06 Oct 2025 07:48:30
Hi Ed's hope all is well. Just wanted to hear your thoughts on what's going so wrong with A) . Style of play B) . Issues with personnel.
I think people are overreacting we haven't played particularly well which probably should have been expected given the dramatic summer we have just had. I do hope slot gets it right but I don't really understand why he doesn't settle on a starting xi and give the team a chance to build up some chemistry. I want to see frimpong at RB kerkez and LB and ekitike and Isak potentially start together.
{Ed078's Note - Ed001 I'm sure can answer this more comprehensively, but I'm more disappointed than alarmed. The trauma of losing Jota is understandable and to be expected. But, I'm not convinced it's a reasonable excuse for the current performance levels. Yes, new players need time to bed in and adjust, but it's also the established players that are under performing at the moment. I can't remember a worse performance from Salah (who I've defended to the hilt amongst attack) than the Chelsea game, similar Virg, who I hold in the highest regard.
All that said, it's a few games into the season and there's a long way to go. Maybe we need to chill to some degree as it's just a game of footy. When Jurgen left, who would have taken a title in Slot's first year and a chance to trust him to shape his own team?
06 Oct 2025 08:49:56
Ed78, I agree with you. Grief is a very brutal thing to deal with already cos it eats you up whenever it comes and it can be quite devastating depending on the day you are having. I know cos I experience this in real time hence, it is part of the issue, IMO.
Having said all that, multiple things can be correct at the same time. The way we are playing at a fundamental level is so flawed, it's frightening when you look at things in depth. I can't tell you if we are a pressing team or not. It seems one presses and the rest don't follow and this was evident on the first goal with Macca pressing gets done and the rest drop off.
Then, we have a RB playing RW and a CM we need is playing RB. then, we replace an injured CB with a DM who we need to progress the ball from deep into CB while a perfectly fit CB is on the bench twiddling his thumbs.
Oh, and we have Salah dropping clangers and is clearly off form (didn't need Slot to tell us that) who plays every time and we have an inform forward in Chiesa (no slouch btw judging by his career) doing bits/ scoring goals also sitting there, twiddling his thumbs. These are not issues caused by grieving. These are tactical issues and bad decision making in team selections and game management, IMO. Slot is under the microscope now and needs to get in his lab and get to work this int'l break.
{Ed078's Note - agreed.
06 Oct 2025 08:55:25
Slot not knowing how to fit in Wirtz is a big issue. We signed him to unlock the defense and create chances. He should have no excuses not to perform. Slot is playing him everywhere.
You can’t sign offensive full backs and playmaker without playing two number 6 in midfield. It’s no rocket science.
I don’t know if they did any background on how to play Isak and Ekitike together.
06 Oct 2025 08:59:48
The overreaction is crazy (although not surprising) .
Slot has said himself that a lot of the players have come back at different levels of fitness so a few can’t play 3 games a week for fear of injuries.
He’s trying to juggle that with trying to integrate the new players into a cohesive unit. We are not there yet but it’ll come.
End of the day we’ve lost 3 away games to 2 injury time winners and a very dodgy penalty. Perspective people, perspective.
06 Oct 2025 09:07:39
Reasons or excuses?
Is a reason only an excuse when you’ve become fed up with what you’re seeing? Because perhaps you’ve made up in your mind that a reason has a time cap so now it’s just an excuse?
lol anyways. Regards Jota, that was a horrendous time for everyone. Objectively may have set back our prep a week or two. Throwing other factors like Slot picking his RB like lottery balls, then perhaps it is just a factor or a reason to consider where the team are at
As above, whether you accept it is a reason or an excuse really depends on your tolerance levels for where we’re at.
Mine are always quite high because at the end of the day, it doesn’t change that the team are where they are lol.
06 Oct 2025 09:08:55
Well, I guess we found Harry's new account ;)
06 Oct 2025 09:35:03
I think the lack of pre season didn't help. So few games to start the season and I wonder if this is having an impact on the players fitness.
06 Oct 2025 09:47:31
Anybody who is worried about us should
1 look at our position in the table
2 look at the position in the table of the teams we have played.
06 Oct 2025 10:26:17
Personally I think the issues is trying to get Wirtz and Salah in the team. I think long term, our formation will be a 4-3-1-2, with Wirtz sitting behind Ekitike and Isak. Mac, Szobo and Grav providing the engine and allowing Frimpong and Kerkez to provide the width.
I feel that plays to the majority of the players strengths but keeps your highest earner on the bench. Something I just cannot see us doing.
