How long will Ruben last this next-season?

comment by kinsang (U3346)
posted 13 minutes ago
I have more doubts because we were simply so poor last season. i can accept that things would be difficult like Amorim said, but they shouldn't have been as bad as what they were. He admitted as much.

Things like him coming in without a pre-season, players getting used to his ways etc are factors to a degree, but not to the extent that we should have been soooo bad.

So he needs a positive start next season, otherwise he will be gone quickly. Surely both he and the team will be better, just a case of by how much and is it good enough. Here's hoping, but he's benefitted from what has happened under other managers that he didn't get sacked last season...............and maybe that will turn out to be a good omen...........
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I kind of agree with all of this. As much as I like the way he talks and conducts himself, the football he has served up so far hasn't been good enough.

I cling to the fact that his system is quite unusual, so will time some time to instill into the squad and also some of his own signings. However, my overriding feeling is that he should have got more out of the team last season.

comment by Elvis (U7425)
posted 1 minute ago
comment by kinsang (U3346)
posted 13 minutes ago
I have more doubts because we were simply so poor last season. i can accept that things would be difficult like Amorim said, but they shouldn't have been as bad as what they were. He admitted as much.

Things like him coming in without a pre-season, players getting used to his ways etc are factors to a degree, but not to the extent that we should have been soooo bad.

So he needs a positive start next season, otherwise he will be gone quickly. Surely both he and the team will be better, just a case of by how much and is it good enough. Here's hoping, but he's benefitted from what has happened under other managers that he didn't get sacked last season...............and maybe that will turn out to be a good omen...........
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I kind of agree with all of this. As much as I like the way he talks and conducts himself, the football he has served up so far hasn't been good enough.

I cling to the fact that his system is quite unusual, so will time some time to instill into the squad and also some of his own signings. However, my overriding feeling is that he should have got more out of the team last season.
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I just wonder how unusual his system is - even if it is his version of 3-4-3, we see various clubs with new managers implement their systems with relatively more success. I do think that Amorim has not tried to hide behind this - he has admitted that it hasn't been good enough.
It won't be a pre-season alone that improves things. of course transfers help, but the players need to step it up and Amorim simply needs to be better - there really are no excuses for us being as poor as we were, and there really needs to be a huge leap of improvement.

Tough fixture list to start, we could well be in our comfy 16th berth after the first few games with the pressure well on Amorim to survive past Christmas.

Needs to dump Onana for sure, nobody would want their future in those hands.

All we can do is take it one step at a time. I don't really buy into this tough start to the fixture list - you just don't know how anything is going to turn out these days - who would have thought Spurs and us would be near the bottom of the league last season, or that Forrest would be so tough, especially at the start. But we will know not just from results but from the performances themselves if things look like they have improved early on.

I feel that getting in a new GK and CM is just as important as getting in a new CF

comment by kinsang (U3346)
posted 8 minutes ago
All we can do is take it one step at a time. I don't really buy into this tough start to the fixture list - you just don't know how anything is going to turn out these days - who would have thought Spurs and us would be near the bottom of the league last season, or that Forrest would be so tough, especially at the start. But we will know not just from results but from the performances themselves if things look like they have improved early on.

I feel that getting in a new GK and CM is just as important as getting in a new CF
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A CM is critical, in my opinion, but I don't see any links with united to new CMs, maybe that's a good thing.

We cannot go into the new season with Bruno, casemiro and mainoo. This is a disaster waiting to happen.

comment by Ali - 🇪🇦 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 (U1192)
posted 6 minutes ago
comment by kinsang (U3346)
posted 8 minutes ago
All we can do is take it one step at a time. I don't really buy into this tough start to the fixture list - you just don't know how anything is going to turn out these days - who would have thought Spurs and us would be near the bottom of the league last season, or that Forrest would be so tough, especially at the start. But we will know not just from results but from the performances themselves if things look like they have improved early on.

I feel that getting in a new GK and CM is just as important as getting in a new CF
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A CM is critical, in my opinion, but I don't see any links with united to new CMs, maybe that's a good thing.

We cannot go into the new season with Bruno, casemiro and mainoo. This is a disaster waiting to happen.
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I think because we were so bad last season, it is hard to envisage how much better we can / should be this season.

GK is a no-brainer for me. A CF would also be good, although i think with Cunha, and assuming Mbuemo, we could cope way better than last season goals wise, assuming those 2 settle in quickly.

I think Ugarte will get better, and I am hoping Mainoo shows a lot more this season - can those 2 be our midfield pairing? Bruno I feel is wasted there and ideally would be further up front. But I also think that if our team overall plays better, this will naturally help our midfield - I think the lack of team cohesion last season just affected us in all areas of the pitch.

So even if we get in a new CM, there will be times when the likes of Bruno / Cas / Mainoo will need to do a job in there regardless.

Crap I forgot about Ugarte . Still, it's a pretty poor midfield even with him.

Back to expectations, my outlook is relatively positive based on a few things:

1. I do really rate Amorim, based on all I've read about his skill set: very strong on both motivation / psychology / communication and tactically clever. Everyone gets hung up on his 3-4-3 meaning he's not flexible, but he has shown lots of ability to come up with tactical tweaks within that framework to adjust to the personnel available and the needs of individual matches. I believe if he's given the tools, he'll improve us drastically.
2. Last year was dreadful, but underneath the bad results that continued to the end of the season, the squad was evidently getting better and better at executing Amorim's methods. We weren't giving up as many chances, we were working the ball into the final third more consistently, we were winning back possession in a more organised way. The fact that we couldn't produce enough chances or convert enough of them was fatal, and I think largely down to personnel, which I hope will be addressed over the summer.
3. After the last 12 years, I'll be happy if we demonstrate we have a clear sporting plan, a strong coach and recruitment/investment/academy aligned and pushing in the same direction. How quickly that leads us to glory (however we define it) is unknowable, but I just don't see the point in impatience. We know we are miles away, and if we have any kind of memory of the last few years, we should know that kneejerk signings and silver bullets aimed at putting us back on top in one short leap almost always end up setting us back. Give me a plan that looks well thought through and I will be patient.

I have no issue in giving Amorim more time. With any manager, unless they are particularly bad, then that's the least you can do. I know that some have reached that point already with Amorim, but I'm not there.

When we were first in for Amorim, the feeling I had about him was very strong - it has been dented a bit, but I still have faith in him.

But being realistic, there has to be tangible improvement at the start of next season - he recognises this as well. Maybe not on these boards, but generally there seems to be a lot of goodwill towards him at OT, so I think he will get a fair crack at it - I just hope we don't have to start thinking of another change next season.

I think he’ll get until Xmas sadly.