Got as far as Man City and Villa.

If we are going to play 3 at the back I’d have Coady back any day but in a back 4 he would always be a non starter for me.

I would agree with Cinci that the biggest loss is Saiss for his defending, reading of the game and also his goal scoring. He was a very committed player and I don’t feel that from many of the current squad.

comment by bostonwolf (U17353)
posted 23 seconds ago
I would agree with Cinci that the biggest loss is Saiss for his defending, reading of the game and also his goal scoring. He was a very committed player and I don’t feel that from many of the current squad.
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We currently have a mental fragility that runs through the whole squad. If we concede, we go to pieces.

If City score early on Saturday, it could be embarrassing.

I don't think Saiss was a big loss for his defending. He was decent, but could get caught out. He was definitely a big loss for his personality though. Seemed a popular squad member and was definitely committed.

Because we lost a few games then everyone has something to put forward as to why that should be. I don’t think it’s a surprise we miss Neves for lots of reasons but generally I still remain of the view that we have a decent squad, a good enough squad to not worry about relegation.

If Nuno or Lopetegui were still in charge we would be far more solid defensively and with the players we now have should be improved in attack.

To be fair to O’Neil he’s only been here 7 weeks and had no pre season so I do think it’s harsh to call for his head at this stage. There’s a distinct possibility he will prove to be not good enough. But given the difficult run of home games the fixture list threw at us I don’t think the current league position is any great surprise. I think November and December are the months O’Neil needs to prove himself

comment by Spangles (U17289)
posted 1 hour, 33 minutes ago

"I don’t think it’s a surprise we miss Neves for lots of reasons..............."



What is undoubtedly surprising is that there were a few on 'ere that didn't think we'd miss Neves? Some even went as far as alluding to us improving when he departed

I would normally be in favour of giving a manager time, but GON's interviews are getting more and more Saunders like. He won't accept any blame if we lose, just repeatedly claims we were in bad way when he started; which may be true to the upper management of the club but it wasn't so on the pitch.

I think Saiss is the biggest loss for his overall contribution personally.

Actually don't think our midfield has been bad for the most part and while Neves would obviously improve it, I don't think he has left a gaping hole either.

Defense and attack have been the problem. Can't score STILL!! And defensively I don't even know where to start.

We didn’t miss Saiss at all in defence last season, in fact it was our defence that kept us up in reality and we have the same players available now. I just don’t think we are currently as well organised under O’Neil as we were under Lopetegui. The players have proved themselves, the jury is still out on the coach.

In midfield I think Lemina and Gomes have done well but neither are as good as Neves either in protecting the defence or building attacks from deep.

In attack we have looked excellent at times playing on the breakaway against Utd and Liverpool but I don’t think we’ve been using the right set up to beat lesser teams. I do think we now have the players to do better.

Leadership is where we are lacking in my opinion.

We fall behind we fold. On the pitch I don't see a genuine leader and it is hard to think GON is much of one off of it.

It’s not just that we have lost a few games, it’s the manner of the losses. We play well for periods in most matches and then we fall apart.
There has not been a single game this season where we have dominated for more than about 15 minutes.
Even then, scoring more than one goal looks as if it beyond anyone’s capabilities, except Hwang.
Individual players look very good at times and at other times they look as though they are strangers.
It’s hard to lay all the blame on GON’s doorstep as it’s a set of circumstances for which both he, the players and the management shoulder the blame.
Answer to it all. I don’t know.

Think I need to borrow Spangles gold tinted specs for Saturday. GO looks completely out of his depth and there is no leadership on or off the pitch.

Its just an accumulation of issues really isn't it, some that we've had for a while, some that have been developing for a few years and are now hurting us, and new issues that are a result of the summer and the appalling mismanagement of the club over that period.

- full backs that are decent footballers but aren't very good at defending
- a keeper that hasn't got the discipline to get through a whole game without handing the opposition a chance on a plate
- a chronic lack of confidence in front of goal from our forwards
- a lack of character and leadership
- an inexperienced coach trying to implement tactics that don't suit the players we have

I could possibly add that we've got rid of some of the finest talents the club has ever seen and replaced them with players that are of inadequate quality for the level we aspire to or wish to maintain. However probably too early to right them off completely.

You don’t need to write them off completely to admit that, at this moment in time, they just aren’t good enough for what we need.

We’ve made investments in a future that may well never come. If the rumours of Neto leaving in January are true then our fate will be sealed.

The one glimmer of hope is that we can keep our snouts ahead of the three promoted teams?

I think your points are fair old gold. The one area where I see some improvement is in attack. I think we now have the players to provide us with a better attacking set up and it was disappointing we didn’t play more positively at Luton. But I think we’ve got more goals in us this season and we have scored 6 in the last 4 games which maybe has been unnoticed because that wasn’t enough to win those games.

We will lose tomorrow and the game against Villa will be tough. But in the upcoming away games I hope we place trust in our attacking players while getting back to the defensive organisation that served us well last season with the same players, just lacking the protection that Neves provided ahead of the defence

comment by WeekendOffender (U22920)
posted 4 hours, 14 minutes ago
You don’t need to write them off completely to admit that, at this moment in time, they just aren’t good enough for what we need.

We’ve made investments in a future that may well never come. If the rumours of Neto leaving in January are true then our fate will be sealed.

The one glimmer of hope is that we can keep our snouts ahead of the three promoted teams?
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It is true that they are not good enough for what we need right now but who knows if Bellegarde, Doyle & Gonzales don't turn out to be fantastic signings in the long run.

comment by Oldgoldilox (U17303)
posted 21 minutes ago
comment by WeekendOffender (U22920)
posted 4 hours, 14 minutes ago
You don’t need to write them off completely to admit that, at this moment in time, they just aren’t good enough for what we need.

We’ve made investments in a future that may well never come. If the rumours of Neto leaving in January are true then our fate will be sealed.

The one glimmer of hope is that we can keep our snouts ahead of the three promoted teams?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
It is true that they are not good enough for what we need right now but who knows if Bellegarde, Doyle & Gonzales don't turn out to be fantastic signings in the long run.
----------------------------------------------------------------------

How long are they going to stick around in the Championship though?

Doyle can’t play tomorrow cause he’s still on loan from City even though we have an obligation to buy at the end of the season

He wouldn't play anyway other than 15 minutes at the end.

In a game where we won’t see much of the ball tomorrow I’d like to see us clog up midfield in a 433 rather than go to 532

Sa
Semedo, Dawson, Kilman, Ait Nouri
Traore, Lemina, Gomes
Hwang, Cunha, Neto

I wouldn't play Hwang tomorrow. I don't think he is the best at tracking runners or at being a ball carrier, which will be his main jobs tomorrow given we will see little of the ball.

I'd be tempted to go with someone like Sarabia who is morre likely to be switched on defensively and can also pick out a pass to allow Cunha and Neto to carry the ball.

I would certainly say Sarabia is better than Hwang at linking with Neto and Cunha. But I’m not sure he offers much at tracking back and indulging in defensive duties either, and he doesn’t get into scoring positions like Hwang. Not a straight forward choice between the two

......................Sa
..........Dawson, Kilman, Toti
Doc, Bouba, Lemina, Gomes, Ait-Nouri
................Neto, Cunha


Would be my choice

My one worry with Dawson in a back 3 is that he tends to get exposed a lot more with the wingback being high. Every time we have gone to one, he seems to find himself isolated in 1 on 1s on our right side. He doesn't really have the pace for it, so ends up backing off.

Might not be so much of a worry against Man City, where the majority of the game will be played with men behind the ball, but would be something we would need to think about in games we have more of the ball.