banduan wrote:
I guess the vid comes across as a bit obvious because it's part 1 and it's focusing on defence where our issues are obvious and what Emery is doing is obvious (unless you don't understand how a team press is done). That said, he did miss the obvious point of the Chelsea goal coming from a silly error of CB stepping beyond the halfway line.
I look forward to the analysis of attack and midfield as the style is easy to follow, but I feel it's missing a good comparison with our previous setup.
Not only this but it also fails to establish a baseline for context in regards as to how we are supposed to play as a team with or without the ball, and the roles of the players in each area - Defence, Midfield and Attack. From this baseline we can then look at each area of the pitch with context as to what is or isn't working, and why the old style continues to plague the transition to the new style.
I think he did well to identify Bellerin's positioning in defence as a weakness in terms of playing too wide, but could have explained this more. Likewise he could have tied this in to the issues with Bellerin not moving up and playing the opposition onside.
Just as important he failed to consider the question of who provides defensive cover when we lose the ball (particularly if the FBs are engaged high up the field and in the opposition half), and the execution of the high press when we lose possession.
As such my biggest criticism of the goals conceded has been the lack of pressure on the opposition player in possession deep inside their own half, than then allows them to play the ball over the top to exploit space and/or Bellerin's positioning.
Likewise our midfield are as just as guilty for being caught too high and allowing the opposition to make easy yards on the ball. IMO Guendouzi has been poor in this regard and our right flank has been a case of the blind leading the blind in terms of defensive performance & Mustafi is carrying the can for it.
Likewise in the 2nd video he didn't establish a baseline to provide the context in relation to both the Midfield and the Attack. Most importantly he didn't talk about the very big changes to the role at CAM in the new system, both in attack and defence off the ball.
IMO his criticism of Xhaka failed to establish the why, other than the obvious error.
By contrast Xhaka played the 2nd most Key Passes for us in the game, and IMO his positioning is actually closer to what we need in a twin pivot system than seen from Guendouzi. Then there is the other stat that Xhaka plays the most passes into the final 3rd of anyone in the PL since the start of last season & double the number for Ozil. Likewise he is also highly rated for his involvement in passages of play the lead to shots on goal (ranked 5th in the PL & 1st at AFC), and his distance travelled per game is also good.
The key issue is that he lacks pace both physically and mentally. He has the lowest numbers of sprints for AFC, and often slows the play the ball which enables the opposition to either close him down or to read the intended play. Essentially he is not suited to play as the deepest CM in a pyramid midfield. IIRC at BMG under Favre he was essentially in a Pirlo type role in a midfield 5.
Likewise we have several other key players who are unable to contribute most effectively without balance being provided from the rest of the team. This includes Ozil, PEA and Rambo.
