4 hours ago, El regreso said:

How long into season will the fans get toxic and the owners realise they made another mistake.

It should have been Hoeness for me and it still wouldn't surprise me if he's our guy next season.

4 hours ago, El regreso said:

How long into season will the fans get toxic and the owners realise they made another mistake.

It should have been Hoeness for me and it still wouldn't surprise me if he's our guy next season.

4 hours ago, El regreso said:

How long into season will the fans get toxic and the owners realise they made another mistake.

Do these owners actually realise they made a mistake when they make one. There are no signs that they've realised their mistakes. They're doubling down on this youth only approach and implementing it from top to bottom which now includes the coach. You throw in a bunch of inexperienced young players managed by a inexperienced championship level manager and you've got a side that's way off the top somewhere between 12th-16th in the table. With more average signings the quality is dropping every season and it's a matter of time before the good players start demanding a move when the contenders come calling.

You got to give him sometime our short -termism is more worrying than any individual manager 

if you are reading into preseason then you are deranged ! I say 10 matches in to new season then start to judge 

I got to be honest a managers system or philosophy is pretty irrelevant in my opinion. If it is tika-taker, high press, low press, 3 4 4, 4 4 2 - all massively out trumped by players motivation and ability and most important of all team spirit - look at the Italian national team always win in the past on a “them vs us” philosophy - early Mourinho team had the same vibe 

 

 

1 hour ago, andy said:

You got to give him sometime our short -termism is more worrying than any individual manager 

if you are reading into preseason then you are deranged ! I say 10 matches in to new season then start to judge 

I got to be honest a managers system or philosophy is pretty irrelevant in my opinion. If it is tika-taker, high press, low press, 3 4 4, 4 4 2 - all massively out trumped by players motivation and ability and most important of all team spirit - look at the Italian national team always win in the past on a “them vs us” philosophy - early Mourinho team had the same vibe 

 

 

Andy, the Italian national team won everything on the back of rock solid organisation and rock solid defensive..... solidity! Implemented by some of the best defenders the World has ever seen. Baresi, Maldini, Chielini, Bonucci, Zambrotta, Nesta, Scirea. The list is endless.

I'm not sure Marescaball is meant to be the same thing.

Edited July 28, 20241 yr by just

We won the Championship…so you’d think we’d love the guy, some might!!.

Many around me were very worried about ‘the Enzo way’ in the Prem.  We didn’t think we had the players to make it work, as others have said, you should have… so good luck 🤞 

Second half of last season was very difficult.  IMO boring boring football, one way of playing and no variation.  Enzo got quite annoyed when the terraces voiced discontent.

Playing out from the back continuously, midfield tapping about and forwards passing back.  

Teams in the Championship that we should have got points from had worked us out.  
This is of course my opinion, the fact we came straight back up cannot be denied and the players deserve massive credit.
It’s definitely going to be a difficult season for us, I hope it’s not for you 🤞🤞

8 hours ago, Jerry said:

We won the Championship…so you’d think we’d love the guy, some might!!.

Many around me were very worried about ‘the Enzo way’ in the Prem.  We didn’t think we had the players to make it work, as others have said, you should have… so good luck 🤞 

Second half of last season was very difficult.  IMO boring boring football, one way of playing and no variation.  Enzo got quite annoyed when the terraces voiced discontent.

Playing out from the back continuously, midfield tapping about and forwards passing back.  

Teams in the Championship that we should have got points from had worked us out.  
This is of course my opinion, the fact we came straight back up cannot be denied and the players deserve massive credit.
It’s definitely going to be a difficult season for us, I hope it’s not for you 🤞🤞

Wer fked. Simple as that the PL is no joke

My gut feeling after seeing one meaningless preseason in person and one on the telly, If he’s still in the job come next May I’ll be very surprised. 

Yes.  Watch Palmer's numbers drop off when told not to take any risks.  When this guy is sacked in January/May, please will Wynstanley and Stewart go too.  The owners hired these two to make football decisions and every single one is wrong.  I don't count Palmer as reports suggest this was Joe Shields.  I just don't get how these two get away with it!!!!!

Edited July 29, 20241 yr by Chris Gundleton

Bar that Nkunku injury, we had a nearly perfect pre season under Pochettino last summer. Everything was positive and there was a lot of intensity in our game and attacking football.

And then we turned into a mid table club as the season went on. 

Give the guy a chance and let's see how we look around November. Pochettino saved the season by switching to Maresca's 3-2-4-1 tactics with Cucurella inverting next to Caicedo and it worked perfectly.

The squad is already used to it and Maresca is yet to use the likes of Cucurella, Caicedo, Enzo, Palmer and Jackson. This is half the starters.

I for one would like to see at some point a back three of James - Tosin/Fofana - Colwill with Cucurella and Caicedo in the middle. James looks a bit lost in midfield to be fair and IMHO he can do a good job at RCB, like Azpilicueta under Conte.

