Steve Walsh (Director of football)

[Paddock]

14 hours ago, duncanmckenzieismagic said:

He probably would help actually

Teams know we have no goal threat and no pace going forward . They know they can commit men forward against us because they are safe in the knowledge that we are not going to hurt them with a counter attack

At least if we had a goal scorer and some pace up top it would give them something to think about

 

Of course he’d help- he offers an outlet and gives teams a major problem.

[nogs]

9 minutes ago, duncanmckenzieismagic said:

So the fact teams know we couldn’t score in a brothel has absolutely nothing to do with it?



 

If we could defend it would have nothing to do with it. I feel like a stuck record, but we have bigger problems at the back than up front. Conceding the first goal in 8 consecutive games is nothing to do with strikers or the lack thereof. 

[duncanmckenzieismagic]

If we could defend it would have nothing to do with it. I feel like a stuck record, but we have bigger problems at the back than up front. Conceding the first goal in 8 consecutive games is nothing to do with strikers or the lack thereof. 

I totally disagree but it’s all about opinions

For me if teams know we offer nothing in attack they will be more inclined to commit men forward which in turn increases the likelihood that we will concede

Last night was an example of that , both of Atalanta’s fullbacks knew they could bomb forward at will safe in the knowledge that we were not going to get in behind them

[nogs]

10 minutes ago, duncanmckenzieismagic said:

I totally disagree but it’s all about opinions

For me if teams know we offer nothing in attack they will be more inclined to commit men forward which in turn increases the likelihood that we will concede

Last night was an example of that , both of Atalanta’s fullbacks knew they could bomb forward at will safe in the knowledge that we were not going to get in behind them

 

But for a glaring miss and a header off the line, we should have scored three last night. We scored two at Palace, three against Watford, as we've discussed previously... 

You stick a star centre forward in our side, it's not going to stop our CBs being slow and missing headers, CMs not tracking men and pulling out of tackles and full backs who get pulled out of position over and over again. Yes we'll score more goals, but we will still keep shipping them like under Martinez because teams know we're a soft touch at the back. 

[Paddock]

1 hour ago, nogs said:

If we could defend it would have nothing to do with it. I feel like a stuck record, but we have bigger problems at the back than up front. Conceding the first goal in 8 consecutive games is nothing to do with strikers or the lack thereof. 

The reason this is happening (imo) is because we have zero impact up front so we cannot hold onto the ball- we give it away so cheaply all the time because there is nobody up front who can hold the ball up- we’re under constant pressure because of it and are leaking goals as a result.

[Bailey]

16 minutes ago, Paddock said:

The reason this is happening (imo) is because we have zero impact up front so we cannot hold onto the ball- we give it away so cheaply all the time because there is nobody up front who can hold the ball up- we’re under constant pressure because of it and are leaking goals as a result.

We have one lad who can do that but he doesn' score enough according to some so what do you do? It's not like the ball sticks to Lukaku either.

[Paddock]

43 minutes ago, Bailey said:

We have one lad who can do that but he doesn' score enough according to some so what do you do? It's not like the ball sticks to Lukaku either.

He doesn’t have 1/10th of Lukakus pace, power or strength Bailey- they are light years apart as they layers. Teams fear Lukaku, he can, when in the mood terrorise defences it’s just as much a mental thing as abolity with other teams. I doubt anyones quaking in their boots playing against DCL.

[Bailey]

50 minutes ago, Paddock said:

He doesn’t have 1/10th of Lukakus pace, power or strength Bailey- they are light years apart as they layers. Teams fear Lukaku, he can, when in the mood terrorise defences it’s just as much a mental thing as abolity with other teams. I doubt anyones quaking in their boots playing against DCL.

I'm not saying he is anywhere near as good but I am saying that we have a lad who can bring people into the game, has proven so in the league too, but he isn't playing because he isn' perceived to be good enough at putting he ball into the back of the net. 

 

I get why Niasse starts but if you want to try and play a bit more football ans drag the side up the pitch then he should be starting.

[Hafnia]

4 hours ago, duncanmckenzieismagic said:

So the fact teams know we couldn’t score in a brothel has absolutely nothing to do with it?



