I think he knows what he's doing. These glorified bounce games since the restart have been largely meaningless, but they've given him final confirmation of what he has to work with and what he needs to bring in, and more importantly he can go to the board with iron-clad proof of who needs replacing (even if they can't be moved on just yet). I'd like to think that some of those who've conspired to see off several lesser managers have finally met their Waterloo.
Well, I disagree. As a coach, it's a dream when you're newly hired to have a handful of matches that don't matter. Then you get the opportunity to work with the system that you want to implement, try out new players, etc., without major consequences. This is a luxury that most coaches do not get. Of course, if the motivation is only based on results, then such a period will be unmotivating. But the best thing is to focus on the performance, and what you can control yourself.
In Norway now we have a phenomenon, a team called Bodø-Glimt, which is one of the teams with the lowest budget in the series. The players are mostly local, as well as players who have not been found good enough for other competing teams. Now they top the league and they play fantastic offensive and entertaining football. Here they have focused on achievements, not results, and building their own identity.
The coach has taken his philosophy from the famous Rosenborg (RBK) coach Nils Arne Eggen - led RBK to the quarterfinals of the CL in the 90's, and beat a number of big teams such as Real Madrid, Dortmund etc. The team initially consisted of local carpenters and plumbers .), gradually it became more professional, but the resources were peanuts in the big picture.
His main philosophy was to attack, fast and vertically. Play forward when you can, and backward when you have to. He further believed that the players should make each other better. That is, to play on each other's strengths. He had an expression that he often used: It is important to be good yourself, but it is even more important to make the others better! Whoever wants success, must sincerely wish others success!
Therefore, the teams were also composed of players who had complementary skills - not necessarily the best individual players, but players who had extreme skills. He therefore believed that what you were good at, you should practice even more.
The training was always organized so that it was as similar to the match situations as possible, so that they could practice the offensive patterns. Here they constantly practiced putting the players in situations in which they were skilled.
My point is, being a good coach is not about buying the best players, then you can play FM, but to create a complex system based on the players' skills. To then practice, practice, and practice. We have had an excellent opportunity for this now, and these matches have therefore not been meaningless.
