George Graham Mark 2.

comment by Rueduciel (U22417)
posted 1 minute ago
Poch had us playing beautifully and we very nearly hit the promised land.
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But he won nothing and is now unemployed. What an amazingly successful managerial career he has.

I've won as many trophies as he has LMAO
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You've not understood a word I've said

Comment Deleted by Article Creator

That’s quite enough of that.

I'm pleas with the 2 wins on the bounce but my god the football is poop.

If Jose can improve the football and get the results his welcome to stay if not get rid.

Uhh? What did he say? Curious about the deletion.

comment by fridgeboy (U1053)
posted 33 minutes ago
If you set aside styles of play, there's no doubt that six months into Poch's reign you could see a marked improvement in results. We had a developing way of playing and a clear plan. I know we have to factor in Covid a little on the progress Jose but let's be clear on this... shuffling the ball around the back and passing it back to Lloris to punt the ball as far as he can is not a plan. It's Sunday League. It's like he's regressed. His original Chelsea team with Duff and Robben bombing down the wing didn't play like that. He's actually got worse.

At the moment I think it's fair to say that we're not winning games because we've been good. We're winning games because the opposition have been wasteful. That means that if we're heading in a defensive direction, it's not working at all as we're conceding far too many opportunities. Both Arsenal and Newcastle hit the post in the last two games so the tactical 'masterclass' is nothing of the sort. It's just good luck. That's not a good basis for any club to build on, particularly one so entrenched in the idea that glory is more important than trophies.

I watched a programme about Spurs in the CL the other day and although it didn't seem like it at the time, those games against City and Ajax will stand the test of time as great memories despite losing the final. That's not success but it is glory. I don't think we'll see anything exciting in that mould under Jose and that's the crucial difference. Yeah, he might win a League Cup with us but so what? Other managers have managed that with much worse teams. Poch had us playing beautifully and we very nearly hit the promised land. Jose has no chance of matching that. Not even close.
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Hear, hear!

Fridge boy knows the score

If you don`t have the players to play through midfield (we don`t) then you go long and bypass it, one of our main weaknesses is central midfield so why ask them to do things they are not capable of.

We have players such as Sissoko who is a workhorse who covers defensively (nothing wrong with that under the right circumstances) but can`t pass a football, create or score. Then Winks who is basically a water carrier, whose job is to keep the ball and pass it to somebody more creative, unfortunately most of our creative sparks have either left and not been replaced (Eriksen) are injured (Dele) or still acclimatizing fully to the PL (Lo Celso).

I would be staggered if we don`t see improvement in midfield this summer, Mourinho is just making the best out of what he has got at the moment imo.

Silverware is what this club needs, and I don`t care how it arrives, if the football is ordinary and we win things then so be it, we have had decades of playing pretty football and won the absolute square route of fack all in the process.

comment by fridgeboy (U1053)
posted 1 hour, 2 minutes ago
Uhh? What did he say? Curious about the deletion.
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He’s a non Spurs fan and a Jose obsessive.

comment by ● Billy The Yidd ● 2020* (U3924)
posted 1 hour, 41 minutes ago
If you don`t have the players to play through midfield (we don`t) then you go long and bypass it, one of our main weaknesses is central midfield so why ask them to do things they are not capable of.

We have players such as Sissoko who is a workhorse who covers defensively (nothing wrong with that under the right circumstances) but can`t pass a football, create or score. Then Winks who is basically a water carrier, whose job is to keep the ball and pass it to somebody more creative, unfortunately most of our creative sparks have either left and not been replaced (Eriksen) are injured (Dele) or still acclimatizing fully to the PL (Lo Celso).

I would be staggered if we don`t see improvement in midfield this summer, Mourinho is just making the best out of what he has got at the moment imo.

Silverware is what this club needs, and I don`t care how it arrives, if the football is ordinary and we win things then so be it, we have had decades of playing pretty football and won the absolute square route of fack all in the process.
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This for me sums up where we seem to be going wrong. Teams with an identity, a direction, a clear way of playing are the ones that gain success longer term. City and Liverpool will have an identity from youth to seniors, regardless of who manages so whilst I think Jose is wrong, if what you say about his faith in our midfield is true, then it's Levy's fault for thinking you can can take a squad built on high-press passing ability and turn it into a park the bus defensive unit. You just can't. You can't expect an artist to be a flat track bully.

That said, I still think you're wrong. Of course we can play through midfield. You have to remember that these are largely Poch's players. He did pretty well playing that way didn't he? We've never finished higher without him. Even when Eriksen was out for various games, we'd usually win. No, my instinct tells me that Jose doesn't know how to play out and through the midfield. He thinks Ndombele is useless because he can't do what he wants. Jose doesn't focus on the stuff he CAN do. He'd have been in full flow now under Poch. I guarantee it.

I'm willing to reserve complete judgement on this comment until we've got the players in that Jose wants but in truth, the prospect scares the hell out of me. We could end up losing our best players because they can't do what Jose wants. These are Champions League players. Now we're no longer in the competition and we don't pay much, who the hell is he gonna get in to replace them? At least at United, they had enough money to tidy up the mess he left behind. In two years it'll be a massacre and there won't be a penny in the pot to solve it.