 

Are we missing loads of chances? Or are we not creating them? 

 

The latter for me. So no... he wouldn' really be of benefit. 

 

But it' the goals we are leaking. Absolutely nothing lukaku would bring to us in that regard. He loses the thing more than most players. 

[Hafnia]

3 hours ago, Paddock said:

The reason this is happening (imo) is because we have zero impact up front so we cannot hold onto the ball- we give it away so cheaply all the time because there is nobody up front who can hold the ball up- we’re under constant pressure because of it and are leaking goals as a result.

Are you saying the man who loses the ball like it' going out of fashion would help in that regard?

The manc fans are already seriously pissed off at how frequently he loses possession and battles. 

[Bailey]

16 minutes ago, hafnia said:

Are you saying the man who loses the ball like it' going out of fashion would help in that regard?

The manc fans are already seriously pissed off at how frequently he loses possession and battles. 

This is the crux for me. 

I think it would certainly be of benefit to have a feared CF who is a lethal finisher. Defences drop deeper, we theoretically have more space to play. Problem is even when we have space we don't. Rom may take a chance others wouldn't and he might allow us a bit more possession but would he have scored any of Niasses goals, would he fuck.

[duncanmckenzieismagic]

But for a glaring miss and a header off the line, we should have scored three last night. We scored two at Palace, three against Watford, as we've discussed previously... 
You stick a star centre forward in our side, it's not going to stop our CBs being slow and missing headers, CMs not tracking men and pulling out of tackles and full backs who get pulled out of position over and over again. Yes we'll score more goals, but we will still keep shipping them like under Martinez because teams know we're a soft touch at the back. 

I think you are missing my point , I’m not saying having a star striker will suddenly make our defenders faster or better players

As I say it’s all about opinions so if you dont believe 12 goals in 12 games is a problem then fair enough

[duncanmckenzieismagic]

Are we missing loads of chances? Or are we not creating them? 
 
The latter for me. So no... he wouldn' really be of benefit. 
 
But it' the goals we are leaking. Absolutely nothing lukaku would bring to us in that regard. He loses the thing more than most players. 

Haf I know you will never accept that we are missing Lukaku but the table suggests otherwise

[Hafnia]

44 minutes ago, duncanmckenzieismagic said:

 

I think you are missing my point , I’m not saying having a star striker will suddenly make our defenders faster or better players

As I say it’s all about opinions so if you dont believe 12 goals in 12 games is a problem then fair enough

 

 

No...

 I believe conceding 21 goals in the last 7 games is the biggest problem.  We are leaking 3 goals a game in that time...

[duncanmckenzieismagic]

No...
 I believe conceding 21 goals in the last 7 games is the biggest problem.  We are leaking 3 goals a game in that time...

No what ?

No you don’t think we have a problem up front???

I haven’t said the defence isn’t a problem, Keane looks just as bad if not worse than the other 3 senior CB’s and Baines looks like his legs have gone

We need a new back 4 , no question, but they are not being helped by the fact they are under constant pressure and have no out ball

[Newty82]

It's the sum of all parts, gents.

[nogs]

30 minutes ago, Newty82 said:

It's the sum of all parts, gents.

Yes exactly. What winds me up with the Lukaku thing, and I'm not saying anyone in here thinks this, but in the media it's made out that it's our only problem, we didn't buy a striker so now we're shit. There's deeper problems right through the team, starting with defence. 

[Quinn31]

2 hours ago, duncanmckenzieismagic said:

 

No what ?

No you don’t think we have a problem up front???

I haven’t said the defence isn’t a problem, Keane looks just as bad if not worse than the other 3 senior CB’s and Baines looks like his legs have gone

We need a new back 4 , no question, but they are not being helped by the fact they are under constant pressure and have no out ball






 

 

I hate to say it, but we really can't play a high line and have the fullbacks push up. We have to start being more compact and deeper. We just don't have quality and pace any more to play a high line and have the fullbacks push way up. 

[Hafnia]

2 hours ago, duncanmckenzieismagic said:

 

No what ?

No you don’t think we have a problem up front???

