Knighthead managed by Tom Wagner is successful at taking struggling businesses and turning them around.
So based purely on business, why would you keep a manager of that new business if he can't run it properly.
You wouldn't.
New manager required.
I’m sorry, but this is just not true.
Rooney’s problems are caused by, in order of importance:
Persisting , on the whole,
with ridiculous tactics in terms of positioning of FB’s, and, at times CH’s
Poor selections - eg ‘s are putting Sunjic, who is crucial to a team like ours in right midfield, and then dropping him altogether, meaning we got murdered through the middle as well S in the (non-existent) FB areas.
Starting, God-love him, Juke in some games
Poor subsitutions - I have more sympathy here as we have no viable alternatives to Stansfield.
Publicly criticising the poor performances that result from his tactics.
Injuries (more recently) have not helped, but most of his issues are totally self-inflicted
I will die on a hill arguing that without the timing of that pen against the Baggies we were on our way to a battering
Without Oakley coming on for Laird we’d have beat Swansea
Without Hogan missing a pen we’d have beat Millwall
Without the red card we’d have got a point at Watford
Without Beilik scoring an own goal we’d have at least drawn against Preston
BluubaldersI’m sorry, but this is just not true.
Rooney’s problems are caused by, in order of importance:
Persisting , on the whole,
with ridiculous tactics in terms of positioning of FB’s, and, at times CH’s
Poor selections - eg ‘s are putting Sunjic, who is crucial to a team like ours in right midfield, and then dropping him altogether, meaning we got murdered through the middle as well S in the (non-existent) FB areas.
Starting, God-love him, Juke in some games
Poor subsitutions - I have more sympathy here as we have no viable alternatives to Stansfield.
Publicly criticising the poor performances that result from his tactics.
Injuries (more recently) have not helped, but most of his issues are totally self-inflicted
Oh come on he has only started Juke 3 times this season, we have 2 recognised strikers and the other is Hogan.
Injuries (more recently) - that is is a stretch, he has been without Laird for all but a couple of games where he hasn't been properly match fit, had Long fit for first 3, didn't get Buchanan back until the Sheffield Wednesday game only to lose him again over Xmas and hasn't had any opportunity really to utilise Anderson, Roberts or Hall
And as for this FB thing of playing too high, maybe you are right or maybe we just simply have a largely inadequate centre half playing at right back and a left winger now LWB playing in a back 4 in Longelo who, as last season gets forward well but is all over the shop at times as a conventional full back.
Conversely if we play our full backs deeper, keep two defense minded midfielders, have no out and out striker and only one winger in the whole squad the criticism would revert to a team who can largely defend but cannot score.
Sunjic, I agree, Rooney probably was too overconfident in Belik playing as the one holding midfielder.
Tbf perhaps we could get away with it if laird was fit, and Buchanan on the other side. As it happens lairds not, and won’t be till end of Jan at the earliest, so he has to adapt with what he’s got. Aiwu isn’t good enough to do it, so for me he’s got to drop them deeper, or play 3 centre halves to cover the space. Otherwise we’re just going to keep conceding goals and chances for fun, even worse given ruddy is out of form as well.
Re the injuries you can say the same about our previous manager. He was without Laird, Dembele, Anderson, Buchanan, Tyler Roberts and Hall for a number of games
Not Waving but DrowningOr hold his hands up admit the job is beyond his limited capability and just resign?
It is such a shame having one of Englands and world’s great centre forward as the coach for Birmingham isn’t working out…Imagine if Rooney had improved on our league position .it does look like to be back to square one .
I will contribute. We played extremely well in the first half against Plymouth, without that brainfart by Sanderson we would have been potential 3 or more up by half time. Cardiff we played well, Leicester we attacked well but left ourselves exposed. I didn't see Stoke so that is why I am more optimistic about tonight than others.
Eustace had Laird, Buchanan, Long and Anderson available and fit throughout the early performances. It was only Huddersfield & WBA where Eustace had to cope with the loss of most of the above, I will die on a hill arguing that without the timing of that pen against the Baggies we were on our way to a battering. I think losing key personnel and the drop in form of Sanderson & Ruddy has been Rooney's issue more than tactics.
Laird? Stech has been down the Blues more times than him this season. I can't be bothered looking at the stats so I might be leaving myself wide open but I think he missed enough of JE's games too. Has he played a full game?
Brilliant summary.
The Cardiff game showed more than any other game so far that he’s able to adapt. Feels like the players are the ones unable to do so atm
This. The OP and others bang on about “going back to” JE’s style but the truth is JE’s “style” only worked sometimes and he adopted a few different styles anyway. He was constantly berated for not knowing his best line up, making poor substitutions, etc - all the usual noise fans make when a manager is doing badly. I presume they want the “style” of his last two games rather than the six that preceded them. Or will this nonsense be forgotten if Rooney manages to win two games back to back?
If the transfer window was season long instead of January and the close season fans would be looking a lot harder at whether the players were good enough but as we can only change managers it’s their fault the players they’ve inherited aren’t good enough and woe betide any manager who a] struggles to get them playing consistently (NB: villa John the genius couldn’t) or b] publicly state that the players aren’t good enough.
Honestly it’s not that difficult.
Against Cardiff he brought Sunjic back in, played a sensible line-up, and more importantly tactics ie defensive line
We got a clean sheet - (his 2nd, because somehow Rotherham had kept managing to miss when they kept walking through) - and his only one away from home.
At Cardiff we also created loads of chances and could/should have won by more.
You said you didn’t watch Stoke - you missed our (less competent) FB’s spending most of their time over the halfway line.
All 3 goals, and loads of other chances came as a direct result
And he did the same with the full backs at Boro and Sunderland, it didn't matter if it was Laird, Drameh or Aiwu at right back, all 3 got ripped to pieces in the respective games
I reckon Boro must have got down our left hand side at least 15 times in the first half and got a cross in