Everton Vs West Ham | League | 15.03.25 | Match & Predictions Thread

[stubbo-admin]

Match Centre:

Odds:
West Ham: 3/1
Draw: 9/4
Everton: 29/25

Pre-Match Press Conference:
Official Press Conference

Tactical Preview: 
Babbling Irons

Watch-along:
Hammers Chat

Streams:

SportHD 

(With all live streams be mindful they can carry viruses etc.  Don't click on any ads and use a VPN).
  

[El Scorchio]

Agree. I've also said from the start I'm suspending my judgement until next season. As soon as it was clear we weren't going down (was fairly obvious from mid/late Jan anyway) it was just get to the end of the season, evaluate what we've got and stop shipping a crazy amount of goals.

To that end:
In 22 games under Lop we conceded 44 goals - 2 per game
In 10 under Potter it's 12- 1.2 a game
He's basically halved it.

Albeit at the cost of going from scoring
26 in 22- 1.2 per game
to 10 in 10- 1 per game

Swing in goal difference from -18 to -2 (which would basically extrapolate to -4 given 22 games)

That's a big improvement in one area albeit augmented by a much smaller drop in the other. And Potter has absolutely had less attacking options than Lop had throughout his entire time here thus far.

You don't have to be happy about it but those are the numbers. 

It's a bit silly talking about statistics like that. It's really not quantifiable when each game is against different quality of opposition. The only scoreline Potter's had that seems different in any way to what you'd have expected under Lopetegui was the Arsenal game. Apart from that, the only top 7 teams that Potter has faced so far are Newcastle and Chelsea and he lost both of those, whereas Lopetegui beat Newcastle away.

I've yet to think we're going to get tonked 5-0 yet during a game.

That's a huge improvement.  Not sure how that relates to the STATS or ANALISM.

Bingo.

[El Scorchio]

Agree. I've also said from the start I'm suspending my judgement until next season. As soon as it was clear we weren't going down (was fairly obvious from mid/late Jan anyway) it was just get to the end of the season, evaluate what we've got and stop shipping a crazy amount of goals.

To that end:
In 22 games under Lop we conceded 44 goals - 2 per game
In 10 under Potter it's 12- 1.2 a game
He's basically halved it.

Albeit at the cost of going from scoring
26 in 22- 1.2 per game
to 10 in 10- 1 per game

Swing in goal difference from -18 to -2 (which would basically extrapolate to -4 given 22 games)

That's a big improvement in one area albeit augmented by a much smaller drop in the other. And Potter has absolutely had less attacking options than Lop had throughout his entire time here thus far.

You don't have to be happy about it but those are the numbers. 

It's a bit silly talking about statistics like that. It's really not quantifiable when each game is against different quality of opposition. The only scoreline Potter's had that seems different in any way to what you'd have expected under Lopetegui was the Arsenal game. Apart from that, the only top 7 teams that Potter has faced so far are Newcastle and Chelsea and he lost both of those, whereas Lopetegui beat Newcastle away.

 

 

Sure- point taken and it's never going to be a solid gold comparison due to the differing factors, but it's really all the data there is to try and quantify anything as a comparison. Yup there's Newcastle, but then we lost 3-1 to Leicester under Lop. Chelsea absolutely battered us under Lop but then we were really unlucky to lose under Potter. So you can argue a lot of nuances and swings and roundabouts, but even if you choose to ignore everything else, the goals conceded is a pretty stark difference and improvement on what went before. He's now got to address the other problems we have, and realistically we need to see what it's like when Fullkrug and Summerville are back, and what we do in the summer.

I get that the football has been pretty pragmatic, but I'm taking the view that the necessary adjustments will be made rather than just writing the guy off before he's even had a proper transfer window to get players in or out in any sort of meaningful way.

[Lee Trundle]

Agree. I've also said from the start I'm suspending my judgement until next season. As soon as it was clear we weren't going down (was fairly obvious from mid/late Jan anyway) it was just get to the end of the season, evaluate what we've got and stop shipping a crazy amount of goals.

