Middle-ranking, top-ranking, I'm really not sure what that pigeonholing has to do with tactics or ambition. Defence is important, but goals win games. I fancied yesterday to be 2-0, we did better and, even more pleasing, we did it with a touch of quality on the ball. The only way in which we gave respect, to a decent Burnley team, was to play decent football against them, something we have rarely done for the best part of one and a half seasons. What's done is done, what is now of interest is seeing if we have a coaching staff, and a manager, who can deliver a team motivated and set-up to repeat it, week in, week out - using the depth of squad we are told are capable of it.
I see this peddled all the time, with the benefit of hindsight, it's clearly wrong. A load of money was spent on players who, after 38 games, weren't mid-table, they were relegated, you'd think if they were good enough to genuinely be mid-table players you might have thougt they would have been snapped up and be playing for mid PL teams? They weren't. Chester has been deemed not good enough by Pulis, Jelavic, who couldn't score in a brothel last season, appears to be playing the same for West Ham, Robbie Brady looks the same good player he did last season but in a struggling Norwich team. Any other club owners would have sacked SB for spending what he did and failing to keep us up.
I'm glad they didnt. i'm sick of clubs doing this instant fix. I'd rather sack the players. Every year 3 teams get relegated from the PL. Its as simple as that. I cant stand all this, it isnt good enough-lost the dressing room-tactically naive-and on and on. It happens, someone goes down. It was us. We're 15 points clear of Qpr and 6 clear of Burnley, who both came down with us. Steve Bruce is a good manager and a good man. he's the type of bloke i want managing us. Honest genuine, not a ****. He's building something here.
Usually when you build something you don't go backwards. There were worse teams than us that stayed up, so this rubbish that we should accept being relegated because three have to go down is complete crap.
There wasnt any worse teams than us, the table doesnt lie. Its complete crap is it. ****ing hell. 3 do go down every year. Cant you accept that?? We were one of them. Move on it happened.
I dont get this view at all. We got relegated because we were one of the 3 worst teams over the course of the season. As for the whole "we spent enough to blah blah blah", Chelsea have spent enough to be top 2. Man U have spent enough to be top 2. They're not. Football isn't played out on paper, if it was, it'd be ****e.
I get it. By Bruce's own admission on the radio yesterday he was a defender first and foremost, so that's the side he concentrates on. I'd love Bruce to bring in someone to help with coaching the attacking side, how we build and attack at pace with only forward passes. We so often lose momentum in attack, not so much yesterday, but old habits die hard. We'd have some team then both on and off the pitch.
Had a scout on some of the Burnley forums and was surprised to read that they seem to think Boyd’s ****.
Just remembered Keith Bertschin is one of Bruceys trusted back room staff. He's an ex centre forward so...
So direct football then? I seem to remember Charles Hughes getting slated for that and 'being a dinosaur' but when a sexy, young German thing says it...
It's because we're celebrating & saying we're 3rd halfway through the season with 44 points & the usual suspects are going on about how if we drop our performance then they're right! As it stands there are arguments for both sides being right, but halfway through we are 3rd! Now cue the Bruce outers saying, "but, but, but...."
No, it's not long ball. It's the speed at transferring defence to attack. Klopp at Dortmund used to use the ball on the floor and attack at pace. It's certainly not long ball. Surprised at your lack of understanding and highlighted in black - is this you 'coming out'?