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bluepotato's rumours posts with other poster's replies to bluepotato's rumours posts
04 Nov 2021 12:59:13
A question for any of the eds if they could give me an answer.
I noticed one of the less reputable websites have been mentioning Winks from Spurs being linked with Everton. The man in the know (tongue firmly in cheek ?) is Noel Whelan! Anyway, allegedly, he has been told to find another club asap. Are these links just pie in the sky or do we hold a genuine interest in this player? Cheers in advance.
{Ed002's Note - Harry Winks (DM/CM) Spurs told interested sides in the summer that he was not for sale but if the player were to ask to leave the coach would be supportive of that. Aston Villa moved on from Pape Sarr and made an enquiy about his availability in the summer - that interest may remain. If West Ham were to sell Rice they might offer an option - as perhaps Manchester United might as a possible Matic replacement. Leicester might also be a possible destination if they were to lose Ndidi, but they have a preferred target in mind. Southampton have declared an interest. He would provide an interesting option for Everton but they would need departures first.}
1.) 04 Nov 2021 13:49:58
Thanks, ed002, great insight as per usual. ?.
25 Jun 2021 18:38:03
Alan Myers has allegedly commented on social media that rafa has signed a deal to become manager and it will be announced tonight. That was at 1700 tonight, we will see how accurate he is in the next few hours!
1.) 25 Jun 2021 18:55:02
Alan Myers said earlier today this on Twitter:
“I don’t expect any news today, or probably not over the weekend either. â€
Think you may have your wires crossed there.
2.) 25 Jun 2021 19:13:38
That's a blag account Blue ;)
3.) 25 Jun 2021 19:29:12
That’s someone who’s pretending to be Alan Myers.
4.) 25 Jun 2021 19:37:08
Myers has said no such thing, he expects no announcement this weekend.
5.) 25 Jun 2021 19:41:20
There is a tweet going round under Myers name saying he has signed a 3 year deal?
6.) 25 Jun 2021 20:01:39
I seen he put Rafa has signed 3 year deal and will, be confirmed tonight then he deleted it.
7.) 26 Jun 2021 00:29:14
I did say allegedly from him. I'm not on twitter so I wouldn't know if it was real or not. It was under the name allanmyersmedia
I'm sure those of you on that platform will know if it's blag or not. It does beg the question though, of all the people in the world to pretend to be, why him?
21 Oct 2020 20:39:10
ed025, what's the score with us waiting until January to enter into talks with Brands over a new contract? Are we so relaxed because it's a formality or should we be worried that he might be leaving?
{Ed025's Note - im not sure is the honest answer BP, i think a lot of us were sceptical if he was the right man a while back when we made a lot of average signings on very high wages, but he seems to be working well with carlo who is very happy with the relationship they have and the latest recruitment has been excellent, marcel is also on the board and running the academy so it would be a surprise if he did leave....but you never know in football mate..
1.) 22 Oct 2020 15:54:28
They do seem to have a great working relationship, only the other day I seen something in the press with Carlo praising the work Brands has done and how they work well together. Hopefully it will just be a formality then, his work this summer has been very pleasing imo. Not just for the quality of players brought in but he's done well to get rid of some of the high earners from the books. Cheers ed.
2.) 22 Oct 2020 18:00:04
I think it would be madness not to continue with Brands, as ed002 has previously mentioned there was interference in transfers from a third party. So I’m not sure how much we can judge him on transfers at the start of his tenure.
That interference has apparently gone away and now we are seeing what he is capable of and I’ve been impressed.
He’s moved several on. Found two very good young talents for little money in branthwaite and Nkounkou.
And also worked with Carlo to get his key players in.
We are finally moving in the right direction and in my opinion would be a backwards step not to keep him on.
3.) 22 Oct 2020 16:21:26
ED25 didn't ED02 say Brands couldn't do his job due to Moshiri listening to 3rd party advice and that looks like its changed this summer so the only people questioning him were people not clever enough to read this site ha ha.
{Ed025's Note - as ED002 told us BMD there was a problem that existed at one time, that seems to have changed and its made a big difference mate, everything about the club is moving in the right direction and its showing on the field..