I haven’t said the defence isn’t a problem, Keane looks just as bad if not worse than the other 3 senior CB’s and Baines looks like his legs have gone

We need a new back 4 , no question, but they are not being helped by the fact they are under constant pressure and have no out ball






 

 

Problem up front?  I would say the problem lies in the players behind that position...  from defence to midfield.

Up front is the least of our worries so why the f are we talking about lukaku? 

 

 

[Lowensda]

 

[Lowensda]

 

[Matt]

I’d fire him for recommending Fat Sam alone

[Romey 1878]

The way I see it about our forward options after Lukaku leaving are that because we're struggling to create chances you want a striker that will put the majority of those few chances away. That's why we're missing someone clinical like Lukaku, not that Lukaku (or a decent replacement) would be the answer to all our prayers.

In the early games of the season, when we were dealt a very harsh draw of fixtures, we were relying on DCL to put those handful of chances away and he just isn't clinical enough to do that yet (and may never be) because he's still learning. So we got ourselves into a rut and confidence plummeted.

Now, if we'd had someone more experienced up there I feel very confident things wouldn't be as bad as they are now. I am not for a minute saying we'd be up there challenging for the European positions, or not playing such utter bollocks football, but I don't think we'd be quite as low in the league or as low on confidence.

[Bailey]

57 minutes ago, Matt said:

I’d fire him for recommending Fat Sam alone

Without doubt... what is the point of paying someone that much money to basically create an old boys club. Absolute joke.

[Palfy]

A striker is not going to solve our problems we have what most of you are talking about in Niasse he scores goals he works his socks off he presses defenders and goalies into mistakes he doesn't give them an easy time and he they know he's on the pitch, the defence does need addressing a CB and LB at worst, but for me the biggest problem we have is the midfield they offer no protection to the defence no back to the forwards they can't keep the ball or win the second ball they can't string more than three passes together they have no one that creates there is no understanding with each other, the old saying is games are won and lost in midfield that's because it's true and the fact that our midfield is pretty much none existent is why we find ourselves in the position we are and a couple of defenders and a striker aren't going to change that.

[Matt]

12 minutes ago, Bailey said:

Without doubt... what is the point of paying someone that much money to basically create an old boys club. Absolute joke.

Lead by a criminal if he had his way 

[markjazzbassist]

The facts are there the signings are poor.  But fat sam?  What a joke, fire him already.  

 

Moshiri needs to have a look at himself as well, the clubs been in flux every since he joined.

[Shukes]

Who have we lost?

lukaku = haven’t replaced.

Gerry = bit part player.

Barry = didn’t play a lot second half of the season, but an obvious massive miss.

Barkley = injured and could return soon. But could also leave.

Coleman = injured and returning soon.

Bolasie = injured and returning imminently.

Did we deserve to finish 7th last season? I say yes. I think we were good enough to be closer to sixth. Yet we all suddenly think this same team minus Lukaku, Gerry and Barry at suddenly relegation fodder?

realistically I can’t see us buying six or seven players in January, I honestly think the board will see this team as needing two or three players and motivating more than a whole team reshuffle. If we can get the players playing to their level then we should be able to climb away easily. If we an get players playing to potential, then I am with Bill and think we  climb back into the top ten before too long.

Im still gonna go for 8th.

Now please don’t waster yours and my time by saying any of these following sentences!

No you don’t get it Shukes... because I do, I just see if it differently to you.

If you think we have a squad that should be top 8 then your crazy, nuts, stupid or any other name you can think off........ I am all of those and more, still think were 6 to 10 places better than our position.

Your wrong Shukes.... no I’m just as wrong or right than you. At the moment we are all speculating or offering an opinion... nothing more nothing less.

Not sure who mentioned it, but someone suggested the manager isn’t as important as we all think. I agree. Those of you who have played at level semi or above will all know the most important aspect of a team is the players and their attitudes and desire. A manager picks 11 players and it’s up to them how hey perform once they cross that white line.

Im going to predict a turn around from this point on. We’re going to have something to cling too and believe in.

[Shukes]

I’m pretty cheesy aren’t I haha!

[Bailey]

You're wrong Shukes, you just don' get it!