Tottenham Hotspur (H) pre match

[Ric Flair]

I think we'll draw 1-1 and it will be an all around better performance. 

[foxinsocks]

Lets see how much the cl gives them a hangover. ....  i hope the ref is now alert to kanes diving

[yorkie1999]

Just now, foxinsocks said:

Lets see how much the cl gives them a hangover. ....  i hope the ref is now alert to kanes diving

I don't think it matters, the top sides seem to play a prem game followed by a european game then most of their players go on international duty, come back, do it again with the same players and still look fitter and stronger than us.

[Guest]

11 hours ago, KingsX said:

“Maguire love”   Everybody on here acknowledges his big flaw (positioning not good enough to make up for lack of recovery speed). He’s a midfielder in an extreme center back’s body, and as such, a CB of extremes who divides views.  And he's gone.

 

I’m talking -- factually -- about his passing in the context of our significant problem getting the ball out.  And I doubt many want to replace it with Kasper’s kicking, which is even more Jekyll and Hyde than Maguire’s defending.

 

Maguire completes more of his passes than most CBs and completes way more into the middle and final thirds.  If he hit Chilwell, the latter was often in the opponent’s half.  Through the combination of his dribbling and incisive passing, he got the ball to an advanced mid or winger several times a match.  A contrast to much of our labored possession this season, where it may never even reach somebody who can pick that kind of pass.

 

But I’m sure you’ll want to keep on arguing with the facts, because that’s your specialty, along with rudeness. 

I don't see where I was rude KingsX but I'll apologise to you anyway as that was not my intention. I'm not arguing with facts, your facts are in your mind. My opinion is simple. Maguire was no more important in our pasing out from the back than Evans, Soyuncu seems to be just as good and Kasper was and is far more important. 

 

Your ridiculing of Kasper's distribution I find strange when he in fact throws and kicks the ball out far more often and far more accurately than Maguire did. I'm sure he has been instrumental in assisting far more goals than Maguire.

 

More to the point your harping back to a player and situation which is finished is completely pointless. Maguire has gone (of his own free will) and is not coming back. Get over him and talk about what and who we have.

[Guest Fktf]

16 hours ago, FIF said:

 

You are confusing an odd run up the pitch with "getting the ball out of jail and into attack"

 

Even though you've limited it to the best CB (we have 2 each week and 4 this season) the best CB we have for what you are saying is Johnny Evans, who gets the ball up much better than Maguire did. Mostly Maguire passed the ball to Chilwell or Evans - perhaps check the stats.

 

Our best passer of the ball from the back to initiate an attack is and has always been Kasper.

 

Put your Maguire love where it belongs - in the box marked Manchester United - they guy was only with us for a couple of seasons.

United nullified this quite well. I think it's a bit reason we looked so tepid.

 

In previous games, when teams have pressed our GK and CBs, Kasper has chipped the ball out to the fullbacks, who take up a position behind the first line of press and are often in quite a bit of space. United's first line of 'press' was more about blocking the passing lanes into midfield, whilst also being in a position to put pressure on a CB of they got the ball. Again this means Kasper is looking for a chip out to our fullbacks, but United had players within 10 yards of them, so any chipped pass immediately put Chilwell and Ricardo under pressure.

 

It seemed like the sort of game to bypass the midfield, like we did against Bournemouth. Vardy was on the halfway line with only Lindelof and Maguire at points - we should have been looking to play him in over the top more (again, like Bournemouth). 

 

 

[Muzzy_Larsson]

17 hours ago, st albans fox said:

I'm no fan of maguire - I just recognise how brave he was with the ball and that cags isn't yet - the 'safe' pass doesn't really help us to break the lines and allow the midfilders to take the ball on the half turn. 

 

as for who maguire passed the ball mostly to - just as evans stats will show maguire and ricardo, so the left sided CB shows chilwell and evans ……...that's not a surprise.  no one is saying that evans isn't any good at passing the ball, I just don't see him making the brave pass through the press that maguire did too often, if at all. similarly with cags.