To that end:
In 22 games under Lop we conceded 44 goals - 2 per game
In 10 under Potter it's 12- 1.2 a game
He's basically halved it.

Albeit at the cost of going from scoring
26 in 22- 1.2 per game
to 10 in 10- 1 per game

Swing in goal difference from -18 to -2 (which would basically extrapolate to -4 given 22 games)

That's a big improvement in one area albeit augmented by a much smaller drop in the other. And Potter has absolutely had less attacking options than Lop had throughout his entire time here thus far.

You don't have to be happy about it but those are the numbers. 

It's a bit silly talking about statistics like that. It's really not quantifiable when each game is against different quality of opposition. The only scoreline Potter's had that seems different in any way to what you'd have expected under Lopetegui was the Arsenal game. Apart from that, the only top 7 teams that Potter has faced so far are Newcastle and Chelsea and he lost both of those, whereas Lopetegui beat Newcastle away.

I've yet to think we're going to get tonked 5-0 yet during a game.

That's a huge improvement.  Not sure how that relates to the STATS or ANALISM.

[Jean-Luc Paul Goddard]

Agree. I've also said from the start I'm suspending my judgement until next season. As soon as it was clear we weren't going down (was fairly obvious from mid/late Jan anyway) it was just get to the end of the season, evaluate what we've got and stop shipping a crazy amount of goals.

To that end:
In 22 games under Lop we conceded 44 goals - 2 per game
In 10 under Potter it's 12- 1.2 a game
He's basically halved it.

Albeit at the cost of going from scoring
26 in 22- 1.2 per game
to 10 in 10- 1 per game

Swing in goal difference from -18 to -2 (which would basically extrapolate to -4 given 22 games)

That's a big improvement in one area albeit augmented by a much smaller drop in the other. And Potter has absolutely had less attacking options than Lop had throughout his entire time here thus far.

You don't have to be happy about it but those are the numbers. 

It's a bit silly talking about statistics like that. It's really not quantifiable when each game is against different quality of opposition. The only scoreline Potter's had that seems different in any way to what you'd have expected under Lopetegui was the Arsenal game. Apart from that, the only top 7 teams that Potter has faced so far are Newcastle and Chelsea and he lost both of those, whereas Lopetegui beat Newcastle away.

[Eerie Decent]

It's football for Accountants.

I fucking hope we've got some dough down the back of the sofa to buy some better players. If we don't, next season is going to be another fucking slog, with Mouse & Donkey as first choice centre mids.

[El Scorchio]

Agree. I've also said from the start I'm suspending my judgement until next season. As soon as it was clear we weren't going down (was fairly obvious from mid/late Jan anyway) it was just get to the end of the season, evaluate what we've got and stop shipping a crazy amount of goals.

To that end:
In 22 games under Lop we conceded 44 goals - 2 per game
In 10 under Potter it's 12- 1.2 a game
He's basically halved it.

Albeit at the cost of going from scoring
26 in 22- 1.2 per game
to 10 in 10- 1 per game

Swing in goal difference from -18 to -2 (which would basically extrapolate to -4 given 22 games)

That's a big improvement in one area albeit augmented by a much smaller drop in the other. And Potter has absolutely had less attacking options than Lop had throughout his entire time here thus far.

You don't have to be happy about it but those are the numbers. 

[Jean-Luc Paul Goddard]

he did come in talking about wanting to connect with the fans with good football...

The thing with talking about "good" or "attractive" football is that people can have very different views on what that actually means. Personally I like teams to press high and go direct when in possession, attacking quickly in numbers. Some purists don't like that and see "good" as meaning dominating possession, slowly moving the ball back and forth, waiting for an opening to appear. 

[Sir Alf]

Not always agreed with you Russ ( does not make either of us right or wrong until reality / facts prove otherwise) but will support you're assertion that you make both positive and negative comments. 

