Lillehamring

Feel like this is exactly what i was saying earlier in the season - and got slaughtered for Justin is a good player and seems to have a great attitude, but both because of his limitations and the way we play, it's hard to see him having a future here other than as a back up to faes and doyle. He's struggling at this level, dembele and the japanese lad had him for breakfast, there's no way he can play in the PL unless he can push on, but he'll always, i believe, look exposed and a square peg in enzo's system

Yes, as i said in my reply to benthefox - it looks like were counter attacking, but it's actually just moving the ball forward very quickly. People have been talking about a lack of plan B, but I'm starting to realise that what we've predominantly seen (the 'boring' football) was actually enzo's plan B - a back up plan for when teams sit deep - what we're now seeing, and especially tonight, is actually his Plan A - how we play when teams actually come and give us a game! Eureka!

Yes and No - as you say, he hasn't been afraid to make tweaks, but it's essentially been the same basic plan. That's why i don't buy into this enzo 2.0 - it's not that at all, it's enzo 1.1 or 1.2 or 1.3 - the same essential idea, but occasionally tweaked. And the last few games we've started to see how we expected it to be, how we were teased in preseason that it was going to be. Now teams are abandoning the bus parking (it didn't work), they're trying the 'let's have a go' policy, and sure, teams are getting goals, but the real fruits of the original idea are revealed when we are given space to play into. the first goal was pure counter attack, but everything else was pretty much, 'moving the ball very quickly forward into space'.

I can only think of leeds and sunderland who really had a go. even west brom sat deep for long periods of that game. But I agree we dealt with their press far better than we dealt with other presses - no errors tonight.

Did you notice the number of times when ndidi was moving forward in the 2nd half, dako was making runs into the gaps and ndidi never noticed? As good as wilf is, he is still very limited as a #8. But i agree daka's link up work is far superior to any of the other strikers.

I think the reason for this is that from the west brom game we've been creating opportunities from teams pushed forwards - previous to this we've predominantly won the ball further up the pitch. The former scenario doesn't require sideways passes, the latter one does.

Counter attacking as a fundament for a playing style, from a tactical perspective, is the antithesis of possession football. But we've shown that if the circumstances are there where we can counter attack, we're sometimes very good at it. Galling thing tonight was the amount of times we countered with an overload and fail to even get the ball in the box.

I don't think it's any such thing, as i posted in the post match thread: I think it's more that our last three opponents (especially tonight and plymouth) have actually tried to come out and attack us and left loads of space for us to (try) to exploit. No coincidence that we've conceded 25% of our total goals in the last two games, for the same reason. Whilst i thought the whole 'we've been sussed' farce of a few games back was garbage - it does feel like maybe teams are now realising that parking the bus is a waste of time and that maybe our defence isn't as good as it seems by virtue of rarely being tested?

I thought he was anonymous tonight?

I think it's more that our last three opponents (especially tonight and plymouth) have actually tried to come out and attack us and left loads of space for us to (try) to exploit. No coincidence that we've conceded 25% of our total goals in the last two games, for the same reason. Whilst i thought the whole 'we've been sussed' farce of a few games back was garbage - it does feel like maybe teams are now realising that parking the bus is a waste of time and that maybe our defence isn't as good as it seems by virtue of rarely being tested?

Keeper actually did really well and i think it was all too quick for him to try anything different.

To be fair we had a lot of possession around their box - but for some shoddy final balls and finishing, as most people have said, we could have had a sack load of goals. There's always going to be a time of pissing about in our box against a team pressing and desperate for the ball

odd one - he seemed to get endlessly beaten by both left wingers and was poor for the second goal and was poor going forward - my impression was that he was dreadful - but he somehow contributed 5 tackles, 3 interceptions and 2 clearances - so he made a difference to a degree.

So does that mean we're safe then?

Can you include current predicted total based on current PPG?

Not really the point - the point is we haven't relied on him playing, it's not like we're dreadful when he doesn't play. FWIW - i thought he was completely anonymous against Birmingham.

Can't really lose - if ipswich win it means we can go 16 points ahead of leeds, if leeds win at worst we're still 10 points ahead of them and still ahead of ipswich, if they draw, then we could edge 2 points further ahead of both of them. All that really matters is us beating Rotherham.

Well, some of our approach play has been fantastic, but oh my why are we so inept in the final third - we only have goals because they didn't involve a pass in the final third. And this ref! dear god, if he's going to give them everything, can he not give us....something!

But haven't we just signed better players? Can he be credited for the improvement or was it just a result of improving the team?

And he's actually only played 57% of minutes this season.

That too. The clue has always been in my member tag....

which is less than we've dropped so far...

Have been know to...

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Shambles. Bad enough conceding so late but to a team as bad as west ham with 10 players is unacceptable.