Fabrice29

Literally our top scoring and our second most creative midfielder but probably not technical goals or something.

I think it's more the space they target than the player personally. He has a clearly defined role to be inside and we sacrifice the space on that side of the pitch occasionally. I have a very vague memory of us making KWP play inside at the start of the season and therefore sacrificing his side of the pitch, probably because his recovery pace is better suited to covering it, but people got upset by that too.

I explained this quite a while ago. He's quite clearly asked to play inside for various reasons. It frees up KWP on the other side, it creates overloads in possession in midfield and out of the ball it allows us to be more aggressive and win the ball back quicker in central areas. Also a vital part of trying to isolate our wingers against full backs because it tries to drift the right wide midfielder into mark him so they can't double up on our left winger. He does it well, he's got a good left foot allowing him to receive the ball and open up to pass to our wide player quickly when the timing is right. It means he has a lot to do when we lose possession but it's a risk/reward situation and switches to the right winger is supposed to be stopped at source.

2 assists today. Not sure if it's meaningless, spreadsheet subjective nonsense from the other side of the Atlantic or not though.

I’m not sure talking about our defence would be particularly relevant to the comment ‘we play it around the back and never get anywhere’ You can find out about the defence yourself on various sites. Who scored.com As a starter, 7th best in the league and 6th best shots against. It’s decent. We’re really bad in the air though fwiw.

You seem genuinely unable to grasp the concept of what a fact is. And btw, it can be both factual and meaningless. But it definitely is factual.

We’re the third top goal scorers in our league. Your narrative, once again, isn’t reflective of the reality.

There’s nothing one dimensional or embarrassing about consistently breaking into the oppositions half into a 3 v 3 match up. We didn’t take advantage but the idea that ‘playing out the back’ in anyway hinders us is just nuts. Smashing it up to any striker we could have signed in January against VVD or Konate would have been much more likely to result in us losing the ball and being under pressure than playing out from the back. Also Liverpool started 3 kids’ yesterday from the start that could reasonably be considered as youth team players. The rest were experienced PL/European level players or Bradley/Quansah for example who are pretty much on the verge of becoming that and been fairly regularly used in their first team. Probably similar amounts to Bree/Charles for us. The desperation to fall into their ‘kids’ narrative and to criticise us is much more embarrassing than us playing out from the back.

It’s nothing to do with my sanity. It’s a factual piece of information not opinion.

More dribbles is incorrect actually, that's my bad, read the wrong stat. Rest is correct though, I'm not sure why people feel the need to rewrite Smallbones decent season based on a small patch of poor form.

More goals, more assists. More key passes per game, more shots per game, more dribbles per game, more blocks per game, more clearances per game. Better pass completion rate per game. If you're actually asking.

so rare honestly, think before embarrassing yourself.

I think that was more to do with the terrible interviewer and being asked to comment on the Liverpool youngsters more than once.

Why does everything have to be so outcome based?

Just for full clarity, maybe it would have been nice if he shook his hand, despite the fact he was timewasting all game, we all screamed at him ourselves, it's 30 seconds after a whistle was blown so all frustration we had should be put aside immediately, and even if the said goalkeeper is making a beeline at him which a grin on his face. The point I'm making is a) it doesn't matter and b) it's only being highlighted because we lost a couple of games and you're all desperate to have a pop at the bloke for some weird reason. I suspect he hasn't shook the hands of every goalkeeper we've played this year but I'm sure there is a list somewhere on here that one of you has compiled because his "sportsmanship" has always been so important. Heck, he even had a full on row with Lumley last season and he signed him a few months later. It happens and it's not a big deal until we've lost a game and it's caught on camera.

If you want to isolate and define "sportsmanship" by the all important handshake at the end of the game, then no, you're right. The wanker.

Change tactics and score more goals or we won't be as good as Leeds who have scored less goals than us. Cool.

So? Find me a manager who isn't far too emotional? Emotional managers are bred in this country, the fanbase, the game, the culture, they all crave it, it's all part of the melo drama, if you're not emotional you get eaten up by it all and become irrelevant. Please name me a relevant manager who isn't a petty fuck when he's lost a game or two. Honestly, the desperation on here from those who doubted him at the start is so obvious it's incredible. Starved for months because it's been going well but absolutely ravenous when a defeat is put in front of you. Can't blame you really.

You lose a couple of games and everything you do is evidence you're a prick. Including telling a goalkeeper to fuck off, the same goalkeeper your fanbase spent 90 minutes telling to fuck off. That's the game.

Stay consistent but come up with a surprise or two.

The last time he played in Downes position, in that formation, not only was he subbed off at half time because he'd been so poor, but he was actively moved out of that position roughly 30 minutes in. But yeah, blindingly obvious.

This would be much more alarming if we, ourselves, were a premier league job.

Well it's just the ones that he bought up so that's why I mentioned them. Whoscored.com if you do want to check out his tackle numbers btw.

Well you've missed an assist and a shed load of chances being created so yeah, keep trusting your eyes.

Nobody who is defending him is saying he will be. I'm not even saying he's particularly great but the idea he's been shit just simply isn't true, he's a decent Championship left back, which is useful because that's the level we are at.