The problem with polarising things is "polarising things".  Everything is usually nuanced, grey or whatever we want to call it.

So far, some good progress in one area and regression in another.  Potter, and on this I do tend to align, must think it is too risky with the players at his disposal to play anyway but "conservative", defence first.  Not to say, it will change drastically when we hope he gets different types of player options in a few areas.  Some may well be right, its not getting any better, lowest chances created and goals scored.  On that note, I would be interested in the xG thingy at Brighton in his season's there. Were not scoring enough under him for a while and it was always highlighted at the time by media and fans alike but what about chance creation?  Also very low, low, average?  And then type of chances?   That's the issue with the data sometimes. Again context.   Creating 3 very good chances versus creating 10 half chances etc.

Anyway, I'm gonna remain in "chin scratching mode" until we get into next season. I don't think we will see many more risks taken this season but hopefully some more calculated ones once we address the player profile issues in certain areas of the squad / team.  Btw, I tend to think and agree with the Analytics United nerds that Areola either improves dramatically with his feet or we have to replace him despite him being an outstanding shot stopper.

[Manuel]

 

Well, fair enough. But I would argue that NONE of the PL managers like being criticized. I don't think ANY of them take it on the chin at all. Look at Arteta, Guardiola, Maresca, Postecoglu this season.... All acted like petulant cunts at some point. I even saw Thomas Frank and Hurzeler get a bit spiky this season. Have seen Emery get a bit trappy of late. Arne Slot has even dropped his varnish lately and has been getting lairy with journo's. We know Moyes can't take criticism. Silva can be a mardy cսnt.

The only two I haven't seen is Ireola and Nuno but thats only because they are doing well and every journo has been blowing smoke up their arses.

I haven't seen Potter get spiky. But if you have fair enough. And if you look back there have been a couple of games under Potter (Palace and Brentford) where he clearly stated we weren't good enough and it was not acceptable. 

I mean, if you don't like the bloke then you don't like the bloke. I get it. 

And he can't do no wrong in your eyes. You've already said all will be hunky dory in August. I doubt that.

If he was on a short term contract until May, which was strongly spoken about initially, most would probably be saying they'd rather not keep him,

Respectfully, I think you've created a black and white situation. "Do no wrong in my eyes". That's extreme.

It was only tongue in cheek I know you have offered up a balanced opinion on him. I suppose it could go either way at this point and we ain't getting any affirmative answers anytime soon. My biggest criticism of him right now is the 'boring' approach, it just seems unnecessary and he's kind of made a rod for his own back as first impressions last, and he did come in talking about wanting to connect with the fans with good football, but as said he has been a bit unlucky with Jimmy and others being out.

[Russ of the BML]

He is spikey, a couple of times he's been told his record since he's been here hasn't been great and his back has gone straight up with the 'stare'. For me Potter clearly doesn't like to be criticized, which is where I get the inflated ego opinion from. You see other coaches taking criticism on the chin and sometimes even agreeing with the person asking the questions. He was meant to be a a bit of a prick at Chelsea by all accounts. He's full of excuses and spin and never seems prepared to say we were poor or not good enough, or worse thinks some of these performance have been fine. I will say though that he has been unlucky to be without Antonio/Fullkrug/Summerville.

After 10 games I was expecting more.

 

Well, fair enough. But I would argue that NONE of the PL managers like being criticized. I don't think ANY of them take it on the chin at all. Look at Arteta, Guardiola, Maresca, Postecoglu this season.... All acted like petulant cunts at some point. I even saw Thomas Frank and Hurzeler get a bit spiky this season. Have seen Emery get a bit trappy of late. Arne Slot has even dropped his varnish lately and has been getting lairy with journo's. We know Moyes can't take criticism. Silva can be a mardy cսnt.

The only two I haven't seen is Ireola and Nuno but thats only because they are doing well and every journo has been blowing smoke up their arses.

