Arfield Salute

Butland Tavernier, Souttar, Balogun, Yilmaz Raskin, Sterling McCausland, Diomande, Sima Silva

I didn’t mean that Clement was about to get sacked. I just meant in general it reminded me of a performance you’d see when a manager is about to lose his job.

This is the kind of performance you see when the manager’s about to get sacked. Shocking levels of intensity and quality.

Butland Tav Goldson Souttar Ridvan Lundstram Jack Sterling Diomande Lawrence Silva

Butland Tav Goldson Souttar Ridvan Lundstram Diomande Sterling Cantwell McCausland Dessers

Butland Tav Goldson Balogun Barisic McCausland Sterling Lundstram Sima Cantwell Dessers If Cantwell is still unavailable, I’d like to see Roofe + Dessers up top together.

From Clement after today’s game: What can you tell us about Nils Koppen? I had been talking with all the candidates together with the members of the board. The first time I talked with Nils we said it was a pity that we missed each other in Genk. We were there six months when I was working with the first team and he was working in the academy. He left after six months and went to PSV and that year we won the championship and he missed the big party! So I didn’t know him before we first talked but of course I took some information from people who worked with him in PSV and Genk. Everybody was really positive. Are you pleased to have someone in that position? It’s a very important position. I don’t want to look too much to the past in the last couple of months. I want to look to the future. He’s somebody who knows a lot of players, he has a lot of information and works data-wise really well. He has a lot of experience around that. He’s someone we need in the club to guide our recruitment and to find in this pool the best fish. But we have to really early with that as there are a lot of people in the same pool. We all think in the club that Nils can help with that.

Totally disagree with the opinion he was shocking or awful in the first half. There was room for improvement and he stayed on the ground for a little too long a couple of times, but he was constantly involved in a lot of our play. A few clumsy touches but he has technical ability and a footballing brain that most of the others in our current squad don’t have. We need to be trying to play to his strengths and get the most out of him. I also think our style of play in general does not help our creative players and strikers to flourish. Our midfielders and full backs could do a better job of getting the ball to the likes of Cantwell, Lawrence, McCausland etc., in dangerous areas. Too often I feel we look to go out wide away from the goal rather than trying to penetrate through the middle like we did for the second goal. Even when the wingers get it, very rarely are they attacking the full back and getting to the byline or driving into the box.

Director of Football Recruitment specifically. Not DOF. That feels pretty in line with what he’s already been doing in terms of scouting.

Butland Tav Goldson Balogun Barisic Lundstram Rice McCausland Cantwell Lawrence Danilo

Butland Tav Souttar Davies Barisic Lundstram McCausland Lawrence Cantwell Sima Danilo

I don’t think we did much to help Danilo today. Long balls and crosses are not his strength. He made a couple of nice half chances for himself but we didn’t do much from open play to put something on a plate for him.

It’s been 3 years of these performances for us. The worry is this manager only sees it as 1 game for him and gives them more chances. That’s how we end up in the same cycle with these same players getting him the sack.

Butland Tav Goldson Balogun Barisic Jack Lundstram Wright Cantwell Sima Danilo