Why Arbeloa’s Tactics Causing Issues at Fulham

[Jimsbeerbelly]

[KJS]

Gobby Jock who no doubt has no idea whats going on at FFC but like to spout his mouth off

[I Ronic]

. Let's face it,. Nobody likes change. It leaves you feeling unsure and vulnerable. We've all faced it.
  Calvin's comments on being made match day Captain and recent results would seem to counter recent comments and observationsfrom outside.
   Again you can believe that or not. I do, I don't think Calvin is the kind of fella that would prop up something he doesn't believe would work. He could have just stuck to "its an honour to be captain" etc.
   If there's one person at the club you'd trust to work through this and bring everyone together it's him.

[demeant0r]

. Let's face it,. Nobody likes change. It leaves you feeling unsure and vulnerable. We've all faced it.
  Calvin's comments on being made Captain and recent results would seem to counter recent comments and observationsfrom outside.
   Again you can believe that or not. I do, I don't think Calvin is the kind of fella that would prop up something he doesn't believe would work. He could have just stuck to "its an honour to be captain" etc.
   If there's one person at the club you'd trust to work through this and bring everyone together it's him.

I may have missed it, but what did he say about being made captain?

[I Ronic]

Basically it was an honour. I'll copy and paste the interview later. Unless someone beats me to it.

[I Ronic]

Calvin Bassey has said his call-up to the matchday captaincy has been a natural one, and one he considers a privilege.

The centre-back has worn the armband in our first three Premier League games, having been bestowed the honour by Álvaro Arbeloa, who considers Bassey a strong leader.

"It's a privilege," Bassey explained. "Being able to captain this club is unbelievable.
"Going into my fourth season, I know the boys and get on with everyone, so I just be myself and try to help everyone. Leading comes naturally because of the position I play, being able to see everything and having to communicate as a centre-half.

"I've been around these boys for so long and been fortunate enough to have played so many games, so it didn't really change anything. Of course, it's a huge privilege, and thank you to the manager for giving it to me, but I don't think it's changed me."
So is Bassey the type of skipper to lose his head in the changing room if things aren't going well?
"Nah, not really, that's not me! I'm more chill. Before the game, I'm just happy, smiling as always. I just want everyone to go in with good energy. Of course, you can get frustrated, but I think everyone understands that, so it's not my personality to start screaming at people.
"I know everyone goes out there and gives 100 per cent, and sometimes we're just not able to win. I know they're frustrated, I'm frustrated, but I think sometimes it's best just to leave people be and then speak about it later."
Part of a captain's duty is to look after the squad's younger players, and in the case of 19-year-old Josh King, the Nigeria international has been given special permission.
"His mum's told me to look after him, so I know I can stick it on him if he gets too big for his boots! I always looked after him anyway, but I got the green light, so it's even better now.
"I'm so happy for him. He works hard, he's always on the pitch after training practising finishing, and he has good application in the gym. I just want him to keep working hard and keep helping us, because he's a player we need and a player who's bringing excitement to both our fans and the whole Premier League this season."
Despite plenty of positive signs – including two goals already for King – Fulham are still searching for their first points of the season, but that doesn't mean there's no cause for optimism.
"I'm excited. You can see from the way we've played that there's a lot of positives. The manager is very calm – I think him being a player means he understands it can be hard at certain times, so he's able to lead us in a calm way.
"It's a journey. We've only been with him for two months or so, so it's very new, and he even understands that it's different to what we're used to, so it's going to take time to adjust.
"It's good that we've been able to put in performances that we can take positives from, but of course, you always want to improve."
Bassey will lead the team out at Anfield this weekend – a tough test for a team out of form, but one that Fulham will be prepared for.
"It's not going to be easy. You know what's coming when you play Liverpool; they have top players. It's just about doing our homework and seeing how we can hurt them."
We talk with the manager about everything that might not have worked, and try and go into every game understanding more what he wants from us individually as players. He'll set us up in the right way to tackle Liverpool."

Edit. It's 'match day captain' but unless JC is fit and starting I guess its going to be all games going forward.

[Jimsbeerbelly]

Gobby Jock who no doubt has no idea whats going on at FFC but like to spout his mouth off

I'm not quite sure why you are slagging him off, it's a fair assessment of our current situation, and probably the best I've seen so far.

