16 hours ago, dkw said:

Hopefully those unwilling to give him a chance are hanging their heads now.

I was/am certainly one of the doubters.

It's been much better than I expected so far, in particular we've been far more entertaining and not as stifled as I expected after having seen Leicester last season. The setup has been varied and he's shown himself to be adaptable, which was a huge problem for his Leicester side. He appears to be building on the work Pochettino did rather than sacrificing any progress to impose his own ideas. We're scoring goals and the players seem happy; we're not getting leaks about turmoil behind the scenes (apart from the owners briefing against each other I suppose). He's also happy to rotate and we haven't [yet] been seeing the deluge of muscle injuries which we've had since Lampard's first stint.

I would however express cautious optimism:

- We've had a fairly kind run of fixtures to start the season (Man City aside). If we consider Man City, Arsenal and Liverpool to be the likely top three, our rivals for fourth (I would count Villa, Tottenham, Man Utd, Newcastle) have all had harder games.

- Other than against West Ham and a dismal Wolves side we haven't really played that well. I think we have benefitted from structural issues in our opponents (although Maresca of course deserves credit for recognising and setting us up in a way to exploit that).

- Our defence (including the goalkeeper) has looked suspect in a way that better teams will exploit.

- The way he licks his lips before answering an interview question makes me think he's a bit demented.

 

That said, we are the top scorers in the league and two points off top which is a better position than I thought we'd be in after six games. I didn't think we'd be close to top four but we are currently in the running. Onwards and upwards!

12 minutes ago, PloKoon13 said:

 

- Other than against West Ham and a dismal Wolves side we haven't really played that well. I think we have benefitted from structural issues in our opponents (although Maresca of course deserves credit for recognising and setting us up in a way to exploit that).

In an attacking sense, I’d of said we were excellent yesterday.  As you said, Maresca completely exploited Brightons high line but only conceding 4 really flattered them. We really should have scored at least 6. 

On 28/05/2024 at 20:04, Gol15 said:

And what if our new guy actually is while others are not?

Maresca has a few factors on his side, he's Italian which historically worked well for us, he was at the right place at the right time which is important if you want to learn from the best and to top if off he was a midfielder that won trophies.

This is the profile that simply fits and that has historically proven to be a winning move for many clubs, it's both fresh and exciting.

 

I was on the fence, as always with the coach because I like to give them time to see if they make us progress or not. I’m leaning towards liking him for several reasons.

I like how he takes on the press, he does not take BS from them.

i think that he’s doing a good job given the unbalanced team we’ve got, with a nonexistent attacking midfield (only Caicedo is showing up and mostly defensively to cover for the nonexistent Enzo) and a very unreliable keeper and defenders. He’s probably recognised this and is playing very much like Liverpool, recover the ball and pass it quick forwards for the attackers to run and get the opposition out of place.

I like the way we are attacking, it’s so fresh and freestyle that’s refreshing. I also think that he’s recognised the strengths of the players and has changed his way, which I wasn’t expecting given what Leicester fans said about his rigid approach.

On the other hand, I’m not happy with the way he spoke up about Chalobah and Chilwell, having had to make a U turn on Chilly. He was probably saying what came from the board, but he should have been more cautious. Let’s see how it works out.

He needs to work out how to set up the team defensively, we’re mostly all over the place when defending. It’s probably down to having Enzo in the midfield. I hope that Lavia returns fully fit and we start seeing Lavia-Caicedo in midfield. I think that would be more balanced and the defenders will have more protection. 

It is also early in the season, let’s see how we fare up until Christmas, but so far so good.

1 hour ago, PloKoon13 said:

I was/am certainly one of the doubters.

It's been much better than I expected so far, in particular we've been far more entertaining and not as stifled as I expected after having seen Leicester last season. The setup has been varied and he's shown himself to be adaptable, which was a huge problem for his Leicester side. He appears to be building on the work Pochettino did rather than sacrificing any progress to impose his own ideas. We're scoring goals and the players seem happy; we're not getting leaks about turmoil behind the scenes (apart from the owners briefing against each other I suppose). He's also happy to rotate and we haven't [yet] been seeing the deluge of muscle injuries which we've had since Lampard's first stint.