I haven't seen Potter get spiky. But if you have fair enough. And if you look back there have been a couple of games under Potter (Palace and Brentford) where he clearly stated we weren't good enough and it was not acceptable. 

I mean, if you don't like the bloke then you don't like the bloke. I get it. 

And he can't do no wrong in your eyes. You've already said all will be hunky dory in August. I doubt that.

If he was on a short term contract until May, which was strongly spoken about initially, most would probably be saying they'd rather not keep him,

Respectfully, I think you've created a black and white situation. "Do no wrong in my eyes". That's extreme. I have posted positives and negatives after each game and one of those negatives is that, in relation to our home form, he may start to come across as a bit of a loser. I said he talks a good game but is not delivering results. 

I also never said it would be hunky dory. What I said is, based on his time so far with us, with more games under his belt, a decent summer window and a full pre-season, he has done enough for me to be confident right now that we will improve and have a half decent season. You don't agree and I respect that. 

As for your point about a short term contract - I totally agree with you. I also believe most would be saying they'd rather not keep him. That for me, right now, is not in doubt. And based on what I have seen from Potter, I wouldn't particularly disagree with those people and would even go so far to say that I may even be in that camp. It would depend on who we were linked with. But, let's deal with reality, he isn't going anywhere and so I am looking at the future and seeing some positives. 

[Manuel]

I am not sure how you find Potter spikey. I don't get that from him at all. As for a high opinion of himself, really not sure about that either as I don't think he has said anything in his pressers that indicates that to me. I suppose he comes across as confident in himself - But, then again, wouldn't you have to be in that job? 

Personally, I am quite happy with Potter, mainly because we look about 100 times better than we did under Floppy. Although, being brutally honest, I genuinely believe that I could've gone in to West Ham and got them playing better than we were. So, for me, although a little frustrated at our home form, I am generally content with Potter.

I think he is the type of coach that is a slow burner - We may not see any major improvements until the season after next. I just think Potter needs time to slowly plot and develop the squad and change the mentality. He was Brighton four seasons and you could clearly see their upward curve. Problem for Potter, does he have enough time at West Ham? 

As you say, people are on the fence with him. I get that. He hasn't exactly 'burst onto the scene' at West Ham. You yourself aren't convinced, and other supporters I know are the same as you. I get that too. West Ham is a big club with demanding supporters. The majority of the fanbase are not going to be content with being competitive whilst also being compact and, without sounding too negative, a little bland. It will just end the same way it did with Moyes, except Moyes had the Europa to show for his efforts so had added kudos which gave him time. 

For me, Potter needs to inject some power, pace and craft into our attack. I hope he does. He seems to have shored us up defensively. So hopefully with Fullkrug and Summerville back, we have some more of what we need. Will it be enough? Not sure. He will absolutely need to address our lack of box to box pace and power in midfield in the summer. And, another priority if he is to succeed, is to make us unbeatable at home. That's where you set your stall out. You have to be the favourites at home in almost every game bar obviously the top four. That's where he has fallen this season. Not good enough results at home. 

The performances for me are there generally (bar Palace) but results are not yet. Long way to go. 

C+ 

He is spikey, a couple of times he's been told his record since he's been here hasn't been great and his back has gone straight up with the 'stare'. For me Potter clearly doesn't like to be criticized, which is where I get the inflated ego opinion from. You see other coaches taking criticism on the chin and sometimes even agreeing with the person asking the questions. He was meant to be a a bit of a prick at Chelsea by all accounts. He's full of excuses and spin and never seems prepared to say we were poor or not good enough, or worse thinks some of these performance have been fine. I will say though that he has been unlucky to be without Antonio/Fullkrug/Summerville.

After 10 games I was expecting more.

 

Well, fair enough. But I would argue that NONE of the PL managers like being criticized. I don't think ANY of them take it on the chin at all. Look at Arteta, Guardiola, Maresca, Postecoglu this season.... All acted like petulant cunts at some point. I even saw Thomas Frank and Hurzeler get a bit spiky this season. Have seen Emery get a bit trappy of late. Arne Slot has even dropped his varnish lately and has been getting lairy with journo's. We know Moyes can't take criticism. Silva can be a mardy cսnt.