 

cags will hopefully mature with time …… my comment re benkovic relates to whether he is the type of player who will be brave with his passing into midfield. we haven't seen although I suspect @henrik_62 may have a view. 

Yeah that's one of his biggest strengths imo, his ability to pass out from the back and step into midfield when required.

 

I don't know if it's due to losing Maguire but I've been surprised when I've seen Leicester this season that there isn't a CB stepping into midfield regularly and breaking lines with the ball as Rodgers was huge on it at Celtic, with Boyata in his first season, Benkovic in his second then last season he really developed Ajer's game in doing that.

[sacreblueits442]

12 hours ago, jim5000 said:

 

Schmeichel

Ricardo Evans Soyuncu Chilwell

Tielemans Ndidi Albrighton

Perez Maddison Barnes

Vardy

 

Now there's a team that would cause Spurs problems. No Grey

... and a twelth man! 

Edited 18 September 2019 by sacreblueits442

[les-tah]

If maddison doesn't play central expect more of the Man utd game and more frustration at the lack of anything at all.

 

Wish we could go and try and beat these teams instead of going with a big defensive master plan and our best players out of position.

Edited 18 September 2019 by les-tah

[sacreblueits442]

32 minutes ago, henrik_62 said:

Yeah that's one of his biggest strengths imo, his ability to pass out from the back and step into midfield when required.

 

I don't know if it's due to losing Maguire but I've been surprised when I've seen Leicester this season that there isn't a CB stepping into midfield regularly and breaking lines with the ball as Rodgers was huge on it at Celtic, with Boyata in his first season, Benkovic in his second then last season he really developed Ajer's game in doing that.

... is Rodgers managing with fear?

Could it be he lacks confidence in the CB to do this, or does he have one eye on his job! 

 

[urban fox]

42 minutes ago, les-tah said:

If maddison doesn't play central expect more of the Man utd game and more frustration at the lack of anything at all.

 

Wish we could go and try and beat these teams instead of going with a big defensive master plan and our best players out of position.

This. You don't see Liverpool changing formations to accommodate players. Either play to the strengths of the players that are picked (ie Maddison and Tielemans together in the middle) or pick players more suited to the system and role such as Albrighton or Barnes in place of Madison out wide. Whilst that would essentially mean dropping either Maddison or Tielemans so be it. You cannot simply pick your "best 11 players" and move them around the pitch, you need to have the right players in the right positions and if that means leaving someone out then so be it. We have a good enough squad to rotate personnel and systems without playing people out of position.  (It reminds me of that game where England played Kane and Vardy as wide players just to accommodate Rooney). To do otherwise, is a total waste of talent and destroys the balance of the side. If we want to start with two DM fine, but leave Maddison and/or Tielemans on the bench and bring them on later to change things around. Keeps the players on their toes and the opposition guessing. After all that's what the bench is for (apart from covering injuries of course).

[ARM1968]

Spurs will be knackered and early kick off not good for them either. We just need to get at em, keep the ball when we can and attack like we can. 

[sly1]

3-1 city 

[Dan LCFC]

4 hours ago, Ric Flair said:

I think we'll draw 1-1 and it will be an all around better performance. 

I'd take that. The performances have been the concern for me more than anything. Like I said elsewhere, we've played three good halves out of twelve for me so far, a couple of average but more poor than good.

[yorkie1999]

34 minutes ago, ARM1968 said:

Spurs will be knackered and early kick off not good for them either. We just need to get at em, keep the ball when we can and attack like we can. 

Bet they won't be. These are young lads who are capable of playing 2 and 3 games a week and do it for fun.

[Guest]

My biggest worry is that it's an early kickoff.

 

Have we ever played well or won an early lunchtime kickoff?

 

I can't ever remember us looking ready to play in an early match.

[Fosse93]

3 minutes ago, FIF said:

My biggest worry is that it's an early kickoff.

 

Have we ever played well or won an early lunchtime kickoff?

