Agree with all of that apart from the carvalho assessment. He was the standout player in the league at 19 years old in a team that wasn’t fancied for promotion the year they went up. Got a move to Liverpool and was in and out of their team but usually in the match day squad as a minimum when they had the likes of salah, mane, and turning ripping up the prem. Was seen to have enough talent to continue his progression for a year at a champs league club in leipzig. His ceiling is absolute huge and when he signed it was a massive coup for us. And to be fair he’s done very well for us. I was hoping we’d be able to keep him next year because once he’s fully settled he is just far far too good for this league and he would rip it a new arsehole in my opinion. I also think the reason the big boys have trusted us with their youngsters is down to the style of play Liam has instilled. I’m worried we may not get these exciting young talents with a different manager and potentially different style of play.
I'm not saying Fabio hasn't been brilliant, he has. But it's still a fact that we probably put too much weight on a young team when really - and it's a fact that even the marquee signing only had 1 good season in a very good promotion winning team (that would have gone up anyway) before January. He might have contributed to their success that season, but he wasn't driving it per-se -and that's my point. I'm using that as an example of our overall Jan recruitment. We could have gone with less sexy but more grit and experience and gotten more out of the team as a whole. Just think we were too busy. And perhaps have been from the start under Acun. Twine for Zaroury being a case in point. We'd have been better off keeping Twine. In hindsight Probably.
Twine for Zaroury wasn't a move that was made. Carvalho was the Twine replacement. Zaroury was an upgrade on Lokilo as we needed a proper second wing option.
Okay, well where were we when Lokilo got shipped out and where did we end up? What was the improvement in the greater scheme of the league table? To be fair to Lokilo I thought he was another got more rap than he deserved because he worked hard, fulfilled a role and whilst he didn't score and assist, he did the dirty stuff OK and was disciplined. You need a blend of chiefs and Indians, whilst he may not have been a chief, he did actually fit into a blend which we just didn't get quite right after the Jan influx. Just my opinion, but I thought the job Lokilo and Doc did at Sunderland away was worth 3 points. And yes, I was there in the gods with a wonderful vantage point to see the tactical shape on the night. We set up to nullify Clarke knowing they had **** all else and it wasn't pretty, but it was effective. We lost a bit of that after the Jan window. But we were using twine out wide most of the time. Fabio coming meant Twine wasn't going to get a look in centrally in his preferred position so left. I accept that it wasn't so much direct replacement - but effectively it turned out that way.
Having slept on it overnight, I am still shocked at Liam's departure. He is a young, inexperienced manager, and he needs time to develop, and I was confident he would be given time to do that. He brought stability, Identity, improved individual players, and helped to bring the fan base back together as well as understand the club and its fans, that alone for me was enough to give him a more time. However, I can see why Acun felt frustrated and why he did what he did. On the 8th February just after the window closed were where 6th. I am sure, the fact he sanctioned the bring in of Omur, Carvalho, Zaroury coupled with Jayden along with Sharp and Ohio, the least he would have expected would be to maintain that 6th place and be in the playoffs.. That didn't happen, and I guess for him that was a failure. A few of things of note. I think Liam has been unlucky losing De Lap when he did, as I am sure we would have maintained a top 6 finish if he had been fit. I understand Baz Cooper said last night that from January things between Liam and Acun had not been as before, which was a bit of a surprise. However, having watched the lap of appreciate at the end of the game, it did strike me at the time, that Acun and Liam stayed separate from what I could see, whereas in the past they showed a togetherness in a situation like this. Which does hint that things were not right between them. I guess Acun and Tan will need to pull a rabbit out the hat with his replacement, as things could start to sour very quickly with the fan base if performance don't improve or get worse.
I was back in the UK over Christmas and I managed to catch 3 games. Gotta say, Lokilo is one of the worst players I’ve seen in a city shirt at championship level.
Technically he was limited, yes. I'm far from saying he was a keeper, but sometimes you need someone to play a role, graft and keep shape, and he did that - and he was part of a side that was in the playoffs before he left, so can you really say his replacement improved us in the greater scheme..? And obviously I'm speaking with hindsight.
Id have thought so. Yes. Whether it will be another Pedro Martins scenario or not is yet to be seen. But 'the recruitment process has already begun' according to a statement. I'm not a betting man but be quite surprised if Will Still isn't coincidentally in Paris also. (Apologies to the betting men who have already lumped on Cooper)
There will be competition. But we may have an advantage given the opportunity for a significant rebuild in a single widow, which most managers don't get the opportunity to put their stamp on. And Sunderland missed the boat frankly. By tapping him up then welching on the fee they agreed ahead of Beales appointment in Jan. They've had enough opportunity to do it already if it was his preferred option.
I just don't understand where this money for a significant rebuild comes from with any confidence UNLESS we have a reasonable confidence in the fees we'll get for Jaden and Greaves (for example 40-50m would be a big difference).
Not sure it will be 40-50. But still significant regardless. Our current squad is built on what? 18-20 max in fees? And we have a lot off the wage bill come July probably as clean a slate as you're gonna get for a club not coming down.
If we're not selling Jaden for less than 30 and we're hoping for 20m for Greaves, why would 40-50 not be the expectation if we're selling both? Otherwise Jaden is staying but that's a big chunk of the rebuild budget staying in the building in the form of one player.
I think some of the transfer talk is still agent talk at the moment. That and owner rhetoric. Jockeying for a bargaining position. See what it is when the chips actually fall. Not only that, there's operating losses to cover too. It's not all clear profit. I'm sure Acun said similar about KLP. We got 16 in the end. But it's pretty much his job to talk up fees as much as he possibly can at the current stage. I wouldn't expect anything else from any owner/CEO.
After years disconnection with during the allam years I thought we had it back...Really gutted Liam has been sacked. We've made massive progress in the last 18 months under Liam and that feels like it's been thrown away!
yeah, I agree with the 10+ being too many. Especially when we were still left with huge holes in the squad…. I can’t recall a squad without at least four centre backs. At the time, I was thinking it will take time to gel, but we’ll be ok after the camp in Turkey during the international break… that’ll get them all playing Roseball. I hadn’t clicked that only a smattering of first teamers wouldn’t be involved in internationals that week. This need for instant success makes it impossible to gain any stability. The squad depth suffers because we keep having to move players on to comply with ffp. The rebuild will start again. Acun will want promotion this next season, and so this shortsightedness will continue. We were looking to clear out a lot of our deadwood, but you know what, maybe we need to hang on to the likes of Doc, etc. it does seem ironic we are now been linked with someone who has no coaching badges, but apparently has played a lot of Premiership Manager.
I wouldn't call 15th to 7 th massive progress or the shocking mind numbing "football' we saw more often than not at home....good riddance i say...never wanted him here in the first place.... .derby county had the right idea too...get back on the sky sports gravy train rosie ...you'll be fine there
At this point you know how much of a tit you look with this rubbish and yet persist anyway, why you do I have no idea. 15th to 7th isn't progress, FMD.
