Of course attitude and application come into it too and yes you can’t argue that the players shouldn’t have acquitted themselves better in the last few weeks, but the tactical set up of the team is also very important! I have seen many people say that one of the key reasons that we got the result yesterday was the lack of space we gave Chelsea in the middle of the pitch due to having the extra body, had EH implemented this in previous weeks then we would be sitting on more than nineteen points right now imo. Tbh I have seen very little evidence of any fluidity this season, the team has generally just been set up in flat lines with forward players seemingly given very little creative license to roam. The way that EH has set the team up has had a huge bearing on the recent performances.
The whole team certainly appeared happier with yesterday’s setup and you always felt we’d get plenty of opportunities on the break.
The acid test, if we persist with this system, will be how we cope with a team happy to sit deep and let us keep the ball. Chelsea played into our hands a bit yesterday, always attacking when they could, leaving space behind on turnovers.
I don’t know what has changed with Fraser but he played as if a massive weight had been lifted off his shoulders, always driving forward trying to hurt the opposition every time he got the ball. Very much back to his old self.
By accident or design we seem to have found the best position for Lewis Cook. I thought he was magnificent yesterday, very calm on the ball and dangerous going forwards. The most impressive thing however was how quickly he was getting back to defend. He must have covered some ground yesterday but he never tired. He’s looking in great shape at the moment.
Franno was the cool head in defence, marshaled his colleagues very well and although at times it wasn’t pretty, more often than not somebody managed to get a toe on the ball when it was necessary.
Lerma was a machine, no surprise there.
King was lively and very unfortunate that the referee gave him no protection whatsoever. He seemed to constantly be getting tugged back or kicked and somehow the ref never spotted it. All genuine 50/50s seemed to be given as free-kicks to Chelsea and most fouls on our players were deemed 50/50s and not worthy of punishment.
Solanke looked bright when he came on, I’ll bet tired defenders won’t fancy us bringing him on as an impact sub. He must break his duck soon, surely ?
Billing was a bit disappointing, always half a yard too slow and his passes were rushed. Did do some resolute defending when required though, so he gets a pass overall.
Ramsdale solid once again, hardly rates a mention these days, we just expect it. Feel much more confident defending a narrow lead with him in goal, compared to with Begovic in the past.
A fantastic performance overall against a Chelsea side who didn’t play badly at all. Just the confidence boost we needed. Now we really must beat Burnley at our place. If we do, I fancy us to go on a bit of a run with this makeshift team of ours.
