Let's talk about areas of improvement for the SE

[Scipio Africanus]

Let me start with Victor Moses. He is one of our best players, he is very skilled, has iron lungs, werks very 'ard and brings confidence to the team, but ... sometimes he does not seem to have the instinct to know when to release the ball quickly during the buildup phase of the attack. He sometimes tends to take too many unnecessary touches. Watching the goals we scored against Argentina two weeks ago, I am not sure we would have scored a couple of those if Victor Moses had been on the field. Mikel sometimes can be guilty of the same thing too.

[Ayo Akinfe]

10 improvements Rohr needs to work on between May and June:

[1] He needs to get his centrebacks to play the ball out of defence. Nothing silly and fancy but competent bringing the ball forward

[2] he needs to get his fullbacks to work on whipping crosses in

[3] Argentina exposed a lack of pace at the heart of our defence. That second goal in particular leaves a lot to think about

[4] You are right about to many touches in midfield. We need to move the ball from penalty box to penalty box under 60 seconds

[5] I keep making the point about having a playmaker. Rohr has to be brave and gamble here. he needs a young playmaker for the World Cup

[6] At set pieces, we have not been lethal. before Iheanacho's goal against Argentina,. when was the last time we scored from a set piece?

[7] In the air too, we are simply not dangerous enough. Who is our best header of the ball?

[8] Route One is an option we should always have. I would like to see Rohr work on his targetman to ensure we can score goals this way

[9] Defensively, we have work to do too. Argentina got behind our defence too many times for my liking. We have to cut these crosses out at source

[10] Did you guys also see how many free headers Argentina had from corners? A lot needs to be done on that before the World Cup starts

[Scipio Africanus]

10 improvements Rohr needs to work on between May and June:

[1] He needs to get his centrebacks to play the ball out of defence. Nothing silly and fancy but competent bringing the ball forward

I think the center backs are not doing too badly here. I do not want our center backs to think they are midfielders. Safety first! I do not want Mustafi-like (see yesterday's ARS-MANU game for reference) tendencies in our D.

[2] he needs to get his fullbacks to work on whipping crosses in

Not a priority. Maybe against South American teams.

[3] Argentina exposed a lack of pace at the heart of our defence. That second goal in particular leaves a lot to think about

Our central D is fine. Even the best defenses concede goals from time to time. Italy 1994 had Baresi, Maldini and Costacurta and still chopped 5 goals

[4] You are right about to many touches in midfield. We need to move the ball from penalty box to penalty box under 60 seconds

Yes. Our players have to be looking to do more with less. Play people into space quickly. That is how you destabilize teams. Wait too long to release the ball and the chance to unbalance your opponent disappears.

[5] I keep making the point about having a playmaker. Rohr has to be brave and gamble here. he needs a young playmaker for the World Cup

He.ll no! WC is not the place for huge gambles, especially at the number 10 position. H.ee.ll to the naw!

[6] At set pieces, we have not been lethal. before Iheanacho's goal against Argentina,. when was the last time we scored from a set piece?

Agreed. We need reliable delivery of wicked balls into the box from set pieces. We are all set with dead ball specialists now.

[7] In the air too, we are simply not dangerous enough. Who is our best header of the ball?

You are right. We have to recall Agali. I have not seen a better header of the ball in SE colors since he stopped playing.

[8] Route One is an option we should always have. I would like to see Rohr work on his targetman to ensure we can score goals this way

Agreed. A long diagonal ball from a full back to an onrushing midfielder who receives the ball at the top of the box is one of the most beautiful and lethal things in football.

[9] Defensively, we have work to do too. Argentina got behind our defence too many times for my liking. We have to cut these crosses out at source

The defense did very well against Argentina. If they could handle Argentina's slippery forwards that easily, European teams will find it very hard to get anything from us.

[10] Did you guys also see how many free headers Argentina had from corners? A lot needs to be done on that before the World Cup starts

That was not my impression, but feel free to provide evidence.

[Ayo Akinfe]

Just to give you one example, go to 3.30 mins and see the free header Otamendi got from a corner:

[truetalk]

The team is almost set in terms of personnel. The few areas that need to addressed is getting the quality keepers who are not currently in the mix an opportunity to compete, and looking at a couple of emerging forwards and wing players to see if any of them can stage a late claim to be part of the final 23. I am assuming that even without Amuzie, we may have solved the LB problem with the guys that were featured against Argentina. The next few months will confirm though.

Even in terms of the tactical setup, Rohr almost favors the 4-3-3. He tried something a little different against Argentina, but I guess he will stick to his default mode unless his scouting on his opponents suggests he should try a different formation. Even with that Rohr seems like a coach unlikely to change formation mid-match. He is even conservative with personnel changes (substitutions).

An Ikeme recovery would be great at the GK position, but is an unexpected plus at this point. Nwolokor certainly deserves a callup if we are looking at Maduka Okoye. The first 2 months of the NPFL season (and maybe CHAN) could also reveal another 2 or 3 GK options that can compete for a 3rd shirt in camp.