2018/19 Marco Silva - New Poll Added

[Nymzee]

I know he isn't. I do think he could play in a flat three, though. He has the ability. He can't play in a deep 2 in a 4-2-4/4-2-3-1, bar the odd occasion where we're on top/a man up etc.

Something needs changing, though.

Yeh dropping him for a game.

 

[irishgoose]

The jury is out on Silva. I see progress but I see also a sad continuation of established frailties.

However, we have to factor in Pickford. His form has destroyed our season single handedly. His catalogue of errors (with that derby catastrophe taking 'pride' of place) have skewed any analysis that can be made. The football has been decent, the application good; you just dont need a player in a key position making frequent costly errors.

Along with the summer failure to land a good striker, THAT'S been the deciding factor in our season.

I can’t believe I’m agreeing with you, in a way.

Pickford is a clown. He makes some crazy saves at times.

Does he make mistakes ? Yea quite a few but in all honesty so do a lot of players on this team.

In my opinion and it’s only my opinion this constant blaming everyone around him, throwing hands in the air, has to take a toll.

I may just be talking out my rear here but with the lack of chemistry and the rate at which any chemistry we did have evaporating fast.

I could be way wrong here but telling teammates to F-off and all the rest can’t be good for team chemistry.

For me chemistry seems to be biggest problem.

 

[brieverton]

We shouldn't be too precious about it, and can't be anyway I guess, but that really is poor form from them. Whatever ill-feeling there is should be kept behind closed doors.

 

[Lob]

Such a professionally ran club Watford aren't they. Cannot imagine any other club in the premier league sending a tweet like that. Unprofessional, childish, bitter and disrespectful. They will go through another dozen Managers and undoubtedly get relegated again at some point in the next few seasons.

 

[COYBL25]

I done exactly the same
That was some performance from Arsenal

It was exactly how I`d like us to play.

If only

 

[Tipp blue]

We seem to have a lot more deadwood than we’ve had before mate, also, the only 2 players out of contract at the end of the season are Williams and Baines, that still leaves a lot of deadwood.

jags and Browning are out of contract too

 

[catcherintherye]

The jury is out on Silva. I see progress but I see also a sad continuation of established frailties.

However, we have to factor in Pickford. His form has destroyed our season single handedly. His catalogue of errors (with that derby catastrophe taking 'pride' of place) have skewed any analysis that can be made. The football has been decent, the application good; you just dont need a player in a key position making frequent costly errors.

Along with the summer failure to land a good striker, THAT'S been the deciding factor in our season.

I've just looked at a few numbers (mainly saves per goal) and Pickfords ratio is very ordinary. Forget the mistakes (which can happen to young goalkeepers) but he has gone backwards since Sunderland. At Sunderland he made 2.7 saves per goal conceded. At us that has been 2.08 and then 2.03 saves per goal.

To give some wider perspective Stekelenberg is 1.79, Emerson 2.35, De Gea (having a torrid season) is 2.51 (and was 4.1 last season) Fabianski is 2.52 & Kepa is 2.47. Only Stekelenberg seems to be worse than him (Mignolet last season was 1.5).

Either way, we took a chance on a lad who in a chaotic football club, as a young goalkeeper made a commendable 2.7 saves per goal. As he got older you would hope this would move upwards, potentially towards the 3 mark. If he'd have just matched his Sunderland output we'd have conceded 25 goals this season.How many points would that have been worth 6/7/8?

If he'd have matched Alisson we'd have conceded 18 goals this season so far. I dread to think where we would be in the league. What you get is Alisson is a truly World Class keeper and Pickford is some way off.

It's not just the mistakes he's making either. His all round bread and butter game is very ordinary and has actually significantly regressed.

 

[vinvinvin]

I'm starting to think player power is a bit simplistic.
Chelsea, Mourinho, Conte and now Sarri are trying to put a system on the players they dont like. Ole Gunnar gives them one they 'like' player power negated.
Cause and effect?

