2021/22 Rafael Benitez

[jinkyali]

It does, because DCL and Richarlison were key to our defending set pieces.

Strikers being key to defending set pieces.

Says it all.

 

[Bluestar]

Dave come on mate, you can’t seriously say our defensive set up is good, we showed under Silva that zonal marking doesn’t work so why is Rafael insisting on sticking with it?

Zonal marking can work, but for whatever reason, we have never really been successful with it.

 

[Abertonian]

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Just seen the Carlo in the corner lol

 

[AsiaAsia82]

As the players are trying, and with the injuries we have, the onus then falls on the manager to make best use of those available.
This is where he’s failing and his perceived arrogance to not change. Adapting the style of play to avoid using Rondon, or packing the midfield to avoid being over run, even his own player is saying we should do this.
That’s why he shouldn’t be our manager.

 

[Saint Domingo]

Yes from an attacking sense it wasn’t great but we were more solid defensively which got results, now it’s the opposite, a fairly solid attack with a defence that can’t do zonal. If he could find a way to blend the two, we wouldn’t be down in 15th but he’s too stubborn to do that

It’s a painful transition but frankly if we want to improve from where we’ve been in the long run we can’t be going back to 4 CBs at the back hoping for an opportunity on set pieces to win games.

There’s not been many positives so far but one of them has been that we’ve continued to score goals without our two best strikers. Not many of them are set piece goals either. A lot of the errors we’re conceding at the back are individual errors also or set piece errors, both easier to fix than massive tactical problems.

Cut the individual errors (probably through bringing in better defenders). Get Mina DCL Richarlison fit, and I think we improve at both ends of the pitch and the dial shifts.

I could easily be wrong though and if Coleman Keane Holgate Godfrey continue to make the individual errors they have this season in defence on a weekly basis then we will struggle no doubt. We need a huge boost from Mykolenko plus Patterson and hopefully Mina returning.

 

[GoldenToffee]

The continuing trend of conceding the first goal (15 out of 20 games) and our inability to defend set pieces is down to Benitez.

I am no fan of his, but until he's given the funds to replace Keane, Coleman, Kenny and Holgate, and continues to be without Mina and has Godfrey still recovering from covid, I don't think there's an awful lot any manager could do there. How are you going to put three/four of those in the starting line up together and expect them to be able to keep almost any strikers in the league quiet? Certainly even Ancelotti was unable to get anything out of them either. I get the shouts of him being arrogant about selecting Coleman over Digne, but we don't know the full story on that one. That all said, the sooner Benitez goes, the better.

 

[Toffe3m4n]

It’s a painful transition but frankly if we want to improve from where we’ve been in the long run we can’t be going back to 4 CBs at the back hoping for an opportunity on set pieces to win games.

There’s not been many positives so far but one of them has been that we’ve continued to score goals without our two best strikers. Not many of them are set piece goals either. A lot of the errors we’re conceding at the back are individual errors also or set piece errors, both easier to fix than massive tactical problems.

Cut the individual errors (probably through bringing in better defenders). Get Mina DCL Richarlison fit, and I think we improve at both ends of the pitch and the dial shifts.

I could easily be wrong though and if Coleman Keane Holgate Godfrey continue to make the individual errors they have this season in defence on a weekly basis then we will struggle no doubt. We need a huge boost from Mykolenko plus Patterson and hopefully Mina returning.

This stands out for me as well.

In the absence of DCL, Richarlison and the Icelandic geezer it's encouraging that we've still been scoring a decent number of goals, particularly from the midfield. Gray, Townsend & Gordon have come into the team this season and done a job, to all three's credit.

It still absolutely wrecks my head that we're incapable of keeping the entire squad fully fit for any extended amount of time. It's been killing us this season (as well as our atrocious defensive setup at times).

 

[degsy]

Zonal marking can work, but for whatever reason, we have never really been successful with it.

Confidence in yourself and the borders of your zone...not being unsure and leaving it by default to the other guy - and the will to then attack the ball.

 

[Daveysgingerlovechild]

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The paella detail ? ? ?

 

[MACCA75]

When he said that he’ll get rid of people that don’t want to be here, I imagine there was a queue outside his door the next day.

 

[Eggs]

I am no fan of his, but until he's given the funds to replace Keane, Coleman, Kenny and Holgate, and continues to be without Mina and has Godfrey still recovering from covid, I don't think there's an awful lot any manager could do there. How are you going to put three/four of those in the starting line up together and expect them to be able to keep almost any strikers in the league quiet? Certainly even Ancelotti was unable to get anything out of them either. I get the shouts of him being arrogant about selecting Coleman over Digne, but we don't know the full story on that one. That all said, the sooner Benitez goes, the better.

…..conceding the first goal regularly is more to do with organisation, formation & strategy than about personnel.

 

[GoldenToffee]

…..conceding the first goal regularly is more to do with organisation, formation & strategy than about personnel.

If the players are crap, and you've got no strikers, then you're more often than not going to concede first.

 

[RomanReigns]

ive seen rumours saying that both gbamin and allan can leave on loan in january

with davies recovering from surgery that means we would only have

Doucoure - a man who was injured last season and this season with some kind of broken foot
Gomes - a man who can't string more than 2 games without getting some kind of injury
Delph - has gone AWOL again and is out of contract in the summer
Sigurdsson - no comment
Onyango - a man who has never played a game in the prem

 

[MACCA75]

He will leave this club in a worse state than how he found it, I’ll bet any amount of money on that.

 

[sageyefc]

Trying to put us in the mud