2020/21 Carlo Ancelotti

[BlueToff]

Yes its been there game plan all season,as I said the lack of pace in our team gave them time to get back into position throughout the 90 minutes,I just thought after the first 45 you could see they didnt pose any real threat,but the lack of options on the bench meant there wasnt really much we could do,I doubt Gordon would have made a real difference,it was a case of a dubious penalty breaking the deadlock after that they had no reason to change their set up

But he had to try something really.

Nothing wrong with keeping it very tight first half and controlling (without any real threat) like we were, if you then add some impetus in the second half.

He didn't do that.

It was a very bad day at the office for him.

I put the Southampton result mainly on the players, but yesterday Carlo has to take his share of the blame.

It's fine, he knows what he's doing, but he's not beyond criticism and yesterday was dreadful.

 

[Blue Shoes]

Carlos' post match:

“We knew it would be this sort of game, without a lot of opportunities. Until the penalty, the game was in the balance. We didn’t have a lot of opportunities, Newcastle didn’t have a lot of opportunities - we just needed to continue like this, don't let them have a gift and keep the match balanced and we could open at the end."

Sounds like he went for the classic Italian 1-0. Tbf before the penalty Newcastle had created zilch and we were under no pressure, albeit not applying much pressure ourselves. If Gomes had been switched on and not given away the penalty it's conceivable we could have finished the game stronger with a couple of attacking subs and nicked it - then it would be a tactical masterclass from Ancelotti - but it's fine margins in football, particularly when you set up for a 1-0. It didn't come off on this occasion but as others have said I'd rather have a manager who at least tries to play tactically to beat the opponent in front of him rather than flogging a dead horse and calling it his 'system', repeating the same mistakes week after week. If you could choose any manager to set your team up tactically Carlo would be up there so we just have to chalk this one off and keep the faith that he'll get it right more often than not.

All very well him saying the part you've bolded, but he needs to realise our players are also dumb. A lot of our goals conceded have been due to a bad mistake by one of our players, bar the worldies we could do nothing about. That is the main problem, we're still too naive, we don't jump over in the box when every other club does and we still feel the slightest touches in our own box won't be given as a pen.

We desperately need to shore up that defence because 5 games in a row we've conceded 2 now, it's poor.

 

[ToffeeTim]

All very well him saying the part you've bolded, but he needs to realise our players are also dumb. A lot of our goals conceded have been due to a bad mistake by one of our players, bar the worldies we could do nothing about. That is the main problem, we're still too naive, we don't jump over in the box when every other club does and we still feel the slightest touches in our own box won't be given as a pen.

We desperately need to shore up that defence because 5 games in a row we've conceded 2 now, it's poor.

Gomes was unlucky but very daft too. Mina was just awful for his mistake.

These two players let the team down, and the manager should not have to legislate for individual errors every week. If the players can't cut out the mistakes then they aren't good enough to play for us and should be moved on.

 

[Brisan123]

4-5-1. Gordon on the left from the start and Bernard or Iwobi on the right, Sigurdsson off DCL. Gomes on the bench, Delph booted into space.

And where is the pace you mentioned ??

 

[jaycee]

But he had to try something really.

Nothing wrong with keeping it very tight first half and controlling (without any real threat) like we were, if you then add some impetus in the second half.

He didn't do that.

It was a very bad day at the office for him.

I put the Southampton result mainly on the players, but yesterday Carlo has to take his share of the blame.

It's fine, he knows what he's doing, but he's not beyond criticism and yesterday was dreadful.

I agree,said in the match post,Newcastle were not offering any threat at all,if it had finished 0-0 they would have been more than happy with it,the problem was theres no real options on the bench to change the dynamic,Gordon would have made no real difference,Simms,I couldnt say,the problem was there was no link up between the midfield and DCL,there was no width and no pace,I found it frustrating that none of the midfield really done anything,

 

[Jadubsee]

And where is the pace you mentioned ??

Well Gordon certainly has a bit. So do you think Ancelotti picked the right starting line-up yesterday?

 

[vinvinvin]

All very well him saying the part you've bolded, but he needs to realise our players are also dumb. A lot of our goals conceded have been due to a bad mistake by one of our players, bar the worldies we could do nothing about. That is the main problem, we're still too naive, we don't jump over in the box when every other club does and we still feel the slightest touches in our own box won't be given as a pen.

