Wednesday 12 August 2015

Beware of the Icarus effect!

After half an hour on Sunday we were on the back foot with three players on yellow and referee Atkinson getting more and more twitchy...For sure, it all ended in celebrations. At last, the end of an era of Gooners domination. An Anfield result beckons, and maybe give the Toffees a well overdue thrashing? ........Inevitable Champions league glory?

Bilic likes playing away. The opposition push up and leave space to hurt them on the break. Last season Besiktas played their home matches at a neutral venue while their stadium was being rebuilt. Despite this massive disadvantage, they were narrowly pipped into third place, mostly undone by their ill discipline (ten red cards in one season!!!.....err, we have four already!).

We still need attacking power. Sakho is a menace and Elliott Lee is pushing hard, albeit still in the 'promising' category. Andy Carroll has had three major periods of absence due to injury. Ask any occupational health doc and they will tell you that the prognosis for sustained and injury free activity is very poor. We still think Valencia will find his top gear in season two. Maiga.......ha!

Bilic's favoured 4-2-3-1 has many strengths.....look how Arsenal struggled to do all that tippy tappy stuff through midfield and in front of our box that they thrive upon. However, the wings are less well patrolled. Thankfully Bilic quickly recognised the Walcott threat and brought on Jarvis to support Cresswell on Sunday. Lanzini has looked VERY good so far but who else?

Amalfitano is, well, very 'French'. No offence to our creative European neighbours but in sporting terms they are 'moody'. Moreover, reports suggest that rather than being injured, he has fallen foul of the Bilic regime. Hmmm, only one winner there right now. Every manager needs a scapegoat to demonstrate their control and it looks like Morgan has offered himself up as fodder for same alpha antics.

Of note, for all the talent coming through, it is mainly central in orientation. Samuelsen looks tasty but frequently drifts centrally. Oxford and Cullen are primarily central. Kouyate pushed out right quite a bit on Sunday but its a waste of his abilities to push him out there. Jenkinson will offer plenty of pace and guile from right back but needs a partner to do real damage.

So, the solution? Bring in Charlie Austin and beg Stewart Downing to come back!















 

1 comment:

  1. Payet is french as well. Will he be moody also?

    ReplyDelete

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