|
Post by Mr_DaftBurger on Feb 14, 2023 4:55:11 GMT
I have a gut feeling that MON was prepared to cajole and talk to players like Tymon, Baker, Campbell, Powell and find out what their feelings were. I suspect Neil says, "This is the way we play, this is what I want you to do. If you don't like it you can f-off." and several of those players have in their own heads. Agreed, which begs the question can AN next season do better than AN this season? He could have over 20 million to spend in the summer! (Yearly loss allowance, What the owners are allowed to spend, Souttar money.) 😱
|
|
|
Post by adamsson on Feb 14, 2023 7:13:30 GMT
I have a gut feeling that MON was prepared to cajole and talk to players like Tymon, Baker, Campbell, Powell and find out what their feelings were. I suspect Neil says, "This is the way we play, this is what I want you to do. If you don't like it you can f-off." and several of those players have in their own heads. Agreed, which begs the question can AN next season do better than AN this season? He could have over 20 million to spend in the summer! (Yearly loss allowance, What the owners are allowed to spend, Souttar money.) 😱 Better get rid of him before the summer then
|
|
|
Post by CBUFAWKIPWH on Feb 14, 2023 8:19:05 GMT
Bursik (unfortunately) Clarke Taylor Souttar Wilmot Tymon Laurent Baker Powell Brown/Campbell Gayle/Delap Would be my guess. Didn't see enough of fosu, kilkenny or Delap under him to know how he'd utilise them. Presume DWP, Taylor, Tezgel, Taylor etc. Would have got more minutes too. Alexs handling of youth prospects has been dire. So still really the same issues in goal, at RWB, in midfield and up front... You keep making the same dubious argument - it's the same players so we would get the same outcome. That simply isn't true. Players respond differently to different managers and play better in some systems than others. MoN brought all of those players in with a particular style in mind. Neil chopped and changed playing styles and clearly doesn't rate a lot of the players he inherited and the form of several of those players has gone downhill this season. It's very likely this squad would have done better under MoN.
|
|
|
Post by hotterpotter on Feb 14, 2023 8:27:25 GMT
Where do you all find the energy? It's actually impressive sometimes! 🙂
|
|
|
Post by CBUFAWKIPWH on Feb 14, 2023 8:34:08 GMT
I have a gut feeling that MON was prepared to cajole and talk to players like Tymon, Baker, Campbell, Powell and find out what their feelings were. I suspect Neil says, "This is the way we play, this is what I want you to do. If you don't like it you can f-off." and several of those players have in their own heads. I think you're right - it would also explain the number of departures in the January window. Coupled with the number of players out of contract at the end of the season motivation could be an issue - just have to hope there's sufficient professional pride in the squad to avoid relegation. Having said that having those sort of conversations is exactly what Neil would have to do to stamp his authority and I would hope the players would respect his honesty and his right to take the team in the direction he wants to take it even if they have no future there themselves.
|
|
|
Post by bayernoatcake on Feb 14, 2023 8:37:47 GMT
All it really shows imo is that win ratios don't really take context into consideration and thus aren't massively useful. The metric should always be points per game it's as simple as that...... Apart from when it doesn’t suit 😂
|
|
|
Post by Rick Grimes on Feb 14, 2023 8:40:12 GMT
So still really the same issues in goal, at RWB, in midfield and up front... You keep making the same dubious argument - it's the same players so we would get the same outcome. That simply isn't true. Players respond differently to different managers and play better in some systems than others. MoN brought all of those players in with a particular style in mind. Neil chopped and changed playing styles and clearly doesn't rate a lot of the players he inherited and the form of several of those players has gone downhill this season. It's very likely this squad would have done better under MoN. It’s not very likely this squad would have done better under MON though is it. We started the season terribly and it was just a continuation of the downward trajectory we’d been on under MON following his initial success at keeping us up after the Jones debacle. There’s a whole catalogue of errors that can be identified, the misguided notion that a proper defensive midfielder isn’t required at this level and his failure to sign a target man after explicitly saying it’s what we were missing last season.
