JimJams

I thought Robbie Savage was the shit Robbie Savage?

Even copied Dewsbury-Halls look to fit in.

So what's the solution there then? If nobody wants either then a player swap wouldn't be the worst idea, but we've already got interested parties in for Souttar.

But that only makes him as culpable as a load of others. Maddisons pen miss makes him soley responsible by that logic.

Doubt they'd sell tbh.

I did think of Ancelotti tbh, it's more a general rule, there will be plenty of exceptions. Also whilst Don Carlo doesn't have a set plan what he does well is put players in positions where they can be most effective, rather than shoehorn players into a side. Cooper has so far squeezed players into a non cohesive structure. Early days though...

I don't particularly like the idea that a coach is "flexible in his approach" because that just says to me that they don't have a clear philosophy of how to play. And watching the 3 friendlies so far, there definitely isn't one. I think there are only a few things you can pick up from the games and that's that he wants one of the wingers, Mav last night, to come further inside and give support to the striker. Last night the only threat on goal was Mav because of this, but at the same time he wasn't coming inside to play with Daka, the latter was largely nowhere to be seen when it happened. And whether it's a personnel thing or a tactics thing we played with an industrious midfield (the nice way of saying it) 3. That midfield can work and work to great effect if they're high energy, pressing and pressuring opponents, when out of possession and when they get the ball they can recycle it out wide and let them do the job of opening up the space and attacking. But we weren't playing with attacking, overlapping fullbacks. Riccy P stayed back and JJ was high up but doesn't overlap Mav. So we have not outlet. You're basically giving the ball to a winger and saying "do something magical" or to the frontman and asking him to beat the whole defence. If we're going with the idea of an industrious mid then they need to work on pressing as a unit. And right now, without this magical 10 or creative player (of which we'd need at least 2 for cover/competition) that's probably what Cooper should be looking to do. Trouble is he then needs his fullbacks to be able to bomb up and down and provide an attacking threat and the that's pre-ACL Riccy. And JJ maybe for the right? Hopefully this is all just about getting minutes in legs right now, but it doesn't bode well to me. I'd rather be very good at a one dimensional system than chopping and changing all the time and not really knowing what we're doing from one game to the next.

Oh thank Christ!

If it tastes like shit do you just keep eating it? Strange analogy. Though I see where you're coming from.

Do all the analysis you like people, but it genuinely looks like Cooper has no idea what the fxxk is going on at the minute!

I'll be honest, I'd fallen asleep by the time he came on.

Well tbf our two ball playing centre backs didn't play today.

Positives: Okoli didn't look a bomb scare like his first game. Nobody died.

Hopefully just concentrating on fitness for now.

Why wouldn't it?

3rd. Should be world beaters by now.

Whilst this may be true, that goals nothing to do with him.

Aha.

HE SAVED IT!

Clever sub by Cooper. With the players knowing Ward is on we've decided to keep the ball in their half.

Gotta add a bit of jeopardy!

Golding in the mid please.

You'd probably fare better with a front 3 that plays in the same manner as Mane, Firmino, Salah too. Obviously not in quality terms, but two wide forwards and a link up man in the middle. Mav is coming almost central, Fats isn't really getting any space and like you say you need an attacking fullback to make that work, where Ricardo is staying back.

Jorgensen, the guy they're talking about 1 post above you...

Looks a bit like how Johnson used to play inside from the right at Forest, as a sort of support striker rather than a winger. I suppose if Cooper wants to do that then Mav probably has more confidence to do it than Fats. But I'm not keen on it either.