What makes sense to one person maybe doesn’t to another. This doesn’t make the point any less valid.
But isn’t that the art of the game. We need to find a way. No team will stay on their 18 yard line for ever - it will eventually lead to a goal. Our problem is we lay siege, usually don’t score, and ironically, get sucked in until it is only a matter of time before we have a stray pass and are exposed.
Not going to quote everything you said, but if Slot is to achieve more success he has to be a blend of working well with an established system/squad and adapting to challenges faced by a new system and how other teams have adapted to the original version.
Its a tough mix, but Dalglish did it back in his first tenure and achieved success.
I think, or I hope he has the tenacity and the capacity to change that is required. I think he has to be afforded this season to weave the changes in mentality, system, tactics that are required.
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I guess it is important to recall that just as we all thought Rodgers would turn it around about this time 11 years ago, Slot still might. I think there was some irrational exuberance after 5 wins on the trot to start, equally there is some real catastrophizing. It does look like the era of needing 95+ points to be in the title race may have come to an end, a win next weekend makes things look a little different again. It is a bit early to break out the sackcloth and ashes, and I for one am re-applying last season’s original expectations to this one: Land a Top 4 place, and build a real foundation for a title charge next year.
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Look at the players we have bought, Frimpong, Kerkez, Wirtz, Ekitike and Isak.
2 full backs more suited as wingbacks, Wirtz excelled under Xabi who played three at the back and we bought 2 very good CF’s.
Apart from CB’s all those fit a 3 5 2.
As for winning 2nd balls from the early long balls, with the wing backs we have 5 across the middle.
Our current formation is struggling with the oppositions new tactics and I absolutely agree defenses need to be compact, it is a fundamental to defending, but at the moment we aren’t and teams playing long & early are finding spaces and massive gaps through the centre of our defence.
It could be easily changed in the current format by our CB’s ensuring they are closer, which isn’t happening as they split wide when we are in possession. The other option is to go back to Grav dropping in when we are building but then that is one less player to play the vertical pass to.
No solution is perfect, but the gap between our CB’s is alarming and then when we are compact that inside channel runner is killing us.
Lastly by having 3 at the back the wing backs are wider and can engage their winger earlier and therefore stop crosses. We have missed Diaz and Sadio before him as they because they really helped close down one sidewith their defensive work.
I don’t particularly want a 3 5 2 but i think our defensive issues are solved easier with that formation.
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Whereas I think the recruitment looks like the long term plan is a 442 diamond or a box midfield.
Which is weird because all the talk about Slot before he arrived was how much he loved pacy wingers who can beat a man.
Jokes aside, Arsenal have been doing as many shitty performances in the same period, and they’ve been trophyless for how many years.
With Slot, knives haven’t been out because despite the often unconvincing performances, we were getting the results.
This season, we started by getting them, rather fortunately, combined with grit and passion, and then we started losing them in a reverse manner. Hence the knives out. Now that we lost some, the unconvincing performances are more vivid.
We are losing games by one goal (often a diabolical one), and Arsenal is winning them by one goal (often a diabolical one). Arsenal barely concedes, so that (often diabolical) goal is enough. We concede a lot, but score almost just as many, so that (often diabolical) goal that makes the difference is making the difference.
Mind you, in those months of “shitty” performances, we got knocked out of the CL by the team that won everything, and Luis Enrique said we were his toughest opponents.
In these past couple of months, in our shitty performances we’ve beaten the seemingly flawless Arsenal, without conceding, and by outplaying them more than the 1-0 shows.
The team can perform. I’m confident they will start performing. Our main problem is consistency, and how much time it will take to find it. We either play wondrous football for about 30% of a game, which clearly is not enough, or find a way to get the result for a few games, and then not, for the next few.
Obviously we do need solutions for many things, and defense is one area, starting with pressing.
But what I’m trying to point out is that this team and this manager have the quality to play competitively.
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It is in proportion to the distance we have gone backwards, the rapidity of the travel and the utter lack of response to what is now a consistent failing.
Not everyone criticizing Slot is asking for his head and it is a totally fair and normal response in any business environment to be critical of a well regarded employee who has overseen something that has gone desperately tits up and ask questions of them in terms of what they intend to do to address it.
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Totally agree but on form he also had great vision to pick out a pass to kill any defensive shape in midfield, I was s looking forward to seeing him play alongside Wirtz 
I don’t know where to put this, but this thread looks suitable.
We are having a pretty disappointing season. Think it’s due to two reasons:
- Our veterans and key players are very exhausted.
- Our new recruits still haven’t adapted to our system.
Both can and will be sorted. Be a believer. YNWA
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But that would mean passing backwards and sideways, also teams don’t have to come out as they are already 1 up 
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There were some pieces written around the period in the spring before we’d quite officially got over the line highlighting a sudden drop in our defensive competitiveness. That perspective is looking really prescient about now and raises the question of what we were doing in the summer going for two short arse FBs and a focus on a CB who is barely 6 feet. The issues were facing here dealing with the directness of everyone’s play is less about compactness and more about individually players just not doing well enough in their battles on the first ball or the second. I get the perspective that being more compact means there are more bodies around the ball when it drops but this feels like a shirt cut that doesnt address the actual failing. Even a high pressing team should be able to deal with the second balls against a team that has gone long and put it in a space behind us because if the opposition has run up field far enough to pick up that ball himself then there was nothing to press further up field that would prevent you competing for that second ball.
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This is a massive, mentality, that is what is missing, it’s as though they have lost the belief in themselves, erring rather doing.
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It’s not the lack of response but the lack of a solution that works and is sustainable to the point of regaining consistency.
If you look at the Man U game, we won nearly all the 1st balls from their keeper kicking long, they weren’t really challenging for them, just looking to pick up the 2nd ball and when they did there were holes.
I look at their 1st goal, where Virg follows Mbeumo and goes into Macca, leaving a gap behind, why follow Mbeumo as Macca is already in that position and all Mbeumo is going to do is flick it on if he wins it and then Virg is in position to pick up the flick on.
As that game wore on we had them pegged back so deep and pressured them that they couldn’t get up to compete for the 2nd ball.
Brentford was very interesting as lot of their longer balls were looping high balls which are very hard to get good distance on when heading the ball.
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And certain posters have appeared out of the woodwork
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Why is our CB trying to win a long high ball pumped into his area and why not leave it to the 5’7 playmaker to win it? The better question is why didnt get out of the way and prepare himself to receive/pick up the ball that Virgil was quite obviously going to win?
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You could look at the other side if Virg leaves it to Macca, then we are in better position to deal with anything that happens, all Mbeumo could do if he wins it is flick it on and who is in that space Virg.
By going into the area he did, 2 of our players were then out of the game.
How does Macca get out of the way if Virg doesn’t shout early enough, I am sure if he had the chance and heard the shout he would have got out of the way.
Great post, one other thing that I think also matters to footballers is meritocracy.
Players know if someone is playing poorly and still starting when another that has shown willingness and ability to perform when used is sat on the bench.
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Where are the other people involved/responsible? What are their thoughts on the current situation, their perspective? Am I the only one who’d love to hear something from them and not just the ‘head coach’?
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