11 hours ago, shedpensioner said:

 

Serious here as well, he needs to smarten himself up & stop chewing cigarette butts on the touchline, it’s extremely unprofessional & puts the club in a bad light.

 

Serious ? You got to be kidding ? How can Sarri chewing a fag butt put the WHOLE club into bad light ? I watched every game and had not even noticed he was doing it.

23 hours ago, shedpensioner said:

Serious here as well, he needs to smarten himself up & stop chewing cigarette butts on the touchline, it’s extremely unprofessional & puts the club in a bad light.

 

To be fair, I don't blame him after watching some of Alonso, Morata and Willian's performances recently.

I don't even smoke and they've got me contemplating 40 a day due to the stress of watching them.

Well, a few weeks back I gave Sarri pretty favourable comments and thought he had started really well. But that was before the busy Festive Period and my opinion of him is slipping with each game.

Now I know he is in his first season and having to work with a squad of players, some of whom aren't that good, but then we were told that this is Sarri's preferred method - he doesn't need loads of money as he works with what he has got and improves the players. It IS still early days but I'm not seeing a great deal of improvement in ANY player and what is most frustrating is that he tends to pretty much pick the same group of players for every game whether they are deserving of games or not. FFS, when will be the right time to give some time to players like Ampadu & CHO? When the team was winning you don't want to change things fair enough and you hear it's unfair to throw in youngsters in a struggling side but surely NOW is the time to ring the changes? We are painful to watch but not getting hammered but with injuries and out of form players, busy fixture list it is clear to see to anyone watching us that things need freshening up. But still we seem the same old, same old with little to show for it after 90+ minutes.

I do hope Sarri doesn't turn out to be as stubborn as other managers as it's not a great trait. Can but hope he has a re-think but I expect there will be wholesale changes for the FA Cup game at the weekend followed by reverting to type when we play Spurs and then league games - just hope I'm wrong and he surprises us.

So right now he would get a 5/10 at best.

  

Getting worse and worse with each passing game let alone any sign of improvement. If it werent for Hazard I believe we would not be in top 10 either and he wouldve been sacked by now. 

The festive period hasn't been particularly enjoyable but we're still there in the chasing pack. Unlike quite a few here I still haven't forgotten the impressive 12 match unbeaten run, the win over City to end their own unbeaten run, and the ease at which we progressed through to the knockout stage of the Europa league. I think there's a strong tendency for these kinds of mid-season reviews to be heavily distorted by the most recent results, at least that definitely seems to be the case here.

I find comments calling for him to smarten up completely irrelevant. For Christ's sake, he's a football coach not the leader of the Labour party.

 

I think he has to learn that he has a full squad at his disposal but for reasons only apparent to himself refuses to utilise it to its maximum. December is always a busy month on the football calendar we had 9 matches plus last nights to contend with, but he has refused stubbornly to rotate certain areas. Alonso and Willian look particularly jaded,whilst not being the perfect players their performances are bound to suffer. We look a side who are both mentally and physically fatigued. Why he didn't use the Vidi game as a youth team exercise, one has to ask. Last night his complaint was he had only Loftus Cheek available who is attacking...Moses whilst not the finest is available as are the youth team players, when needs must. Fabregas is fresh having been little utilised ( he immediately gave us impetus last night). CHO has had little use when he could have given key players such as Hazard rest coming from the bench in matches that were already won. Emerson similar.

I like Sarri, his demeanor, the football he is trying to play. Teams though have found a way to combat his tactics. The weaker teams now know to sit back and be disciplined, he has to find a solution. Wether its a change of personnel, a subtle tactical change or a full on formation change, there has to be an in game plan B. So far we haven't seen any of this, we could all name the expected starting eleven and so could opposition coaches who are well prepared. 

I do like the 4-3-3... but just not every week ffs

We need a plan B, for me Sarri needs to look at Heynckes's Bayern 12/13 team for a solution.

                                                     Kepa (Neuer)
Azpi (Lahm) - Rudiger (Boateng) - Luiz/Christensen (Dante) - Tierney/Alonso (Alaba)
                      Kante/Bakayoko (Martinez) - Jorginho (Schweinsteiger)
   Willian/Pulisic (Robben)                                                       Hazard/Hudson-Odoi (Ribery)
                                 Izzy Brown/Pedro (Muller)
                                                        Mandzukic (Gomez)

Edited January 3, 20197 yr by the special one

Maurizio is having more difficulties that i thought. The trend of the game in the last two months is no good. The defensive phase is improving but too many difficulties to create goal occasions.It's inexplicable because is the phase more free in the sarri system, more  entrusted to the quality of the individual players. The team maintains dominance over the matches,this is undeniable,  but maybe the ball possession is too slow  and the characteristics of the midfielders, wingers and strikers are not the best for this kind of game.  They maybe give the best in the long spaces and suffer in the shorts. My opinion anyway(after to have seen all the matches) is that the quality of the roster is not good enough to stay in the first 4. Many famous names but very little sustance. Especially numbers in hand of this season and of previous, the players have few goals in their feet and this is a very big problem. The team needs reinforcements now, not in July , at least one striker and one winger with goals in the feet.

