weasel wrote: ↑Wed Dec 13, 2023 10:20 pm
I think he has made a huge difference. It would have been very easy to have had a complete hangover season and do nothing. A lot of players were on their knees confidence wise, Messlier, Struyjk and Rutter to name 3. He has got Dan James and Summerville playing well consistently and having end product. From a man-management point of view he has gelled the team. Transfers wise he has done pretty well. Signing Rodon, Spence, Ampadu, Piroe, Byram, Kamara, Gurev and Darlow has been pretty successful, 5 of them I would describe as good signings and the other 3 we havent really seen enough of yet to judge, Performance wise we have played some excellent football and yes we have some exciting players but he has also been brave enough to play 4 attacking players as well as having attack minded fullbacks. I think barring the Bielsa football the style of football is better than anything in the last 20+ years.
I think he has a calmness that could be a crucial factor if we get to the end of the season in a pressurised situation. I would contrast his demeanour to Arteta's which I felt contributed hugely to Arsenal imploding last season.
I think his man management is very decent I agree on that.
He seems to have given confidence to people like Rutter and James and helped Summerville grow as a player.
I think he has done OK with people like Struijk and Meslier, all be it they are still a bit iffy.
I have no issue with his man management.
I find his squad use poor, I think his failure to rotate directly lead to performances like Sunderland. I think as I've mentioned before his style away from home is a problem collectively at times and individually.
I think his unwillingness or inability to adapt in game is a problem, he is often very slow to react to games and his subs seem pre planned
I don't think it gets the best out of Piroe and in fact I think the slow build up and lack of passing lanes as a consequence is part of the issue and that is his fault.
May be in the minority but whilst occasionally some decent passing moves occur I think its largely dictated by Summerville or Rutter doing something brilliant hence why when they are marked out and struggling he doesn't seem to have an alternative.
I find the style very boring quite a bit, very slow and plodding which given our biggest strength is our attack and quick transition very strange.
I think as a man manager he is fine but I personally think you can see more and more why he has struggled as a top level coach.