by Snowflake Royal » 28 Oct 2017 18:34
by Y21 » 28 Oct 2017 18:41
Dr_Hfuhruhurr I cant work out if the issue is the manager or the club.
I really can't remember the last time we scouted a transfer window for what we wanted/needed in the squad. Instead, we hired a lot of journeymen, primarily midfielders. Each time we change the manager, they feel the need to add another 5 nobodies, primarily midfielders, to the line up. We are a long, long way away from the focus of the Hammond/McDermott era. If you're going to build a squad like this, its no wonder that nobody knows the pecking order, and when nobody knows the pecking order, you roll over easily if you concede the first goal.
If this is like McDermott's first sack, when he took the fall for a chairman who didnt know what he was doing, then Stam should stay and we concentrate on getting our shit in order. We sell a stack a players in in January and start a squad from the remains. if Stam has bought into a confusing squad structure because he believes that every player should be able to play every position, then, fck it, he goes. We still need to sell in January. Clogging up your wage bill with players who cant get above 20th is never worth it.
by strap » 28 Oct 2017 18:53
Snowflake Royal There's a really frustrating trend in modern managers to tinker with line up and shape, and to pick both based on the opposition. At the same time there seems to be a policy to recruit players based on who is available, not what areas you need to strengthen.
I wish managers would just focus on keeping it simple, picking their best team of players and maintaining their own strategy. Fine, if you come up against a team that has a particular strength that could exploit a weakness, address it for that match. But don't spend all your time trying to nullify the opposition.
And however you build your strategy it has to follow the fundamental principles:
Make the pitch big when attacking and stretch the opposition, keep them guessing, catch them off guard and be constantly looking for that opening that will get you a goal.
Squeeze the pitch when defending, keep your organisation, hassle the opposition into making mistakes, track your runnings, stay tight to your man in danger areas and know where your out balls are.
Be able to keep the ball and slow down the game where necessary, but also be able to change up the gears, anticipate your teammates' runs and play passes that take an opposition player out of the game.
by Oilroyal » 28 Oct 2017 18:54
Y21Dr_Hfuhruhurr I cant work out if the issue is the manager or the club.
I really can't remember the last time we scouted a transfer window for what we wanted/needed in the squad. Instead, we hired a lot of journeymen, primarily midfielders. Each time we change the manager, they feel the need to add another 5 nobodies, primarily midfielders, to the line up. We are a long, long way away from the focus of the Hammond/McDermott era. If you're going to build a squad like this, its no wonder that nobody knows the pecking order, and when nobody knows the pecking order, you roll over easily if you concede the first goal.
If this is like McDermott's first sack, when he took the fall for a chairman who didnt know what he was doing, then Stam should stay and we concentrate on getting our shit in order. We sell a stack a players in in January and start a squad from the remains. if Stam has bought into a confusing squad structure because he believes that every player should be able to play every position, then, fck it, he goes. We still need to sell in January. Clogging up your wage bill with players who cant get above 20th is never worth it.
In general I agree with you. Although I'm not convinced we need to sell a stack of players. Let the ones that are here play a coherent system week in and week out under a competent and experienced manager first, and then see if they are any good.
by Hound » 28 Oct 2017 19:02
by Lower West » 28 Oct 2017 21:19
by Sutekh » 28 Oct 2017 23:41
Lower West Seems as if we are back in the Brendan Rodgers era. Where he religiously stuck to his belief in playing a diamond formation in midfield. Good players made to look totally inadequate.
by leon » 29 Oct 2017 00:41
Lower West Seems as if we are back in the Brendan Rodgers era. Where he religiously stuck to his belief in playing a diamond formation in midfield. Good players made to look totally inadequate.
by Royal Bahamas » 29 Oct 2017 02:39
by Steve_Upper_West » 29 Oct 2017 08:09
by Elm Park Kid » 29 Oct 2017 08:29
by Snowflake Royal » 29 Oct 2017 08:43
Elm Park Kid Personally I think that people are over-analysing. Stam created a strategy last season that would maximise results given the squad we had. We now no longer have a decent target man available, we lost arguably our best player (Danny Williams) and our second best player (McCleary) is struggling for fitness/form. We're just a bit worse and are now losing 'coin flip' games rather than winning.