I would however express cautious optimism:

- We've had a fairly kind run of fixtures to start the season (Man City aside). If we consider Man City, Arsenal and Liverpool to be the likely top three, our rivals for fourth (I would count Villa, Tottenham, Man Utd, Newcastle) have all had harder games.

- Other than against West Ham and a dismal Wolves side we haven't really played that well. I think we have benefitted from structural issues in our opponents (although Maresca of course deserves credit for recognising and setting us up in a way to exploit that).

- Our defence (including the goalkeeper) has looked suspect in a way that better teams will exploit.

- The way he licks his lips before answering an interview question makes me think he's a bit demented.

 

That said, we are the top scorers in the league and two points off top which is a better position than I thought we'd be in after six games. I didn't think we'd be close to top four but we are currently in the running. Onwards and upwards!

Being a doubters is fine, no problem at all with anyone expecting us to have a hard start. It was aimed at those who decided he was a failure because of where he came from, totally unwilling to give him a chance and see how it panned out.

The response on social media was ridiculous to him signing, and unfortunately there were some on here too.

 

We have a very difficult run after Forest 

starting with Liverpool then I believe Utd , Newcastle. Arsenal in the next 3 maybe not in that order 

I think 7 points would be decent from them 4 games 

Not worried about City, Liverpool, or Arsenal. Just hope for the best. 
 

It’s Newcastle, Villa, Spurs & United we need to be winning to firmly cement a top 4 spot. 

28 minutes ago, Neil A said:

We have a very difficult run after Forest 

starting with Liverpool then I believe Utd , Newcastle. Arsenal in the next 3 maybe not in that order 

I think 7 points would be decent from them 4 games 

Be a really good test for the team. I doubt they are excited to play us. Issue for me is still defense frailty and youthful naivety- these games may come too soon. But let’s see where we are on this journey. 

3 hours ago, PloKoon13 said:

 

our rivals for fourth (I would count Villa, Tottenham, Man Utd, Newcastle) have all had harder games.

 

Not at all. 

4 of Villa’s 6 games have been against relegation clubs. 

Newcastle and Spurs are dropping points in games they should be winning. 

United have faced Brighton, Fulham, and Palace, and one top 3 club. Practically same as us. 

2 hours ago, dkw said:

Being a doubters is fine, no problem at all with anyone expecting us to have a hard start. It was aimed at those who decided he was a failure because of where he came from, totally unwilling to give him a chance and see how it panned out.

The response on social media was ridiculous to him signing, and unfortunately there were some on here too.

 

You could point the same finger at the Jackson haters to, who wrote him off from the very start.

29 minutes ago, Malcolm9 said:

You could point the same finger at the Jackson haters to, who wrote him off from the very start.

Who did that?

33 minutes ago, Malcolm9 said:

You could point the same finger at the Jackson haters to, who wrote him off from the very start.

There are only two members in particular you should genuinely mute their post when the word Jackson is in it. 

7 hours ago, dkw said:

No, I know reading is hard for you, but it's for "not giving him a chance"....you know, like I actually wrote.

I know what you wrote mate

I actually asked you a question.  Sorry to have upset you so much.

Have a nice day 

 

 

 

Edited September 29, 20241 yr by The Rising Sun
Info

5 hours ago, PloKoon13 said:

I was/am certainly one of the doubters.

It's been much better than I expected so far, in particular we've been far more entertaining and not as stifled as I expected after having seen Leicester last season. The setup has been varied and he's shown himself to be adaptable, which was a huge problem for his Leicester side. He appears to be building on the work Pochettino did rather than sacrificing any progress to impose his own ideas. We're scoring goals and the players seem happy; we're not getting leaks about turmoil behind the scenes (apart from the owners briefing against each other I suppose). He's also happy to rotate and we haven't [yet] been seeing the deluge of muscle injuries which we've had since Lampard's first stint.

