Sir Alf" wrote: ↑23 Feb 2025, 15:08
Related to a comment in the Squad Building thread, Ptfotter needs to devise tactics and set up to play at home especially against teams that will sit back and do exactly what we did against Arsenal and Brentford and Palace did against us.
This is where the squad limitations or weakness become a big problem. The lack of athletes in central midfield especially.
The home team ( us ) will need to stretch the opposition or find a way to get thru or around 8, 9 players sitting behind the ball. Having Ferguson should help but he needs to get up to full fitness and is still a way off and being "nursed" back. A target man that can hold it up. back to goal means we could go more direct and also look to get more crosses and aerial balls into the box. Ferguson could also look to feed Bowen and Kudus who would look to make deeper runs in and around the opposition penalty box if he can hold it. Because we are so vulnerable to pacey counters we need to avoid over committing players forward so it makes it tough. Arsenal showed patience needed but ultimately suffered from us quickly transitioning from one end to the other.
Liverpool often rely on the overhyped Trent to thread a ball to open up compact defences but have so much mobility across the team and midfield to create openings whereas we are more like Arsenal yesterday, when at home, too slow moving it and in our movement making it easy to defend.
So everyone will be assuming that Leicester at home will now be an easy 3 points. It probably wont. They will sit deep and counter using Albert Steptoe as an outlet up top. Potter will need to avoid the 4 at the back, slow 2 in midfield he did first half against Brentford but work out a way to get behind them on Thursday. Ultimately this problem is not solved until summer and via recruitment but we may get a better idea of Potter's tactical nous if he can solve it in some way with the squad limitations we currently have ( thx to Moyes, Sullivan, Lop and Steidten).
Tend to agree with you. It's become more and more a feature in the league...and is of course the natural counter to the high press high line.
Easier said than done though, as it will need artistry and talented wide players.
Todibo being back gives us some cover at the back with legs, which helps, as does Scarles.
In a game like that Alvarez can be a bit of a problem...not great from a distribution perspective, and prone to get caught out of position and without the legs to recover.
But it's the team attitude that needs to change the most...along with the supporters to some extent. Patience is a virtue....move the ball, shift the defence around, stay patient, wait for someone to not do their job, then take advantage.
We're not conditioned like that though...the crowd want us to attack attack attack. The players are used to trying to play a killer action with every possession. But it needs clever movement, patience, talent out wide, and incisive quick one touch passing.
I expect us to beat Leicester....they're garbage and worse teams than us have turned them over. Plus they'll be seeing us as a game they can win which means they might be a little more adventurous. But your point stands with respect 'teams that sit back'.
Be interesting to see what he does. Paqueta is still missing, and we don't have another playmaker. Soucek is largely pointless in a game like that. I'd be thinking a midfield of Irving, Ward-Prowse and Soler....all much better pass and move players who nurse the possession well.
But nice to be going into that game with it not feeling quite so 'Must Win at all costs' as it would have been had we been turned over at Arsenal.
Arsenal Vs West Ham | League | 22.2.25 | Match & Predictions
