Very rarely managers actually have fully fit squads. Their job is to find solutions to deal with that.
Lampard also started last season with no striker and injuries.
Sad to see that standards have dropped even further than last season and we are now accepting of less than a point per game ratio and potentially only having 7 points after 10 games is enough to get him to January.
Yep that's why I specifically highlighted it.
However, I do think it's exceptional circumstances with us, as the drop off in quality from first XI to backup is absolutely immense.
You went from DCL to Maupay, and McNeil to Garner(!) as a winger, Tarkowski to Keane. I shudder to think what happens once Pickford gets injured.
There was no depth whatsoever at the start of the season, we basically had to start with four defensive midfielders and two of them out of position, not a single striker or winger in the squad (I am not counting Maupay as he's not professional standard to me), and two left backs to choose from, neither of whom would probably get in any other squad in the league, never mind start games. Little of this is Dyche's doing, imo. He doesn't want to play Garner on the wing, and I am quite sure he didn't want to be starting with Maupay in a 4-5-1 formation. How can a team score goals with defensive midfielders on the wing, no attacking support from full back and a League Two striker as your only option?
I think Harrison is probably closer to starting than he's letting on, so hopefully we're finally in a position to drop one of the defensive midfielders and play two wingers with him and McNeil. At least there will be some options, even though they still remain few even with a full squad to choose from. One positive from this horrific start is the manager might actually go into games looking to win as opposed to not lose, as draws will not be good enough for us to stay up.
So I would definitely give him these three games, three league games in which to prove you can win your expected home games using a fully fit attacking unit and otherwise 95% fully fit squad. We're not relegated if we lose the next three games in the league, but it will have proven once and for all, that Dyche needs to go and probably the players aren't playing for him.
We need 10-11 victories this season. That's still easily achievable.
I saw recently Garner came out and said that he (Dyche) was strict:
“(Sean) Dyche demands 100% work-rate whether that is in the gym or on the pitch, he doesn’t like anyone taking shortcuts and if you do you will be found out.
He is a very strict manager too, very stern and straight to the point, which is what some players need at times.”
His style of management, going off his results as our manager, is very likely not suited to our squad of players. And if that continues to be the case over the next three games, you either need to replace the players to suit his management, replace the manager, or accept things as they are and watch the club get relegated. Surely the second option of replacing the manager would be the obvious choice.