 

I can't ever remember us looking ready to play in an early match.

New years day.

[st albans fox]

9 minutes ago, Fosse93 said:

New years day.

was a terrible game

[Fosse93]

1 minute ago, st albans fox said:

was a terrible game

Oh yeah, one of the worst in recent memory... but we won!

[st albans fox]

3 minutes ago, Fosse93 said:

Oh yeah, one of the worst in recent memory... but we won!

one answer is man city, feb 2016

[Nicolo Barella]

1 hour ago, urban fox said:

This. You don't see Liverpool changing formations to accommodate players. Either play to the strengths of the players that are picked (ie Maddison and Tielemans together in the middle) or pick players more suited to the system and role such as Albrighton or Barnes in place of Madison out wide. Whilst that would essentially mean dropping either Maddison or Tielemans so be it. You cannot simply pick your "best 11 players" and move them around the pitch, you need to have the right players in the right positions and if that means leaving someone out then so be it. We have a good enough squad to rotate personnel and systems without playing people out of position.  (It reminds me of that game where England played Kane and Vardy as wide players just to accommodate Rooney). To do otherwise, is a total waste of talent and destroys the balance of the side. If we want to start with two DM fine, but leave Maddison and/or Tielemans on the bench and bring them on later to change things around. Keeps the players on their toes and the opposition guessing. After all that's what the bench is for (apart from covering injuries of course).

In fairness that could be because they have one of the best starting 11s in the world.

[KingsX]

4 hours ago, FIF said:

I don't see where I was rude KingsX but I'll apologise to you anyway as that was not my intention. I'm not arguing with facts, your facts are in your mind. My opinion is simple. Maguire was no more important in our pasing out from the back than Evans, Soyuncu seems to be just as good and Kasper was and is far more important. 

 

Your ridiculing of Kasper's distribution I find strange when he in fact throws and kicks the ball out far more often and far more accurately than Maguire did. I'm sure he has been instrumental in assisting far more goals than Maguire.

 

More to the point your harping back to a player and situation which is finished is completely pointless. Maguire has gone (of his own free will) and is not coming back. Get over him and talk about what and who we have.

 

A more measured reply than I'd have anticipated, FIF.  Good on ya.  Peace.

[Dan LCFC]

44 minutes ago, Fosse93 said:

New years day.

We won that but we didn't play well. We were just less bad than a scarcely believably bad Everton.

 

Arsenal at home though was an early.

 

We're dodgy on TV in general.

[AKCJ]

We walked all over Arsenal in May.

[AKCJ]

58 minutes ago, FIF said:

My biggest worry is that it's an early kickoff.

 

Have we ever played well or won an early lunchtime kickoff?

 

I can't ever remember us looking ready to play in an early match.

We walked all over Arsenal in May.

[KingsX]

 

2 hours ago, sacreblueits442 said:

... is Rodgers managing with fear?

Could it be he lacks confidence in the CB to do this

 

I dug up this graph

 

 

showing that Benkovic (and his CB partners) were ultra-conservative passers last year.  Contrasting all-hoof Livingston   Is this indicative of a hard-and-fast preference for the gradual buildup?  Does Rodgers-ball totally exclude the long ball from the back?    #freeverdy

 

3 hours ago, henrik_62 said:

Yeah that's one of his biggest strengths imo, his ability to pass out from the back and step into midfield when required.

 

I don't know if it's due to losing Maguire but I've been surprised when I've seen Leicester this season that there isn't a CB stepping into midfield regularly and breaking lines with the ball as Rodgers was huge on it at Celtic, with Boyata in his first season, Benkovic in his second then last season he really developed Ajer's game in doing that.

 

I'd be happy with a good complementary duo at the back.  A ball-player who can defend like a hero (Cags), and a hero defender who can play the ball (Evans).  I’ve been seeing Benko as the eventual Evans replacement, with Soyuncu as Maguire’s.  But it sounds like they could become not just a well-rounded pair, but a pair where each one is well-rounded.