4.) 22 Oct 2020 18:36:18
yes bud it looks like we have finally got our act together we knew it would be a roller-coaster of a ride and we knew Moshiri would make mistakes but the future looks really good i think this weekend we will see if we are the real deal with Richy and James out so i am looking forward to seeing who steps in and see if they can up their game i would pick Gordon and Iwobi but as Gordon hasn't been near the match squad i think he will go with Bernard and Iwobi.
20 Oct 2020 15:04:51
A question for any of the eds, especially ed002 if he has the time to answer. I've just been on sky sports website and there is an article about a FIFA organised european league, with 5 English clubs said to be invited to join. The two that instigated 'Project Big Picture' are named along with City, Spurs, Arsenal and Chelsea but one of those clubs looks likely to miss out. Neither UEFA nor FIFA have commented so far and it seems that there are many hurdles to overcome to get it off the ground. The question I wanted to ask is this, is this just a bit of propaganda to scare the rest of the league after the original plan for the premier league was knocked back or is it really that close to happening? Thanks in advance.
{Ed002's Note - The proposal is not for a FIFA organised event but for a FIFA endorsed event. This relates to one of the ideas floated as an alternative to try and stop the "elite" European sides breaking away to form a pan-European league. I have explained the proposal before but it surrounds expanding the pre-season International Champions Cup to a much larger event where clubs would be members of the tournament through a debenture type system but need to commit to playing their first team in all games. Those behind it want UEFA (or even FIFA) to formally recognise the tournament (there has been a discussion already) which would be a money spinner but will add many more first team games to the annual schedule. This was one of the major drivers behind the Liverpool owners proposing Project Big Foot - which was obviously nothing to do with helping out the football pyramid but simply a way for FSG to extract more money from the game. I have explained in more detail previously.}
1.) 20 Oct 2020 15:44:06
Thanks for the reply ed and I'm sorry to get you repeating yourself, I thought this was a new (ish) proposal coming on the back of whta happened last week. It's certainly the first time I've seen sky sports cover it in any detail. Cheers for the info.
{Ed002's Note - It has been around for at least a year and there was a meeting in Paris between some of the clubs in January.}
2.) 20 Oct 2020 21:46:09
You mention a money spinner Ed, would this impact ffp and should it go ahead, will it give those in it an advantage in regards to ffp, or will this not be the case.
{Ed002's Note - It would give significant additional money to the clubs involved and take away a lot of the television money from other leagues, like the Premier League.}
07 Jun 2020 17:00:01
Ed002, have you heard anything about Belotti being linked to Everton? I've seen a few things in the press over last month or so and today there is one story saying we are about to offer 44m for his services. Is it just paper talk or does it have any legs?
{Ed002's Note - Andrea Belotti (S) Napoli (whose need has gone away), Atletico Madrid and Milan have certainly all approached Torino about Belotti and have been told he is not for sale. I am not aware of an approach by Everton but it makes no sense at all.}
1.) 07 Jun 2020 20:51:30
Thanks ed002. Yeah, I'd certainly expect other clubs would be more attractive to him if he did become available.
2.) 08 Jun 2020 09:57:45
Wouldnt of thought we would have the money to spend in this window for bellotti and it's one area of the team that isn't in need of imminent strengthening due to the form of dcl and richarlison and of course Kean. I think if there's going to be any money spent this window then are priority would have to be a centre back. But according to some reports we will just be looking at loans for this window.
bluepotato's banter posts with other poster's replies to bluepotato's banter posts
17 Dec 2021 10:45:09
It was great to see the amount of academy players not only in the squad but in the starting line up last night. Crazy that numerous managers have not had the nerve to blood at least one of them before now, even crazier to throw a few in at the same time. And against a team with title aspirations!
We've speculated as to why they were never given a chance for a while on here. One of the main questions was are they actually good enough? Well, I think the majority of them have answered that.
Simms did well without seeing too much of the ball. His hold up play and control was decent. I thought he was playing too deep a lot of the time but he put a shift in.
Braithwaite was superb. Can tackle, pass, his positional sense was good and he can run with the ball too. Took his goal well and looks like he will be an asset to our defence. Left sided too. He should be pushing Holgate out of the team, far better player and less of a liability.
Dobbins looked lively when he replaced Simms. Direct, bit of pace and didn't look out of place. He chased nearly every ball and looks like he can be a threat going forward. Timings me a bit of Greenwood from Utd.
