2020/21 Carlo Ancelotti

[Zatara]

That was a proper Ronald Koeman midfield.

 

[Jim Hopper]

Hopefully this performance will teach him that you can’t play Gylfi, Gomes, and James in the same side and expect not to get overrun in midfield. Probably didn’t help to add our two backup CBs to that equation as well.

He seen this against Newcastle at home and learnt nothing. The whole team learnt nothing from that game.

 

[deipnosophist]

...looks to be receiving too much tactical advice from his kids, BJ and Baby Bop

 

[Egil Olsen]

Or we stick with him and hope he works on a better game plan to stop teams like Fulham, West Ham, Newcastle, & Leeds pressing us into submission with no response?

Would be the best option.

Nobody is calling for his head. People are raising concerns. He’s not above reproach. Questions have been asked of him and rightly so. In the same way when he sets us up against better teams and changes it so we play well he’s lauded as the second coming.

Agree, we just have to wait. As long as he gets points with this type of negative football, he can not be criticized. However, if the curve starts to go down, and we are outcompeted by Dean Smith and David Moyes, then of course questions will be asked. It's part of being a manager. It is a results-oriented industry. Therefore, they also get well paid. But we are far from there. Right now we are just frustrated because we played miserably against a bottom team in the PL, and missed an opportunity.

 

[alphabet]

He seen this against Newcastle at home and learnt nothing. The whole team learnt nothing from that game.

Well, they did play good against United and Tottenham, so he probably thought it was safe.

 

[Jim Hopper]

Well, they did play good against United and Tottenham, so he probably thought it was safe.

Yeah against sides who don’t press as much and are happy for us to see more of the ball. It’s like homework wasn’t done against these and we learned nothing from the previous games.

 

[faddy the blue]

Maybe it is knee jerk.. maybe I’m just mad after the most embarrassing I’ve ever seen... but I have to ask.. the question that’s been rolling around since about November...

watching us get lucky against Arsenal and Chelsea along the way that seemed to justify the anti football we throw out every week. I hated those wins.. thanks for the three points but was this the new Everton? Was this what I would have to endure every week? Every win would just mean more of the same.. Fans argued that is a great defensive performance against good sides.. truth: we got lucky.

Then we dish up the same against Leeds, Leicester.. basically play as if we scared of every team that walks into the pitch.. they’re faster, more skilled, we only have player X or Y... whatever excuse we could come up with to justify dishing up anti football week in and week out.. hoping that 15 minutes a game we could turn it on and get something out.
Well it worked on occasion.. especially against better teams that had zero respect for us.. the lesser teams still played like we could hurt them but realised all you have to do is press and run at the midfield. So they are much tougher as they didn’t let themselves get too loose.

keep them out and nick one.. from Utd, to Leicester, to Leeds and Fulham. Do we not believe that players individually costing over £20m across the pitch can’t string 2 passes together at pace?
Can these players not receive the ball under pressure and look to move forward?
Why does our midfield not show for the ball? Why do we literally pass from the opposing third all the way back to our keeper without getting the ball into the box?

I can’t get my head around any of those questions.. I have often moaned about every one of those points during the matches but let it go after. I keep hope that we waiting on this player or that.. that those moments of inspiration during mostly rubbish games will ignite the team to believe in themselves and to attempt to play football .. not this absolute embarrassment of anti football we dish up every single week.

I say it every game.. I believe we are better than the play they dish up. Which leads me back to the tactics and team psychology.
Which leads me back to Carlos.

and the question.. is Carlos just a better groomed version of Sam Allardyce.. I can’t shake the question that no matter who we have in our 11... this is what we have to look forward to. Negative, slow, lethargic football until they score or we get lucky.

Rant over. I normally just hide in The Ale House thread till my cloud dissipates .. this time I had to get it off my chest.

100% agree with you mate.

I have had the same thoughts for months.

And you know what? 70% of the team into next year would still be the same. So I am expecting the same brand of anti football next season.

This club has had a loser mentality for years and years. The 13/14 season was the only exception when Martinez improved the psychology of the team he inherited and made them believe in themselves, unshackled them. That is a proof that once you deploy a culture of winning from minute 1, it CAN work. Then it becomes a question of sustaining that mindset which Martinez could not do. You will have the occasional blips in form but over a period of 3-4 years every player you recruit is based on that mindset.

