I have a newfound respect for the way TT handled the Lukaku situation.

Very mature, calm, composed and not afraid to show his authority where necessary.

7 minutes ago, Jezz said:

I have a newfound respect for the way TT handled the Lukaku situation.

Very mature, calm, composed and not afraid to show his authority where necessary.

If it was Conte...

I think TT should be asking some questions as to why this is the case? Why is it always one rule for some and not for everyone? I hate to jump on the agenda bandwagon but at what point does it become blatantly obvious they're not even hiding it anymore

 

 

 

20 minutes ago, LongtimerLurker said:

I think TT should be asking some questions as to why this is the case? Why is it always one rule for some and not for everyone? I hate to jump on the agenda bandwagon but at what point does it become blatantly obvious they're not even hiding it anymore

 

 

 

Same as he should point out all the "mistakes" Taylor makes against. Take the touch line ban, have the club pay the fine.

Another piece of evidence that we can play a back 4 formation. Dominated Spurs even with Dave and Alonso that lost pace over the years and even with Rudiger and a young Sarr in the backline. We could have won this 4:0 easy.

4 minutes ago, Gol15 said:

Another piece of evidence that we can play a back 4 formation. Dominated Spurs even with Dave and Alonso that lost pace over the years and even with Rudiger and a young Sarr in the backline. We could have won this 4:0 easy.

I think this was a hybrid but no doubt we were in a back 4 for long periods, with the right midfield the lack of pace from Alonso and Azpil can be negated. Considering the pace we played at in midfield this game without Kova and Kante there's enough evidence here to suggest vs teams that play negative we should play a back 4 and against the big teams we play 3atb or hybrid like today.

5 minutes ago, Gol15 said:

Another piece of evidence that we can play a back 4 formation. Dominated Spurs even with Dave and Alonso that lost pace over the years and even with Rudiger and a young Sarr in the backline. We could have won this 4:0 easy.

It was still a back three. Especially when we were in possession. Ziyech especially pressed really high when Tottenham tried to build up but that was to pin their wingbacks which is the way to dominate Conte sides. And Azpi did take up more of a right back position until Ziyech was back in those situations but it was definitely still a 3-4-1-2 in my book.

3 minutes ago, Sindre said:

It was still a back three. Especially when we were in possession. Ziyech especially pressed really high when Tottenham tried to build up but that was to pin their wingbacks which is the way to dominate Conte sides. And Azpi did take up more of a right back position until Ziyech was back in those situations but it was definitely still a 3-4-1-2 in my book.

TT just confirmed it was 442 of all formations, but a back 5 with Ziyech in defence. I'm curious if it was a flat or diamon because it's hard to telling assume flat with Mount on the left and Ziyech on the right and then Havertz playing everywhere

13 minutes ago, Sindre said:

It was still a back three. Especially when we were in possession. Ziyech especially pressed really high when Tottenham tried to build up but that was to pin their wingbacks which is the way to dominate Conte sides. And Azpi did take up more of a right back position until Ziyech was back in those situations but it was definitely still a 3-4-1-2 in my book.

I saw 4 players in the backline there for a good enough time but with some fluid movement from the midfield that looked like a 4-2-2-2. 

Edited January 5, 20224 yr by Gol15

Thought it was very clever of Tuchel to get the extra man in the midfield and managed to keep their wing backs out of the game. He is a great tactician most of the time. But he still have to come up with something to deal with Citeh shortly.

@Munkworth I remember you suggesting a long time ago a 4-2-2-2, like in the old days when the big guns Jimmy Floyd and Gudjohnsen used to run through defenses. Maybe Havertz + Lukaku can be that duo? 

Not sure if we were just THAT good or Spurs just didn't feel like it today but it certainly won't hurt to give the oppo's managers some headaches which formation(s) they have to deal with.

 

Tuchel confirmed today's formation was out of necessity rather than tactics as Silva got Covid. We will revert to 5 with a full squad. Hope he persists though as it was fun to watch.

Tuchel has just shown why he is such an amazing a manager. Emergency formation with almost no training time and it was an absolute masterclass in the 1st half.

That was one impressive coaching job.

In a really difficult week he’s handled the difficult Lukaku situation perfectly, lead the team to a great performance against a very good Liverpool and got a 2-0 win against Spurs in a semi final with an enforced formation change.

I think it’s safe to say that Tuchel is more important to this team than any one player we have and I hope he’s with us for many years to come.