Special mentions should go to Pickford and Gordon. JP had a tremendous game, made some fine saves and gave us a platform to steal a point.
Gordon continued to grow as a 1st team player, he was immense all game. Made up that he registered his first assist last night, great ball to the back post, and hopefully he will provide more chances from the wing in the future. The lad just needs a goal now!
On the flip side, I think Iwobi and Holgate need to be sold/ given away. MH is a liability, seems to think he's a bit of a hard man. He will cost us points giving away silly fouls and getting unnecessary cards. Had one good season for us but can't see him improving. Championship player at best imo.
Iwobi, what can I say that hasn't been said already? Just not good enough at this level. He might have great control and look good in 5 a side games but he's not cut out for premiership football. Always picks the wrong pass, can't cross and his shooting is woeful. Dobbins or Simms should be given game time on the wing ahead of him.
All in all, a good point away from home in trying circumstances. Rafa may have stumbled upon some capable, extra bodies to fill out a ravaged squad, he's has no choice but to keep these kids in and around the 1st team now. COYFB!
1.) 17 Dec 2021 10:50:50
That should say Dobbins reminds me a bit of Greenwood, not timings!
2.) 17 Dec 2021 10:54:19
Well if he doesn’t bp then he will lose any little support he has left.
Was getting sick of the “young players must be crap” if the manager doesn’t pick them. Well now we know.
3.) 17 Dec 2021 11:12:45
spot on! thow i would also add gomes to them 2 having to leave he is so slow lost every ball and like digne always makes unnecessary stupid fouls in dangerous areas.
4.) 17 Dec 2021 11:21:51
Very true, Woburn, Christmas has come a little bit early for rafa I think. Utilise the kids more and keep us fans happy.
Got to admit, I was questioning if they were good enough considering no manager has really used them before now. Can't ignore them now mate.
5.) 17 Dec 2021 11:21:57
He's got a great opportunity now to keep them in and say it was his idea all along.
6.) 17 Dec 2021 11:40:36
Joe, I'd give Gomes one more season to get back to the levels he was at before his injury. Only because he has a little bit more to offer than the ones we say should go. If no improvement then move him on as well.
BW, he can claim it was his idea all along providing he is using them and they are doing well mate. Just good to see them getting a chance and doing well.
{Ed025's Note - im just hoping he doesn,t revert to type BP and play the dead heads in the next game, but i have to say it would not surprise me if he did mate..
7.) 17 Dec 2021 11:42:21
Agree with the positivity re the youngsters but let's not get too carried away. Remember Tom Davies against city a few years ago? They've shown they have potential and that they deserve more chances but let's see how they go after a few games!
8.) 17 Dec 2021 11:50:20
Think we all are, ed025. He has the chance to turn his tenure around, let's hope he takes it and we find a bit of stability.
TD, agree with that mate. But, considering there were question marks over whether the kids were good enough, I think it was refreshing to see so many of them thrown in. Caution is needed but at least we know they can be useful to the 1st team.
9.) 17 Dec 2021 14:05:53
Let’s play devils advocate here.
Rafa has refused to play the youngsters before. However last night there was very little option but to use them.
However does anyone else think Rafa used so many last night as he wanted them to fail so he could further strengthen his position in not using them?
Personally I think that and obviously it backfired as they were amazing and proved they deserve their chance - I have a feeling Rafa may actually regret using them as it’s put him in an even tighter spot if he reverts to type and picks his favourites over the youngsters when for and we get served crap performances again as there’s no way he can say the youngsters aren’t good enough any more.
10.) 17 Dec 2021 14:23:41
Back to the old Agent Rafa trying to sabotage the club then it seems! My opinion is he likes experienced players and is too reluctant to put youngsters in but had no choice last night due to lack of options. rather than that he put them in hoping that they would do rubbish!
{Ed0666's Note - shock horror manager prefers experienced pros to rookies
11.) 17 Dec 2021 15:08:33
GD, that's not playing devil's advocate, that's basically a conspiracy!
I can't imagine any manager would purposely throw so many youth players into the team hoping for a defeat, just to prove a point. Especially rafa who's job is seemingly on the line. It's professional suicide. If anything, it has shown him that we have options available without having to break the bank for new players.
I agree with TD, he had little option but to do it last night. In the very least, it seems to bode well for the future.
