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Match Report

Not Perfect But Not Pitiful

Following our string of awful recent results Bilic finally showed more of a tactical reaction today by changing the system to provide more balance to our midfield. He also made a bold decision in dropping the underperforming Zaza and moving Antonio into the centre forward position. So, today we lined up in a 433 with Obiang in front of the defence, Tore and Payet on the wings, Ogbonna slotting in at left-back and Antonio upfront. Wholesale changes… And I have to credit Slaven and say that whilst we didn’t show quality in abundance and whilst our attacking play lacked fluidity and ruthlessness, we were far better than what we have shown in recent weeks. Obiang’s inclusion as a defensive shield at the base of the midfield three afforded Noble and Kouyate more freedom to push out and Obiang himself put in a stellar performance showing both brilliant defensive attributes but also fantastic passing quality to get moves started; he looks like a much better choice than either Noble or Kouyate for that shielding role based on today’s performance.

While our midfield had improved in balance and defensive solidity, the performance of our front three was more of a mixed bag. Michail Antonio has found himself at the centre of yet another experiment and I can’t help but feel sorry for the guy as I’m sure he just wants to show what he can do in his favoured position but as Slaven said post-match, the performances of our strikers have been below-par and that called for a change; enter Antonio. This experiment is definitely one I can get more onboard with than the right back experiment as Antonio has all the attributes necessary to be a success story up-front. For 45 minutes he put in a solid display, winning some headers and holding the ball up as best he could but he was at his best when facing the goal and running at the Middlesbrough defenders. I think with time on the pitch and the development of his ability to play on the shoulder that he could provide real potency and skill up-front. Contrastingly, I simply can’t understand how Tore can be given any more minutes on the pitch; he has been truly awful in every aspect of his game but for a couple of flair moments that appear extremely rarely and he was just that again today. Despite the poor performance of Tore on the right, Payet showed just what all the fuss is about again by sparking the team into life after conceding; his solo dribble from which he scored our second was truly magnificent and perhaps one of the most awe-inspiring moments I have ever seen at a football match. Collins was right however, in saying after the game that we cannot continue to rely this heavily on Payet to dig us out of difficult situations; other players need to step up to the plate too.

Defensively, we were much improved today in comparison to recent weeks. Collins came back in to deal with Jordan Rhodes/Negredo and did so effectively alongside Reid who was fantastic today and won almost all the statistical points for standout passing accuracy, clearances, blocks, interceptions and aerial duels won. Ogbonna put in a decent shift at left-back and functioned well behind Payet but he certainly can’t take a throw-in… And over on the right-side it was disappointing to see Byram pick up a serious looking injury early on but Arbeloa did a good job in his place. Perhaps my only worry with Arbeloa is that he just doesn’t have the pace to get back into position after drifting forward which could cause us to be quite liable to counter attacks down our right side; especially given how poor Antonio has been at tracking back.

If we hadn’t had a complete lapse of concentration from their corner where Zaza drifted away from his zone and Antonio lost his man we could easily have picked up 3 points today from a performance that was far from perfect but also a long was off being as bad as previous weeks.

The league table:
Antonio – 32.5
Reid – 24.5
Adrian – 23.5
Payet – 19.5
Collins – 18.5
Masuaku – 16
Kouyate – 14
Noble – 13
Lanzini – 8.5
Tore – 7.5
Byram – 7.5
Nordtveit – 7
Ogbonna – 7
Valencia – 4
Fletcher – 3
Obiang – 2.5
Calleri – 2.5
Arbeloa – 1.5
Carroll – 1.5
Ayew – 1
Zaza – 0.5
Fernandes – 0.5
Feghouli – 0

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