|
|
|
Post by Rick Grimes on Feb 14, 2023 8:42:34 GMT
I have a gut feeling that MON was prepared to cajole and talk to players like Tymon, Baker, Campbell, Powell and find out what their feelings were. I suspect Neil says, "This is the way we play, this is what I want you to do. If you don't like it you can f-off." and several of those players have in their own heads. I think you're right - it would also explain the number of departures in the January window. Coupled with the number of players out of contract at the end of the season motivation could be an issue - just have to hope there's sufficient professional pride in the squad to avoid relegation. Having said that having those sort of conversations is exactly what Neil would have to do to stamp his authority and I would hope the players would respect his honesty and his right to take the team in the direction he wants to take it even if they have no future there themselves. This is interesting because you’re both advocating for the Nathan Jones style of management that Ashley Williams has completely lambasted. Williams said the players wanted Jones to impose his style on them and tell them exactly what to do and he never did.
|
|
|
Post by scfcbiancorossi on Feb 14, 2023 8:43:48 GMT
Ffs not this again. Can we stop looking in the past? MON was fucking shit and absolutely out his depth. Next?
|
|
|
Post by The Toxic Avenger on Feb 14, 2023 8:45:34 GMT
So still really the same issues in goal, at RWB, in midfield and up front... You keep making the same dubious argument - it's the same players so we would get the same outcome. That simply isn't true. Players respond differently to different managers and play better in some systems than others. MoN brought all of those players in with a particular style in mind. Neil chopped and changed playing styles and clearly doesn't rate a lot of the players he inherited and the form of several of those players has gone downhill this season. It's very likely this squad would have done better under MoN. What results and performances over the last 12 months under MON impressed you to make you think that, out of interest? You seem under the impression that everything was hunky dory, when in fact we won just 8 of MON's last 28 games and started the season looking a flaming hot mess. AN's tenure has been miserable but I'm not sure what you'd seen before that to make you think things would've gone better? I don't think it's a stretch to say that the goalkeeper situation, which had blighted us for a decent chunk of time under MON, would have improved? Haven't you been telling us that relying on young loanees was a folly? Yet Clarke at RWB, a player with no experience at this level and who didn't look anything particularly special even in those first couple of games under MON, was going to flourish in one of the most demanding and key roles in the side, with the pressure on him ramped up post Tymon injury because we didn't have a left-sided equivalent? Sorry, you're going to have to talk me through the 'likelihood' of that one. In the system MON wanted to play, we were still going to need some positional discipline in midfield. Laurent didn't look like providing that even before MON left, it neuters Baker asking him to do that, so we'd have 'likely' had the same balance issues there that persisted throughout MON's time here. Would MON staying have helped Delap control a football? Would it have helped the ball stick better up top? We still didn't have the kind of striker we needed as a foil for any of the others he brought in. Do talk me through your alternate timeline.
|
|
|
Post by leesandfordstoupe on Feb 14, 2023 9:29:20 GMT
I still don't understand how anyone could see how good we were his first half season then decide to completely rip it up, I know we had to be rid of a few but but that didn't mean we couldn't recruit for a set up that clearly worked. And that ended any hope for me that he was going to get us where we wanted to be. I think he got spooked by those couple of batterings by Derby and Wigan, and despite us overall looking better and more capable of dishing out our fair share of tonkings playing that way, and accepting the odd one back was just the trade-off, he went for something altogether more tedious. I think something very similar affected Mark Hughes in preparation for his final season.
|
|
|
Post by The Toxic Avenger on Feb 14, 2023 9:33:36 GMT
I think he got spooked by those couple of batterings by Derby and Wigan, and despite us overall looking better and more capable of dishing out our fair share of tonkings playing that way, and accepting the odd one back was just the trade-off, he went for something altogether more tedious. I think something very similar affected Mark Hughes in preparation for his final season. He certainly went very negative towards the end.
