Written by kirsikka
A lot has been said since Saturday, and not much of it kind. I have a slightly different perspective.
There’s talk that Parker should have learnt from his Fulham experience how to play the top six. Strange then that Howe was still desperately looking for a method in his fourth and fifth seasons. Who could forget (sadly it’s burned in my memory) the match v Man City when he tried to go ultra defensive and we became the first team in PL history not to have an attempt on goal in a home game? Sure, he also tried attacking the top six in some games and we got some good (incredible, even) results, but the poor results were so poor he still carried on searching for another method. And never found one.
Yesterday’s first half was terrible. There’s no denying that. However, it was the poor concentration at the start that made it so bad. Setting up like that we had a clear agenda. Keep it tight, keep them out, frustrate them and then try and pounce on their mistakes when they start getting a little desperate. A bit like the attempt against Man City last week.
With a game plan like that, you can often split the first half into three distinct segments. The first 15-20 minutes when the opposition are out all guns blazing and you have the absorb all the pressure and hold them off. A slightly less frenetic 20ish minutes when you might actually break out of your half on occasion. Then the final minutes before half-time when they’ll likely be another big push from the opposition. It requires total concentration the whole time during these spells, and confidence in the system will grow as you transition from one stage to the next without conceding. Get to half-time at 0-0 and doubts can start to creep in for the other team.
In both matches, the game plan was in tatters before the first segment was over because we’d conceded.
It isn’t pretty and when it goes wrong, as it has both weeks, it looks terrible and like we aren’t even trying. Let’s not pretend that we don’t understand what it is we were trying to do though. If we’d held them off it would have been a ‘heroic’ 45 minutes. Instead, the assessment from the pundits was ‘you rarely see a gulf of class this large between two sides in the PL’. Again missing the point that we had no interest in trying to match them so would always look like a team from a lower league. Much like Howe’s v Man City that time.
Parker has shown he isn’t afraid to try and switch the tactics around and that flexibility bode well, if we have any hope this season, it won’t be the matches against the likely top three that decide it. However, he may well have learnt yesterday that in the PL if he wants to sit deep and defend a position, Pearson alongside Lerma isn’t as effective as L Cook alongside one of them. Better to pick up that information in Saturday’s match than in a game we might have earmarked as potential points.
There was very little to enjoy about yesterday, but there are short memories for those that are surprised about having days like that in the PL. Parker is desperately looking for a way to nullify these teams and it’s gone badly. It will likely go badly again next week. Big deal.
31st August. Home v Wolves.
3rd September. Away v Forest.
Those are when it starts to matter. If he sets up with Pearson and Lerma and 5 at the back in those two matches then I’ll be worried. I don’t think he will though. I think we’ll look a very different team for those two games.
There’s definitely an undercurrent of suspicion around Parker but I’m not going to damn him on games v Man City or Arsenal. I’m looking forward to seeing what he does in ten days time. That’s when we can actually start judging his PL approach.
I’ll also say I hope the board don’t panic in the next ten days. Investing off the field was (I hope) the priority this season. If it means we go down, then so be it. Who cares what the Premier League pundits think about that approach? I’m interested in the long-term prospects of AFCB, not making their tv spectacle better as they anoint one of their chosen clubs.
I think we’ll have plenty of games that are a tough watch this season. As long as it’s accompanied by good business decisions I’m alright with that.
Your say…
AFCBade wrote…
The fundamental issue for me is the lack of width attacking when we have three centre halves. When we switched Smith immediately started to combine with Tavernier and likewise Anthony with JZ. The wingback role should suit JZ rather than Smith but neither attack enough in my humble opinion.
Defensively the back 5 worked against Aston Villa as we were compact but Arsenal are several tiers above Villa combined with Senesi still adjusting to the prem.
I think the focus on back 5 coincides with a tough opening run of games so hope that a more attacking style helped by Dom’s availability returns from Wolves home.
If Scott wants to persevere with the formation then the other option is Tavernier left wingback and Fredericks right wingback with Rothwell in the middle. – Join the conversation, click here.