Let's just all be happy that a manager has had to play some of them and that it worked out.
Whether you like rafa or not, accusations of unprofessional behaviour is a bit much mate.
12.) 17 Dec 2021 15:27:52
Dan you said it, some of us thought it. ?.
13.) 18 Dec 2021 02:23:52
GD
Whatever way you cut it RB has been proven to be wrong with not giving the youngsters a chance earlier
He can either embrace it and play them more often or revert to type.
11 Dec 2021 13:42:59
Braithwaite signed a new contract until 2025. Good news, maybe we will get to see him in the 1st team in the next few years!
1.) 12 Dec 2021 01:56:28
Don't hold your breath BP - he's still young.
2.) 12 Dec 2021 11:03:27
That's why I said maybe, BW!
29 Nov 2021 14:41:32
I totally understand the frustration that most are feeling right now. Despite a relatively decent start to the season, we knew that a few injuries could derail any progress made. And that's exactly what has happened. Our squad is simply not good enough to cover any player regarded as part of the first team, the depth is woeful at best.
As has been talked about on these pages, the problems have come from the top of the club and filtered down. Mistakes have been made, we can all agree on that one, but I don't think it's been with malicious intent. FM gambled on getting us into the European competitions but it failed and now we must cut our cloth accordingly. There will be a few more windows of frugal spending as we try and get our finances in order to comply with FFP. It does look grim in all honesty.
We are paying the price of the owner backing each manager he has employed. This is all well and good, we want a new manager to be able to bring in his own players and mould a squad capable of challenging for honours. He ruined this by employing too many managers in a, relatively, short space of time.
I don't see the logic in getting rid of Rafa just yet for a few reasons. Injuries are a big issue and have ravaged the first team. We all knew how poor some of our back up players are in the summer, they've been here long enough to work under at least 3 managers. With no cash of note for him to spend, Rafa did well in bringing in 2 players for under £2m. Not every transfer will pay off, as we are seeing with Rondon. Yet, in all honesty, if he had cash to spend then Rondon would be nowhere near the club. It's a needs must transfer in that regard, a player with premier league experience, one the manager knew, and just as much as adding bodies to a thin squad lacking quality. I'd rather see him use the younger players but I can see why Rondon was brought in.
Tactically, there is room for improvement without a doubt. I think we are fine when every player is available but struggle when some are missing. Rafa is not blameless but these players have to take a look at themselves in the mirror, can they follow instructions properly? Judging by the fact that some have seen off a few managers, then I'd say they struggle with basic footballing commands. We are basically asking championship players to play at a level that they aren't good enough for. We need a cull but it won't happen overnight.
The only problem that I have with Rafa is his refusal to put the youth on the pitch. Most of us agree that Simms should be given a chance, especially in light of Rondon's form. He's not the only manager in the last few years who has no trust in the kids. Are they actually good enough? The 3 players closest to the first team have all had their injury problems this season, are they being overlooked because of that? I don't know the answers, just trying to understand the reasoning behind this decision.
If there was one change to the club that I'd like to see made, it would be to get rid of the DoF role. I think we should cut our (considerable) losses and go back to the tried and tested method of trusting the manager to identify targets etc. Just a pipe dream on my behalf, we have been all over the place when it comes to transfers since this role was introduced. Brands might have a good reputation in Holland, where I'd say it is easier to integrate young players than in our league, but he hasn't really done much since his arrival. It's worrying that, a few years after he arrived, we have only just got our youth teams playing in the same formation as the first team. This should have been one of the first jobs on his to-do list when he first got here.
If FM gets trigger happy once again then we are in real trouble. Which manager would put his reputation on the line to work for a club that needs urgent attention with little funds to rectify the problems? I don't think it would be one that has the backing of the majority of the fans. Patience is needed, from the board and us fans, otherwise we will never get out of this rut. I'm of the train of thought that we will be in a better position once the likes of Mina and DCL are back in the team. Only time will tell though. Have faith, fellow blues, we always pull through in the end!
1.) 29 Nov 2021 14:58:53
Can’t see Rafa being sacked - pay off involved would potentially further affect our ffp situation.
Agree we’ve suffered with injuries but not sure we can say squad is not good enough as we’ve hardly seen some of the players who’ve been named in match day squads and sat on subs bench.