I think there is some truth in this if you have good, talented group but they are being held back by ego clashes between rigid managers and the players, with justified complaints from the player side. I'd put the United squad in this camp as clearly the atmosphere had become toxic under Mourinho and he seemed insistent on playing alpha male games with his players. Chelsea as a group are less amenable to change I would say as there are problems throughout their squad (ageing defence, over reliance on Hazard, no striker of note, Kante out of position) and when the going gets tough they would be happier to lay the blame at another manager's door than take responsibility themselves. I'd class this as a mental weakness in the squad and would put our current lot in the same boat. They aren't a bunch of world beaters who need to be set off the leash, they're a group of players who haven't turned in an outstanding performance for getting on two years, less than a handful of very good performances in the same period and some of the most turgid and tragic performances in recent memory. It started well under Silva with all the right noises from the training ground about his sessions and the coaching, and the football was good for a while but as soon as problems started appearing the same old players started disappearing. It's telling that at the start of the season we were all taling about how there was suddenly competition in the squad and now all of a sudden the squad seems threadbare as there is a core of players at the club happy to accept a wage but who have no intention of digging in and trying to turn things around on the pitch. There are problems in the squad of course, as there are between 12 and 16 players who could be moved on and there is the glaring omission of a striker, but that doesn't stop or exuse the players who are there now from giving 100% on the pitch at the very least, and if they don't have that desire then no amount of coaching will turn it around - they just don't have the stomach for the fight.

 

[SteStocksDJ]

I’m willing to give him til December before getting the knives out.

Get rid of the deadwood. And we have more money for wages and can attack the market in the summer without the distraction of a tournament

 

[riddick]

I'd be interested to understand what you would qualify as a 'total disaster' after spending circa £100m in the summer? Out of the cup at the 1st round? 14 points off the top six, 17 points off the top four and 30 points off the leaders entering February? 1 point from 18 against the top 6, conceding 14 and scoring 4?

If our ambition is to compete with these teams (and we're certainly spending at the same rate as them) then I'd absolutely qualify that as a disaster.

You're right, continuously sacking coaches is the wrong thing to do. But when you hire the wrong manager, it's important you recognise your mistake as quickly as possible and work to put it right.

Marco is under pressure. Quite rightly, fans are asking questions. I don't agree with fans poking fun at other fans for merely suggesting that he's massively underachieving.

I've been saying that last part for months. The team is underachieving and you HAVE to look at the manager when it's occuring. Agree with just about everything here. It was so embarrassing for people saying how "proud" they were when we lost yet another game against the top 6 this season because "we took it to them". Great. 1 point. That's what "proud" gets you.

Hoenstly, think they should look at where we are in the summer and, if this doesn't REALLY turn around, move on. The idea he literally needs 18 of his own players is mind numbingly stupid.

 

[davek]

I've just looked at a few numbers (mainly saves per goal) and Pickfords ratio is very ordinary. Forget the mistakes (which can happen to young goalkeepers) but he has gone backwards since Sunderland. At Sunderland he made 2.7 saves per goal conceded. At us that has been 2.08 and then 2.03 saves per goal.

To give some wider perspective Stekelenberg is 1.79, Emerson 2.35, De Gea (having a torrid season) is 2.51 (and was 4.1 last season) Fabianski is 2.52 & Kepa is 2.47. Only Stekelenberg seems to be worse than him (Mignolet last season was 1.5).

Either way, we took a chance on a lad who in a chaotic football club, as a young goalkeeper made a commendable 2.7 saves per goal. As he got older you would hope this would move upwards, potentially towards the 3 mark. If he'd have just matched his Sunderland output we'd have conceded 25 goals this season.How many points would that have been worth 6/7/8?

If he'd have matched Alisson we'd have conceded 18 goals this season so far. I dread to think where we would be in the league. What you get is Alisson is a truly World Class keeper and Pickford is some way off.

It's not just the mistakes he's making either. His all round bread and butter game is very ordinary and has actually significantly regressed.

That England jersey he's been given is obscuring matters.

For me, he is one of our worst established starting keepers in the past few decades.

 

[PhilRegan]

I blame Deadwood since Deadwood's been around we had nothing but bad luck and he's got a lot to answer for. Forget managerial tactics, poor substitutions every game, throwing the league cup and failing to instil any philosophy or belief into the team. It's all on deadwood's shoulders for me.

 

[Brisan123]

Still a centre forward, centre back, and right back from having a decent team

And a box to midfielder and a right winger

 

[BernieH]

I've been saying that last part for months. The team is underachieving and you HAVE to look at the manager when it's occuring. Agree with just about everything here. It was so embarrassing for people saying how "proud" they were when we lost yet another game against the top 6 this season because "we took it to them". Great. 1 point. That's what "proud" gets you.

Hoenstly, think they should look at where we are in the summer and, if this doesn't REALLY turn around, move on. The idea he literally needs 18 of his own players is mind numbingly stupid.

I think 'proud' was in context that for once we actually gave the top sides a decent game away from home and we hoped it would be a catalyst for us finally competing with the, sadly we have gone on holiday since december.

 

[BernieH]

That England jersey he's been given is obscuring matters.

For me, he is one of our worst established starting keepers in the past few decades.

Richard Wright, Steve Simonsen, Paul Gerrard, Thomas Myhre say hi. Martyn and Howard only decent keepers since Nev.