1 minute ago, timetowaste said:

In a really difficult week he’s handled the difficult Lukaku situation perfectly, lead the team to a great performance against a very good Liverpool and got a 2-0 win against Spurs in a semi final with an enforced formation change.

I think it’s safe to say that Tuchel is more important to this team than any one player we have and I hope he’s with us for many years to come.

Would be nice to have our own Pep that is for sure. 

Would mean Roman breaks a habit that has won him a lot of trophies though.

14 hours ago, Sindre said:

With the latest reports of great unrest at Manchester United due to, among other things no faith in Rangnick and his coaches it's interesting to think back to a year ago when we asked him to be our interim but he rejected us due to not being offered a role after the season.

Thank goodness he did. Certainly wouldn't be Champions of Europe right now if he did and it's very unlikely we would have been in the Champions League this season even.

While I'm obviously glad we got Tuchel instead he wouldn't have had it half as hard here. 

Ole created a toxic positive culture at that club where failure was deemed acceptable, you saw that in Maguire when he genuinely thought a goal against Albania proved the critisism he received for his horror shows against Leicester, Liverpool and City were unfair. It's not just Rangnick they're reportedly unhappy with Ronaldo too. It's so obvious that the players coasting under Ole can't cope with Ronaldo's winning mentality, Shaw's interview practically confirmed as much.

As bad as things got in the end under Lampard the mentality of our squad was never in doubt.

3 hours ago, Gol15 said:

I saw 4 players in the backline there for a good enough time but with some fluid movement from the midfield that looked like a 4-2-2-2. 

It was 442 or 4222 which is essentiay the same and 352 defensively. It worked but I think once we have enough cb,we will go back to back 5

6 hours ago, Gol15 said:

@Munkworth I remember you suggesting a long time ago a 4-2-2-2, like in the old days when the big guns Jimmy Floyd and Gudjohnsen used to run through defenses. Maybe Havertz + Lukaku can be that duo? 

Havertz has got the Gudjohnsen iceman look to him but I’m not sure Lukaku is fit to lace Jimmy’s boots. 

It was the first time in a little while that we saw the squad magic from earlier in the season. By that I mean the idea that Tuchel is able to throw in any random idiots from the squad and get a performance out of them.

It feels like we’ve turned a corner with out form. Last 2 matches we’ve played really sharp and intense. Even against Villa we were good. We have some players returning as well which will help shake things up abit. Hoping we can kick on from there. 

21 hours ago, LongtimerLurker said:

I think TT should be asking some questions as to why this is the case? Why is it always one rule for some and not for everyone? I hate to jump on the agenda bandwagon but at what point does it become blatantly obvious they're not even hiding it anymore

 

 

 

I guess what happens here is that Liverpool basically decided not to disclose the nature of the injuries/illness of the players, since I´m pretty sure medical privacy laws also apply to foootballers. If Liverpool hands in 20 sick notes, but don´t release all the medical information of the person, how do you know whether the player has COVID or a pinky finger injury.

 

What I will agree with though is that the whole postponement process seemed completely arbitrary. These smaller clubs complain that five substitutions would hurt the competitive balance due to greater depth at the bigger clubs and they also have no problem to exploit it the other way around, too:

Quote

Oh our squad is so weak, we have five covid cases, we need our games postponed.

 

14 hours ago, Gol15 said:

@Munkworth I remember you suggesting a long time ago a 4-2-2-2, like in the old days when the big guns Jimmy Floyd and Gudjohnsen used to run through defenses. Maybe Havertz + Lukaku can be that duo? 

We´ll call it a 4-2-2-2 just to stick it to United and the professor. Rangnick needs a whole sememster for his students to get a D+ and Tuchel does it in one 90 minute lecture with the advanced students.

The formation change was breath of fresh air to me. 

It goes to show that we can adapt to other formations and most importantly perform very well.

There were some huge players missing last night but you wouldnt be able to tell. Saul looked terrific, outstanding, i couldnt believe my eyes

In fact there is not one player that I could put a finger as having a poor game, perhaps Lukaku, although it wasnt for the lack of not trying!

What I liked the most is that the attacking players looked like they were enjoying themselves, full of confidence.

That pass from Ziyech is better than any assist you will find all season, Exquisite.

I hope moving on Tuchel uses this formation a bit more often, it will certainly keep our opponents guessing what formation we will show up on the day.

One more extra league game to navigate before the club world cup starts, as our match ar Brighton which was due to clash with the tournament will be played on January 18th. 

What's the betting the other clashing fixture, Arsenal at home, is played on January 26th since it is free at the mo lol.