joey_big_nose

I think they'll be enjoying not having Eustace (and JDT) calling out the absolute madness every time they meet with him. But as disengaged as Venkys are I cant see them wanting us relegated and destroy even more of their cash, so at some point Pasha will be questioned. I am not of a conspiratorial mindset. Whats happened here imo is Venkys turned off the cash due to the court case and complete loss of interest in the club, Pasha thought he could have a competitive team on a much smaller budget (no doubt looking at teams like Barnsley, Luton, even the quality of squad we have managed to finish 7th with), and took a gamble on making that happen by forcing out more experienced heads who were blocking him (JDT, Eustace, Wagott) and bringing in people who wouldnt oppose him (Gestede, Ismael). That massive gamble has completely come off the rails and that is where we are. It all flows from the ownership - venkys know nothing about football, so have appointed someone who knows nothing about football (Pasha), who is now applying his lack of knowledge to the club without intermediaries. We really need engaged, committed owners with either a good knowledge of football or willing to out their trust in good football people. Everything downstream of that is irrelevant in the longer term.

Well... Always want to give a fair shake to a manager, and hes basically had an entire team sold from under him. That said, seen enough for him to go now. Pros - does seem to be able to setup a team to play well for the first hour or so Cons - cant bring on subs or change the system mid game without everything falling apart, poor defending free kick and set pieces, doesnt seem to care

I thought he had their full back on toast all game. Needs to work on his final ball but De Neve is the least of our issues.

Yeah really agree with this. We on the whole have quite a good shape until the subs then it goes to pieces. That and the giving away soft goals that should be easily coached out has moved me to the "sack" camp. Its not a great squad but I think there will be managers out there who can do more with it.

I think personally the first X isnt too bad across defence and midfield. The issue is the strikers who get so little change out of a centre back, missing easy chances week after week, and we have nothing to bring on from the bench. My recipe for survival would be 1) sack ismael and get a manager who does not give away soft goals 2) sign a striker in January with a championship scoring record 3) sign a few experienced mids and defenders who you can bring on to close out games. Still given the complete rotten setup behind the scenes I think it will be a very tough job to stop the heads going down.

Well I would say thats bad defending from us. The way Id characterise the game is we were pretty good for 60 mins, i cant see a big difference in the quality of the players between us and them, on balance of play Id say we should have still been ahead. We looked competitive, limited their opportunities, created our own. But.. 1) we give away goals very very easily, that's entirely on the manager just not organising us. 2) we dont have strikers who can be depended onto score. Thats on Gestedes and Pashas recruitment. 3) we have very little on the bench to change a game, again on Gestede and Pasha 4) as soon as we go behind we're done. Id say this is really on Pasha and Gestede and letting so many senior players leave.

We have to work so hard to get a goal and give them away for nothing. To serially play well but lose only shows there is something fundamentally wrong.

Watched the Coventry game back. System does seem to suit us. Particularly like how we work down the sides (getting loads more crosses in) and having two up front. Interested to see how we continue with it. I would say lets give Gueye a chance up top with Ohashi. Gudjonsen is getting nothing out of defenders, and I think Ohashi could suit Gueye more as a partner than Kargbo.

I think I might be going mad - but I just saw while on the internet just now pop up in my google shopping recommends an all white kit with the new/old cross emblem for the badge instead of the rose. Looked very good. Went to find it again to take a screenshot to post here, but it has disappeared! Can't find it anywhere. Not sure if I was Hallucinating It was one of those concept kits It was made available briefly by mistake and taken down It's been available already and everyone knows that but I don't

Great news if true. I guess we go the same as the XI that played well for an hour. There really are not many other options anywhere on the pitch. What happens when we start having half a dozen players out at a time in November/December I do not know?

Not feeling confident.... Interested to see 352 though. Henricksson and Gudjonsen not really looked up to much so far. Would be a great game for them to make an impression. 1 full back on the bench and no centre backs feels like a problem destined to happen.

I guess my point is that Spain team won everything they competed in with broadly the same set of players over 6 years which no one else has ever managed.

Born in 1982 sadly never had the opportunity. But although they won 3 out of 4 world cups including 2 back to back they didn't manage to win the copa america. Screen shot with winners on the left, defeated finalist on right.

Yeah - that Spain side are probably the greatest ever international team, but I wouldnt be that excited about watching them. Just so risk averse, all about controlling the game.

I agree that Bellingham, Foden and Palmer are all better players. But we need someone who works with Kane and all those three have really struggled. Rodgers might not be as good, but jf hes making the right off the ball runs, pressing etc and therefore getting the best out of Kane then then he has to keep the shirt. Foden is a lost cause imo as he is just so indirect - I just cant see how he fits in at all. Palmer and Bellingham do have more to offer if they commit to giving up the number 10 space and possession of the ball to Kane and focus on running through, but they are naturally very similar to Kane wanting others to make the runs while they take a lot of touches and try to be the offensive pivot. Anyway Tuchel has played it well, putting the onus on them to show they can adapt. Not got many England games to do that though.

Id say tactically we can probably have two different forward lines depending on if Kane plays or not. If hes on then prioritise runners like Gordon, Morgan and Rashford to get beyond him. If he's out have Watkins doing the running and have more technical players in behind like Belligham and Palmer. Its all about reducing the congestion in the number 10 position. Seems daft to be so dependent tactically on Kane but his scoring record is ridiculous and getting better, so we need to accommodate him.

Hmmm... Think thats a stretch. But Italy won euro 2020 without standout attacking players, though they did have a brilliant keeper and defence. And obviously Greece in 2004. Good teams are as important as individual talents imo. Sides that combine both are what you want like France 1998 or Spain 2008 to 2012.

Im not that convinced by Bellingham personally. As hes always played abroad Ive not seen much club football from him, but like Foden in an England shirt he doesn't really seem what we need. Morgan has been a lot better suited. It would be refreshing if we stuck with what works rather than big names. Hopefully it would incentivise Bellingham to adapt his game too to fit in better.

Yeah.... Theres a conventional view that the defensive player is the deeper midfield partner, and the offensive one further forward. But often it works better the other way round. Tugay and Savage were like that. Tugay would drop off and pick up the ball deep and do his incredible passing. Savage would push up and closing down ahead of him to win the ball back.

Yeah agreed. Feels to me though we are a step up from the last euros. Really like what Anderson has brought into central midfield, made a massive difference. Also Tuchel getting the wide players ahead of Kane. It is all working a lot better. But like you say hard to say for sure until you play against someone at your desired level.

I know its only Latvia but we do look really really good. I want to see us play a genuinely top team - not done that since the euros final, and with the next nationals league not until September 2026 we are only going to get a competitive game against a top nation at the world cup. Annoying.

Hes a great lad, but he has been standing still or going backwards for years so a move was the right thing. That said I think we got 1 million for him, and paid 2 million for Tavares. And as far as I can see Tavares is a very similar player to Buckley, but with the same flaws (loose in possession, not physically competitive, doesn't cover enough ground) to a greater degree

Yeah, the ultra possession "pep ball" period is coming to an end. Going back to a much more direct style. I think the watchability of the game should improve as a result. Long periods of suffocating possession by one side is not much fun.

Just lost to Kosovo at home tonight too.... Probably going to get sacked shortly I would imagine.

I think having a player like Gordon out wide left is pretty crucial as Kane will drop deep and he will succeed only as much as other players get beyond him. Saka is brilliant but he is someone who is not going to get through the centre in the space Kane vacates. So the left needs a direct runner. That said surely Rashford will do that job better than Gordon if he continues in the same vein at Barca? Plus obviously much stronger goal scoring record.