4/10

Bare the first 10 games, I see no improvement in any player at all. I see no pro-active decisions, no plan B or tactical changes. No pressing, no coherence, zero fast footy and directness.

Plenty of slow footy, 1 system only, 1 way of playing, like for like subs, predictable, out of form players play no matter what.......and boring as f**k. EPL will chew and spit him out like this.

 

3 minutes ago, atomis said:

4/10

Bare the first 10 games, I see no improvement in any player at all. I see no pro-active decisions, no plan B or tactical changes. No pressing, no coherence, zero fast footy and directness.

Plenty of slow footy, 1 system only, 1 way of playing, like for like subs, predictable, out of form players play no matter what.......and boring as f**k. EPL will chew and spit him out like this.

 

 

Why would you exclude the first 10 games (the majority of the games played during the first half of the season) from your rating of the first half of the season? That makes no sense.

Actually, I think I (and anybody familiar with your posts) will know the reason why.

2 minutes ago, bluedave said:

Why would you exclude the first 10 games (the majority of the games played during the first half of the season) from your rating of the first half of the season? That makes no sense.

Actually, I think I (and anybody familiar with your posts) will know the reason why.

What are you on about? I clearly stated bare the first 10 games.......thats 10 games overall, not 10 epl games. And done make assumptions either.....I never ever once said I want him gone. But that does not mean what we are seeing wekk in week out is all dandy.

6 minutes ago, atomis said:

4/10

Bare the first 10 games, I see no improvement in any player at all. I see no pro-active decisions, no plan B or tactical changes. No pressing, no coherence, zero fast footy and directness.

Plenty of slow footy, 1 system only, 1 way of playing, like for like subs, predictable, out of form players play no matter what.......and boring as f**k. EPL will chew and spit him out like this.

 

The impatience of people is what is wrong with the club. We as fans have become too spoiled. We all knew we needed to be patient, but people once again showing a lack of it. It is no surprise the club is in the state it is with the poor youth policy and sack and hire mentality due to impatience. I personally think 50% of the squad needs an overhaul, and I hope the club do it. However, there needs to be less pressure on the coach to achieve all the time

7 minutes ago, atomis said:

4/10

Bare the first 10 games, I see no improvement in any player at all. I see no pro-active decisions, no plan B or tactical changes. No pressing, no coherence, zero fast footy and directness.

Plenty of slow footy, 1 system only, 1 way of playing, like for like subs, predictable, out of form players play no matter what.......and boring as f**k. EPL will chew and spit him out like this.

 

Anyone knew that way was one and difficult. This vision of the football, the b planes, the continue tactical changements, the improvisation  are not the solution. Give him time and support. Also for the city and Liverpool the first year with Guardiola and Klopp was difficult and roster was certainly better than this.

1 minute ago, enigma said:

The impatience of people is what is wrong with the club. We as fans have become too spoiled. We all knew we needed to be patient, but people once again showing a lack of it. It is no surprise the club is in the state it is with the poor youth policy and sack and hire mentality due to impatience. I personally think 50% of the squad needs an overhaul, and I hope the club do it. However, there needs to be less pressure on the coach to achieve all the time

It has nothing do do with being spoiled or impatience. I will gladly wait it out if improvements could be seen.....if tactical changes were made......play to the strenghts we have and not only forcus on 1 style always. Yes the team is kinda crap considering the standard the Club has set through the years..........

6.5/10.

We are still in top 4, with a squad that is very much lacking, so I think the manager has largely done well.

The trend however is worrying, and the manager is also showing signs that I don’t like. Like being too stubborn, not changing things that aren’t working and not having much of a plan when teams sit deep against us. United is also catching up fast in the race for top 4 which is a worry.

1 minute ago, Master&Commander said:

Anyone knew that way was one and difficult. This vision of the football, the b planes, the continue tactical changements, the improvisation  are not the solution. Give him time and support. Also for the city and Liverpool the first year with Guardiola and Klopp was difficult and roster was certainly better than this.

Both managers are far better lets be honest.........klopp paid cuz his defence were sh*t. And they have always played fast frentic footy which suits epl. Under Pep you could see improvenments made......I hope he makes it, of course I do, but so far I have seen nothing overall that gives me any hope at all.

We have 2 ways.....either say f**k CL and lets see where this takes us, and then bring alot of players in that actually suits the system, cuz these player just aint Sarii ball material thats for sure. Or we change it up until summer time........maybe that way we will get CL and better revenue, better players wanna want to come etc. We were doing good the first 10 games, and since then its been up and down and steadily getting worse.....