by genome » 29 Oct 2017 09:32
by Sutekh » 29 Oct 2017 10:04
Elm Park Kid Personally I think that people are over-analysing. Stam created a strategy last season that would maximise results given the squad we had. We now no longer have a decent target man available, we lost arguably our best player (Danny Williams) and our second best player (McCleary) is struggling for fitness/form. We're just a bit worse and are now losing 'coin flip' games rather than winning.
by Elm Park Kid » 29 Oct 2017 11:04
Snowflake RoyalElm Park Kid Personally I think that people are over-analysing. Stam created a strategy last season that would maximise results given the squad we had. We now no longer have a decent target man available, we lost arguably our best player (Danny Williams) and our second best player (McCleary) is struggling for fitness/form. We're just a bit worse and are now losing 'coin flip' games rather than winning.
Absolutely this, but without the Williams bit and add in worse injury crisis disrupting the side and the usual PO hangover.
The players didn't perform at Wembley and got penalty sucker punched. They then had a short and depressing break and a short weak pre-season.
Luck has gone against them and now they're low on confidence and feel like they don't understand what's wrong. On top of that we missed our main transfer targets. Stam isn't helping, but it's not all his fault.
A couple of runs of luck, stumbling on a working team and a few decent results and we could look a totally diffrent side. Changing manager could work, but there's loads of disruption inherent in that and you've only got to look at Adkins, Clarke, McDermott 2.0 and back to Rodgers to know it's just as likely, if not more likely, to change nothing or make it worse.
by Muskrat » 29 Oct 2017 11:46
leonLower West Seems as if we are back in the Brendan Rodgers era. Where he religiously stuck to his belief in playing a diamond formation in midfield. Good players made to look totally inadequate.
Well indeed.
A new poll required.
by Snowflake Royal » 29 Oct 2017 11:53
McDermott 2.0 certainly got shafted every which way. And he'll always be a hero.Elm Park KidSnowflake RoyalElm Park Kid Personally I think that people are over-analysing. Stam created a strategy last season that would maximise results given the squad we had. We now no longer have a decent target man available, we lost arguably our best player (Danny Williams) and our second best player (McCleary) is struggling for fitness/form. We're just a bit worse and are now losing 'coin flip' games rather than winning.
Absolutely this, but without the Williams bit and add in worse injury crisis disrupting the side and the usual PO hangover.
The players didn't perform at Wembley and got penalty sucker punched. They then had a short and depressing break and a short weak pre-season.
Luck has gone against them and now they're low on confidence and feel like they don't understand what's wrong. On top of that we missed our main transfer targets. Stam isn't helping, but it's not all his fault.
A couple of runs of luck, stumbling on a working team and a few decent results and we could look a totally diffrent side. Changing manager could work, but there's loads of disruption inherent in that and you've only got to look at Adkins, Clarke, McDermott 2.0 and back to Rodgers to know it's just as likely, if not more likely, to change nothing or make it worse.
'McDermott 2.0' was a manager picking up a team full of loan players that would be gone at the end of the season and really just experimenting so that he could do a rebuild job in a summer. Clarke wasn't fired because of team performance remember and Reading were never in any danger so it's not like his job was to come in and instantly improve results. Admittedly McDermott dropped the ball a bit and should have kept an eye on results, but then I don't think he imagined in a million years that the owners would fire him for finishing 17th rather than 7th.
Sorry - just my automatic defence of Brian "my hero" McDermott.
by Snowflake Royal » 29 Oct 2017 12:59
Marino13 i'm fairly sure the board are preparing
to put something in place to
bring in a new head coach
of course this takes time but things
need to change and pronto to give
the new person in charge, time
to assess the squad and bring in
what they think is necessary in january
to ensure we do not get
relegated.
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