I thought once we equalised we were better than Albion, Leeds I thought we played well
Plymouth was fortunate tbf
Nikola ZigicPreston got called lucky for beating us, I think the game against Albion was similar. The pen no one but the ref saw changed the game tbfI don't think we got lucky against Leeds or Albion tbh. Plymouth yeah.
Rab C NesbittNikola ZigicPreston got called lucky for beating us, I think the game against Albion was similar. The pen no one but the ref saw changed the game tbfI don't think we got lucky against Leeds or Albion tbh. Plymouth yeah.
We had the luck with us for both Plymouth and Leeds
Mr DriscollNikola ZigicIt reminds me of Bowyer and Cotterill. There's no discernible way of playing and we rely entirely on individual brilliance.
When they click and there's space to play then we look better- Blackburn. When we're tasked with being a tactically aware and drilled team, Rotherham- we are awful.
I keep going on about it but I could live with these results and even these performances if you could see they were working towards change. But you can't see it at all.
It's alarming.
Now there's a ridiculous narrative forming that the players aren't good enough. Well...
- They were unbeaten at home
- They were hard to beat
- They were in the playoffs - fact, yes there were caveats around that but they were getting enough results to be there.
Now we want to rip up the squad to satisfy a manager who has shown absolutely no track record in getting results. It's lunacy.
Just like Rowett, the replacement was the big issue. If they'd got someone in here with a good track record who understood evolution not revolution we'd all be behind it.
It's going to end in tears for someone.
This. All the way.
Yep, agreed. It's troubling indeed. I could understand it if we'd brought in a reputable manager, although it would still make the summer recruitment look stupid. But we haven't. We've brought in an unproven manager and just to justify his appointment we're suggesting what was a capable squad should now be ripped up.
I'd also like to know, with P&S in mind, just how we're supposed to do that.
quarkRab C NesbittI think Rooney is acting on orders though. He’s been bought in to change things. If Rooney goes well still be expected to play a passing style. Same as every other team affiliated to the club
That comes under “ managing expectations “ if my boss asks me to do something and I don’t have the tools or personnel to do it
I TELL HIM. We then work out what we can achieve now and how we will progress going forward.
Maybe je did that and that was too negative for cook.
BluSabreThe only thing I will say is to remember the context. Rooney has been given a brief by Knighthead to completely overhaul the playing style. I do think the whole spine of the team needs improving to play in the way he/Knighthead wants.
If Rooney goes we have to remember the brief for the manager will presumably stay the same. Also, having the technical director model allows for this kind of change i.e they won't be solely 'Rooney players'.
That said, there has been little sign of progression in the eight games. Trying to change too much too quickly strikes me as poor management really. This is the best squad of players we have had in some time so I think it's fair to be expecting better than what we have seen so far.
We have six games until the January window opens, I'm just hoping he can pick up a couple of wins between now and then and some new blood improves things quickly. Obviously the concern is its difficult to see where those wins are coming from.
Has it come from Knighthead or Garry Cook?
If that is indeed the brief then it's worrying from those at the top given our circumstances. I'm minded to look at Newcastle, who replicate us in some ways, albeit on a far, far, far higher level.
The owners took over a team constantly battling relegation and have been/are currently restricted by P&S. They replaced their manager to improve things but hired someone with pedigree but who has room to grow and allowed him to build slowly. The Newcastle press say the goals were: stay up first season, 10th next season, and Europe the season after. Howe has largely kept the same playing staff but done what good managers do and improved them. The shift in style has happened gradually - they weren't suddenly playing high tempo, high pressing the minute Bruce left.
What you say gives the impression that Knighthead/Cook are expecting to walk before they can run and that's worrying because it won't work. The summer suggested the ownership were going to be sensible about things, like Newcastle's owners but Rooney's appointment has always suggested the opposite.
Fry always said it's better to be a lucky manager than a good one 🤣
That was Napoleon. Give me lucky generals.
Rab C Nesbittnumber8Yep. Some truth in it. We got lucky against Albion, Leeds and Plymouth and Christ some the legacy of that hangs over home games like toxic smokeFry always said it's better to be a lucky manager than a good one 🤣
bowyer started off as a lucky manager, goals falling right to save us then a good start to the next season but they soon reverted to type.
Who knows if je overperformed with these players or the system just worked (to an extent)
number8I think mid season is ok if you go evolution over revolution. Rooney went too quick, I think he knows that now and it's leading to uncertainty all over the place.
And this is what makes it feel like Zola 2.0. He went quick, confused everyone, panicked and reverted back (it seems Rooney is now going to do the same) and confused everyone even more and eventually just lost control of the dressing room. I can see the same happening again.
Onel HernandezRab C Nesbittnumber8Yep. Some truth in it. We got lucky against Albion, Leeds and Plymouth and Christ some the legacy of that hangs over home games like toxic smokeFry always said it's better to be a lucky manager than a good one 🤣
bowyer started off as a lucky manager, goals falling right to save us then a good start to the next season but they soon reverted to type.
Who knows if je overperformed with these players or the system just worked (to an extent)
In just over a season, JE kept us well clear of relegation - an improvement on the previous manager - and then built on that this season with better results and performances. Undermining his time here is trying to satisfy some poor decision making from the top because we want to believe Knighthead are infallible. They're not. They'll make mistakes and that's okay as long as they get it right in the main.
Just watched Ipswich’s second goal against Cov ( an absolute belter if anyone gets chance to see it) and they pass out from the back easy as leading up to it.
Barely any money spent, plenty who were playing in league one last season. It’s not fecking rocket science to play half decent football.
Super HansA stunning goal and yes lots of league one players from last season who have adapted to their manager’s styleJust watched Ipswich’s second goal against Cov ( an absolute belter if anyone gets chance to see it) and they pass out from the back easy as leading up to it.
Barely any money spent, plenty who were playing in league one last season. It’s not fecking rocket science to play half decent football.
I’m happy to believe you when you say Villa John kept us well clear of relegation. That didn’t stop a large number of posters on here squealing that we were yet again “circling the drain” and insisting that we would go down.
Might even have been the same posters that are squealing now.
I sometimes doubt the wisdom of football fans.
My word - it’s more than a bit concerning that we’ve now resorted to talking about luck, refereeing decisions etc.
The best teams are at the top, the worst are at the bottom. End of.
We have been abject defensively in almost every game under WR. I hate that, but it’s a fact.
Middlesbrough, Sunderland, Southampton and Rotherham should all have scored several more goals than they did.
If we’re talking ifs, buts and maybe’s and we could have scraped an extra point here and there then we’ve also got to say that we could easily have got no more than 1 point against the bottom 2 sides at home.
More worrying than that is the performances in those games were abject. Rotherham were much better than us. SW were much better than us 1st half, and we were perhaps very slightly better than them 2nd half.
Over the course of those 2 games, never mind the ones we were well beaten in, that’s worrying in the extreme.
I see we have landed at the 'it's about luck' part of this experiment.