I would however express cautious optimism:

- We've had a fairly kind run of fixtures to start the season (Man City aside). If we consider Man City, Arsenal and Liverpool to be the likely top three, our rivals for fourth (I would count Villa, Tottenham, Man Utd, Newcastle) have all had harder games.

- Other than against West Ham and a dismal Wolves side we haven't really played that well. I think we have benefitted from structural issues in our opponents (although Maresca of course deserves credit for recognising and setting us up in a way to exploit that).

- Our defence (including the goalkeeper) has looked suspect in a way that better teams will exploit.

- The way he licks his lips before answering an interview question makes me think he's a bit demented.

 

That said, we are the top scorers in the league and two points off top which is a better position than I thought we'd be in after six games. I didn't think we'd be close to top four but we are currently in the running. Onwards and upwards!

Now I can't stop looking at his lips being licked !

4 hours ago, RMH said:

I was on the fence, as always with the coach because I like to give them time to see if they make us progress or not. I’m leaning towards liking him for several reasons.

I like how he takes on the press, he does not take BS from them.

i think that he’s doing a good job given the unbalanced team we’ve got, with a nonexistent attacking midfield (only Caicedo is showing up and mostly defensively to cover for the nonexistent Enzo) and a very unreliable keeper and defenders. He’s probably recognised this and is playing very much like Liverpool, recover the ball and pass it quick forwards for the attackers to run and get the opposition out of place.

I like the way we are attacking, it’s so fresh and freestyle that’s refreshing. I also think that he’s recognised the strengths of the players and has changed his way, which I wasn’t expecting given what Leicester fans said about his rigid approach.

On the other hand, I’m not happy with the way he spoke up about Chalobah and Chilwell, having had to make a U turn on Chilly. He was probably saying what came from the board, but he should have been more cautious. Let’s see how it works out.

He needs to work out how to set up the team defensively, we’re mostly all over the place when defending. It’s probably down to having Enzo in the midfield. I hope that Lavia returns fully fit and we start seeing Lavia-Caicedo in midfield. I think that would be more balanced and the defenders will have more protection. 

It is also early in the season, let’s see how we fare up until Christmas, but so far so good.

I'd say that you need to half hang your head then !

😂

33 minutes ago, Sconnie Blue said:

There are only two members in particular you should genuinely mute their post when the word Jackson is in it. 

Nah - He should mute everyone else. 😂

Assume I am one - but who is the other?

I think there is a minority handful who see the Wack job for what he is - obviously, I am the more extreme side of that cohort - with what has turned into an irrational dislike 😂

But which other voices of reason are you suggesting be muted?

Edited September 29, 20241 yr by nonotnowjim
Tenses….past present future

1 minute ago, nonotnowjim said:

 

But which other voices of reason are you suggesting be muted?

Find out next time on the next exciting episode of dragon ball z 

For what it is worth, I think Enzo is doing ok - but has been helped by some terrible teams/decisions by teams we have played - that has helped put some gloss on. But you can only beat what’s put in front of you.

Wolves were all over us for a bit at the start - and then they fell apart (no doubt helped by a good attacking display).

West ham didn’t turn up for the first 25mins - which allowed us to get a foothold - and then we were helped by a nailed on pen not being given against us.

Brighton for some reason persisted with a suicidal high defensive line - which massively helped us.

 

I think Enzo is working out if the fans are accepting him yet. I like him.

20 minutes ago, nonotnowjim said:

Nah - He should mute everyone else. 😂

Assume I am one - but who is the other?

I think there is a minority handful who see the Wack job for what he is - obviously, I am the more extreme side of that cohort - with what has turned into an irrational dislike 😂

But which other voices of reason are you suggesting be muted?

Anyone who can't take a bit of light hearted criticism and let's it get to him should be muted . ( That's obviously not you, you don't give a f**k) ! 😂

27 minutes ago, nonotnowjim said:

For what it is worth, I think Enzo is doing ok - but has been helped by some terrible teams/decisions by teams we have played - that has helped put some gloss on. But you can only beat what’s put in front of you.