Just because he's criticising Fulham, doesn't mean he's subject to abuse, but then you are one of those members. 

[Jim©]

Just because he's criticising Fulham, doesn't mean he's subject to abuse, but then you are one of those members. 

Whereas some members just seem to love criticising the club.

 

[Jimsbeerbelly]

Just because he's criticising Fulham, doesn't mean he's subject to abuse, but then you are one of those members.

Whereas some members just seem to love criticising the club.

 

Where is the criticism? It's a very good analysis outlining our current issues with Arbeloa, the system and type of football that's causing our defensive problems.

As fans, if that is not allowed to be questioned / criticised in any form, then we may as well all hand our season tickets back and say nothing.

[Jim©]

Just my take on things.
The stuff that's come out from some 'supporters' the last week or so has been way OTT. We had losing streaks the last few seasons of 3 games, 4 games a good few times, but don't remember the fan base turning like this.
Strange that Iraola said in his press conference today " If you look at the stats then you would think they'd have four or five points at least. They've been controlling the games with possession and comfortable on the ball." Yet some Fulham fans are calling for AA's head, TK is an idiot, our recruitment is poor etc etc etc.

[KJS]

Gobby Jock who no doubt has no idea whats going on at FFC but like to spout his mouth off

I'm not quite sure why you are slagging him off, it's a fair assessment of our current situation, and probably the best I've seen so far.

Just because he's criticising Fulham, doesn't mean he's subject to abuse, but then you are one of those members. 

My own opinion of this guys comments in general not just of FFC, hes what used to be called a SHOCK JOCK otherwise known as all mouth no substance

[I Ronic]

I think Tartan Geo, makes some good points. As have Danny Murphy and others. AA has completely changed the style of play from what it was. He's got it half right. If he can manage that in a number of weeks then I'm confident he can sort out the other half relatively quickly. He strengthened attack in the first part of the window (which is reflected in the stats) and for one reason or another couldn't get the type of players he wanted for defence till the end of the window. He's had another week of training with the squad and with the new centre back and midfielder. I hope we see a better display tomorrow. We're probably between 2 and 4 points down on what we could of expected in the last three games. A win or draw tomorrow would steady the ship going forward.
Like a lot on here, I've seen Fulham in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and Premier league. From ground sharing at QPR to Craven Cottage as it is today. Losing in the FA cup final and the Europa Cup. There have been a lot worse times than this.

[Jimsbeerbelly]

Gobby Jock who no doubt has no idea whats going on at FFC but like to spout his mouth off

I'm not quite sure why you are slagging him off, it's a fair assessment of our current situation, and probably the best I've seen so far.

Just because he's criticising Fulham, doesn't mean he's subject to abuse, but then you are one of those members. 

My own opinion of this guys comments in general not just of FFC, hes what used to be called a SHOCK JOCK otherwise known as all mouth no substance

Fair enough

[ArcticOctopus]

Not to derail the conversation but I can't help but picture a Jeykl and Hyde situation with Jim just yelling at his stomach. 

Are your guys' names actually related or is that just a happy coincidence?

[Matt10]

AA said in his interview with Jack Kelly, it's not tactics or system issues. I tweeted this too, but this is simply a coaching issue. Something that AA needs to coach into the players on when to be aggressive and when not to be. The system is what it is, the tactics are built in and fluid based on the opponent's system and tactics. What you can coach though are the fine details that take general pressing to terms like press the passing lane, press the intended receiver, press and leave, etc.

I've said it before, while Bassey is important to the team, he is one who needs to be coached the most into understanding what kind of press is necessary and which is unnecessarily too aggressive.

Arbeloa has a task of sorting out Group A and Group B players. Group A consists of the already aggressive players (Bassey, Garcia, Robinson, Tete), who are now being pushed even past their usual aggression, while Group B are your calm and calculated players (Andersen, Berge, Sess, Iwobi, ESR), who are also being pushed past their usual aggression.

If you pause the game right when Castagne steps late or Bassey lunges wildly, you're not looking at a broken formation. You're just seeing a player whose brain is fighting conflicting instructions at match speed, which causes a total breakdown in decision making. You can't fix that with basic training drills; it's about fixing their instincts in the actual flow of the game. The system just pushes them into it, but those bad decisions are the real problem.