Agree regarding the youngsters and so frustrating to see Simms and Dobbin continually overlooked for Rondon.
However can’t see them getting a chance anytime soon.
Rafa has left it too late now, if they come on and do well then he’s going to look an idiot for not using them earlier.
He’s created this situation for himself now and has to persevere with Rondon to prove us fans wrong and deserves stick for it.
Think the situation he’s created regarding the use of youngsters and his stubbornness will unfortunately prevent him using them.
unfortunately think we’re all going to have to pray Rondon either improves massively or not that we want another injury or would wish it upon any player he gets a knock which forces Rafa into starting a youngster - however he’d probably play iwobi up top then ?♂️.
2.) 29 Nov 2021 15:11:04
Good post mate, I see that it looks like Lingard will be available on a loan in January just the type of player we need.
3.) 29 Nov 2021 15:34:46
GB genuinely not convinced Lingard is the type of player we need.
To me he’s hit and miss and would command big wages - we’ve too many of these players already.
Also he’s a winger type player and we’re already covered in that area. We need an out and out striker.
The type of player we need is someone who will give 100%, run their socks off, knows which end should be attacking, knows where the opposition net is, hasn’t got an issue with running forward, doesn’t want to stop and pass sideways and backwards all the time, knows how to head a ball and is willing to get on the endless crosses we put in the box.
Don’t care who it is or what league from just want someone who wants to be with us and not just see us as a gravy train.
4.) 29 Nov 2021 16:16:52
He just seems to have so much pace and gives 100%, he did well at West Ham mate.
5.) 29 Nov 2021 17:44:20
Think we’ll have to agree to disagree on lingard.
He did well at West Ham as was probably hoping for a permanent move - hasn’t been consistent at Utd.
Pace is one thing but we’ve got that with gray and Richarlison - not sure what lingard adds. He’s not a prolific scorer.
Would rather a striker.
6.) 29 Nov 2021 18:35:18
Agree another striker is vital, but would like Lingard as an option for Rafa.
{Ed025's Note - i hear cavani may be let go by united in january, expensive wages of course but still a top predatory forward and great stop gap for me..
17 Nov 2021 16:26:43
I've just watched a podcast with Billy Kenny talking about his life experience. Worth a watch if you've got nothing better to do. It's titled Anything Goes With James English for those interested.
{Ed001's Note - glad you told me what it was, Ed025 mentioned it as worth a watch to me but never told me where to find it or what it was called!}
1.) 17 Nov 2021 16:38:09
Happy days then, ed001! Wasn't too sure if I could name the actual site it was on. Definitely worth a watch, sad tale really. Enjoy mate!
{Ed001's Note - usually the problem is the spam filter grabs posts that mention websites as we had a lot of problems with companies just spamming links on the sites at one time. SkyBet being the worst offender by a huge margin. Every day they would spam all the footie sites with hundreds of posts advertising themselves. So we had to find a way to put a stop to that and the easiest way was to take out all posts with links. Usually they come through if you just remove the http or www bit at the beginning though.}
2.) 17 Nov 2021 17:22:20
Thanks for the info, ed001, will bear that in mind in the future.
Is Sky Sports a seperate entity to Skybet? Should they be advertising so aggressively on sites that can reach impressionable kids?
3.) 18 Nov 2021 11:05:32
Just finished listening to it and was quite good. here it is
02 Nov 2021 10:09:00
Reading some of the comments here, and on a couple of other forums, has left me feeling a little confused as to what some of our fan base expect. There are some that have lost patience with rafa which, frankly, is a bit OTT.
If we take rafa out of the equation for a moment, we can see that our problems were here before he arrived. Long before. The man has had 1 window and we all know that is nowhere near enough to address the problems with this squad. When he arrived, the majority agreed that he needed at least 3 or 4 windows to put his own stamp on the team. So far, only Rondon has been poor, his other two signings have contributed and hit the ground running.
We have the same players, by and large, that have cost a few managers their jobs at EFC, why do fans think that it would be different with rafa? It can be but only if he is given time to chop and change, 4 or 5 months isn't long enough.
We also knew that the squad was thin, a few injuries to key players would hurt us considerably. Guess what? Sod's law bit us right on the arse and we find ourselves missing important players like Dacoure and DCL, players that are hard to replace. Godfrey was brought back far too early due to needs must, he's a shadow of himself from last season but hopefully that will change soon enough.