Short term that leaves us with a choice, continue with the 4-3-3 and either shoe horn Wirtz out wide, or put him as a midfield 3 but sacrifice stability. The other option would be to put Salah up top with Isak with Wirtz behind but then you limit Salahs strength of cutting in. Either way, I feel the balance would be off.
06 Oct 2025 10:27:32
I actually think there have been signs in the last week that new players are starting to settle in a bit more. I think Wirtz has looked a lot better in these 3 games. I think Kerkez has too. Not saying perfect but im talking about showing an upward trajectory which hopefully continues.
I think RB is more concerning as Bradley has been poor imo and Frimpong has had moments good and bad so not too sure here yet or if balance wise suits the team currently.
I think Ekitike had looked great but was anonymous on weekend when came on.
I think isak is getting there also but still a bit off.
I think Maca Salah and Konate have been huge problems for differing reasons. Maca still looks not match fit, salah has unfortunately been awful and a lot of our players still look to give him rhe ball whenever possible and currently he is just losing it mostly.
Konate less said the better but head looks all over the place had 1 or 2 games where he looked better and then a complete shambles again.
Maca and Salah anyway I am confident will be temporary new signings I think for most part are on upward trajectory. So you are potentially still talking about 6 starting players improving drastically in a team that is still in a good spot positions wise after playing a lot of in form teams.
And 3 back to back away games where there was still a case we could have won them all on a different day.
I am not saying there are no problems or we should gloss over them but I don't think it is a crazy slump or something that can't be turned around.
06 Oct 2025 11:19:07
So many good points being made here and I thank the OP for broaching this topic. Hats off to you, @Kha123.
Faith for me, I am fully grounded on the mitigating/ dreadful factors affecting our performances, as they are based on real, cold, hard facts. Hence for me, excuses are not relevant here at this point. That's just lazy talk for someone who like you said, has a time cap and hence, is impatient hence, lacks the same level of tolerance as others.
The lack of preseason (Jota and his bro's passing, players arriving at diff. levels of fitness, injuries etc. ) are reasons this early in the season and I agree that Slot may have anticipated that we wouldn't be anywhere near full pelt this early. That, I can live with. However while we are dealing with the effects of these factors above, I just think the manager is not helping himself with his selection, tactics, sub. choices, overall game management of late. He needs to do better and recalibrate. That's all Im saying.
06 Oct 2025 11:35:20
Oli - yeah I fully agree and as I've said in some other posts and replies, Slot's tinkering is where I have the most concern. because he managerial tweaks in-game have brought about success in the past. Whereas i think right now, the context is different and what the team need is stability and certainty.
Trying on magical managerial tweaks where we end up with 2 defenders on the pitch and probably our second last choice midfield to finish the game seems overkill to me. I really hope the coaching group reflect on this during the break.
06 Oct 2025 11:48:26
Do you not think Slot is making his selections and sub choices with an eye on fitness as well as tactics Oli?
Gomez has just come back from an injury and it could be disastrous if he throws him on after Konate got injured, only for him to get injured too.
Same with Frimpong.
Is he playing Macca, knowing he’s not fit but trying to give him games to get up to speed because he missed most of the preseason and hadn’t played since the start of May?
How much training did the whole squad miss in pre season due to the bereavement? A couple of weeks after the sad events but then they wouldn’t have just turned up after that and gone full throttle. There would’ve been a long period of mourning their friend which is still going on now and we have no idea how that has affected each player individually.
Personally I just look at the quality we have and it gives me a lot of confidence. We’ve had a bad week but that doesn’t define Slot or this team. We’ll come good and the rest of the league won’t know what’s hit them when we do.
06 Oct 2025 14:01:22
Robbo if you have read my posts, I do not rule anything out and all the points you are made cannot be dismissed in the slightest. I just think that there are ways to tackle these inherent issues caused by unlucky, uncontrollable circumstances.
We have the quality, for sure. That is not even in the debate and even the doom and gloomers and the rival fans know that. They know when things click, they're going to have to deal with us.
For now, Slot is tinkering things WAY too much this early on. In terms of rotation, he said that he was doing that this early to keep things fresh. You can do that if you are playing well and winning. You can't do that in our current situation and with the summer we had. Sorry, you simply can't.
Slot needs to recalibrate things, get a settled back 4, midfield and attack with a system tailored to suit them in the short term (keep clean sheets, for once) and go from there. Oh, and play defenders as defenders, midfielders as midfielders and well, you get the point.
06 Oct 2025 14:17:52
Btw, I agree with you, Faith. Let's see whether Slot will dial things down a bit and recalibrate.