Wolves were all over us for a bit at the start - and then they fell apart (no doubt helped by a good attacking display).

West ham didn’t turn up for the first 25mins - which allowed us to get a foothold - and then we were helped by a nailed on pen not being given against us.

Brighton for some reason persisted with a suicidal high defensive line - which massively helped us.

 

And don't forget we were outplayed by Bournemouth.

Still, the football is  much better to watch on the whole, and we've only played 6 league games, so I'm hoping like everyone else this is the start of something special.

1 hour ago, nonotnowjim said:

For what it is worth, I think Enzo is doing ok - but has been helped by some terrible teams/decisions by teams we have played - that has helped put some gloss on. But you can only beat what’s put in front of you.

Wolves were all over us for a bit at the start - and then they fell apart (no doubt helped by a good attacking display).

West ham didn’t turn up for the first 25mins - which allowed us to get a foothold - and then we were helped by a nailed on pen not being given against us.

Brighton for some reason persisted with a suicidal high defensive line - which massively helped us.

 

And yet we were told all summer that Mareaca is some stubborn, rigid manager who only has one plan. One way of playing. 
 

Wolves, West Ham, Bournemouth & Brighton proved the contrary. He is willing to be adaptable in certain situations and based on the profile of players we have. We are catching teams on the break vs the pedestrian football 90% of us were expecting. 

He's doing okay, I'm not sold on him completely yet though. Defensively, I still think we are a bit of a mess, and I think Gusto is a much much worse player as an inverted full back. If Chilwell can't get game time because he is apparently not suited to it, then I don't know how Gusto is getting away with it. I didn't like Maresca saying we will concede more goals like we saw against Brighton because that is how we play now. I would like to avoid these silly mistakes, it's horrible to watch and shouldn't be happening as often as it does. I also think off the ball we have been a mixed bag. Some players are doing much more work than they should be doing, like Caicedo, and players like Fofana are getting pulled all over the place. Our shape just looks a bit all over the place at times.

I've been surprised by the football in a positive way overall though. Leicester fans were telling us it was slow build up play and a ton of passing, all a bit boring, but I'm seeing a bit more than that, especially when we go forward. I still think we are horrible at playing it out of the back and have a bit too much of the ball in our own half, but when we get it right, our attackers look really dangerous when running at the opposition. They all look in tune with each other as well, there's an understanding there. They all seem to know where they need to be.

Overall, very happy with the attack, concerned about our defensive mistakes and our off the ball game at times.

It's far too early to tell what difference Maresca is making, because there are already three huge pluses that we didn't have last season that shouldn't be glossed over : (1) we have much better attacking players than we had last year (2) we have very few injuries, which means there is genuine competition for places and game changing bench options (3) Maresca doesn't have elements of the fanbase on his back from day 1 because he has no connection to Tottenham.

The games so far seem not much different to last season : flair, entertainment and excitement, offset by individual mistakes, lack of control, poor defence, midfield lacking balance when Fernandez plays, chances spurned, and average goalkeeping.

I have faith in Maresca improving things. He clearly has the squad onside, he comes across as an intelligent tactician, and is extremely fluent and adept at handling the media. 

But I don't yet think we've seen anything on the pitch that couldn't have been done equally as well by Pochettino. 

 

 

3 hours ago, nonotnowjim said:

For what it is worth, I think Enzo is doing ok - but has been helped by some terrible teams/decisions by teams we have played - that has helped put some gloss on. But you can only beat what’s put in front of you.

Wolves were all over us for a bit at the start - and then they fell apart (no doubt helped by a good attacking display).

West ham didn’t turn up for the first 25mins - which allowed us to get a foothold - and then we were helped by a nailed on pen not being given against us.

Brighton for some reason persisted with a suicidal high defensive line - which massively helped us.

 

Or alternatively, when three different teams (one of which got a draw vs Arsenal and an other made both Liverpool and Arsenal work hard for a win) all have "their worst performance for ages" against us, maybe it's not a lucky coincidence?