3 minutes ago, KonaKai Blue said:

This Mudryk kid really needs to step up and fast! We don't have goalscorers but we still have a striker and 2 wingers. Between them 3, we need some numbers on the charts.

Mudryk 80m

Jackson 30m

Sterling 60m

No excuse for them 3 not to show some semi decent output.

Jackson has looked decent. He just needs some goals to go with his link up play. I have seen some good signs from Sterling, especially today. Mudryk has yet to impress me since he moved to Chelsea. If Nkunku was fit then Mudryk would be getting limited minutes from the bench.

If we do sign another attacking player this window I suspect Mudryk will be the one to make way too. A very poor return considering the outlay.

It's part of  process unfortunately. We played pretty well for 70-80 % of the game, yet all the big moments we failed to capitalize. The penalty was huge in the first game, that gone in we could just control the game and picking them apart on the counter. Instead, it's the opposite. Couple of clumsy passes and a good shot resulted in the second goal. I'm not sure if Sanchez could have done better there, but credit to Antonio, he's been doing that every season against us. I thought it was a difficult situation to play Caicedo, it's like putting on Kante when you are chasing a game. I know it's only 2 games, but we are still very poor in the final third apart from Sterling. It's pretty alarming we done next to nothing against 10 men and conceded plenty on the counter. Jackson looked like a solid and hard working forward, but not showing much quality in the box. Mudryk and Munduke are still in the promising young players category.

Having had a little time to reflect there were so many things from today's game that was poor. Poor decisions.

Many of us have spoken about experience and much is made of the financial structuring around players contracts and the resale value of players. The emphasis has been a dramatic decrease in the age group of this team. But the downside to this is the loss of experience. 

A 28 year old street wise PL experienced player is worth so much more than just resale value and corporate structuring.

Examples:

Goal 1 comes from a corner. A corner routine already tried out three minutes before. But before this corner Gallagher is defending the position, takes a touch and makes as if he's been fouled as the ball trundles off. Silva doesn't do that. An experienced player, knowing we just nearly conceded, dinks the ball first time out for a throw instead of a corner. JWP then takes the corner to the same spot, Gallagher gets a bit of a push, not much, and then gets outmuscled, out jumped and they score. That doesn't happen to Ricky Carvalho. Carvalho takes a touch and falls to the floor. VAR, no goal.

Goal 2 is again pure inexperience. Disasi actually cheaply gives away possession on the half and one ball in response puts Antonio onto us. Colwill tries to win the ball back but he's at a completely wrong angle and tackles with his back. Just take the foul, break the play up. Disasi is covering round, at worst it's a yellow card. At the absolute worst. Foul the man.

We conceded 7 minutes into the first half and 8 minutes into the second. That doesn't happen with experience.  Having got back into the game and then missing the penalty, it would have galvanised them at half time. They knew going in 1-2 to us it would have been game over. So coming out pumped up, just grind it out for 10 minutes. Break the play up as much as possible. Not by retaining possession and giving them the chance to retreat and stifle the energy out of the game, but open the game up with some pot shots but if the do get turnovers, little trips and fouls. Break up the momentum for 10-15 mins then start grinding them down.

So the 3rd goal disturbs me. At 1-2 against 10 men we're chasing the game. We've put Caicedo on, while Eghbali, Winstanley and Stewart watch on. Was it pre ordained. Was it more publicity than tactical reasons.  If its the former it makes me quite uneasy, but it could be positive as well.

Clearly Caicedo is not match ready. He had a stunted pre season. We saw that, we were there. De Zerbi wouldn't play him always because his head wasn't in the right place. He gave the ball away constantly,  couldn't get into the rhythm of the game, nearly gifted them a goal and then immediately after gifted them a penalty. It was Bakayoko levels of shocking.

Where I say it could be positive is if it was a PR stunt, Poch can now definitely tell the board to keep their noses out on matchdays so he can stick to picking the right players for the occasion and the position and tactics he wants.

1 hour ago, The Don Antonio said:

I have seen better penalties taken in the women's World cup compared to what Enzo did today.  The lad also missed a penalty for Argentina in the world cup , why the hell was he put on spot kicks and why did he have the captains arm band after Chilwell got taken off even though sterling and silva were still on the pitch.

Good question about the armband as well .

15 minutes ago, RMH said:

Worst bit is that they were sh*te, if they play like that, they’ll be battling relegation (and if we keep playing like today, will get relegated). 

They are sh*t and sold their best player to boot. 

Last 2 windows we spent loads, had a sh*t keeper and no goal scorers. This window still a sh*t keeper and one goal scorer who is injured so still no goal scorer in the side.

That chance where Sterling and Jackson link up and there is no-one to put away the cross from the left.... criminal.

Then the penalty, surely we have not practised....

Thought our keeper made a brave save at one point.

Only saw the highlights yet apart from the poor volley thought Mudryk looked lively.

