looked like conceding 5 or 6 in the 2nd >> half. Overall, I thought he held us together (just) at the back. >> Klich - 5. Looked tired 2nd half or maybe just bemused. Was totally >> ineffective. >> Philips - 4. Started really lively and I thought maybe Everton wasn't a >> one-off but he crumbled and in the second half he looked like a schoolboy >> amongst men. >> Harrison - 2. Really poor. >> Raphinha - 6. Great first half but hardly touched the ball in the 2nd apart >> from one double chance which would have been spectacular had it gone in. >> Bamford - 7. Good goal and worked hard. >> Subs: >> Llorente - 5. I thought he was at fault for their first goal. Stood there >> with his arm up asking for offside rather than getting in front of the >> Chelsea player. He did however show some promise and for me he looks like a >> prospect. >> Rodrigo - 6. Gave the ball away a couple of times but he looks sharp and he >> looks like he's got time on the ball. In fact, he looked like a Chelsea >> player. If Bielsa can't find a system that places Rodrigo at the heart of >> everything we do then he's not the God we thought. >> Big game Friday now. >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Leedslist mailing list >> Info and options: https://mailman.gn.apc.org/mailman/listinfo/leedslist >> To unsubscribe, email leedslist-unsubscr...@gn.apc.org >> >> Find us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/leedslist/ >> >> Dorigo's Right Buttock... > > _______________________________________________ > Leedslist mailing list > Info and options: https://mailman.gn.apc.org/mailman/listinfo/leedslist > To unsubscribe, email leedslist-unsubscr...@gn.apc.org > > Find us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/leedslist/ > > Dorigo's Right Buttock... _______________________________________________ Leedslist mailing list Info and options: https://mailman.gn.apc.org/mailman/listinfo/leedslist To unsubscribe, email leedslist-unsubscr...@gn.apc.org Find us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/leedslist/ Dorigo's Right Buttock... _______________________________________________ Leedslist mailing list Info and options: https://mailman.gn.apc.org/mailman/listinfo/leedslist To unsubscribe, email leedslist-unsubscr...@gn.apc.org Find us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/leedslist/ Dorigo's Right Buttock...