 

4 hours ago, Chris Gundleton said:

Yes.  Watch Palmer's numbers drop off when told not to take any risks.  When this guy is sacked in January/May, please will Wynstanley and Stewart go too.  The owners hired these two to make football decisions and every single one is wrong.  I don't count Palmer as reports suggest this was Joe Shields.  I just don't get how these two get away with it!!!!!

Are they wrong though? 

Guiu looks like a player worth more than 5m. Palmer, Jackson, Santos looks like a bargain. 

If you look most of our signing, all of them are fine. Now how all this signing fit into a winning team is different story and does it matter  for the board? 

 

Edited July 29, 20241 yr by Bob stark

On 28/07/2024 at 10:14, WhiteWall said:

Fair enough but I'd put Eddie Mac up there, John Hollins (poor as he was as a manager ultimately). Even Webbie who saved our skins from the Porterfield debacle only to be shown the door because he was too barrow-bow in Bates' eyes.

Not denying the point, just highlighting that it's all pretty standard stuff here and elsewhere.

Ah  just read your other responses. You're talking disrespect from the fans, I'm thinking from the club. I get it. Apologies.

Ah ok sorry yeah I meant disrespected by fans. If we're talking club then for me it's Carlo hands down.

17 hours ago, just said:

Andy, the Italian national team won everything on the back of rock solid organisation and rock solid defensive..... solidity! Implemented by some of the best defenders the World has ever seen. Baresi, Maldini, Chielini, Bonucci, Zambrotta, Nesta, Scirea. The list is endless.

I'm not sure Marescaball is meant to be the same thing.

yeah agreed, however also they won the Euro's against us last time out, no way near the standard of those defenders. Basically did a hatchet job on us........ 

I think the drunken me was trying to say is, say you know you going out against a stronger team, lets say Man City for arguments sake. A Jose or an Italian team would have "they don't like it up 'em" approach. I am not convinced that Marescaball is really a thing. Maresca has to learn that damned fast, you play to your strengths with whats in front of you and what players you have at your disposal. Don't like this "system" or "xxxxxball" approach. Maybe I am old fashioned ! 

1 hour ago, Bob stark said:

Now how all this signing fit into a winning team is different story and does it matter  for the board? 

I would assume so given they sacked two managers for poor performances. 

As mentioned in another thread our players thus far have looked in a state of confusion and frustration with the current tactics. Hopefully this is just a learning process.

If we win then I'll be happy. Boredom won't really come into it.

1 hour ago, Sconnie Blue said:

I would assume so given they sacked two managers for poor performances. 

I don't think that is the case. If you understand football, you know that player is far more important than manager. 

 

1 hour ago, Bob stark said:

I don't think that is the case. If you understand football, you know that player is far more important than manager. 

 

I can't find the quote anywhere but I'm pretty sure Wenger used to say that the biggest impact a coach can have is he can make good players look bad.

That's my fear at the moment. I think on paper we've a strong squad, I worry that we're going to see them struggle as a result of the patterns/circuits they'll be asked to play.

I've made it no secret I was happy with Poch, so maybe I'm still holding onto some disappointment at his departure when I assess Maresca. Personally though I'm finding it hard to get excited about a coach that sees Reece tucking into CM as the best use of one of the best fullbacks on the planet.

I'll give it the rest of preseason for Maresca to show why its a good idea to have James/Gusto in midfield. 

So far it looks completely redundant. Especially when one long pass completely rattles our backline and in attack we have no overlapping/underlapping players to help the wingers. 

 

 

2 hours ago, Sconnie Blue said:

I'll give it the rest of preseason for Maresca to show why its a good idea to have James/Gusto in midfield. 

So far it looks completely redundant. Especially when one long pass completely rattles our backline and in attack we have no overlapping/underlapping players to help the wingers. 

 

 

The 3-2-4-1 only works with 3 CBs; preferably 6ft’ers. He is isn’t likely to deploy any of the wingbacks as a LCB/RCB in a 3-man defence because their small stature make them a target for the opposition to exploit with back post crosses. 
 

On 29/07/2024 at 22:58, cfr95 said:

I can't find the quote anywhere but I'm pretty sure Wenger used to say that the biggest impact a coach can have is he can make good players look bad.

That's my fear at the moment. I think on paper we've a strong squad, I worry that we're going to see them struggle as a result of the patterns/circuits they'll be asked to play.

I personally don't care too much about manager.

I care more about player that we sign. We used to laugh at arse/spuds signing, now I feel like the role is reversed. 

On 28/07/2024 at 14:32, dermott said:

The fans were a big factor.

Also, not being able to smoke on the touchline.

On the topic of Maresca, I think any coach that signs for Chelsea will be biting off more than they can chew. Long gone are the days where someone like Conte walks into our dressing room and champions a team that finished 10th the previous season.

For me, it's all down to luck now. We just have to get lucky with one of the coaches that we keep on hiring.

3 minutes ago, Girish said:

Also, not being able to smoke on the touchline.

He solved that by sucking on used filters. Reports in Italy that he has stopped smoking.

Just now, dermott said:

He solved that by sucking on used filters. Reports in Italy that he has stopped smoking.

Stopped? Wow, good for him. That must have been a bigger test than anything football related.