Chuku took his goal well.

Caicedo looked off the pace not sure he has actually trained with the team yet. 

18 minutes ago, axman2526 said:

Last 2 windows we spent loads, had a sh*t keeper and no goal scorers. This window still a sh*t keeper and one goal scorer who is injured so still no goal scorer in the side.

I think the Board looked at Jackson play in preseason and thought by accident we’d discovered the next Drogba then patted themselves on the back and thought job done!

The kid is really good, but he needs time and can do without the sole responsibility. He already looks isolated. Otherwise we’re screwed if the Board do nothing in the hope that Broja might come good. 

1 hour ago, KonaKai Blue said:

I hope my fears don't come true. These 100m signings have never excited me. Firstly because these players were nobodies 12 months prior with no proven sustained experience and secondly they aren't what we really need (goalscorers).

This has been my biggest fear too. The majority of them have under 100 appearances to their name. Usually you do that with a few players at most, but nearly all of our players had under 100 appearances when we bought them. They don't have the know-how when it comes to many things about the game, and I fear that they won't be able to drag themselves out of trouble when things get tough. None of them have experienced it and had anybody around them to show them how to get out of it. 

Individually, most of them are good players, but they are players that would look better slowly being integrated into an already settled team with experienced players, but we are telling them all to play together now and play against Premier League teams. This is so dangerous, I don't think I have ever seen anything like it at this level. You're basically telling players a year or two out of academy teams to go and play against teams stacked full of players full of years of experience at the highest level. It doesn't matter that those clubs have players that are less talented with a football, they have the know-how, the experience, a greater undestanding of the game as a whole.

49 minutes ago, WhiteWall said:

 

Examples:

Goal 1 comes from a corner. A corner routine already tried out three minutes before. But before this corner Gallagher is defending the position, takes a touch and makes as if he's been fouled as the ball trundles off. 

 

I dont disagree with what you say but on the replays I saw he was fouled.

When Chucky was there and Sterling was fresh we found good ways to play against the parked bus and could have scored more than 1. Jackson I think could still do better in front of goal. If conor was playing instead of Enzo we would lose some of the passing but would carry a bigger outside shooting threat.

I just dont think a back three with Silva is really viable. Silva is a great player but this three don't work for me its either Silva or Disasi but not both. Disasi will never be as good as Silva but at this stage he has far better legs.

Gusto will improve, that's his first premier league start, he will grow into the role.

New season same old sh*t. That’s two wins we’ve blown. Has any team lost more games they should have drawn/won, drawn games they should have won in recent years than us?

There's no team I hate more than Wet Spam.

I never bet on matches but I was so tempted to bet on Ward Prowse and Paqueta scoring/assisting, it was just so obvious those were going to happen.

Watch any other Wet Spam match and you'll never see them play the way they do against us. Areola never saving a penalty before saving Enzo's, Antonio only scoring 5 league goals last season but scoring a belter. There's some curse upon the club I'm convinced.

Also why is Emerson always angry and hyped up when he plays against us? Mate you couldn't hack it at Chelsea and the only reason you're a professional footballer is because you're left footed, you would be flipping burgers if you were right footed. Scrub of a player.

F*ck Wet Spam.

It also still hasn’t been engraved in these players head that all the talent and money in the world means f**k all if you can’t outfight your opposition. 
 

Slow and second to everything. 

Game turned on Enzo missing the penalty. His head dropped and the whole team just collapsed from then. Carney going off injured didn’t help, then conceding so early in the second-half left us with a mountain to climb. Poch seemed to lose his way, taking off Chilwell and Gallagher, chucking on Caicedo, who clearly wasn’t ready, then bringing on some kid from the academy to give us a goal threat. Second half was pretty much a disaster. But it had its makings in the absence of Nkunku and the lack of Caicedo and Lavia forcing us into a weird formation to support Jackson. It didn’t work. We desperately need another forward or two. We can’t wait till January for Nkunku to get fit. Jackson can’t do it all on his own. 

Edited August 21, 20232 yr by Dr. Socrates

3 mistakes 3 goals. either way needs to get sorted quickly

As my old lady says "if you have gotten anything nice to say then keep quiet." I will be practicing that today.

Tbh first half was rather good. Direct, fast football. With a proper goal poacher we're 3 up at the break. Sterling even put in a good shift after first 10 minutes. Can't help but think the penalty miss was pivotal. We haven't led a (proper) game for a while now, and the way we setup to fast counter would have been ideal. Wasn't to be. I guess a fit James would have taken it. Anyway still early doors and seen some good signs.

If we can pay 115 for a DM why on earth didn't we submit for this fella?

 

Edited August 21, 20232 yr by ChumpX

6 hours ago, WhiteWall said:

Not sure what game you watched tbh.

Sky showed a graphic to show that since the sending off we only touched the ball in their box 4 times and hadn't had a shot on target. Not sure what part of that performance was fine cos it looked pretty sh*t to me.

