Damn, I thought this was going to be about Madrid buying James back for £20 mill, seems they still owe us one.
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Fates a funny thing. I'm actually strongly of the opinion being deprived of our two leading 'creative' players (for various reasons) this season has benefitted the team.
James, whilst being wonderfully talented, is slow and needs the team oriented towards him. T'other one is widely considered a ghost who slowed play. A bit of directness in our play, with the players to match, seems to be working.
It would have been interesting to see if Benitez would have dropped Ghosty. Being unable to play him makes that one a lot easier. Every other manager seemed in thrall to his 'work ethic' and 'attitude' despite contributing nothing. Equally would Ancelotti have countenanced sigming Gray or Townsend?
I think we all know Benitez wouldn't have indulged James.
James, whilst being wonderfully talented, is slow and needs the team oriented towards him. T'other one is widely considered a ghost who slowed play. A bit of directness in our play, with the players to match, seems to be working.
It would have been interesting to see if Benitez would have dropped Ghosty. Being unable to play him makes that one a lot easier. Every other manager seemed in thrall to his 'work ethic' and 'attitude' despite contributing nothing. Equally would Ancelotti have countenanced sigming Gray or Townsend?
I think we all know Benitez wouldn't have indulged James.
Key point though even if people say "It's only 3 games" is that Benitez has all ready come from behind to grab a win. He did it with a plan B and it was impressive. Something the other hero never had in his locker. If we went behind under Ancelotti it was curtains.
Terrarian
Player Valuation: £50m
One thing I learned from Carlo is that very top level footballers/athletes have a completely different mindset and dedication of those not so elite. All of them can play otherwise they wouldn't be top flight players but it's the small things that you yourself have to do, like diet and nutrition and living a healthy lifestyle.
I learned players not so dedicated can't just be left too it because they will toss it off like a lot of laymen workers. So having a manager that is always giving instruction to our not so bright stars looks like it was needed. Moyes was the same, he bled every last ounce out of the players we had to bridge the quality gap.
I don't know if they've done us a favour but we probably needed a more hands on manager.
I learned players not so dedicated can't just be left too it because they will toss it off like a lot of laymen workers. So having a manager that is always giving instruction to our not so bright stars looks like it was needed. Moyes was the same, he bled every last ounce out of the players we had to bridge the quality gap.
I don't know if they've done us a favour but we probably needed a more hands on manager.
Was it?
It didn't look too good, but we'll never know if he was going to turn it around or have an Arteta nightmare start, because he never got the chance.
So, neither yay or nay, but the Scottish verdict of 'Not Proven'
This.
One Game at a Time - have another look after 10 or so / bommy night-ish.
Then another look after the early cup rounds and the end of the Jan window
Then the big assessment at the end of the season
Egil Olsen
Player Valuation: £8m
Too early to conclude when it comes to Rafael, but that Ancelotti went to Madrid is only positive for us, and for Carlo. Ancelotti is an ok galleon figure in the big clubs, but he is not a coach who makes the team perform better than expected.
Rafael is the opposite, and puts an incredible amount of emphasis on the basic details. Everyone should work for the team, and the team always comes first. Since we are not Madrid, and can not win every game regardless of who the manager is, Rafael should in theory suit us better than Carlo.
Rafael is the opposite, and puts an incredible amount of emphasis on the basic details. Everyone should work for the team, and the team always comes first. Since we are not Madrid, and can not win every game regardless of who the manager is, Rafael should in theory suit us better than Carlo.
davids
Player Valuation: £70m
Ancelotti's luck was having an empty stadium season. Players coming off the pitch looking as if they'd played in someone's testimonial wouldn't have lasted long at Goodison without a fan backlash. His wins at the pit, Arsenal,Spurs etc broke years of traditional losses but if there had been crowds doubt that would have happened. The man was a lazy hypocrite and we do owe Madrid one (as long as it isn't DCL or Richarlison)
Early days yet...
Nah, Carlo is a top drawer manager, provably.
Perhaps we needed a coach though. Players love Ancelotti because of the freedom he gives, but all our bunch did with that freedom was shirk putting a shift in.
Benitez is more of a coach who demands certain things. May be more suited, who knows.
But let's not get carried away. Ancelotti had the same enough start last season. All we can say for sure is Benitez isn't the disaster some thought he'd be.
Perhaps we needed a coach though. Players love Ancelotti because of the freedom he gives, but all our bunch did with that freedom was shirk putting a shift in.
Benitez is more of a coach who demands certain things. May be more suited, who knows.
But let's not get carried away. Ancelotti had the same enough start last season. All we can say for sure is Benitez isn't the disaster some thought he'd be.
Think most fans were accepting the crap football on show, on the promise that Ancelotti would attract better players here for next season, but with our financial constraints, would we have been able to afford them ? I somehow doubt it, don't think Ancelotti is the type of manager to have in the trenches, battling, Benitez is I think more suited to that role.
The thing about Ancelloti, even with the well documented failings last season, there was a sense of momentum towards being something bigger. I.e. he took the job following promises around resources and player budget, possibly with input from usmanov.
Turns out he was just trousering a massive salary and waiting for a better offer. Maybe Benitez is what we need, time will tell.
Turns out he was just trousering a massive salary and waiting for a better offer. Maybe Benitez is what we need, time will tell.
Davideeyore
Player Valuation: £35m
Not knowing the ins and outs of coaching/managing a team, it would appear we have a manager who knows what he's doing and knows how to coach and manage the team. We've had it all in the last few years. Since Moyes.
They all have flaws. No doubt in my mind Ancelotti flattered to deceive. The football was the worse I've seen. Now we're more positive, forward, energetic, fitter. Early days.
They all have flaws. No doubt in my mind Ancelotti flattered to deceive. The football was the worse I've seen. Now we're more positive, forward, energetic, fitter. Early days.
Toff33Blues99
Player Valuation: £15m
Made a more impressive start last yr , how did that end
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