by Owzat » Thu Oct 29, 2009 8:35 am
Not a bad performance overall, but a defeat at a time when even going out on penalties might have been something. Poor keeping imho for all three goals, quite why we paid £3m for a keeper to play SIX games in two seasons when we could have simply used Martin, a youth keeper or signed one of the keepers going cheap or on frees in the summer.
Again there are question marks over Rafa substitutions, just taking the SEVEN defeats there is a distinct pattern
L1-2 vs Arsenal (a) 74, 76, 88 - last goal scored in 50th minute
L1-2 vs Lyon (h) 25 (enforced), 74, 86 - last goal scored in 72nd minute
L0-1 vs Sunderland (a) 72, 73, 81 - beachball scored in the 5th minute
L0-2 vs Chelsea (a) 67, 76, 83 - Anelka scored in the 60th minute, the second came very late
L0-2 vs Fiorentina (a) 72, 80 - both goals scored before half-time, second in the 37th minute
L1-3 vs Aston Villa (h) 66, 76 - 0-2 down after 45
L1-2 vs Tottenham (a) 67, 75, 79 - last goal scored in the 59th minute.
So in those defeats, regardless of situation and too often unwilling to make double or triple substitutions :
1st substitution (7) - average 63rd minute, 70th if you exclude the enforced substitution
2nd substitution (7) - average 75th minute
3rd substitution (5) - average 83rd minute
In three of those games he waited until the 72nd minute or later to change things, technically it's four given the 25th minute change was not tactical and shouldn't really count. Maybe later changes can be forgiven when the side is winning, even not losing, but when you're losing and not playing that well, it is when changes are generally made. The last change is more or less token if you make it as late as Rafa does, five of the 19 subs came on with less than 10 minutes to make an impression. Maybe Rafa is worried about injuries being a factor late on with no subs left, but when you're losing that is a risk you have to take. There's no law saying you can't score with 10 men, in fact didn't we play 10 man Arsenal last season and they looked the better side............................?
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