|
|
|
Post by nottsover60 on Feb 14, 2023 9:38:48 GMT
I think you're right - it would also explain the number of departures in the January window. Coupled with the number of players out of contract at the end of the season motivation could be an issue - just have to hope there's sufficient professional pride in the squad to avoid relegation. Having said that having those sort of conversations is exactly what Neil would have to do to stamp his authority and I would hope the players would respect his honesty and his right to take the team in the direction he wants to take it even if they have no future there themselves. This is interesting because you’re both advocating for the Nathan Jones style of management that Ashley Williams has completely lambasted. Williams said the players wanted Jones to impose his style on them and tell them exactly what to do and he never did. Not at all. There are ways of imposing your style. I think both MON and Neil have imposed what they want players to do but gone about it in a different way. I seem to remember at the beginning of his tenure a player said the difference was that the players knew what their jobs were under MON and he was very cle ar about what he wanted them to do. The difference I am talking about is in the way they go about imposing their style. I can imagine MON would sit the team down and explain how they were going to play and why. He would talk to individual players about how he wanted them to adapt/improve their game. If he played them out of position he would explain why and what they would have to do. If a player wasn't happy I would imagine they could go and talk to MON and let him know how they think they operate better. My guess is that Neil is not interested in those conversations and players are expected to follow his instructions without a lot of discussion. Different players will respond better to the different methods but my guess is that the players who performed better for MON will not respond well to the more dictatorial approach of Neil. Perhaps Neil's approach is more successful in the Championship where there is less quality but personally I prefer watching clever players rather than formulaic football
|
|
|
Post by wrexhamstokie90 on Feb 14, 2023 9:42:29 GMT
He would of carried on with bonham/bursik every other week so not a chance he would of done better
|
|
|
Post by leesandfordstoupe on Feb 14, 2023 10:06:39 GMT
This is interesting because you’re both advocating for the Nathan Jones style of management that Ashley Williams has completely lambasted. Williams said the players wanted Jones to impose his style on them and tell them exactly what to do and he never did. Not at all. There are ways of imposing your style. I think both MON and Neil have imposed what they want players to do but gone about it in a different way. I seem to remember at the beginning of his tenure a player said the difference was that the players knew what their jobs were under MON and he was very cle ar about what he wanted them to do. The difference I am talking about is in the way they go about imposing their style. I can imagine MON would sit the team down and explain how they were going to play and why. He would talk to individual players about how he wanted them to adapt/improve their game. If he played them out of position he would explain why and what they would have to do. If a player wasn't happy I would imagine they could go and talk to MON and let him know how they think they operate better. My guess is that Neil is not interested in those conversations and players are expected to follow his instructions without a lot of discussion. Different players will respond better to the different methods but my guess is that the players who performed better for MON will not respond well to the more dictatorial approach of Neil. Perhaps Neil's approach is more successful in the Championship where there is less quality but personally I prefer watching clever players rather than formulaic football Definitely, either MON or his replacement needed to inject some tempo and urgency into our play. Personally I think he’d solved a problem I criticised him repeatedly for. He wanted a player who can play at the base of his midfield but completely overlooked the physical side of the job. I think Laurent is the perfect answer to that I know others disagree and wanted a Pearson type but for me he’s less powerhouse more snidey little twat but that’s what many of our fans seem to want. I do think it was time for MON to go in the Summer to be replaced by someone to add a bit of pizzazz to what he been building but now I fear the Pulistas are getting what they want and we’ll just have to suk it up and let it run it’s course.
|
|
|
Post by prestwichpotter on Feb 14, 2023 10:25:33 GMT
The metric should always be points per game it's as simple as that...... Apart from when it doesn’t suit 😂 No. Always.
|
|
|
Post by CBUFAWKIPWH on Feb 14, 2023 10:39:09 GMT
I think you're right - it would also explain the number of departures in the January window. Coupled with the number of players out of contract at the end of the season motivation could be an issue - just have to hope there's sufficient professional pride in the squad to avoid relegation. Having said that having those sort of conversations is exactly what Neil would have to do to stamp his authority and I would hope the players would respect his honesty and his right to take the team in the direction he wants to take it even if they have no future there themselves. This is interesting because you’re both advocating for the Nathan Jones style of management that Ashley Williams has completely lambasted. Williams said the players wanted Jones to impose his style on them and tell them exactly what to do and he never did. I think you've misread my post. I'm saying Neil should impose his style on the team. He may have upset some players but it was exactly the right thing to do and I think in the long term players prefer honest managers to those that bullshit and butter up.
|
|
|
Post by bayernoatcake on Feb 14, 2023 10:40:15 GMT
Apart from when it doesn’t suit 😂 No. Always. 38 points stands then. Excellent.
|
|
|
Post by prestwichpotter on Feb 14, 2023 10:49:02 GMT
38 points stands then. Excellent. If a completely hypothetical outcome makes you happy knock yourself out............
