HOW LONG DO WE GIVE HIM ?

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Robbie BB said:
Second Tier Podcast, 20th July 2025
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First time I've listened to this, and interesting to hear his take on "losing the dressing room". Does sound like it was the senior players the playing style wasn't suiting, who were the biggest issue. I really don't see what we've gained by removing him really.

If anyone is going to offer final third creativity, I feel like it has to be Schwartau right now? I'd like to see him given a bit more freedom to link play and take risks.
 
DHCanary said:
First time I've listened to this, and interesting to hear his take on "losing the dressing room". Does sound like it was the senior players the playing style wasn't suiting, who were the biggest issue. I really don't see what we've gained by removing him really.

If anyone is going to offer final third creativity, I feel like it has to be Schwartau right now? I'd like to see him given a bit more freedom to link play and take risks.
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I like Schwartau but he's not really a passer. Its quite a big miss from his game. He's not playing people in. Not much one touch or vision. I would be playing him centrally mind to see if he's got it.
 
carrabuh said:
Crap maybe strong. But they mostly all either squad or support.

Of the outfield there's really only Mahovo, Darling, Mclean, Sargent who are good enough to play week in week out. Kvistgaarden, Wright,Fisher and Schwartau should also be playing but more for development. The rest are so limited on the ball with their passing, touch and technique. Gibbs, Mattsson, Topic, Medic.... all have flaws in their game. They are squad, support players. They all struggle in tight spaces.

Mattsson, I am coming round to the idea he is crap. He's getting there slowly with each game.

Diallo for me, like most wingers, is a white elephant. All fluff no product.
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Yes, it’s the imbalance that is the problem. Though I am a big believer that playing a better structure - ie adapting the style to the squad itself - is the best way of giving players more time on the ball and helping their creativity. Marcondes is a good example - he has talent IMO but he’s not a PL quality player, which means the squad and team set up needs to be better adapted to helping him find space and lean into creativity.

To your list of players who are good enough, I would add Cordoba (just - he’s so frustrating with the mistakes). I’ve also liked what I’ve seen from Forson on occasion.

I suspect you don’t like Schlupp for the same reason as you don’t like Diallo, but while I don’t wholly disagree with your concerns about wingers, there is a reason they are used a lot - because they are percentage based option and help create space centrally. So they bring more than just their individual technical quality in isolation

And that’s really what I mean by improving team structure
 
The problems of playing and squad structures are compounded by injuries. We've been without a LB for weeks and players like Forson, Diallo, Kvistgaarden and Córdoba work their way into the starting lineup and then are injured and the team structure has to adjust so playing partnerships start, then stop, time after time. Gibbs and Marcondes have also been out with injuries and have had to start again from scratch. Crnac, who was a starter most of the season is now out for the year. With each player change the playing structure has to be adjusted to fit the players coming in. Schwartau's development has been accelerated by necessity and Makama has done well coming in but play has to be adjusted for their strengths and weaknesses.

The players like Kovačević, Darling, Medić, Fisher and Stacey who have avoided injuries have begun to build stable relationships but midfield and attacking players have been changing week after week and the disruption that causes is obvious. Until we get a starting lineup with first choice players in each position this will continue. The return of Kvistgaarden and Mahovo will hopefully make a big difference but they need to build match fitness first. The same will be true for every player returning and that will take more time as the pressure mounts and that pressure has a disruptive influence as well. A win against Hull would be a start.
 
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DHCanary said:
First time I've listened to this, and interesting to hear his take on "losing the dressing room". Does sound like it was the senior players the playing style wasn't suiting, who were the biggest issue.
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There was a Pink'Un article by Connor Southwell, which appeared when rumours about JHT "losing the dressing room" were beginning to circulate. The gist of it was that there wasn't "the dressing room", there were four factions, two of which (the Danish contingent and the youngsters who had signed up to the project and/or had been given their chance by JHT) were firmly behind Thorup. Then there was a group of more senior players for whom rocking the boat was simply not an option (I can think of two still wearing yellow and green who were probably in this category), and finally the group who Thorup references in the podcast (some of whom made no secret of their resentment at the time).
 
Robbie BB said:
There was a Pink'Un article by Connor Southwell, which appeared when rumours about JHT "losing the dressing room" were beginning to circulate. The gist of it was that there wasn't "the dressing room", there were four factions, two of which (the Danish contingent and the youngsters who had signed up to the project and/or had been given their chance by JHT) were firmly behind Thorup. Then there was a group of more senior players for whom rocking the boat was simply not an option (I can think of two still wearing yellow and green who were probably in this category), and finally the group who Thorup references in the podcast (some of whom made no secret of their resentment at the time).
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And the ringleader of that group has not been seen in the pub he frequented four or five days a week or the area generally for the last 3 weeks - make of that what you will. My son lives about 100 yards away from him, drinks in the same pub and usually sees him somewhere most days.
 
Robbie BB said:
There was a Pink'Un article by Connor Southwell, which appeared when rumours about JHT "losing the dressing room" were beginning to circulate. The gist of it was that there wasn't "the dressing room", there were four factions, two of which (the Danish contingent and the youngsters who had signed up to the project and/or had been given their chance by JHT) were firmly behind Thorup. Then there was a group of more senior players for whom rocking the boat was simply not an option (I can think of two still wearing yellow and green who were probably in this category), and finally the group who Thorup references in the podcast (some of whom made no secret of their resentment at the time).
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Who do we suppose was in that final faction? Duffy is the only one that springs to mind for me, Hanley, Fassnacht and Barnes were gone in January
 
1950canary said:
And the ringleader of that group has not been seen in the pub he frequented four or five days a week or the area generally for the last 3 weeks - make of that what you will. My son lives about 100 yards away from him, drinks in the same pub and usually sees him somewhere most days.
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Are you suggesting that Manning has got a grip of him and he’s cleaning his act up?
 
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SuffolkCanary said:
Are you suggesting that Manning has got a grip of him and he’s cleaning his act up?
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Not at all - he will never change . He was often seen cycling and running in the local area so, if anything, the implication is that he is using his calf strain absence to sort out his future when his contract runs out. Might well be something entirely different - who knows.
 
1950canary said:
Not at all - he will never change . He was often seen cycling and running in the local area so, if anything, the implication is that he is using his calf strain absence to sort out his future when his contract runs out. Might well be something entirely different - who knows.
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3 weeks though would tie in with him being back in the training pitch after injury and working toward match fitness. Listening to Attanasio tonight he could well be in the squad saturday
 
SuffolkCanary said:
3 weeks though would tie in with him being back in the training pitch after injury and working toward match fitness. Listening to Attanasio tonight he could well be in the squad saturday
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The bit about Duffy sounded a bit cryptic to me because MA didn't say his name.
 
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