I noticed something about Castagne’s positioning yesterday, that I can’t quite understand. I sit in the JH towards the putney end, so I didn’t see what happened for the first half goals, but for Palace’s third - there was no one covering the wing at all. Castagne was tucked in to midfield on defense, leaving all that space. No one else was there to cover either. I understand that underlapping fullbacks come inside while attacking, but are they supposed to stay there without possession? Is someone else supposed to cover that space?
Marcin, I think we're all asking the same questions. I can't find an obvious answer, it's got to be tweaked otherwise teams will just capitalise on that space repeatedly
I hope that since the problem is so obvious to everyone, it’s also obvious to Arbeloa and he can address it. Otherwise, the target of that „license to kill” is ourselves.
Really good analysis as usual and spot on about crowd reaction to Iwobi and their baffling support of Muniz substitution,considering he looks to me as if he’s not a premiership striker.
The team are clueless under pressure around the box and a keeper bleeding confidence is seeping through the team.
Also the atmosphere at the end of the game was very un-fulhamish which indicates a deeper frustration and legacy of disappointment from last season. These things can have legs so a turnaround asap vital.
A lot of the issues are the same as last year, especially with Leno, Andersen and Robinson. Leno may be more exposed this year, but when we were more solid defensively last year he was also poor at shots from distance and weak at the near post, Andersen was caught out of position and lacking pace last year and it's the same this year just slightly further up, and Robinson has always been more about his physical attributes than technical ones yet occasionally lazy tracking back when caught out. Nothing has changed with any of that, it's just kind of being exacerbated more.
Midfield cannot continue to be Iwobi +1. Charles and Berge or Larsson has to be the way forward. It was obvious before the Chelsea game that Iwobi and Berge wouldn't work, and only became more obvious as the game went on.
The start of this season feels very similar to last, we just got lucky on a couple of occasions last year when we haven't this. The last minute equaliser against Brighton and the last minute own goal winner against Leeds saved the start of last season, otherwise we'd have been on 5 points from our first 9 by the start of November, and that wouldn't have been an undeserved tally. We were lucky more often than we were good last year, we've just not had that luck yet this season. That's not to say that tweaks aren't needed cos they definitely are, it just isn't at the burn the house down stage just yet.
A brilliant summary Dan! I have to agree with everything you say, and unless we look at our defending/keeping issues we are going to struggle this season. Andersen has to be replaced, a new keeper is essential and we cannot allow our full backs to get stuck upfield without cover.
More worried about your final revelations about possible discontent in the dressing room than the performance. Apart from anything else Silva seemed to manage to maintain a happy and united squad. The Tete situation cannot be easy, as Arbeloa obviously wanted to replace him. However Tete was lined up to move to Everton last season yet, when it fell through returned to play for us and for Silva seemingly without any ill feeling. Kevin might not be everyone's first choice on the left but Arbeloa's preference for Palacios could be interpreted as favouritism.
The last two games have been especially frustrating as both of our opponents were eminently beatable. There is a good reason why wing backs are only an option when you play three at the back. Both full backs bombing forward at the same time is exciting but suicidal. Surely Arbeloa as a defender himself must know this.
I completely agree Nick, the possibility that he's already alienating key squad players is a real worry. Even if they're players that he doesn't rate, they're all we've got until at least January, so you need to keep them happy and motivated. Marco was very good at that.
Re the wing-backs, precisely, either we've got to drop an extra centre-back in there to provide cover, play a midfielder who has no license to attack, simply cover, or compromise on the frequency with which our wing-backs are allowed to get forward. We'll get torn apart every week if none of those things happen
Agree Charles & Berg for next games, but also Sess for Jedi, used to love Jedi bombing down flanks but fear he’s sympathetic to Joa and eased off completely!
The favoritism the manager has for the Madrid players is a good starting point. Despite your 6.5 for Palacios who besides putting in a rebound that you or I probably could have, I am not seeing a reason for him to continue to start over Kevin. How is Angel in the squad when both Tete and Zepa are not? Almost no coverage for rb or rw. Muniz barely given a chance in the PL, especially when Garcia is gassed around 60 minutes.. It seems as though a formation change is needed.