|
|
|
Post by iamstokie on Feb 14, 2023 10:51:56 GMT
I have a gut feeling that MON was prepared to cajole and talk to players like Tymon, Baker, Campbell, Powell and find out what their feelings were. I suspect Neil says, "This is the way we play, this is what I want you to do. If you don't like it you can f-off." and several of those players have in their own heads. Agreed, which begs the question can AN next season do better than AN this season? He could have over 20 million to spend in the summer! (Yearly loss allowance, What the owners are allowed to spend, Souttar money.) 😱 He won’t have anywhere near that 🤦♂️
|
|
|
Post by CBUFAWKIPWH on Feb 14, 2023 10:53:17 GMT
You keep making the same dubious argument - it's the same players so we would get the same outcome. That simply isn't true. Players respond differently to different managers and play better in some systems than others. MoN brought all of those players in with a particular style in mind. Neil chopped and changed playing styles and clearly doesn't rate a lot of the players he inherited and the form of several of those players has gone downhill this season. It's very likely this squad would have done better under MoN. What results and performances over the last 12 months under MON impressed you to make you think that, out of interest? You seem under the impression that everything was hunky dory, when in fact we won just 8 of MON's last 28 games and started the season looking a flaming hot mess. AN's tenure has been miserable but I'm not sure what you'd seen before that to make you think things would've gone better? I don't think it's a stretch to say that the goalkeeper situation, which had blighted us for a decent chunk of time under MON, would have improved? Haven't you been telling us that relying on young loanees was a folly? Yet Clarke at RWB, a player with no experience at this level and who didn't look anything particularly special even in those first couple of games under MON, was going to flourish in one of the most demanding and key roles in the side, with the pressure on him ramped up post Tymon injury because we didn't have a left-sided equivalent? Sorry, you're going to have to talk me through the 'likelihood' of that one. In the system MON wanted to play, we were still going to need some positional discipline in midfield. Laurent didn't look like providing that even before MON left, it neuters Baker asking him to do that, so we'd have 'likely' had the same balance issues there that persisted throughout MON's time here. Would MON staying have helped Delap control a football? Would it have helped the ball stick better up top? We still didn't have the kind of striker we needed as a foil for any of the others he brought in. Do talk me through your alternate timeline. Over his last 12 months MoNs results were marginally better than Neil's and MoN had two injury crises to deal with while injuries eased up under Neil. We are also now lower in the league table than we were under MoN except when he first took over. MoN saved us from a relegation battle and Neil has put us back in one. It's pretty clear this squad isn't responding well to what he wants them to do - which is no surprise because he they were brought in with another approach mind. I don't even understand why you seem to be so hellbent on claiming Neil is doing better than MoN would have done. MoN was sacked because the owners didn't think his approach would get us promoted and believed we needed a change of direction. We were never going up this year whoever came in so no-one will know whether it was a good idea to bring in Neil until he's had the chance to rebuild the squad the way he wants it. Providing we stay up (which could happen and would mean appointing Neil when we did was a bad idea) it makes bugger all difference whether MoN or Neil would have done better this year because that never really mattered. And whatever you say I believe (with good reason) that MoN would have done better with this squad than Neil and that has nothing to do with whether I think sacking MoN and appointing Neil was a good idea or not.
|
|
|
Post by wilcopotter on Feb 14, 2023 10:57:49 GMT
Ffs not this again. Can we stop looking in the past? MON was fucking shit and absolutely out his depth. Next? I agree. I think AN will do better given time. The only difference to date is MON did have a new manager bounce effect.
|
|
|
Post by The Toxic Avenger on Feb 14, 2023 11:03:30 GMT
What results and performances over the last 12 months under MON impressed you to make you think that, out of interest? You seem under the impression that everything was hunky dory, when in fact we won just 8 of MON's last 28 games and started the season looking a flaming hot mess. AN's tenure has been miserable but I'm not sure what you'd seen before that to make you think things would've gone better? I don't think it's a stretch to say that the goalkeeper situation, which had blighted us for a decent chunk of time under MON, would have improved? Haven't you been telling us that relying on young loanees was a folly? Yet Clarke at RWB, a player with no experience at this level and who didn't look anything particularly special even in those first couple of games under MON, was going to flourish in one of the most demanding and key roles in the side, with the pressure on him ramped up post Tymon injury because we didn't have a left-sided equivalent? Sorry, you're going to have to talk me through the 'likelihood' of that one. In the system MON wanted to play, we were still going to need some positional discipline in midfield. Laurent didn't look like providing that even before MON left, it neuters Baker asking him to do that, so we'd have 'likely' had the same balance issues there that persisted throughout MON's time here. Would MON staying have helped Delap control a football? Would it have helped the ball stick better up top? We still didn't have the kind of striker we needed as a foil for any of the others he brought in. Do talk me through your alternate timeline. Over his last 12 months MoNs results were marginally better than Neil's and MoN had two injury crises to deal with while injuries eased up under Neil. We are also now lower in the league table than we were under MoN except when he first took over. MoN saved us from a relegation battle and Neil has put us back in one. It's pretty clear this squad isn't responding well to what he wants them to do - which is no