Take Klopp, Rogers and Pochettino for example.

All deploy dynamic, high pressed, energetic football and sustain it.

 

[alphabet]

Yeah against sides who don’t press as much and are happy for us to see more of the ball. It’s like homework wasn’t done against these and we learned nothing from the previous games.

I'm just saying that it wasn't completely unjustified to put his faith in to Gomes&Siggy specially. But then again, there's always new levels of disappointment to be had with our midfield stars.

 

[ChesterBlue]

Getting a bit sick of us playing awful football now not gonna lie

 

[Rv_blue]

Seems there are two sides to the fan base as per when it comes to managerial musings..

- Those creaming their pants at the name "ancelloti" hoping for a new dawn where hes given multiple seasons to make the team his own and that his name alone he will bring us extraordinary signings, it wont - we signed Rodriguez because no one else wanted him. So these fans will put up with negative football, getting pressed by relegation fodder but its sound because its the players fault - these are the ones most likely calling for the heads of individual players and calling everyone else bedwetters.

- And those that can see the glaringly obvious errors and issues with losing games at home against relegation fodder. Weve been on the backfoot far too many times this season for long periods of many, many games. Yes weve still got results but the football is crap and that same football is our undoing. Theres no hiding from the fact he has some bad, bad footballers to pick from but youd expect a manager to be reactive when were being battered or just play with a discernible, consistent gameplan. If we played consistently crap with some kind of identity then its easier to give the manager a free pass. But its happened more than once, weve defended 30-40 minutes to protect a one goal lead and invited the opposition to score - or just been crap for 90 minutes and invited the opposition to score like tonight. Changes were obvious to everyone at half time but carlo didnt see fit and low and behold.. rinse and repeat.

Everton ey, dont you just love them.

 

[Lob]

Cannot defend him tonight. Nobody is above criticism and his performance was absolutely shocking tonight, ditto the players and coaching staff.

Worst performance i have seen all season and embarrassed yet again to be a blue.

 

[trueblue84]

Maybe it is knee jerk.. maybe I’m just mad after the most embarrassing I’ve ever seen... but I have to ask.. the question that’s been rolling around since about November...

watching us get lucky against Arsenal and Chelsea along the way that seemed to justify the anti football we throw out every week. I hated those wins.. thanks for the three points but was this the new Everton? Was this what I would have to endure every week? Every win would just mean more of the same.. Fans argued that is a great defensive performance against good sides.. truth: we got lucky.

Then we dish up the same against Leeds, Leicester.. basically play as if we scared of every team that walks into the pitch.. they’re faster, more skilled, we only have player X or Y... whatever excuse we could come up with to justify dishing up anti football week in and week out.. hoping that 15 minutes a game we could turn it on and get something out.
Well it worked on occasion.. especially against better teams that had zero respect for us.. the lesser teams still played like we could hurt them but realised all you have to do is press and run at the midfield. So they are much tougher as they didn’t let themselves get too loose.

keep them out and nick one.. from Utd, to Leicester, to Leeds and Fulham. Do we not believe that players individually costing over £20m across the pitch can’t string 2 passes together at pace?
Can these players not receive the ball under pressure and look to move forward?
Why does our midfield not show for the ball? Why do we literally pass from the opposing third all the way back to our keeper without getting the ball into the box?

I can’t get my head around any of those questions.. I have often moaned about every one of those points during the matches but let it go after. I keep hope that we waiting on this player or that.. that those moments of inspiration during mostly rubbish games will ignite the team to believe in themselves and to attempt to play football .. not this absolute embarrassment of anti football we dish up every single week.

I say it every game.. I believe we are better than the play they dish up. Which leads me back to the tactics and team psychology.
Which leads me back to Carlos.

and the question.. is Carlos just a better groomed version of Sam Allardyce.. I can’t shake the question that no matter who we have in our 11... this is what we have to look forward to. Negative, slow, lethargic football until they score or we get lucky.

Rant over. I normally just hide in The Ale House thread till my cloud dissipates .. this time I had to get it off my chest.

Lets wait until we have a decent team. Since Moyes, we've had different styles of manager but the common denominator is that the players just aren't good enough. If we had a good team and were grinding out turgid results, I'd agree with you.