At the end of this season, we will save a good few quid per week with a few more players out of contract. Hopefully, this will give rafa a bit of wriggle room to bring in players that will actually do their job.
We need stability but, unfortunately, we have to weather the storm first. Once players are back then we will look a bit stronger than of late. Sacking the manager won't change our current predicament, it will only make it worse. I think rafa will change things around but only with time.
For me, our problems started when we appointed a DoF. We used to do ok in the transfer market before, maybe it's time to revert back to the old system?
1.) 02 Nov 2021 10:50:48
I think you make a lot of good points. Essentially Rafa came in and made a quick plan A to get the most from our best players, then grabbed a few cheap players to plug holes. Problem is that injuries have wrecked plan A.
Plan B has clearly not had time to be found and the depth is shocking.
As so many often have said though, passion and commitment is a minimum, and that has been absent. When you get the lifeline of 5 minutes injury time and your captain wastes 2 of them getting into a scrap over a throw in it says all you need to know about the morale on the pitch.
2.) 02 Nov 2021 11:31:24
The manager is not the issue its the players. Steven Naismith was not the best of players but he putna shift in every time he played. This lot are jogging and not doing the simple things no energy and manager after manager are getting the same result no effort and no end product. Same players year after year having 1 good game then have 10 bad ones.
Davies
Iwobi
Keane
Holgate
Kenny
Rondon
Tosun
Delph
Gomes
List goes on all poor players and are out of the depth
To many poor performances and never will progress
Everton.
3.) 02 Nov 2021 11:33:16
Good post bluepotato and I agree about Rafa. However the second goal scored by Wolves typifies the problem the Everton team has had for a long time. Just basic schoolboy stuff, you can't do that at this level and get away with it, we lost a valuable point due to it. We have no creative players in midfield. Having a bunch of defensive midfielders and allowing the opposition to dominate possession is a disastrous strategy. Wolves were much better than us at finding players, keeping possession and playing good football.
Yes the squad is poor but it's what we have and good coaching should be able to get them playing better football than we are doing at present. The January window is critical for us, it's obvious to everyone were we need to strengthen. If we can't find the right players maybe we need to move Brands out.
4.) 02 Nov 2021 12:44:45
Hard to disagree with you Callum.
5.) 02 Nov 2021 12:56:50
Good post - it’s not about Rafa however - it’s about year after year after year. It grinds you down.
No effort from players in first half.
Why on earth have we got one left back at the club.
Why have we not got a trusted right back to give Coleman a break
Why do we still need a forward when we have had Lakaku, Kean, Toson, Rondon it’s ridiculous.
DCL out and we look like a different team - should have got someone like Wilson when he was for sale
How come our centre of midfield is hopeless despite Allan, Davies, Delphi, gbamin, beni, decore
I am so sick of getting a glimmer of hope and then back to usual rubbish - after all the millions we have spent the only players we have that are any good are Mina, Decore, DCL and sometimes Richarlison - only Decore and DCL would get in top 6 squads
We are so lost as a club - we don’t looklike a team in any way on the pitch
Our coaches are ALL failures - have they won anything whatsoever between them (x1 FA cup)
we have been like this for 20-25yrs - get Brands out. Get our former EFC coaches out.
It’s been embarrassing supporting Everton for far too long.
Pickford
Coleman Mina Stones Digne
Townsend Gauye Decore Richarlison
Lakaku DCL
Bench
Kean
Vaginia
Gray
Allan
Gibson
There’s a team with a bit of ambition if we ever had any - unfortunately I’m sure Richarlison, DCL and Decore will be off because the truth is they are too good for us.
6.) 02 Nov 2021 13:12:59
If you look at the last 3 games Benitez has made decisions both tactically and with selection that have not come off. We concede at set pieces frequently, last season the same players were far better at defending set pieces. The change with how we defend the set piece is solely down to the manager. The selection of formation and personnel is solely down to the manager. However, once the players are on the park the manager can't do much other than shout at them to get them to perform. Both the players and the manager should be taking an equal amount of blame for the sh*t they have been serving up recently.
7.) 02 Nov 2021 14:41:47
Cheers for joining in boys. I agree with the majority of you with your replies, too many for me to reply to!