If you take the viewpoint (as I do) that Sarri inherited a squad that needed some significant improvements to compete for the league title then Sarri has done reasonable well so far. We are not totally convincing but in 4th for now and still in contention for all cups. The second half of the season will be key. It is vital for Sarri that we can secure a top 4 spot and return to the Champions League or I'm sure he will find himself under pressure from the fans and media. Even though the domestic cups are less important than this he would of course gain significant standing from the fans if he can find a way to beat Spurs in the League Cup semi too ;).

I think the January window will be important here. I'm a little concerned that Sarri seemed to know very little about the Pulisic signing. I realise that he may prove to be a great signing for the future, but he will offer zero help to the team this season as he goes back on loan. We can all see the need to find a striker who can chip in regularly with goals although this has proven to be a problematic position for many seasons now. Sarri has apparently identified areas of the squad that need improving and I hope that the club is able to back him with the right signings in these areas or progress may stall, and this ultimately may undermine Sarri's position.

I do agree with those who are frustrated with the lack of playing time for our talented youth prospects though. While the likes of Ampadu and CHO may be raw, I think they will only improve with playing time and I would be more content dropping points in some of these games over the congested fixture list if they were getting experience. It is unfortunate that CHO picked up an injury at this point of the season but I think Ampadu could have been used a bit more. With the FA Cup starting this weekend I will be interested to see what sort of team we start with.

16 minutes ago, atomis said:

We have 2 ways.....either say f**k CL and lets see where this takes us, and then bring alot of players in that actually suits the system, cuz these player just aint Sarii ball material thats for sure. Or we change it up until summer time........maybe that way we will get CL and better revenue, better players wanna want to come etc. We were doing good the first 10 games, and since then its been up and down and steadily getting worse.....

The first option is surely the right one if we truly want to change the system. We may be able to sneak 4th and get in the Champions League by grinding out some key results. However as we have seen that won't be good to watch and it will just delay the rebuilding that is really needed.

6/10

Early signs were good, but team seems to have regressed since then. No real creativity, just passing for passing sake. No pressing from the front. Hard to say what the actual game plan is going into each game, aside from keeping the ball.

7/10.

Without a striker any manager will struggle to put the ball in the back of the net. Although Hazard has done well there i still feel like his overall game is wasted without having someone to play off. Even last night we had 17 shots and the ball in the back of the next and incorrectly ruled out. The core is there through the CB's and CM's, we could just use an actual striker, and an improvement at RW/LB. 

1 hour ago, atomis said:

It has nothing do do with being spoiled or impatience. I will gladly wait it out if improvements could be seen.....if tactical changes were made......play to the strenghts we have and not only forcus on 1 style always. Yes the team is kinda crap considering the standard the Club has set through the years..........

Football is volatile, just because the changes are not immediate doesn't mean they aren't happening.

You can already see the changes Sarri is trying to make, for e.g playing out from the back - successfully.

Kante evolving in his new position. Hazard as good as ever. Sure we are not blasting teams away, but the team is slowly changing.

People who critique Sarri, also must remember that this is his first time in England, working in a new league, and even the elite level coaches like Mourinho have failed in the past couple seasons with an arguably as good team. 

The league is definitely more competitive, but the club wouldn't have hired Sarri if the idea wasn't to build for the future. 

How do we have a squad that is lacking, you’re all completely deluded!

Kepa, worlds most expensive GK

Dave, our most consistent player for at least 4 years

Alonso, last seasons premier league left back

Jorginho, Sarris star, his choice

Kante, World Cup winner arguably best in ‘his’ position in the world

RLC, dynamic young player, touted everywhere 

Hazard, best player in the premier league 

These players would get in anywhere, well apart from Jorginho lol

Last season everyone was on Conte’s back because he bemoaned the lack of support from the board, this season people want an open cheque book for Sarri.

The manager needs to work with what he’s got & adapt to those players as well as they adapt to him. Pep done it at City, he adapted to the Premier League Klopp’s doing it at the scum, step up Sarri or you’ll be out of work.

 

51 minutes ago, shedpensioner said:

How do we have a squad that is lacking, you’re all completely deluded!

Kepa, worlds most expensive GK

Dave, our most consistent player for at least 4 years

Alonso, last seasons premier league left back

Jorginho, Sarris star, his choice

Kante, World Cup winner arguably best in ‘his’ position in the world

RLC, dynamic young player, touted everywhere 

Hazard, best player in the premier league 

These players would get in anywhere, well apart from Jorginho lol

Last season everyone was on Conte’s back because he bemoaned the lack of support from the board, this season people want an open cheque book for Sarri.

The manager needs to work with what he’s got & adapt to those players as well as they adapt to him. Pep done it at City, he adapted to the Premier League Klopp’s doing it at the scum, step up Sarri or you’ll be out of work.

 

So 7 players is now the squad? As for pep adapting, city play in the exact same way as his other teams, so does klopps. 

People make it sound like pep and klopp rocked up and turned what they had into what they are now. They both spent bucketloads of money, after unspectacular starts.

Edited January 3, 20197 yr by Stim