Teams we can beat next season -

[king canary 7,605]

37 minutes ago, Feedthewolf said:

Do you believe we need to make any modifications to our tactics in order to cope with the hugely improved quality of opposition, though?

I think there are a few obvious tweaks- ie asking Aarons and Lewis to hold their position a bit more, having two central midfielders sitting a bit deeper or even going to three at the back when the needs arises.

7 minutes ago, Fuzzar said:

I do agree with this, but for me there is a question mark at CDM.

I like Trybull's workrate and he is neat and tidy in possession but that position is vital to how we play and I think he can be a little slow and ponderous. I really hope he can step up, but I would like to see some serious competition in this area.

Agree with this- you need someone who can play horizontally and has the mobility to deal with the kind of counter attacking pace top teams will have. 

There is a major difference dealing with a counter from Sterling, Aguero and De Bruyne or even Almiron, Rondon and Perez than Blackburn or Preston attackers.

[lake district canary 4,531]

@FTW - So how much better are those teams at keeping possession than we will be?  They may press.....but then so do we. For me it is an extension of what we have been doing - keeping possession as much as possible while pressing like maniacs to get the ball back when we don't have the ball.  In that way, imo, next season won't be much different. Better opposition, yes, but that is the challenge of seeing how much progress we have made and can we deliver at the top level......imo we have the players to do it, without much alteration in tactics.  We may be forced back a bit more, but that doesn't mean we will need to change what we are doing - we just behave accordingly - and we are well schooled in good behaviour.   

The real question for me is not tactics - it is will players adapt to the higher standard? Imo the answer is yes.

We will do well imo because we are a great team and our teamwork/individual ability/belief/work rate will be as good as any in the top division. Tactics? We have our tactics - we keep the ball as much as possible and when we don't have it we press like mad to get it back. The big mistake would be to stand off the opposition because of who they are - you see it so many times in the PL - teams stand off and they get punished. We don't often do that, occasionally we get caught out and that is the one area for me that needs to be better - we need to keep to the method we have already - only doing it better, making less mistakes and keeping the intensity throughout. 

 

[Hoola Han Solo 448]

I know we played well last season, and it was terrific, but I think some are being wildly optimistic. We conceded a lot of goals last year, and no matter how well we play and pass the ball, we need to tighten up. Salah, Kane, Aguero etc are going to be more of a handful than Ipswich, Rotherham etc - and even the lower half have some very good players. I think Norwich will stay up, but it’s going to be far from easy. I’d take 17th now.

[Feedthewolf 4,846]

13 minutes ago, lake district canary said:

@FTW - So how much better are those teams at keeping possession than we will be?  They may press.....but then so do we. For me it is an extension of what we have been doing - keeping possession as much as possible while pressing like maniacs to get the ball back when we don't have the ball.  In that way, imo, next season won't be much different. Better opposition, yes, but that is the challenge of seeing how much progress we have made and can we deliver at the top level......imo we have the players to do it, without much alteration in tactics.  We may be forced back a bit more, but that doesn't mean we will need to change what we are doing - we just behave accordingly - and we are well schooled in good behaviour.   

The real question for me is not tactics - it is will players adapt to the higher standard? Imo the answer is yes.

We will do well imo because we are a great team and our teamwork/individual ability/belief/work rate will be as good as any in the top division. Tactics? We have our tactics - we keep the ball as much as possible and when we don't have it we press like mad to get it back. The big mistake would be to stand off the opposition because of who they are - you see it so many times in the PL - teams stand off and they get punished. We don't often do that, occasionally we get caught out and that is the one area for me that needs to be better - we need to keep to the method we have already - only doing it better, making less mistakes and keeping the intensity throughout.

If you mean the top six, then considerably better. I'll happily wager you £50 to CSF now that our total average possession next season is below 50%.

I love our tactics, our players and our management team, but I think a lot of people are underestimating quite how big a leap it is to the Premier League.

As for the sentence in italics, surely if we are forced back more then by definition we'll need to change what we're doing? We'll spend more time defending in formation, and less time dictating play in the central and final thirds. That will necessitate a change in how we play.

