The average number of injuries obviously goes up with a higher programme but we were way above average this year so the expectation remains lower.
Like others have said (think it was DH) Ange will need 3 players of equal quality in each position which just isn’t realistic. It’s why I always worried about having him as Spurs manager in this league. Spurs have another league campaign like the one just gone and they could easily get relegated.
From my viewpoint you should bin him but if i was one of you may well feel that finally seeing my club win something it was worth keeping him on. Will be interesting to see which way Levy jumps
Don’t Ange teams always have a higher than average number of injuries though? His style is relentless
Get another manager and ask Ange to stay as his motivational speaker or get 2 managers, 1 for the league and Ange for the cups everybody happy
I don't think you need to worry, if Ange does stay Levy will look at his first 10 games and expect results if he doesn't get them he will fire Ange just like he did with Juande Ramos.
Sacking him early in the season if they start bad would be the worst outcome imo. Means a new manager (wouldn’t have as many to choose from) would have to work with a squad for a few months before being able to make changes. If Levy thinks Ange is the man for next season then he has to back him properly and give him most of if not the whole season. Spurs got lucky when Ramos was sacked that Harry Redknapp was there to come in and make an immediate impact. This time they might not get as lucky.
What is Angeball though? The EL final was the antithesis of the perceived Angeball. It was more George Graham. It proved to be effective because Utd can’t finish and Ange clearly knew that. But why didn’t he fancy playing a more attacking game given that Utd are known to be very soft-centred?
I am not talking about the best scenario just what I think Levy would do in the case I have described. I don't know of course but I wonder if Levy AND Ange are in two minds as to how to proceed. There is no obvious answer, especially if they don't have anyone in mind to replace him. On the other hand Paratichi may be champing at the bit to replace Ange with a manager in mind. At this stage we are all guessing.
That's because Angeball is largely a media generated myth. The truth is more like: he likes to play attacking football but that's dependent on the team he is facing. He clearly thought United were going to be stronger than they were BUT we did not have our creative players so our choices were limited by that.
At the beginning of the 2023-24 season, its notable traits were : 1. the "pivot trap" (draw the opposition into pressing which when evaded - the "pivot" - leaves loadsa space in front for attack) 2. "inward" FBs On #1, the bottom 2/3 of the PL had discerned it by the business end of the season (and thus avoided it) On #2, there is nothing showing the FBs have contributed significantly more goals/assists than if they played canonical FB.
Angeball involves pushing a relentlessly high line, ideally starting no deeper than 5 yards behind the halfway line. It pushes the full backs into advanced inside winger positions to create an overload in and around the box. It uses a three man midfield to maximise width and smother opposition attempts to break out of their own box. These midfielders do not have fixed positions per se, they are meant to go where the ball is. It pushes its wide forwards to hug the touchline and stretch the play. You will notice that none of the above involves defending. He didn't play it against United because our three most creative players were injured and also because the penny dropped a number of months ago that Angeball doesn't actually work. If you want to see the absolute best and worst of the system in one game, go back and watch our 3-6 loss to Liverpool this season, if you can be arsed.
As always time will tell I guess. A club statement asap saying he’s staying or leaving would be ideal. It would also put an end to rumours etc.
Both what you posted and what I posted can be true at once: Eg using simple but made up numbers in arbitrary units Average PL injury rate 10, Ange normal rate 12, Ange rate with CL 15, actual rate in season just ended 20. We don't actually know how much the high injury rate was down to playing style or simply bad luck.
The eye test suggests that we don't currently employ defensive coaches, so that might not be such a bad idea. Levy loves a dabble in the NFL nose bag.
Ange has on two separate occasions admitted that he went too hard too soon in the first half of the season, underestimating just how heavy the fixture load would be once we hit the winter months. And just yesterday he admitted that we hadn't used last summer's pre season effectively to be best prepared for a season of 60+ fixtures. I think it is fair to attribute the blame to him rather than pure fluke. But at the very least, he is aware that there is a problem. The question is, is he now wiser to stop it happening again?
Admitting that he did things that increased the injury rate isn't the same as saying that the entire increase was down to him. The recent injuries to Son, Romero, Maddison and Kulusevski were nothing to do with Ange's style for example. Nor were Moore's illness or Vicario's injury or Bentancur's ban. So I think Ange is definitely partly to blame but I don't think anyone knows if it is 20% or 100%. In an ideal world you could calculate that having a more aggressive style would lead to say 10% to 30% more points and 10% to 30% more injuries and that might be a risk worth taking. If you end up with 30% more points and only 10% more injuries you've got a massive win. The other way round leads to a disastrous second half of the season.