surprise because he they were brought in with another approach mind. I don't even understand why you seem to be so hellbent on claiming Neil is doing better than MoN would have done. MoN was sacked because the owners didn't think his approach would get us promoted and believed we needed a change of direction. We were never going up this year whoever came in so no-one will know whether it was a good idea to bring in Neil until he's had the chance to rebuild the squad the way he wants it. Providing we stay up (which could happen and would mean appointing Neil when we did was a bad idea) it makes bugger all difference whether MoN or Neil would have done better this year because that never really mattered. And whatever you say I believe (with good reason) that MoN would have done better with this squad than Neil and that has nothing to do with whether I think sacking MoN and appointing Neil was a good idea or not. It really isn't about Neil, he's doing demonstrably poorly and hasn't made a blind bit of difference. It's about the bizarre revisionism regarding O'Neill, and the implication that he was somehow hard done by. We were actually 21st when he was sacked, following a season when he endured a dreadful run of three wins in 18 games in the second half of the season. He then absolutely shit the bed over the summer with a rotten transfer window in which he again singularly failed to recruit to the system he wanted to play and yet doubled down on playing it. Neil hasn't 'put us in' a relegation battle, he's just failed to take us out of one. MON was sacked because results and performances had been, on the whole, poor for a very long time. It wasn't like everything was fine and they were just impatient for promotion, his momentum was in the wrong direction. You say you believe 'with good reason' yet you really haven't articulated what that reason is and seem to be living in a dream world where MON was getting a tune out of this lot.
|
|
|
Post by Rick Grimes on Feb 14, 2023 11:11:45 GMT
This is interesting because you’re both advocating for the Nathan Jones style of management that Ashley Williams has completely lambasted. Williams said the players wanted Jones to impose his style on them and tell them exactly what to do and he never did. Not at all. There are ways of imposing your style. I think both MON and Neil have imposed what they want players to do but gone about it in a different way. I seem to remember at the beginning of his tenure a player said the difference was that the players knew what their jobs were under MON and he was very cle ar about what he wanted them to do. The difference I am talking about is in the way they go about imposing their style. I can imagine MON would sit the team down and explain how they were going to play and why. He would talk to individual players about how he wanted them to adapt/improve their game. If he played them out of position he would explain why and what they would have to do. If a player wasn't happy I would imagine they could go and talk to MON and let him know how they think they operate better. My guess is that Neil is not interested in those conversations and players are expected to follow his instructions without a lot of discussion. Different players will respond better to the different methods but my guess is that the players who performed better for MON will not respond well to the more dictatorial approach of Neil. Perhaps Neil's approach is more successful in the Championship where there is less quality but personally I prefer watching clever players rather than formulaic football You’re making so many assumptions based on pretty much nothing. We don’t actually know if Neil is any more dictatorial for a start and the last bit where you’re suggesting Neil will provide formulaic football at the expense of not having clever players is particularly bizarre.
|
|
|
Post by Rick Grimes on Feb 14, 2023 11:15:11 GMT
This is interesting because you’re both advocating for the Nathan Jones style of management that Ashley Williams has completely lambasted. Williams said the players wanted Jones to impose his style on them and tell them exactly what to do and he never did. I think you've misread my post. I'm saying Neil should impose his style on the team. He may have upset some players but it was exactly the right thing to do and I think in the long term players prefer honest managers to those that bullshit and butter up. Yeah, my bad.
|
|
|
Post by leesandfordstoupe on Feb 14, 2023 12:08:54 GMT
Not at all. There are ways of imposing your style. I think both MON and Neil have imposed what they want players to do but gone about it in a different way. I seem to remember at the beginning of his tenure a player said the difference was that the players knew what their jobs were under MON and he was very cle ar about what he wanted them to do. The difference I am talking about is in the way they go about imposing their style. I can imagine MON would sit the team down and explain how they were going to play and why. He would talk to individual players about how he wanted them to adapt/improve their game. If he played them out of position he would explain why and what they would have to do. If a player wasn't happy I would imagine they could go and talk to MON and let him know how they think they operate better. My guess is that Neil is not interested in those conversations and players are expected to follow his instructions without a lot of discussion. Different players will respond better to the different methods but my guess is that the players who performed better for MON will not respond well to the more dictatorial approach of Neil. Perhaps Neil's approach is more successful in the Championship where there is less quality but personally I prefer watching clever players rather than formulaic football You’re making so many assumptions based on pretty much nothing. We don’t actually know if Neil is any more dictatorial for a start and the last bit where you’re suggesting Neil will provide formulaic football at the expense of not having clever players is particularly bizarre. There's nothing "bizarre" about it, it's a perfectly reasonable conclusion based on his selections since his arrival. He didn't fancy our creative flair player so he went out and signed another then decided he didn't trust him either. You might have come to a different conclusion but there's nothing "bizarre" about the one being offered and evidenced.