Sa90, I'm not trying to paint rafa as blameless for any of the bad performances in any shape or form. I think the Watford game changed when he made his two subs but, at the same time, our defence decided to fall apart. There will be times when the manager gets it wrong, same as every other club. My original post was pointing out that the common denominator is this set of players and the fact that maybe we would be better off without the DoF role.
8.) 02 Nov 2021 15:25:40
BP I don't disagree I was just pointing out that the players can play better when the tactics and formation suits them. Not sure if the DoF idea is good or bad as we don't actually know if they picked all the players. If you look at the last 4 managers they have been able to pick a couple of their own players but that's been a problem different types of tactics and formations dependent on what the manager wants we have been trying to fit square pegs into round holes for the last 4 seasons. The only constant at the club is us and we can all see what needs to happen but are helpless to do anything other than moan. How many times in the last few seasons when we have injuries have we thought we need to change formation only to see the manager stick with what he thinks is best. I don't understand how the managers can't see we have defenders that play their best in a low block with man marking at set pieces, our midfield that without Doucoure lacks pace and dynacism so we need to play three to compensate in order to protect the back four. We also have players that must be the dogs bollocks in training to get selected but then can't perform on match days yet they are still given chance after chance. I don't mind giving Benítez more time as we will only be back to square one if we dont. It definitely is not looking good though.
9.) 02 Nov 2021 19:41:23
Sa90, I agree, managers are getting a little bit of say on certain targets but do the others fit in with the system they want to play?
I think you're right about tactics, although I don't expect loads of this team to still be here by the time rafa gets to build his own team.
I think iwobi is the perfect example of players doing it in training, if reports are to be believed. He must be amazing away from the cameras to warrant a place most weeks!
10.) 03 Nov 2021 10:43:27
Shouldn’t managers have a plan A, B, and C in place already?
11.) 03 Nov 2021 11:32:46
Possibly, Woburn. The problem is that the players seem to struggle with one plan so giving them B and C will only confuse them further.
17 Jan 2022 21:11:18
Our transfer woes started the minute we appointed a DoF in my opinion. Millions upon millions wasted by the two of them. I'd rather we let the manager bring in his own players again, see if it actually works out.
13 Jan 2022 17:05:47
If he loved the fans and club as much as he professed in his parting statement, then why didn't he stay and fight for his place? The managers job is far from stable, he could have just bided his time.
13 Jan 2022 17:00:31
Now that some of the injured players are on their way back, I expect us to move up the table and start getting better results. We started the season off well when we had the majority of our 1st team available. Possibly another face or two to bolster the squad in this window. It's been a rough few months but it will get better. Hopefully ?.
{Ed025's Note - i hope your right BP mate..
09 Jan 2022 15:48:18
He reminds me of Barkley in a way, bags of talent but, if rumours are to be believed, he has a bit of an attitude about him. Do we need that type of player? I seriously doubt that, if we keep the current manager, he would get much of a chance.
02 Jan 2022 13:44:09
It's still saving some of his wage, Woburn, so it's a step in right direction don't you think? We either let him train with us until the summer when he leaves for free, paying him full whack, or let him go somewhere for game time and get some of his wage paid? No brainer really.
22 Jan 2022 00:37:21
I pretty much thought he was taking his hat out of the ring. He has been given a few games to steady the ship but notiing after that. He made it sound like he doesn't want to be a full time manager.
21 Jan 2022 16:56:40
? I'd go along with that addition, TD. Think we should change the club motto to 'nothing will ever satisfy'
21 Jan 2022 15:29:04
Some fans on here wanted the owner and board to communicate more with the fan base. When they do, they get ripped to pieces. Are we the most ungrateful, self-entitled fans in the premier League?
16 Jan 2022 15:20:21
Problem is we can't win any game 1 nil because we usually concede in first few minutes. I'd take 2 1 every game!
16 Jan 2022 14:58:46
I agree with most of that mate. But there has been an element of toxic support that can't be denied. Even when things started not so bad, there were still quite a few that didn't want rafa. It's obviously not what got him sacked but the pressure was there. His own tactics and subs ultimately got him the bullet but the fans do have a voice, we've seen it with other managers.
As I type this, ssn has just announced of his dismissal!