Hendrick is probably Hayden's replacement if we are being honest. Hayden wants back to London but I hope we get another 2 years out of him before he leaves.
I see him as Bentalebs replacement and an effort to get us some mobility into the middle of the park. We only have sitting defensive counter attack midfielders. Bentaleb, Shelvey, Longstaff, Hayden - none of them allow you to play on the front foot. Bruce keeps hinting that the defensive counter is not his preferred style. He can’t change it until he gets different personnel - the end of the season again highlighted our fairly limited options. I still think Hayden will want to go and if he does go, while I think Soumare is fanciful thinking, it’s clear we will be after another all action guy. Obviously we have to find room for the Longstaffs too though.
CM for me is an area the clubs littered with absolute crap imo... Shelvey is a dreadful player in most areas of the game, but he excels in one... Its not enough... Haydens a battler but very limited... Sean longstaff is one of the worst players I've ever seen.. I don't know what to expect from hendrick so I'll wait to judge him, but no doubt I'll be waiting until the cows come home before we bring in a proper player there.
No room for Sean he's absolutely useless.. Trip's over himself, slow on the ball and tbh contrary to popular belief his passing is ****..
Had a poor season. Looked as bad as he had good the previous season. However I think there is plenty to work with on with him and his brother. After a bad injury he never really got going, and I don’t believe in writing off young players without giving them a chance. However he does need to get back to his best very quickly as the PL is brutal and waits for no man.
Or he had a handful of games he looked something he's not in.. Carroll springs to mind.. The lads useless mate.. A chance? Jesus christ there's plenty got less chances that went on to bigger things.. He won't
Bentaleb was absolutely useless. Thankfully we did not take the option to buy him. After reading your post and seeing the way Hendrick plays I think you are right. Hayden is the best DM at the club and if he goes a player like Soumare would fit the bill nicely as his replacement
I wanted to give Bentaleb a chance given his pedigree despite having plenty of misgivings about the lads attitude. As it turned out I should have been more worried that he was absolutely gash. I can see why we loaned him because he is very similar and suited to our defensive counter that was a legacy of the previous manager. Given we now want to try to give ourselves more options he’d make even less sense. But as you say, the problem is bigger in that he’s ****.
Don't get me wrong he gets 20/20 for me when it comes to passing... Sideways passing that is . The previous manager preferred a defensive style of play there is no doubt about that. Bruce probably wants to get us on the front foot quicker which traditionally is the Newcastle way. Rafa's management of the squad was excellent where as Bruce needs to get better at this. Our injury record since he joined the club has been nothing short of a disgrace.
Personally think the manager is very limited. Didn’t like Rafa and don’t like Bruce. Both did solid jobs though, and I understand Rafa being a massively defensive coach is probably a good fit for this owner. Bruce will certainly play more attacking, but I doubt they will be as well drilled. Shame we can’t be more progressive and just get a young modern coach who plays a brand in keeping with the game now. We are still trying to play late 90’s early 2000’s type of stuff and appointing coaches accordingly.
Each to their own, I saw a lot to like in those 12-14 games or whatever it was. I’m happy to give young players a chance, they often reward you. Far too early to write off after a disjointed season like the last one. Patience is a virtue highly valued in football. We’ve just got to know when to say enough is enough like with Aarons. Carroll actually was a very good player. However his off the field stuff was not great (the lad was a piss head), and he lost his way. Injuries yes he was unlucky, but it’s funny how often players who spend too much time in bars pick up a lot of injuries. Alcohol and professional football aren’t a great mix these days. Longstaff needs persevered with and hopefully we will be rewarded with him and Matty. Matty was poorly treated last season in my opinion. He was in far better form than Sean all season but his older sibling was clearly ahead in the pecking order. We are very fortunate to have two young midfielders from the local area with a chance of making it.
Would you like a coach who like plays to possession based style in line with a guardiola type OR would you prefer a more intense high pressing style of play like a klopp type coach. Bielsa will be a breath of fresh air to the league next year. Expect Leeds to start strong.
Klopp for me. Football to a fan is about entertainment surely? If you couple that with winning you’ve got the golden ticket. I’m a massive Bielsa fan. All his disciples have excelled for a reason. My preferred choice has been Marcelo Gallardo for about 3 seasons. A Bielsa disciple and the most successful coach in River Plates history which is no mean feat.
No modern day player should be drinking during the season. There are amateur sports which adopt a drinking ban during the season. It's not much to ask when you consider how much they get paid.
I have to say in all my many years watching this lot the best style of play was what I’d call “Roy of the Rovers” delivered by KK. It will never happen but that’s what I would love us, just love us to go back too. With the right players of course. On this point I think Pouchy agrees with me (it’s not forum etiquette to agree with Pouchy) that fans are there to be entertained and excited and not to be bored out of their skulls and going only because it’s better than shopping with the wife.
