Like players, managers have levels. He’s not a PL manager for me and certainly wouldn’t be the right choice for a side battling relegation.
I don’t think having Vicario, Romero and Micky back would actually change much tbh. Yes they’re better but Spurs issues seem to be central midfield
Bissouma's sleepwalking is getting impossible to ignore, and it was already becoming a concern at points last season Bentancur had an opportunity to prove he could take the base role when his PL ban is up tonight...so of course he sleepwalked through the ****ing match too
The weird thing is that when they're playing they basically are our central midfield. We play such a high line and Romero's passing allows everyone else to push even higher.
It also has to be said that, on paper, we have the personnel to continue with our current system even with dropping him Sarr at the base and Gray in Sarr's current high pressing role is easily done - and that's without figuring where Bentancur fits in
I find it hard to criticise our players, as I don't think that it's really them that's the problem. We've got a few big round holes in our squad and we're using square pegs to fill them. The fullback situation is farcical, we don't have a holding midfielder and we're basically playing with one striker or none. I think that Bissouma, Bentancur, Sarr and others could do a decent job alongside someone shielding the defence. It would also help if our fullbacks were overlapping and the likes of Son and Johnson were given more of a licence to get into the middle. We lack effective width and virtually all of our wingers do more damage on the inside. It would also help Maddison's short linkup play, where he's able to make quick passes into dangerous areas and attack the box himself. Postecoglou's style of play is exciting and dramatic, but it's hard to keep up when you're playing two games a week every week. The injuries pile up, which means more time for everyone, which means more injuries. I don't think it's particularly suited to the squad that we have, either.
Can’t argue with any of that. A lot of us said the extra games would cripple the squad yet no enough was done in the summer to prepare it. Yet again heading into a transfer window with the club needing quite a lot of work to it. Will the club sign the players needed or will we again see very little done.
Postecoglou on Timo Werner: "He wasn't playing anywhere near the levels he can. When you've got 18-year-olds, it's not acceptable to me. I told him that. He's a senior international, a German international.” "In the moment we're in now, I need everyone to be at least going out there and giving the best they can. What he produced wasn't acceptable. When I'm asking the younger players to do massive jobs, I expect more from the senior players like him." ——————- Cancellation of loan in January?
I don't think it's the right time to do a lot, to be honest. I suspect the managerial situation will be up in the air, at best. There won't be many decent players available, either. If we could use the loan market effectively to get us through to the summer and then go at it 100%, then that would probably be our best bet. Signing players for Postecoglou's system could be a big mistake if he's not going to be here.
This is music to the board’s ears though. Nothing big will be done in January because it’ll be cheaper to sack Ange and hire the next chump. Don’t get me wrong, I’m no longer desperate for Ange to stay (to put it mildly), to be honest if he was sacked tonight I don’t think I’d be disappointed but this is the exact window to go big if you’re still gonna be behind the current manager.
He didn't play well, by any means, but he wasn't set up to, either. It's on the manager. Son isn't a striker and he's knackered. Udogie's also been run into the ground. Those were who Werner was supposed to link up with. Playing without a striker and then shifting Johnson onto the left to accommodate Kulusevski was just nonsense. Start Solanke and the Swede, get things done and then replace them with Lankshear and Johnson.
Go big on who, though? Who's going to sign in the current environment and with our current squad balance? I'd love to see it happen, but I don't see anyone we can realistically bring in to help sort out our problems.
Good players . But seriously show a bit of bollocks and bring a couple in who’ll make the difference needed. We could do with an equivalent (or two!) of a van Dijk type of January addition. Otherwise realistically what do those in power expect? If we half arse January, Postecoglou will likely be sacked before the window’s even up (if he’s not already gone), the new manager likely won’t make a huge difference and we'll finish around 7th-9th.