We desperately need to shore up that defence because 5 games in a row we've conceded 2 now, it's poor.

I agree with that tbf. The only game this season we have played as a cohesive unit was against Spurs on the opening day. Maybe also when we had to dig in against Palace. There were cracks which have been ruthlessly exposed due to the injuries and suspensions so it's a big test to get the playes onside, focused and playing as a team again even when those players come back. It's sad to see how Doucoure and Allan, who looked good at first, have been dragged down by it - feels like the United game is huge now to get some confidence back into the team (or a potential nail in the coffin..)

 

[Brisan123]

Well Gordon certainly has a bit. So do you think Ancelotti picked the right starting line-up yesterday?

Well considering all the trophies he has won I would trust his judgement over mine ,or even yours or that matter

 

[Deleted member 43796]

I actually thought in spells in the first half that the formation worked nicely, and we had them camped out in their own half unable to retrieve the ball. The issue with that formation is that when you've not got generational players at your disposal (Seedorf vs Sigurdsson, Kaka vs Gomes, Pirlo vs Delph), you need the two most advanced midfielders to have legs to drive at the opposing team, run beyond the CF and offer link-up play with the wing-backs who provide a threat from wide areas.
Sadly we had the two least mobile players in such critical positions and had we offered Gordon and Bernard/Iwobi a run in those positions, I reckon the game would've turned out differently given that they created very little themselves in the first half...

 

[Jadubsee]

Well considering all the trophies he has won I would trust his judgement over mine ,or even yours or that matter

Me too mate but this is a football forum and we just lost for the second game in a row, so questions are going to be asked.

 

[Brisan123]

Me too mate but this is a football forum and we just lost for the second game in a row, so questions are going to be asked.

Why ?
Poor squad depth
Load of rubbish hanging around
Coleman ,Digne ,Ricarlison ,Holgate ,James all missing
Take 5 first choice players out of any PL side and they will struggle
We struggle more than the sky 6 because we lack depth

 

[degsy]

...I've said a few times, I am still really angry with Richarlinson and Digne. Completely stupid from both of them. It's not the first time Richarlinson has done this either.

And Gomes...he couldn't tackle the kiddies crossword in the beano

 

[Saint Domingo]

So just to be clear, you're going to keep the attitude that you believe is causing the problem?! Interesting idea.

ive not said anywhere we need to keep it. It needs to go, but fans expecting 20 years of culture to have completely changed in a few months is a bit ambitious. It looks as though it’s going to take longer. It could even be a few seasons until Carlo had a squad of players that can go out and be consistent the majority of games and go to every ground home and away expecting to win.

 

[Jadubsee]

Why ?
Poor squad depth
Load of rubbish hanging around
Coleman ,Digne ,Ricarlison ,Holgate ,James all missing
Take 5 first choice players out of any PL side and they will struggle
We struggle more than the sky 6 because we lack depth

I agree we were always going to struggle but, even so, it was overly cautious. I don't like to see that. Five central midfielders against a very average Newcastle team. It was a gameplan that was never going to see us take the game to them, and it didn't work.

 

[Lanolin]

ive not said anywhere we need to keep it. It needs to go, but fans expecting 20 years of culture to have completely changed in a few months is a bit ambitious. It looks as though it’s going to take longer. It could even be a few seasons until Carlo had a squad of players that can go out and be consistent the majority of games and go to every ground home and away expecting to win.

Not that we need to keep it, but saying 'the club has seen draws at places like Newcastle as fine so i'm not really concerned that we lost' just perpetuats the same attitude. If you want the attitude to change then you need to be part of the change. If you say 'ah well it'll take ages to change we might as well just play 19 central midfielders in all our away games until then' then how does that change occur? Surely if it's going to take years then everybody should have been given years to change it? Did you want Koeman to stay for years to see if he had that effect? Or Silva? Why is it that some things have to change immediately but others can be written off?

I'm playing devil's advocate here because I think the whole putting everything down to mentality thing is complete codswallop, but I don't understand how somebody who actually believes in it can think that attitude makes sense. It just doesn't.