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See I get that, and I'm genuinely not having a go at Ancelotti here, but that's his job isn't it? I mean the squad is the squad, we knew what we were asking him to work with and he knew what we had. We're not going to go out and get him a whole new team this summer, he's still going to have these issues next year, and the year after. All managers do. Unless you're at City or Real Madrid, the chances are you're going to have a decent number of players in your squad who in an ideal world you wouldn't touch with a barge pole. Again it's not a criticism of Ancelotti, I just think we need to stop with the 'what do you expect him to do with these players' line, because these are the players we've got.
kenada_blue
Welcome to Barcelonaton FC
Allan is a robust player. He can carry the ball which is what's needed.
He's brought King in too who had pace (why they feel he's not fit to start I don't know). So I do think it hasnt gone a miss with him.
Doucs and Allan are energy in our midfield. Either one is missed when not playing cos the replacements are completely different players.
Carlo knows. That midfield 3 of Doucs, Allan, Gomes complements each other well. Gomes is still the problem as he's massively inconsistent. Replace him with a say, Barkley/Maddison type player...you're on to a winner
Death
I'll take down dat coal powered MG, I tel u Hwat
We
That's brilliant. So we just have to improve by a few percent and we are in contention.
We are in the European places with a game in hand and in your eyes we have been atrocious.
That's brilliant. So we just have to improve by a few percent and we are in contention.
sheedys left foot
Player Valuation: £10m
Imagine logging into the Carlo thread after the newcastle * 2, West Ham, villa, Fulham games?
most fans are delighted to have him here and rightly so but his game plan isn’t free from criticism.
Quite a few have noted the lack of pace and duff players, as well as a quite reactive system deep sitting system ('modern Catenaccio' or otherwise)
Personally I think Carlo is making do with the players he has. They really can't play high pressure footie. A few might, but the rest are too slow.
The problem is we can't get up the pitch when sitting deep because of the same reason, particularly against teams who press. Think back to Leicester winning thevtitje with, on paper, a mostly journeyman squad with a couple of gems. They sat deep, absorbed and then bunted the ball up to Vardy / Kagawa in behind or Mahrez to do his thing. We don't have blistering pace.
You could argue we should be more progressive dictate possession, but bar James the midfield we have isn't capable of the killer pass consistently. More cruelly they'll just lose the ball through being a bit of a donkey / one dimensional, slow and hurried off the ball by PED infused gargoylepressers (or whatever you call it).
Personally I think Carlo is making do with the players he has. They really can't play high pressure footie. A few might, but the rest are too slow.
The problem is we can't get up the pitch when sitting deep because of the same reason, particularly against teams who press. Think back to Leicester winning thevtitje with, on paper, a mostly journeyman squad with a couple of gems. They sat deep, absorbed and then bunted the ball up to Vardy / Kagawa in behind or Mahrez to do his thing. We don't have blistering pace.
You could argue we should be more progressive dictate possession, but bar James the midfield we have isn't capable of the killer pass consistently. More cruelly they'll just lose the ball through being a bit of a donkey / one dimensional, slow and hurried off the ball by PED infused gargoylepressers (or whatever you call it).
Jim Hopper
Player Valuation: £40m
I was going to type a long post out arguing from both sides of the fence but I can’t even be bothered anymore. I don’t even know what to make of us anymore. I don’t even know what the solution is going to be. I don’t even know if our club is going to do what they should have done anyway and back the man to the max in the transfer window (I know FFP permits). Squad needs a massive overhaul. Sooner we are rid of the deadwood of years old then we can stop with the excuses, then the man has his own team and will/should be held fully responsible, I just can’t completely put the blame on him while the same old tried and tested slugs are still under contract and we are being forced to play them.
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Death
I'll take down dat coal powered MG, I tel u Hwat
We have lost a few games and performed bad. Jiminy Jillikers.
The outrage is daft.
I tend to reflect more on the fact he took over a regular bottom table side and we are now currently 7th and 5 points off champions league with a game on hand. In February. And he's great.