The only two I haven't seen is Ireola and Nuno but thats only because they are doing well and every journo has been blowing smoke up their arses.

I haven't seen Potter get spiky. But if you have fair enough. And if you look back there have been a couple of games under Potter (Palace and Brentford) where he clearly stated we weren't good enough and it was not acceptable. 

I mean, if you don't like the bloke then you don't like the bloke. I get it. 

And he can't do no wrong in your eyes. You've already said all will be hunky dory in August. I doubt that.

If he was on a short term contract until May, which was strongly spoken about initially, most would probably be saying they'd rather not keep him,

[Russ of the BML]

Geo and his mate Frankie have just put out a vid and they are far from convinced with Potter. Yes, their opinions, but they make some good points near the end off the vid. Apparently in Potter's third season at Brighton he won only 4 home games all season and went 4 months without a home goal. Geo thinks that next season we will be playing exactly how his Brighton side played.

For me it's too early still, but what I do think is that he's a proper spikey cսnt and has a very high opinion of himself with very little to back it up.

I am not sure how you find Potter spikey. I don't get that from him at all. As for a high opinion of himself, really not sure about that either as I don't think he has said anything in his pressers that indicates that to me. I suppose he comes across as confident in himself - But, then again, wouldn't you have to be in that job? 

Personally, I am quite happy with Potter, mainly because we look about 100 times better than we did under Floppy. Although, being brutally honest, I genuinely believe that I could've gone in to West Ham and got them playing better than we were. So, for me, although a little frustrated at our home form, I am generally content with Potter.

I think he is the type of coach that is a slow burner - We may not see any major improvements until the season after next. I just think Potter needs time to slowly plot and develop the squad and change the mentality. He was Brighton four seasons and you could clearly see their upward curve. Problem for Potter, does he have enough time at West Ham? 

As you say, people are on the fence with him. I get that. He hasn't exactly 'burst onto the scene' at West Ham. You yourself aren't convinced, and other supporters I know are the same as you. I get that too. West Ham is a big club with demanding supporters. The majority of the fanbase are not going to be content with being competitive whilst also being compact and, without sounding too negative, a little bland. It will just end the same way it did with Moyes, except Moyes had the Europa to show for his efforts so had added kudos which gave him time. 

For me, Potter needs to inject some power, pace and craft into our attack. I hope he does. He seems to have shored us up defensively. So hopefully with Fullkrug and Summerville back, we have some more of what we need. Will it be enough? Not sure. He will absolutely need to address our lack of box to box pace and power in midfield in the summer. And, another priority if he is to succeed, is to make us unbeatable at home. That's where you set your stall out. You have to be the favourites at home in almost every game bar obviously the top four. That's where he has fallen this season. Not good enough results at home. 

The performances for me are there generally (bar Palace) but results are not yet. Long way to go. 

C+ 

He is spikey, a couple of times he's been told his record since he's been here hasn't been great and his back has gone straight up with the 'stare'. For me Potter clearly doesn't like to be criticized, which is where I get the inflated ego opinion from. You see other coaches taking criticism on the chin and sometimes even agreeing with the person asking the questions. He was meant to be a a bit of a prick at Chelsea by all accounts. He's full of excuses and spin and never seems prepared to say we were poor or not good enough, or worse thinks some of these performance have been fine. I will say though that he has been unlucky to be without Antonio/Fullkrug/Summerville.

After 10 games I was expecting more.

 

 

Well, fair enough. But I would argue that NONE of the PL managers like being criticized. I don't think ANY of them take it on the chin at all. Look at Arteta, Guardiola, Maresca, Postecoglu this season.... All acted like petulant cunts at some point. I even saw Thomas Frank and Hurzeler get a bit spiky this season. Have seen Emery get a bit trappy of late. Arne Slot has even dropped his varnish lately and has been getting lairy with journo's. We know Moyes can't take criticism. Silva can be a mardy cսnt.

