spud
Well-Known Member
- Sep 2, 2003
- 5,850
- 8,794
This comment isn't just about yesterday, but that game does provide a couple of excellent examples of my point. As I see it our main problem is that we can't defend. We can't defend leads, we can't keep clean sheets, we always concede. There are always numerous reasons for this, but one stands out: our back four is uncertain. When there is uncertainty, there is doubt and hesitation, and that hesitation is leading to us conceding.
There is one clear reason for our uncertainty, and it can be summed up in two words: William Gallas. We are trying to play with a high defensive line, but that tactic is undermined time and time again by Gallas retreating behind his fellow defenders and playing the opposition onside. The second and fourth goals were a direct consequence of this yesterday, and both were crucial. We were relatively comfortable at 1-1 with five minutes of the first half left. They had the ball in the centre and the defence was lined up on the edge of our box; except Gallas, who was one yard behind them and goal-side of Podolski. He shouldn't have been deeper than the others, and all he had to do was to take one step forward and Podolski would have been offside. He didn't, Podolski got the ball, half-turned and scored. 2-1, and then quickly 3-1, is an entirely different story from 1-1, especially yesterday.
Similarly with the fourth goal - again scored at a crucial time when we had looked comfortable for the first fifteen minutes of the second half. In a three-man defence, the side men take their position from the central defender. But again Gallas didn't. He dropped a couple of yards behind Dawson and Vertonghen, playing Wilshere onside. He crossed and the retreating defence couldn't stop Cozorla.
This happens on numerous occasions and it is undermining our defending. It is probably no coincidence that Walker is a shadow of last season's player now that he is alongside Gallas. The rest of our back four can't simply concentrate on their own jobs because they don't know what Gallas will do. That uncertainty continually leads to errors, which lead to goals. I am afraid that this will continue as long as Gallas is in the team. He has to be dropped. A back four consisting of three young players in Walker, Naughton and Caulker is far from ideal, but we simply can't wait for BAE and Kaboom to get fit to make this change. It's hurting us too badly.
So come on Andre, make the change. Drop Gallas and get some certainty in our defending.
There is one clear reason for our uncertainty, and it can be summed up in two words: William Gallas. We are trying to play with a high defensive line, but that tactic is undermined time and time again by Gallas retreating behind his fellow defenders and playing the opposition onside. The second and fourth goals were a direct consequence of this yesterday, and both were crucial. We were relatively comfortable at 1-1 with five minutes of the first half left. They had the ball in the centre and the defence was lined up on the edge of our box; except Gallas, who was one yard behind them and goal-side of Podolski. He shouldn't have been deeper than the others, and all he had to do was to take one step forward and Podolski would have been offside. He didn't, Podolski got the ball, half-turned and scored. 2-1, and then quickly 3-1, is an entirely different story from 1-1, especially yesterday.
Similarly with the fourth goal - again scored at a crucial time when we had looked comfortable for the first fifteen minutes of the second half. In a three-man defence, the side men take their position from the central defender. But again Gallas didn't. He dropped a couple of yards behind Dawson and Vertonghen, playing Wilshere onside. He crossed and the retreating defence couldn't stop Cozorla.
This happens on numerous occasions and it is undermining our defending. It is probably no coincidence that Walker is a shadow of last season's player now that he is alongside Gallas. The rest of our back four can't simply concentrate on their own jobs because they don't know what Gallas will do. That uncertainty continually leads to errors, which lead to goals. I am afraid that this will continue as long as Gallas is in the team. He has to be dropped. A back four consisting of three young players in Walker, Naughton and Caulker is far from ideal, but we simply can't wait for BAE and Kaboom to get fit to make this change. It's hurting us too badly.
So come on Andre, make the change. Drop Gallas and get some certainty in our defending.