 

[tsubaki]

100% agree with you mate.

I have had the same thoughts for months.

And you know what? 70% of the team into next year would still be the same. So I am expecting the same brand of anti football next season.

This club has had a loser mentality for years and years. The 13/14 season was the only exception when Martinez improved the psychology of the team he inherited and made them believe in themselves, unshackled them. That is a prove that once you deploy a culture of winning from minute 1, it CAN work. Then it becomes a question of sustaining that mindset which Martinez could not do. You will have the occasional blips in form but over a period of 3-4 years every player you recruit is based on that mindset.

Take Klopp, Rogers and Pochettino for example.

All deploy dynamic, high pressed, energetic football and sustain it.

TBF Martinez inherited a good squad and added the two things (Rom and Geri) it had been lacking for years, a fantastically boss forward player and someone who scared the absolute crap out of defenders.

Carlo hasn't been so lucky - we have a team full of the great white hopes of successive failed regimes, and its going to take time to get rid of them. Sign a replacement RB who can do what Coleman used to, and a right sided forward and they'd look a lot better. Get someone in with a bit of leadership and drive, who can sort out bad performances on the pitch before the manager has to make subs to change it, and they'll win something.

 

[blulouie]

If anyone didnt see this coming you dont watch footie.

Leeds ,Man utd & Tottenham (2 hrs) , 3 very intense high profile energy sapping games .
Many thought this was just turn up tonight and Fulham roll over , well fwiw i said before the game they play really well and very unlucky to not win a lot more games. Plus theyve had well over a week to prepare for this.( 5 games in 15 days , we've not got the squad to handle that)

Ive said many times our 1st choice starting 11 will ( & do) give anyone a game.
Look at the fixtures coming up , he has to rotate (whether we like it or not) if he doesnt the injuries just pile up and we play the final part of the season with 2nd string players.
The players that have been nothing short of fantastic for the last 3 games are blowing out their arse's.

Quite a few of these players wont be here shortly , then and only then when he gets his own players in he should be judged.

Some of the comments tonight are bang out of order.

 

[miami]

Maybe it is knee jerk.. maybe I’m just mad after the most embarrassing I’ve ever seen... but I have to ask.. the question that’s been rolling around since about November...

watching us get lucky against Arsenal and Chelsea along the way that seemed to justify the anti football we throw out every week. I hated those wins.. thanks for the three points but was this the new Everton? Was this what I would have to endure every week? Every win would just mean more of the same.. Fans argued that is a great defensive performance against good sides.. truth: we got lucky.

Then we dish up the same against Leeds, Leicester.. basically play as if we scared of every team that walks into the pitch.. they’re faster, more skilled, we only have player X or Y... whatever excuse we could come up with to justify dishing up anti football week in and week out.. hoping that 15 minutes a game we could turn it on and get something out.
Well it worked on occasion.. especially against better teams that had zero respect for us.. the lesser teams still played like we could hurt them but realised all you have to do is press and run at the midfield. So they are much tougher as they didn’t let themselves get too loose.

keep them out and nick one.. from Utd, to Leicester, to Leeds and Fulham. Do we not believe that players individually costing over £20m across the pitch can’t string 2 passes together at pace?
Can these players not receive the ball under pressure and look to move forward?
Why does our midfield not show for the ball? Why do we literally pass from the opposing third all the way back to our keeper without getting the ball into the box?

I can’t get my head around any of those questions.. I have often moaned about every one of those points during the matches but let it go after. I keep hope that we waiting on this player or that.. that those moments of inspiration during mostly rubbish games will ignite the team to believe in themselves and to attempt to play football .. not this absolute embarrassment of anti football we dish up every single week.

I say it every game.. I believe we are better than the play they dish up. Which leads me back to the tactics and team psychology.
Which leads me back to Carlos.

and the question.. is Carlos just a better groomed version of Sam Allardyce.. I can’t shake the question that no matter who we have in our 11... this is what we have to look forward to. Negative, slow, lethargic football until they score or we get lucky.

Rant over. I normally just hide in The Ale House thread till my cloud dissipates .. this time I had to get it off my chest.

I cant disagree with anything here. Nail on the head.