Where is it going wrong in attack?

[Spursalot]

Of course, but the pressure is growing on Lamela each time he doesn't play. 25% of the season gone.

I disagree, the only pressure that grows when Lamela doesn't play is AVB/Levy/Baldini.


Every time he plays and doesn't perform, that puts pressure on Lamela. I'm not saying it's deserved, but it'll weigh on him and the fans.

 

[Rossi22]

Franco Baldini called Lamela a #10 when we signed him, I hope he gets a chance to play there at some point.

 

[Pirate55]

It is overly cautious approach at home that is to blame IMO. We are too slow and ponderous. 2 DMs are just not required against teams that come to park the bus. If we are to persist with 4-3-3, then we must have attacking full backs overlapping at every opportunity, especially with inverted wingers.

At home, I think we are not pressing high enough up the pitch. Against Inter- Milan ( which I consider our best performance under AVB), we started the game quickly, hunted down the ball in packs, never let them dwell on the ball and kept up a fast pass and move tempo. This should be our template for all home games, especially those that park the bus.

Regarding personnel, I would like to see only one DM at home ( either Sandro or Capoue) with two ball players (Eriksen and Holtby). Up front with Soldado should be someone playing close to him (Sig, Lamela or Ade Mk1,) with a winger staying out wide (Townsend, Lennon or Chadli). It is a bit of a wonky, but Rose would/should provide the width down the left.

Start games fast. That is the key. If we score early, the opposition will have to come out. That is the solution IMO.

Oh and DON'T take half the team on meaningless jaunts halfway round the world three days before a PL match.

 

[Jurgen the German]

Paulinho isn't a DM, he's more of a box to box player. But we need more creativity in the side that's obvious. The question is, should we sacrifice one of Paulinho or Sandro and go and buy another creative player or will Eriksen and/or Lamela be enough?

 

[Huddy]

For me it's mainly down to the slow possession build up play the difference being this season we don't have that devastating burst of pace in the middle from Bale. When Bale was quiet in games last year we often struggled to create and now it's even more apparent. We more often than not allow teams the time to get set defensively before we even venture near their third which normally results in a lot of side ways passing and shots from outside the box. We need to up the passing tempo and move the ball forward faster and take a risk on losing possession in the hope of releasing our forwards faster, watching Soldado showing good movement and making runs only to be ignored is baffling, I'm not sure how AVB expects us to score.

It's becoming very frustrating watching teams all setup similar against us every week and us not adapting on the field, were just about getting across the line at the moment but over the course of the season it's going to cost us at some point.

 

[Rorschach]

For me the problem is the off the ball running. Watching Barca or (spit) Arsenal they have lots of runners willing to break past the last line of defence and equally players who will attempt the pass to them. Barca do this ad nauseum. At the moment our default action is retain possession, which is all well and good but our lack of an incisive ball or even an attempt means players stop making these types of runs as they know it will be wasted effort.

I'd much rather see an attempted pass or shot even if it is a low percentage option than recycling of possession for the sake of it.

 

[Gutter Boy]

Its kind of been mentioned, but for me integrating Eriksen and Lamela in place of Townsend and Lennon/Siggy will improve this. It's about having smarter more technical players, rather than those more suited to playing on the break.

 

[Armchair Expert]

I think its difficult to say where its going wrong, because its impossible to identify a strategy. We just look so devoid of any attacking philosophy or strategy that its not a case of fixing something that's broken, it looks more a case of starting with a clean slate and looking at how we intend to create chances for Soldado.

I don't see anything right with the way were going about attacking, i'm not sure what the intentions are.

 

[SteveAWOL]

What with the only league goal we've scored from outside the area this season being Townend' fluke against Aston Villa it would be nice to see us create more chances in the area... today we had 4 shots from inside the box (excluding the penalty), Everton and Emirates Marketing Project had 9 in the corresponding fixture, Chavski 14... :-k

 

[Rorschach]

What with the only goal we've scored from outside the area this season being Townend' fluke against Aston Villa it would be nice to see us create more chances in the area... today we had 4 shots from inside the box (excluding the penalty), Everton and Emirates Marketing Project had 9 in the corresponding fixture, Chavski 14... :-k

So Hull will let you have 6 shots on target a match. Fair enough

 

[SteveAWOL]

So Hull will let you have 6 shots on target a match. Fair enough

Indeed! Although there's probably more chance of those shots on target resulting in a goal when they are taken from inside the penalty area than from 25 yards like most of ours :-"

 

[kanoute16]

Franco Baldini called Lamela a #10 when we signed him, I hope he gets a chance to play there at some point.

So did Tim Vickery, south american football correspondent for Sky.

 

[Daisuk]

Indeed! Although there's probably more chance of those shots on target resulting in a goal when they are taken from inside the penalty area than from 25 yards like most of ours :-"

Hehe, yeah, well, 3 out of those 7 goals scored on Hull were from outside the area. But I agree, of course. Although one of our problems this season has been not hitting the frame with shots from outside the area. Sigurdsson is the only one who can hit them from distance and at least hit the target.