Egil Olsen
Player Valuation: £8m
I think we can play high pressure football, at least during periods of the match. But there is a middle ground between playing high pressure football and starting the pressure outside your own penalty area. We can e.g. start the pressure 5-10 meters inside the opponent's half.
However, what we do is extreme, and very reactive. We play as we lead the CL final 1-0, and there is 1 min of overtime left. The distance up to the opponent's goal is so long that the players need binoculars to orient themselves.
We are also not very good at counterattacks. So I simply do not understand the rationale behind the plan.
@catcherintherye & @Lanolin
Interesting debate between you two.
Both raising really good points.
If we grab a european spot that is a bonus for me. Look at the serious waste of money players that have left recently and compare to the quality of players brought in. James , Allan , Doucoure & Godrey.
As you say this is our squad and the manager has to work with it , on the whole he's done very well with it.
We all know we are still carrying some of remnants of bad planning ,but another season they will be gone or pushed further down the pecking order.
I'm convinced we wont see the type of football we all want to see until next summer when 3 or 4 better quality players are brought in.
Interesting debate between you two.
Both raising really good points.
If we grab a european spot that is a bonus for me. Look at the serious waste of money players that have left recently and compare to the quality of players brought in. James , Allan , Doucoure & Godrey.
As you say this is our squad and the manager has to work with it , on the whole he's done very well with it.
We all know we are still carrying some of remnants of bad planning ,but another season they will be gone or pushed further down the pecking order.
I'm convinced we wont see the type of football we all want to see until next summer when 3 or 4 better quality players are brought in.
MisterJ
Player Valuation: £25m
We got beat by City but there's no shame in that; they are an incredible team currently on an amazing run of form. When you can bring players like De Bruyne on as a late sub, that tells you a level we can only aspire to at the moment.
However, we have improved since last season, Ancelotti is doing wonders with what he inherited and he's added a touch of stardust (James) to our team.
Ok, the home form isn't great at the moment, but we'll be going back to 1 game a week soon, whilst those around us are playing in Europe. This will give the team a chance to recover between games and hopefully see the return of some form and a good run to the end of the season.
Be positive. Yes there have been a few bad results, but the trend is definitely an improvement on the last few seasons. Stay with it...
However, we have improved since last season, Ancelotti is doing wonders with what he inherited and he's added a touch of stardust (James) to our team.
Ok, the home form isn't great at the moment, but we'll be going back to 1 game a week soon, whilst those around us are playing in Europe. This will give the team a chance to recover between games and hopefully see the return of some form and a good run to the end of the season.
Be positive. Yes there have been a few bad results, but the trend is definitely an improvement on the last few seasons. Stay with it...
Death
I'll take down dat coal powered MG, I tel u Hwat
Why did you hire and sack 10 different managers over the last 10 seasons Carlo?? You don't get to use the 'first season excuse. We used them up. Its champions league in first season or you're a failure. This 5 points off champions league with a game in hand in February doesn't cut it you transitional bellend.
It's no good doing it for 15 mins, then getting turned over is it? Also, I suspect the staying deep strategy is because he knows Keane and Mina turn like oil tankers and get done by pace. Long term Godfrey addresses that, but he's arguably not looked ready for CB this season and he's been needed at LB.
Agree though, it's not a satisfactory set up. Its got us so far, but I think the squad is st its ceiling.
Gwladysstreetlad
Player Valuation: £50m
The behaviour of some on here has made one thing very clear. A sizable number of our fans will never back the manager no matter who he is. At the first sign of adversity the usual crowd will turn on him. They'll start with sly little digs and questioning his ability or suggest that he's past it (or never had "it" to begin with) before evolving into calling him all sorts and undermining him at every turn before vaguely (sometimes outright) saying that he needs the boot. Its just embarrassing. No manager will ever succeed here because they'll never get the chance to. Loyalty is an alien concept to some.
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