I'm now concerned about Arbeloa,didn't like his comments after the Sunderland game,agree with comments about Leno and Andersen but they have been exposed and the questions remain from last season,I'm season ticket holder,the team looks disjointed and there were warning signs in first half and we didn't take heed and attempt to correct,I feel we don't win much in the air from long balls,Gonzalo struggled last week against Sunderland and won bugger all ariel duels against Palace,Muniz might have been better option for last half hour at least he puts CBs under pressure,I'm concerned he's obviously out of favour along with Tete,I'm concerned about favourism towards the Spanish imports who do show promise,we are seriously short up front.We should have kept Jimanez for another season.Im hoping I'm wrong but Arbeloa reminds me of Amorim at Manu he managed to alienate some of the team,it's early days so trying to remain optimistic!
It's ok, we've got another RM kid that Arbeloa can blatantly favour at the expense of squad harmony and PL capability! As long as he gets to make his managerial points, who cares about Fulham as a club, it's all secondary to the RM love-in!
I don't think you're reading that line quite as I had intended it to be read! Absolutely not actually calling him thick, far more about how Arbeloa is speaking about the situation and his utilisation of Andersen in a seriously sub-optimal system for him
Hard to disagree with your ratings and comments. Arbeola is obviously a far different manager than Silva but for all of Marco's faults, he was very good at substitutions, especially who to send on and when. Yesterday, Arbeola waited too long and then sent out a miscellaneous group, The result was that Palace gained confidence and more possession of the ball. Worse happened vs Sunderland where their subs won the game for them and, the week before, Chelsea's were outstanding. Unless AA masters this element of the manager's game, we could lose lots of leads and games.
Put Leno behind a halfway decent defense for a few games, then let's see. He kept FFC in the PL almost singlehandedly for years. You might afford him the same grace as Iwobi.
I noticed something about Castagne’s positioning yesterday, that I can’t quite understand. I sit in the JH towards the putney end, so I didn’t see what happened for the first half goals, but for Palace’s third - there was no one covering the wing at all. Castagne was tucked in to midfield on defense, leaving all that space. No one else was there to cover either. I understand that underlapping fullbacks come inside while attacking, but are they supposed to stay there without possession? Is someone else supposed to cover that space?
Marcin, I think we're all asking the same questions. I can't find an obvious answer, it's got to be tweaked otherwise teams will just capitalise on that space repeatedly
I hope that since the problem is so obvious to everyone, it’s also obvious to Arbeloa and he can address it. Otherwise, the target of that „license to kill” is ourselves.
'Tweaked' is understatement of the year.
That Anderson joke is absolutely fantastic. Well done, Dan
Baz: Suggested Fulham chant…’Eddie Howe needed now.’
Really good analysis as usual and spot on about crowd reaction to Iwobi and their baffling support of Muniz substitution,considering he looks to me as if he’s not a premiership striker.
The team are clueless under pressure around the box and a keeper bleeding confidence is seeping through the team.
Also the atmosphere at the end of the game was very un-fulhamish which indicates a deeper frustration and legacy of disappointment from last season. These things can have legs so a turnaround asap vital.
A lot of the issues are the same as last year, especially with Leno, Andersen and Robinson. Leno may be more exposed this year, but when we were more solid defensively last year he was also poor at shots from distance and weak at the near post, Andersen was caught out of position and lacking pace last year and it's the same this year just slightly further up, and Robinson has always been more about his physical attributes than technical ones yet occasionally lazy tracking back when caught out. Nothing has changed with any of that, it's just kind of being exacerbated more.
Midfield cannot continue to be Iwobi +1. Charles and Berge or Larsson has to be the way forward. It was obvious before the Chelsea game that Iwobi and Berge wouldn't work, and only became more obvious as the game went on.
The start of this season feels very similar to last, we just got lucky on a couple of occasions last year when we haven't this. The last minute equaliser against Brighton and the last minute own goal winner against Leeds saved the start of last season, otherwise we'd have been on 5 points from our first 9 by the start of November, and that wouldn't have been an undeserved tally. We were lucky more often than we were good last year, we've just not had that luck yet this season. That's not to say that tweaks aren't needed cos they definitely are, it just isn't at the burn the house down stage just yet.
