Different culture, playing in a fairly inferior league, what evidence is there he can take his ideas and methods to this league? none so far. He has never had to experience the pressure of managing in a league like the premier league while at porto, while not just being under pressure to get results but also change the team, the way we play, its a huge task.
Our tactics are cloudy at best but it is pretty clear we need a creativity in midfield and a solid striker so why didn't Adebayor and Dembele start? This seems like the approach of a very pig headed manager which like I said before doesn't bode well for the season
He was training with City's kids in preseason and looked far from sharp when he came on last weekend. Starting with two defensive mids again has been the biggest problem followed closely by hoofing it to Defoe.
Well that was all very predictable, in every sense. We all knew what the problem was going to be and Norwich did, too. No creativity in the centre of the park and a lone striker that can't hold up the ball at all. No idea why successive managers have chosen the same flawed system, when it obviously doesn't work. Dembele and/or Huddlestone on at half-time, plus Adebayor or we'll see the same thing at the start of the second half.
I think Ade is way off fitness to start, if he has been training it won't have been with 1st team players, did he have a pre-season? but I do think we'll see him 2nd half again. Apart from that I'm saying nothing, I really don't need to.
Ade hasn't been picked because he does not want to piss on Defoe's confidence....dembele has not started because AVB does not want to piss on Livermore's confidence....if he had picked the new signings many with AVB issues would have used it as a stick to beat him with and reminded the rest of us about AVB's Chelsea days. Changes will happen in 2nd half.
Not very pretty is it? Time for Tommy H and Ade me thinks. Must keep Sandro on or it will go like last week. Livermore/Sig and Lennon/Bale to give way.
very poor half that, as poor as ive seen in a long time but its still to early to panic lets get dembele in to add a bit of guile and to carry the ball forward and we could see the difference, we are not getting bale in behind their defence which is where he is at his best a good half here and win then the confidence will rise
Levy has to take a huge amount of blame for this... most people knew what we needed so we dick around all summer, wait till the last minute and even then only paper over the cracks. At this rate if AVB does get us to play well we will be 10 games in and too far adrift to offer any threat of a top four. We had a good side last year let down by some ridiculous January signings and now I think we are going backwards
Nope, totally disagree, 2 things, whats Defoe got to be not confident about his selfish streak knows no bounds, and Ade just isn't fit yet.
I'm with spurlock. We will need these players this season so need to keep them sweet. The signings indicate that AVB knows what is needed. If he had signed a right back and a defensive mid I'd be worried. Bring in dembele and Ade and hopefully it will click a bit more
We are certainly not playing the way I expected. With this line up we've got to play the Spain way, ie pass it a lot and wear the opposition down by pressing hard when we've not got the ball. Defoe's job is then to pass to Bale, Lennon or Sig rather than 'hold it up' which he ought to be able to do. But the whole team looks off the pace to me: perhaps they don't yet 'get' the new system? Plenty of talent on the bench to sort it out though. Also we are missing six of our best players but we still ought to be able to beat Norwich.
i am sick of seeing sandro and livermore together. they cannot be on the pitch at the same time. playing both of them is putting a player like Hudd (and now dembele too) on the bench and meaning we're a man down in terms of creativity. at home, we do not need 6 defensive players. it's just resulting in our attacking players being out marked, closed down quickly and they will tire very quickly. it's got to stop. Defoe is not working, again. and it never will. we effectively have 1 out and out striker. as i posted in the "have we done enough thread": regardless of age and fitness with VDV, lack of goals for modric, we've lost 2 world class players who can change a game and not replaced them. this puts an immense amount of pressure on Dembele to perform. we look totally lost. what about if he gets injured? we're out of options! people say AVB is arrogant and stuck in his ways. well this is the test now, to see how much he's willing to give, in order to try something new. we should be breaking teams like norwich down constantly and having multiple chances with this supposed formation thats supposed to be so good. we're not, for the 3rd game in the row. all this passing is no good if we haven't got the players to penetrate. I'm not going to comment on who missed with the transfer window, because it's too late. carry on like this and we're going to be up **** creek when we have to play one of the bigger teams.
You don't really think Levy selects the players we buy, surely. He sets the budget and he is the negotiator - the football staff specify who we want. However on this occasion I feel critical of him. We should have got Moutinho and he would have made all the difference.
"Ade hasn't been picked because he does not want to piss on Defoe's confidence....dembele has not started because AVB does not want to piss on Livermore's confidence....if he had picked the new signings many with AVB issues would have used it as a stick to beat him with and reminded the rest of us about AVB's Chelsea days." So their confidence will be sky high playing this sort of football?. They can get confident playing successful football. And if Ade unfit even more reason we should have signed a forward and before the idiotic last minute scramble