The only two I haven't seen is Ireola and Nuno but thats only because they are doing well and every journo has been blowing smoke up their arses.

I haven't seen Potter get spiky. But if you have fair enough. And if you look back there have been a couple of games under Potter (Palace and Brentford) where he clearly stated we weren't good enough and it was not acceptable. 

I mean, if you don't like the bloke then you don't like the bloke. I get it. 

[El Scorchio]

Sure you can't just throw away past tendencies, but you can't judge the guy on what he hasn't been able to do at this club yet. If it's still the same next season with no hint of change even with positive transfers in and the opportunity to, then absolutely. I'd also like to see how we look when Summerville and Fullkrug are back, because we looked great for that first half against Villa.

But yes I also remember his Brighton teams dicking all over us. We were not in any way a pressing team, which probably helped them completely dominate matches against us.

[Fauxstralian]

Can remember when Potter brought a Brighton team to London Stadium in an early season game when they had McAllister & maybe Caicedo.
Absolutely eviscerated Moyes. Won 2-0 & should have been 5
Problem with Brighton always seemed to be a good team but didn’t score the goals they should have
Thats my main worry with him 
Maybe with a decent midfield controlling games players like Bowen , Kudus & centre forward under 34 we can improve that 

[Jean-Luc Paul Goddard]

I don't get why people are banging on about the players currently at his disposal and imagining that the style of football will be radically different if we buy the right type of players in the summer. Potter has always played this way. He will no doubt get better results with better players but it will still be an extremely cautious, risk-free, backwards and sideways passing borefest. 

[Takashi Miike]

what do you think he's protecting with a continuation of this turgid fucking approach, maintaining 14-16th? common sense tells you we won't beat many teams with just two advanced players, yet he keeps doing it. It's great having scarles in the team, but when has he had a player in the middle to cross the ball to? at the moment you've got loads of fans wanting the return of a bloke who almost died in a car crash just a few months ago. we didn't move to that fucking shithole to stick 8/9 men behind the ball almost every fucking game
​​​​​​

[Sir Alf]

The Nerds ( as we call them but think I am one as I like the detailed, underlying rationale for their assessments on tactics, the players, games etc ) on Analytics United, start to summarise this around minute 46 - 47 mins onwards of their latest YouTube posting.  They talk about the priority of getting the players ( esp defenders ) to believe in the approach of trying to keep possession at the back, and being hard to beat and score against as a priority and keeping it low risk. They see nothing until next season because, as a few of us maintain, we simply dont have the players in key areas ( wrong profile or injuries ) to risk much else and the damage to the "foundation" being created will be lost, before next season, with 3 or 4 goals getting conceded again.  

Its at the cost of us fans seeing something resembling "entertaining" football and goes down to whether you believe taking risks of committing players forward ( Lop took them ) will result in us outscoring most teams or see us shipping 2, 3 or more early in games again?  

The fans calling for "take the handbrake off", "nothing to lose, play Guilherme", "replace a defensive midfielder with an attacking one", "push full backs on" etc, etc, will likely be the first the throw pelters with "Potter out", "Brummy Moyes" if we start shipping goals again?   Potter seems to be taking the long game approach. Time will tell if we get the right type of players in summer to be able to take more risks and create more, score more.   It will never be Bielsa style that some demand but controlling games AND creating a lot more is what we want.  We shall see.

[El Scorchio]

People need to take stock of the fact that we don’t have the sort of squad with whom we can take the handbrake off and outscore teams ( because that is what an attack at all costs strategy amounts to ).

And right now our squad does not have an attacking focal point or a midfield of energy, ambition and athleticism.

So Potter must be trying to field a team that plays to the combined strength of the individuals he has available. No wonder our football still ain’t pretty.

Yes- we will just go back to getting Lopeteguied again by anyone worth their salt.