A brilliant summary Dan! I have to agree with everything you say, and unless we look at our defending/keeping issues we are going to struggle this season. Andersen has to be replaced, a new keeper is essential and we cannot allow our full backs to get stuck upfield without cover.
Thanks!
More worried about your final revelations about possible discontent in the dressing room than the performance. Apart from anything else Silva seemed to manage to maintain a happy and united squad. The Tete situation cannot be easy, as Arbeloa obviously wanted to replace him. However Tete was lined up to move to Everton last season yet, when it fell through returned to play for us and for Silva seemingly without any ill feeling. Kevin might not be everyone's first choice on the left but Arbeloa's preference for Palacios could be interpreted as favouritism.
The last two games have been especially frustrating as both of our opponents were eminently beatable. There is a good reason why wing backs are only an option when you play three at the back. Both full backs bombing forward at the same time is exciting but suicidal. Surely Arbeloa as a defender himself must know this.
I completely agree Nick, the possibility that he's already alienating key squad players is a real worry. Even if they're players that he doesn't rate, they're all we've got until at least January, so you need to keep them happy and motivated. Marco was very good at that.
Re the wing-backs, precisely, either we've got to drop an extra centre-back in there to provide cover, play a midfielder who has no license to attack, simply cover, or compromise on the frequency with which our wing-backs are allowed to get forward. We'll get torn apart every week if none of those things happen
Agree Charles & Berg for next games, but also Sess for Jedi, used to love Jedi bombing down flanks but fear he’s sympathetic to Joa and eased off completely!
AA needs be more defined defensively for next 2
I would prefer Sess instead of Robinson, Sess can cross a ball and score goals as well. I think we should start Tete instead of Castagne next game.
The favoritism the manager has for the Madrid players is a good starting point. Despite your 6.5 for Palacios who besides putting in a rebound that you or I probably could have, I am not seeing a reason for him to continue to start over Kevin. How is Angel in the squad when both Tete and Zepa are not? Almost no coverage for rb or rw. Muniz barely given a chance in the PL, especially when Garcia is gassed around 60 minutes.. It seems as though a formation change is needed.
I'm now concerned about Arbeloa,didn't like his comments after the Sunderland game,agree with comments about Leno and Andersen but they have been exposed and the questions remain from last season,I'm season ticket holder,the team looks disjointed and there were warning signs in first half and we didn't take heed and attempt to correct,I feel we don't win much in the air from long balls,Gonzalo struggled last week against Sunderland and won bugger all ariel duels against Palace,Muniz might have been better option for last half hour at least he puts CBs under pressure,I'm concerned he's obviously out of favour along with Tete,I'm concerned about favourism towards the Spanish imports who do show promise,we are seriously short up front.We should have kept Jimanez for another season.Im hoping I'm wrong but Arbeloa reminds me of Amorim at Manu he managed to alienate some of the team,it's early days so trying to remain optimistic!
It's ok, we've got another RM kid that Arbeloa can blatantly favour at the expense of squad harmony and PL capability! As long as he gets to make his managerial points, who cares about Fulham as a club, it's all secondary to the RM love-in!
Calling out Anderson’s weaknesses and performances in the Arbeloa system is legit, calling him thick is pathetic.
I don't think you're reading that line quite as I had intended it to be read! Absolutely not actually calling him thick, far more about how Arbeloa is speaking about the situation and his utilisation of Andersen in a seriously sub-optimal system for him
Hard to disagree with your ratings and comments. Arbeola is obviously a far different manager than Silva but for all of Marco's faults, he was very good at substitutions, especially who to send on and when. Yesterday, Arbeola waited too long and then sent out a miscellaneous group, The result was that Palace gained confidence and more possession of the ball. Worse happened vs Sunderland where their subs won the game for them and, the week before, Chelsea's were outstanding. Unless AA masters this element of the manager's game, we could lose lots of leads and games.
Put Leno behind a halfway decent defense for a few games, then let's see. He kept FFC in the PL almost singlehandedly for years. You might afford him the same grace as Iwobi.