[lharman7 39]

I agree with Lakey on this.

Our style of football last season at times was of a premier league standard although we did find the fight and bite you need to compete in the championship.

We will not change the way we play and the ethos of the club when we compete in the premier league. Farke and Webber have stated this on many occasion also stating along the way we are likely to get a drubbing here and there.

Feedthewolf, your possession chart doesn't really reflect to the leagues final positions at the end of the season.

Im fairly confident we can better the possession rating that Burnley ended up with but I guess we will just have to wait and see.

[Disco Dales Jockstrap 1,891]

Teams we can beat next season: All of them.

Teams we can lose to next season: All of them.

Teams we can draw against next season: All of them.

Teams we can score against next season: All of them.

Teams who can score against us next season: All of them.

Woods that bears can defecate in: All of them.

Pies that Bryan Gunn has eaten: All of them.

Goals Dean Coney scored off his ar5e: All of them.

I bit.

OTBC

[FenwayFrank 2,459]

Matches Ipswich lost last season. Well nearly ...

[lake district canary 4,531]

3 hours ago, Feedthewolf said:

surely if we are forced back more then by definition we'll need to change what we're doing? We'll spend more time defending in formation, and less time dictating play in the central and final thirds. That will necessitate a change in how we play.

But we were at times forced back last season, yet we dealt with it. Sure we may get forced back more this season than last, but it doesn't mean much has to change, it just means the balance of play will be slightly different.

[king canary 7,605]

21 minutes ago, lake district canary said:

The real question for me is not tactics - it is will players adapt to the higher standard? Imo the answer is yes.

I think you're overestimating how easy that will be.

I'm firm in my belief that Aarons and Godfrey are destined for a career at the very top- by that I mean Champions League/international level. Similarly I think Buendia and Lewis have the chance to reach that level. However I don't doubt this season will be a learning curve for all four of them and it would be naive to expect it be pure smooth sailing. I have no doubt they will have ups and downs this season as all younger players do.

The rest of the squad is a bit of a question mark to me. To expect them to all step up seamlessly seems highly unlikely.

[hogesar 9,658]

If half of our starting eleven make themselves premier league regulars that would be an astounding achievement. 

[Feedthewolf 4,846]

1 hour ago, lake district canary said:

But we were at times forced back last season, yet we dealt with it. Sure we may get forced back more this season than last, but it doesn't mean much has to change, it just means the balance of play will be slightly different.

I'm not saying 'much' has to change, I'm just saying we will need to make adjustments to accommodate the overwhelming likelihood that we won't be able to dominate possession as much, and that opposing teams will be more clinical. I'm going to leave it there, as I don't think we're light years apart in our perception anyway. It'll be interesting to see how it pans out!

[lake district canary 4,531]

1 hour ago, king canary said:

I think you're overestimating how easy that will be.

I'm firm in my belief that Aarons and Godfrey are destined for a career at the very top- by that I mean Champions League/international level. Similarly I think Buendia and Lewis have the chance to reach that level. However I don't doubt this season will be a learning curve for all four of them and it would be naive to expect it be pure smooth sailing. I have no doubt they will have ups and downs this season as all younger players do.

The rest of the squad is a bit of a question mark to me. To expect them to all step up seamlessly seems highly unlikely.

I don't expect it to be seamless, but I do expect it to happen.  Apart from the young players, we have Leitner, Vrancic, Trybull, McLean, Hernandez, all of which imo will be able to adapt and flourish at the top level. It may not be so easy for them as last year, but I expect them all to be able to push on.  In defence we have Zimmermann, who may not be the quickest but has shown time and time again he has the anticipation and quick mindedness to defend well under the most difficult conditions.  His only fault is that he occasionally gets caught on the ball - that is something he can improve on.  Klose, the only one I don't think I've mentioned will continue to show his class- if he can get in the team!!!!

Oh - Krul I expect to grow in confidence and Pukki continue to shine at the top level.  I expect Roberts and Heise to be ok too - and am particularly interested to see if Louis Thompson makes an impact this season - think that depends on Tettey and how much involvement he gets.  Thompson, though, if he has seen off his injury troubles could be a real asset.