That's fair enough, but my concern is different to the discussion about whether to adopt an attitude of belief or pessimism. It's about the nuts and bolts of how Wayne Rooney manages to achieve his goal of changing the playing style right now, bearing in mind A) the players he has to work with B) the restrictions regarding switching the players who can't do it for better ones C) what the disruption means for our position in the league and how that might affect everyone involved if things take a lot of time to turn around.
It seems like a very high risk strategy. The reasoning for taking this risk, according to Wayne in his post-match interviews recently - "The teams that get out of this league, bar Luton, have the ball. Football has changed, especially in the championship. The teams who play football are normally the ones who win games." But when you look at what has happened when he has tried to thrust this change of playing style upon the team, it has really highlighted how difficult it is going to be to make this change all of a sudden.
He claims that because of this difficulty, he is "focussing on out of possession and being a horrible team to play against" and "then improve gradually with the ball". But so far it seems to have made us great to play against and not that horrible at all. It's quite possible to be a team with high rates of possession without forcing your goalkeeper to play it out from the back, but like so many other teams, their managers are obsessed with forcing this because it's the 'in thing' right now - even when there are no noticable benefits and the keeper keeps having a meltdown and passing to the opposing striker.
I hope we can make this transition to the new style work but I am concerned. I would be interested to hear from those who are confident about it - how do they see this working with the players we have and the financial restrictions we have?
Come on now ... " how do they see this working with the players we have and the financial restrictions we have?" ... you, me, and others haven't got a straight answer to that question for weeks now, so it's hardly likely to happen now. I thought our best play on Saturday came from transitions, especially when Ruddy threw the ball out quickly - and especially when it gave Dembele chance to get at his full back at speed, before the full back was set and ready - and not from the attemts at playing progressively where we looked slow, over deliberate and ponderous and when the opposition hten had time to set, adjust and combat what was very predictable. There was still too much space behind our full backs (not as much as before) and the gaps between Sanderson and Aiwu you could have driven the SW team bus through.
But you won't get an answer --- you'll get accused of thinking e.ustace was The Messiah, not backing Knighthead, being a Villa fan, being anti-Rooney, being a boo-boy, a mouth breather, a Luddite etc etc - but you won't get a reasoned answer - because there isn't a reasoned answer that i've heard.
That's why that gang on here will pounce and try and shut you down, because they have invessted so much into this that they have never stopped to think or consider things - but as Cook said tonight - it is right to question things when we don't think they are "world class". That's the only way the club can grow.
Cook doesn't want to be surrounded by "yes men" - but that doesn't register with most the posters on here
S
Burnley tried something similar to what we are trying.
Move away from Dyche ball, hire an inexperienced manager to play a different style of play. They had the benefit of parachute money but they failed to win their first four games.
The thinking is... WR will bring in more money. More money means we can buy better players. In the meantime, him and his team of young and well thought of coaches will try and improve the players we have.
We're not trying to teach them a new sport. The defense get less protection in order to have more attacking threat. Wanting to play a more attacking way, doesn't mean you will automatically win games. But they believe that this season is safe and want to allow enough time to see what players can adapt. The ones who can't will be upgraded next summer with the extra money brought in and the money we save when contracts run out.
Explain to me how you would improve a style of play if you spend the next year playing to mediocre players strengths only?
Burnley fans aren't happy with Kompany. A lot are calling for his head, right now. Sheff U didn't play progressive football, either. They steam rolled over most teams and ran them into the ground, last season.
Stats wise, JE was superior to WR apart from possession. JE 47% and WR had 51%.
Once WR has played 11 games we'll be able to compare their stats, at blues. Points per game is probably the best indicator we have. 11 games and 18 points = 1.6 for JE
So far wayne has only managed an average of 0.66 Points per game.
Burnley tried something similar to what we are trying.
Move away from Dyche ball, hire an inexperienced manager to play a different style of play. They had the benefit of parachute money but they failed to win their first four games.
The thinking is... WR will bring in more money. More money means we can buy better players. In the meantime, him and his team of young and well thought of coaches will try and improve the players we have.
We're not trying to teach them a new sport. The defense get less protection in order to have more attacking threat. Wanting to play a more attacking way, doesn't mean you will automatically win games. But they believe that this season is safe and want to allow enough time to see what players can adapt. The ones who can't will be upgraded next summer with the extra money brought in and the money we save when contracts run out.
Explain to me how you would improve a style of play if you spend the next year playing to mediocre players strengths only?
Thanks for your thoughtful and well-explained replies - I know they were to Rags but I think you were also addressing my query about putting some reasoning behind why people feel positive. You make some very good points which help me to understand the thinking behind this plan a little better. I would slightly query the 'this season is safe' comment, but I'm sure that others on here would suggest that there are at least three teams in this league worse than we are. I really hope that that's the case.
Thanks again for explaining, I'll give the negativity a rest because I can understand why our fans on here just want to enjoy the positivity the club are injecting - we've been starved of it for a very long time.
You can’t compare the two after 11 games, you have to give WR this season and all of next summer.
Are we really writing this season off already then?
Seems a long time ago that some posters on here were stating that with the squad we have and the start we had, that playoffs were a realistic ambition.....
Like GC said you can’t take everyone along with you. 30% will just not believe. I find that incredible after the last decade. I’m not sure what those people want.
You can’t compare the two after 11 games, you have to give WR this season and all of next summer.
Are we really writing this season off already then?
Seems a long time ago that some posters on here were stating that with the squad we have and the start we had, that playoffs were a realistic ambition.....
Playoffs were never realistic, anyone who seriously thought that was being a bit delusional.
This season was always on solidifying us in the mid table before relatively heavy investment in the playing squad next summer.