The performance is fine. 

It is difficult to have many box touches when your opp park the bus. That is normal. 

What we lack for 2 games are goals. But it is as expected.

 

10 hours ago, Gonoir Beniashile said:

We've absolutely battered 2 teams. We've had dogs luck.

Get behind the team. Be positive. We're going to do very very well this season.

COME ON!!

I wish I shared your optimism 🤥

We cannot ignore the fact that this game hinged on the shockingly poor penalty miss. Until then, their early goal aside, we had literally demolished them. 75% possession, some VERY good football, Sterling, Jackson, Cukwuemeka and Chilwell all superb, we were in the ascendancy. Then Enzo fluffs his lines and the heads drop. Had we gone in 2-1 up, the half time team talk would have been upbeat, the players coming out with a spring in their step. Instead, we clearly feared what was about to happen, sat back, let them have more of the ball and sorry, but the substitutions were poor and at poor times. The players and Poch, have got to learn and quickly.  My biggest concern is the real lack of experience that we have. Buying 19, 20, 21 year olds is good for the future, but the time is NOW, and apart from Silva and Chilwell we still have no real leadership, especially when things are going wrong.

1 minute ago, coombsie said:

We cannot ignore the fact that this game hinged on the shockingly poor penalty miss. Until then, their early goal aside, we had literally demolished them. 75% possession, some VERY good football, Sterling, Jackson, Cukwuemeka and Chilwell all superb, we were in the ascendancy. Then Enzo fluffs his lines and the heads drop. Had we gone in 2-1 up, the half time team talk would have been upbeat, the players coming out with a spring in their step. Instead, we clearly feared what was about to happen, sat back, let them have more of the ball and sorry, but the substitutions were poor and at poor times. The players and Poch, have got to learn and quickly.  My biggest concern is the real lack of experience that we have. Buying 19, 20, 21 year olds is good for the future, but the time is NOW, and apart from Silva and Chilwell we still have no real leadership, especially when things are going wrong.

We came back from 1-0 twice already 

2 minutes ago, Bob stark said:

We came back from 1-0 twice already 

Bob, not sure what point you are making ??? OK so we have come back from a goal down twice, but sill only have ONE point to show for it.

2 hours ago, Bob stark said:

The performance is fine. 

It is difficult to have many box touches when your opp park the bus. That is normal. 

What we lack for 2 games are goals. But it is as expected.

 

The first half performance was fine as we grew into the game. Again we conceded in the first 10 mins like last week and again we kicked into gear.

But the second half the closed off the passing lanes and we couldn't get in behind them any more. So why continually try that route, especially when they fully retreated into their box.

We once again have a situation where there isn't a single player that seems either capable or willing to have a shot with power from outside the box. The second half was so predictable from us going forward.

5 hours ago, I am a CPA said:

There's no team I hate more than Wet Spam.

I never bet on matches but I was so tempted to bet on Ward Prowse and Paqueta scoring/assisting, it was just so obvious those were going to happen.

Watch any other Wet Spam match and you'll never see them play the way they do against us. Areola never saving a penalty before saving Enzo's, Antonio only scoring 5 league goals last season but scoring a belter. There's some curse upon the club I'm convinced.

Also why is Emerson always angry and hyped up when he plays against us? Mate you couldn't hack it at Chelsea and the only reason you're a professional footballer is because you're left footed, you would be flipping burgers if you were right footed. Scrub of a player.

F*ck Wet Spam.

The above !! 👏👏👏👏👏 

I am not too worried because in the big picture we are fine. We have assembled one of the most exciting crop of young players there are. Pochettino has already shown he is a top person and a coach. 

West Ham is a very experienced side and with their massive home crowd they, with some luck, won the game. Enzo converts the peno, Chuck is not injured and we probably win the match. Areola won the game for them eventually. 

The inexperience is shown in tough moments. Caicedo came on and we totally lost the rhythm. Even Enzo couldn't find a pass after that. 

We are in early stages with this squad. Let's learn from this and hope to win the next match. 

25 minutes ago, WhiteWall said:

The first half performance was fine as we grew into the game. Again we conceded in the first 10 mins like last week and again we kicked into gear.

But the second half the closed off the passing lanes and we couldn't get in behind them any more. So why continually try that route, especially when they fully retreated into their box.

We once again have a situation where there isn't a single player that seems either capable or willing to have a shot with power from outside the box. The second half was so predictable from us going forward.

Gallagher did have one in the first half. Had a bit of venom in it and would have stung the keepers hands.

7 hours ago, ozboy said:

I dont disagree with what you say but on the replays I saw he was fouled.

You may well be right and I too thought he was clipped. But the ref would have struggled to have got a view and VAR wouldn't check on it. Just an unnecessary and inexperienced decision in the first place. Silva swings a first time left foot and hoofs it out for a throw not a kick.