[Jean-Luc Paul Goddard]

People need to take stock of the fact that we don’t have the sort of squad with whom we can take the handbrake off and outscore teams ( because that is what an attack at all costs strategy amounts to ).

I'm pretty sure that the fundamental basis of the sport is to actually try to outscore the other team. You wouldn't win a single game otherwise.

This is just the typical either/or thinking some people fall into, as if it has to be either all out attack or get everyone behind the ball. It's nonsense.

[,]

People need to take stock of the fact that we don’t have the sort of squad with whom we can take the handbrake off and outscore teams ( because that is what an attack at all costs strategy amounts to ).

And right now our squad does not have an attacking focal point or a midfield of energy, ambition and athleticism.

So Potter must be trying to field a team that plays to the combined strength of the individuals he has available. No wonder our football still ain’t pretty.

[Jean-Luc Paul Goddard]

what I see from potter is a need to keep things tight, take zero risks and hope we nick a goal.

 

This is pretty much how Potter has always been. It's funny how when he came in the official site said much the same thing, but spun it like this:

"Potter’s philosophy revolves around controlling the game and squeezing the opposition through territorial dominance, with the ultimate aim of creating enough chances to win"

With better players he might be able to do it more effectively but he won't suddenly “take the handbrake off”. There'll be no exciting football on the horizon, sadly.

[Sir Alf]

Forest and Brighton and other teams sometimes switch from a 5 out of possession to a 4 in possession with one of the backs becoming a wing back / winger to overload but yes they are not so rigidly tied to the 3 CBs set up.  But that is imo partially due to us being so vulnerable to pace and strength in that centre mid area.  I think Potter will be more flexible tactically if or hopefully when he gets the missing “legs”. As we all have kind if realised, Rice is a big miss in that area and we did not replace him with a player of even similar profile. Rice aint super fast but he’s quicker by far than anyone else for centre mid we have in our squad and he covers so much of the pitch.  He is a very accurate passer of the ball too. Just getting one player like that opens up far more options for taking risks but I think we need two to allow for injury, rotations or just to match the opposition in some games. 

Anyway, we shall see in summer but until then Potter will likely see conceding fewer goals rather than shipping them by the hatful as less an evil as bot creating and scoring many.  I hear fans saying “take the handbrake off” but because of the aforementioned midfield deficiencies I suspect we would return to Lopetegui level hammerings in terms of goals conceded. The same fans then say things are no  better.  But just my opinion

[Takashi Miike]

every team you've mentioned plays with a back four, so they need at least one of the CMs to have an ability to carry the ball. its why we exceeded expectations with rice performing that role. with southgate2, he should just task two CMs/DMs to win the ball and move it on to five attacking players (two wbs/wingers part of that five). the last thing I want with any of the current three being played at CM/DM, is to hold on to the ball. it's all about intent, and what I see from potter is a need to keep things tight, take zero risks and hope we nick a goal. playing within such fine margins is unsustainable to finish anywhere in the top half of the table. go behind in a game and we're fucked. It's what ultimately cost the jock twat his job, and we're seeing similar now but with an extra defender added
 

[Sir Alf]

Haha, not so much defenders in the back 3/5 but more thise centre mids. Look at the Barcodes, Tonali and Linton, fast, strong and covering the whole pitch but decent technicians too. Brighton now have Baleba ( their latest centre mid find for relative peanuts ) and Gomez, Bournemouth have Christie, Adams, Fulham with Perriera, Iwobi and not forgeting the likes of Gravenberg at Pool and Caicedo and Fernandez at Chelsea.  Gibbs White at Forest another grwat example. All non stop, pacey, strong and dynamic. 

Modern premiership demands this profile of player if you want to control games, open teams up that sit deep and handle those that counter.  We dont have one player like this.  

 

[fraser]

Turns out we were due to have left Paqueta on the bench on Saturday...was only because Alvarez failed a last minute fitness test that Paqueta started.

That's shit if true, after two games of creativity at zero...