|
|
|
Post by nottsover60 on Feb 14, 2023 12:12:37 GMT
Not at all. There are ways of imposing your style. I think both MON and Neil have imposed what they want players to do but gone about it in a different way. I seem to remember at the beginning of his tenure a player said the difference was that the players knew what their jobs were under MON and he was very cle ar about what he wanted them to do. The difference I am talking about is in the way they go about imposing their style. I can imagine MON would sit the team down and explain how they were going to play and why. He would talk to individual players about how he wanted them to adapt/improve their game. If he played them out of position he would explain why and what they would have to do. If a player wasn't happy I would imagine they could go and talk to MON and let him know how they think they operate better. My guess is that Neil is not interested in those conversations and players are expected to follow his instructions without a lot of discussion. Different players will respond better to the different methods but my guess is that the players who performed better for MON will not respond well to the more dictatorial approach of Neil. Perhaps Neil's approach is more successful in the Championship where there is less quality but personally I prefer watching clever players rather than formulaic football You’re making so many assumptions based on pretty much nothing. We don’t actually know if Neil is any more dictatorial for a start and the last bit where you’re suggesting Neil will provide formulaic football at the expense of not having clever players is particularly bizarre. It's an assumption based on what he's done so far - sat Powell on the bench when fit, didn't give Fosu a chance before sending him back, sent Wright Phillips out on loan before trying him out, dropped Celina for Thompson. I don't see any evidence that he is trying to find a way of making it work for our flair players. His favourite is most definitely Smallbone and I like him as well but he seems more energy and effort than skill and flair. His Preston and Norwich teams weren't particularly exciting.
|
|
|
Post by The Toxic Avenger on Feb 14, 2023 12:15:31 GMT
You’re making so many assumptions based on pretty much nothing. We don’t actually know if Neil is any more dictatorial for a start and the last bit where you’re suggesting Neil will provide formulaic football at the expense of not having clever players is particularly bizarre. It's an assumption based on what he's done so far - sat Powell on the bench when fit, didn't give Fosu a chance before sending him back, sent Wright Phillips out on loan before trying him out, dropped Celina for Thompson. I don't see any evidence that he is trying to find a way of making it work for our flair players. His favourite is most definitely Smallbone and I like him as well but he seems more energy and effort than skill and flair. His Preston and Norwich teams weren't particularly exciting. I agree with all of that until the bit about Norwich and Preston, both of whom played significantly more positive stuff than he's churned out with us so far. I've been surprised and disappointed about that.
|
|
|
Post by gingerninja on Feb 14, 2023 12:20:11 GMT
I thought on the occasions we played against his Preston side, by and large they played us off the park, playing decent stuff, he employed Gallagher as a "floaty" type player who ran the show in front of Pearson.
|
|
|
Post by leesandfordstoupe on Feb 14, 2023 12:22:58 GMT
It's an assumption based on what he's done so far - sat Powell on the bench when fit, didn't give Fosu a chance before sending him back, sent Wright Phillips out on loan before trying him out, dropped Celina for Thompson. I don't see any evidence that he is trying to find a way of making it work for our flair players. His favourite is most definitely Smallbone and I like him as well but he seems more energy and effort than skill and flair. His Preston and Norwich teams weren't particularly exciting. I agree with all of that until the bit about Norwich and Preston, both of whom played significantly more positive stuff than he's churned out with us so far. I've been surprised and disappointed about that. That is not my recollection of those sides. I don't remember them being particularly free scoring and I don't remember him getting any of his strikers scoring anything like prolifically tbf I always associated those teams with boring football and haven't been at all surprised about the characteristics he's shown here. As discussed recently on this or other threads he seems to focus far more keenly over how to nullify the opponent than he does on the attacking threat posed by his own team but tbf that's the type of manager we tend to employ so I doubt it's accidental.
|
|