 

[Robspur12]

We are so one dimensional, compare our play to L'**** who manage to be relatively mean defensively while being fluid in attack. Too many midfielders not only who are not able to play incisive passing but who seem unable to simply control the ball properly the number of times their close control failed them. Allied to this I agree with Rosarch our midfielders are relatively static. Another point I feel is relevant, last season while Bale was obviously the stand out player, having Hudd to bring on often tipped these games in our favour. I said this at the time we sold him I do not yet see anyone neither Eriksen nor Holtby who can move the ball as fast as him behind the defensive line. He was the standout player for Hull today. BTW our set pieces are also totally ineffective which does not help nick goals here and there. I noticed Arsenal were particularly effective at this last season during their run in.

 

[Bedfordspurs]

We have a top drawer goal scorer who shoots when he gets a chance

We have loads of creative players

We have a very solid defence

We have some very quick players

So why do we play so bloody slow allowing the opposition to get back in place

When we play crisp one/two touch passes we look great. The Norwich game was excellent example of this and the first half vs. Chelsea

When we play slow patient dull lifeless football were very predictable and easy to defend against. That for me is the BIG change to last year yet arguably we have far better players

 

[the dza]

We are so one dimensional, compare our play to L'**** who manage to be relatively mean defensively while being fluid in attack. Too many midfielders not only who are not able to play incisive passing but who seem unable to simply control the ball properly the number of times their close control failed them. Allied to this I agree with Rosarch our midfielders are relatively static. Another point I feel is relevant, last season while Bale was obviously the stand out player, having Hudd to bring on often tipped these games in our favour. I said this at the time we sold him I do not yet see anyone neither Eriksen nor Holtby who can move the ball as fast as him behind the defensive line. He was the standout player for Hull today. BTW our set pieces are also totally ineffective which does not help nick goals here and there. I noticed Arsenal were particularly effective at this last season during their run in.

Arsenal, like ourselves, have a good defensive record via defending through possession. If you have the ball, the opposition can't score and we have generally dominated possession in our games so far this season. So on that side of things, we have it sorted. We've probably done this better than any other team in the league so far this season.

They are obviously better in attack than us. They are more cohesive and are able to shift gears in and around the box. I don't think we will become as fluid as they can be, but I think we will get better once AVB figures out his best combination of players to occupy the 3 positions behind Soldado.

 

[Bedfordspurs]

Arsenal, like ourselves, have a good defensive record via defending through possession. If you have the ball, the opposition can't score and we have generally dominated possession in our games so far this season. So on that side of things, we have it sorted. We've probably done this better than any other team in the league so far this season.

They are obviously better in attack than us. They are more cohesive and are able to shift gears in and around the box. I don't think we will become as fluid as they can be, but I think we will get better once AVB figures out his best combination of players to occupy the 3 positions behind Soldado.

Can I just add that arsenal have only kept two clean sheets in the league... Us and Palace.

There a much more settled side but are currently 5 points down on last season and are conceding far more goals

We're winning, whilst playing badly and not conceding.... If that was united everyone would be impressed but as it's new to us were very indifferent to it

 

[Robspur12]

We have a top drawer goal scorer who shoots when he gets a chance

We have loads of creative players

We have a very solid defence

We have some very quick players

So why do we play so bloody slow allowing the opposition to get back in place

When we play crisp one/two touch passes we look great. The Norwich game was excellent example of this and the first half vs. Chelsea

When we play slow patient dull lifeless football were very predictable and easy to defend against. That for me is the BIG change to last year yet arguably we have far better players

So in the end does it come down to AVB? He is reminding me of Capello when he was England Manager- unable to see past a rigid system of play and unable to make tactical changes during a game. I am giving him the benefit of the doubt, he was able to deal with the "late goals conceded" hopefully he will be able to turn this around.

 

[the dza]

Can I just add that arsenal have only kept two clean sheets in the league... Us and Palace.

There a much more settled side but are currently 5 points down on last season and are conceding far more goals

We're winning, whilst playing badly and not conceding.... If that was united everyone would be impressed but as it's new to us were very indifferent to it

That's true, I was taking the liberty of including the defensive record of the goons last season (as it's pretty much the same lineup this season, plus Ozil).

 

[diego_maradona]

We can talk about tactics and formations and personnel until we are blue in the face. Ultimately for me, its about attacking players having real belief that they are going to score whenever they go forward. We all know that regardless of the opposition, regardless whether its against a 5 man defence, when an in form striker wants to score he will find a way. The team will find a way.

We seem to lack a belief of how we will score right now. We do the individual things correctly. Townsend will get chalk on his boots and run down the line or come inside and get a shot off. Eriksen and Holtby will float behind Soldado or Defoe, and pick passes. Dembele, Sandro and Paulinho will dominate midfields and win their battles. But the team lack a bigger idea of just how we will work the ball into the back of the net. It's aimed more in hope at times. The winger will get wide, whip a ball into a general area and we all say oooo, thinking well he done his job well. But for me, we lack a belief that this very attack will be a goal. As a team we need to picture just how we will work the ball into a position from which we will score.

Composure again is another word which is often thrown around. And yes perhaps the eagerness of the crowd here can have an impact. The groan when a player shunts a ball wide. Or when a pass is misdirected. The players are perhaps crippled with fear of getting it wrong and inevitably do just that. Townsend is terrific at beating his man, Lennon is fantastic at getting behind his full back, Paulinho great at timing runs into the box. But quite often it's the composure to do the next bit right which is often lacking.

I really do think as with most things in football, it's a psychological thing. There is goals in this team. It's far too talented not to have.