The thing I really do not understand about last night.

[bobby01]

I am not starting a thread to have yet another dig at players, but from corners and crosses from free kicks, Sess, Bryan and Cairney seemed to be under instructions to man mark West Ham's 3 best headers of the ball. Our centre backs, chambers and mitro, were in a line in the 6 yard box. Inevitably our 3 lost their man every time giving them a run at our static defenders and a keeper glued to his line.
Tactically I honestly do not understand the thinking by the coaching staff behind this formation, it seemed doomed to failure from the start.

Just looking for others constructive opinions in case it is just me seeing it wrong.

[YankeeJim]

You make a good point. What struck me was that AGAIN CR subs converted us from an attacking side to a hide behind the center line. I was trying to think of a set of subs that made us better on the pitch since CR took over. AK use to rattle some people but that was him not some great attacking shift instilled by CR.
Whatever one says about the players lack of effort or heart, one has to admit we've had two clueless managers since we joined the Prem.

[sunburywhite]

Why dont we have men on the post?

[Oakeshott]

"one has to admit we've had two clueless managers since we joined the Prem."

I don't think you are right. Rather, I see the real problem as the Khans.

J clearly knew what style of football he wanted the team to play. Unfortunately the squad as built up after our promotion proved seriously deficient in the defensive aspect. Yes, J couldn't find a way of playing successfully with such a weak defence but I am not sure even an experienced Premiership manager with greater emphasis on defence play than is natural to J would have, either. Roy on one hand and Allardyce on the other would, I think, have had scant success in getting the defensive players we have to work as an effective unit.

CR has, I think, been especially badly let down. If it wasn't clear in August, it was certainly clear to the world and his wife by November that defence was the Achilles heal, yet virtually nothing was done to remedy the problem, save for one last-day-of-the-window signing. If a couple of suitable defenders had been lined up in November/December and could have started with us in very early January ...

One can of course argue that the real problem is Khan senior, in leaving his son in post, and of course most of us don't know to what extent Khan senior takes the important decisions or whether he leaves virtually everything for his son to decide. But between them they are virtually 100% responsible for our present predicament.

I feel sorry for both J and CR in having to work with, indeed for, a DOF whose only "claim" to be involved is nepotism.

I also feel sorry for Khan junior. He knows he owes his position solely to his father. He surely realises, deep down, that he is quite unable adequately to fill that position. No amount of status or wealth can insulate him from living with the knowledge that - thus far - in his DOF role he is a failure.

[YankeeJim]

Slava played just about everyone at CB except Sess. I don't think he played the same back line twice while in the Prem. He had impute in the player transactions last summer and I don't recall him making a stink about defenders. So, I don't excuse him from responsibility. 
CR just seems clueless to me. Name a good sub he came up with. I would imagine you've never managed anything of any size. Most people haven't. The bigger an organization is, the more that manger has to rely on information and the judgement of his employees. Granted, ultimately, the manger is responsible for the outcome. Khan came in, clueless about football, the Prem and likely England as well. So, I would think he relied even more on the people in place and those (including his baby boy) that he installed. Khan has to carry the blame for these bad decisions. However, the team has a scouting department and a long time (Ali Mac) general manager who, clearly, are as incompetent as the Khans. The team hasn't been well run since Mo stepped back after Hamburg. Who knows, maybe that is why Roy left. Focusing all the blame on the Khans is just simplistic.

[Statto]

Slava played just about everyone at CB except Sess. I don't think he played the same back line twice while in the Prem.

He had to integrate 6 new defenders (not to mention 2 new GKs) with no pre-season. Laughable really. So I don't think you can criticise him for experimenting and rotating. Although I do accept that his decision to ultimately just revert to Ream and Odoi at CB was a grave error.