We don't have a midfield capable of controlling the ball for any length of time, hence the dominance of the opposition in that area of the field. It is Roy all over again, except this time the out ball to Zaha doesn't work, because he's past it, Eze wanders round avoiding the action, and Schlupp is misplaced and misused. Ayew at least makes a nuisance of himself. Incidentally Zaha plays one game with a bandaged knee, the next he pulls up with a dodgy hamstring. He doesn't appear to have the burst of pace he once had. If he's injured why is he playing? Does he pick the team? Sometimes I have my doubts.

Edited by southnorwoodhill (22 Jan 2023 1.09pm)

Ok. We have come off the back of 0-3 and 0-4 home defeats. We were then presented with a nightmare run of fixtures. What else was he supposed to do. We have ground out 2 very valuable points against top teams. We probably deserved a point from the Chelsea game as well. Nothing wrong with stabilising the ship.
Or would you rather we went hung ho to the championship.

Lets see how things pan out in April when our games are more realistic.

We have failed to score in nearly half of our games this season.
We sometimes fail to have a shot on target and more often than not only create a few chances per game.
A solid defence then is essential or we’re destined to be in a relegation struggle with such a blunt attack.
Yesterday we tried Edouard up front with Eze playing tucked in behind him.
Neither are adept at pressing or are physical players and in any event they were thirty yards away from each other in attempting to press, and Newcastle just played around them and started their moves.
In fairness neither are Gallagher, so it seems pointless to ask them to try to replicate his hustling style which was so successful at the beginning of last season.
Furthermore, Edouard and Eze seem to be lacking confidence and Edouard’s touch , which can be good, seems to have deserted him.

I don’t know what the answer is from an attacking standpoint.
Ayew contributes little in the way of goals and assists but arguably warrants selection through his bloody minded approach which contributes to the team.
Zaha looks out of form and in any event may well now be injured.
Mateta does not appear to the answer other than on a bit part basis.
Olise has talent but does not impose himself on games.
It would be good if he could take a leaf out of Saka’s book who always threatens playing in a similar position for Arsenal.
I can’t see us as prolific scorers with the current squad so defend and try and get lucky may be our best strategy.

Royball 2...........back to the old days I am afraid!

Bring back Brolin

Currently, we are a team that has a solid central defence and some 'flair' players in attack. We have a goalkeeper who cannot play with his feet or dominate aerially though a very good shot-stopper, are seemingly exploring and experimenting with our midfield as an obvious set up is unavailable and lack a 'goal-scoring' forward.

Without resourcing our midfield and wing backs we lack the capability to dominate a game through possession and therefore build up towards something constituting a well architected attack. Without the obvious starting striker we are also reliant upon less obvious routes to put the ball in the net. Hence the lack of goals through open play of late.

I don't think it's quite 'Royball' although it plays out similarly. We are hoping for the defence to hold out and attacking players to do something with very little. For me it is a lob-sided, uneven team with a few holes in it. Were we to miraculously plug the gaps that exist we may see something more similar to last season. As it stands, we are and will not this month.

Now Zaha's got a bit of green grass ahead of him here... and finds Ambrose... not a bad effort!!!!