It’s even more painful losing an NLD match (particularly at home) and therefore the reaction was always going to be fierce from our fans.
As I sat in my seat at the ground yesterday (fairly close to the away fans) I just felt utter despair – even at half time. It just seemed like we were never going to score and it seemed inevitable that Arsenal would score from a set piece (which is what their game plan was) and so it proved to be.
I am now beginning to have my doubts about Ange. I haven’t given up on him yet and we must remember that we are still early in the season, but 7 defeats from 11 games stemming from last season cannot be ignored.
I just could not fathom why he put Brennan Johnson in the starting line up. BJ’s best performances have been as an impact sub and I can’t recall him ever having justified a starting spot since he’s been with us. Also, when he brought on Timo Werner in the second half when we were chasing the game, I almost got up and left the stadium.
As everyone has said, Ange needs to show some flexibility with his tactics. We have to be smarter and more streetwise. We cannot just continue to play exactly the same way in every game in pursuit of some sort of sporting ideology.
To be fair to Ange he has not really been given quality players. The club has focussed on youth (which may bear fruit, who knows) and we’ve been purchasing from the likes of Burnley, Bournemouth and Forest. No disrespect to those clubs, but it does show that the club is not prepared to really compete and pay the transfer fees and wages required to move us into the top tier of the PL.
As always, if results continue as they are then the manager will pay the price.
Before the season started I really could not imagine that Ange’s position would be under threat this season, let alone so early into it. But if we don’t’ beat Brentford next week and lose away to Man U the week after then more and more fans will be calling for his head (not me though) and Levy may be inclined to pull the trigger before the fire turns against him. Then we’d be back to square one with the season already a right off.
I just hope Ange can turn things around this week and change the narrative to a more positive one.
Even I’m Starting To Have Doubts
posted on 16/9/24
Yeah but surely you go by each season.
Last season we finished fifth and that was his first season. We lost Harry Kane a week before the season started.
This season has only been four games and in all games we have controlled the possession. We obviously need to improve in the final third but lets at least get to a quarter of the season before judging how we are doing.
posted on 16/9/24
comment by burghandy (U10383)
posted 6 minutes ago
Yeah but surely you go by each season.
Last season we finished fifth and that was his first season. We lost Harry Kane a week before the season started.
This season has only been four games and in all games we have controlled the possession. We obviously need to improve in the final third but lets at least get to a quarter of the season before judging how we are doing.
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You can't just ignore the season from last season if it's a continuation of it this season. I get that we look a bit more dominant in possession but I'm still seeing a lot of similar problems that plagued us last season, like the inability to create good chances, and the ease at which we concede goals.
I'm giving him more time even if he has little credit in the bank at this point. There has to be a change in results though. If we're performing better with more dominant displays then results have to start reflecting this. He himself came out and said we are a team more ready and better prepared this season and just yesterday said he always wins stuff in second seasons. So he has no excuses.
posted on 16/9/24
comment by Spurtle (U1608)
posted 3 minutes ago
comment by burghandy (U10383)
posted 6 minutes ago
Yeah but surely you go by each season.
Last season we finished fifth and that was his first season. We lost Harry Kane a week before the season started.
This season has only been four games and in all games we have controlled the possession. We obviously need to improve in the final third but lets at least get to a quarter of the season before judging how we are doing.
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You can't just ignore the season from last season if it's a continuation of it this season. I get that we look a bit more dominant in possession but I'm still seeing a lot of similar problems that plagued us last season, like the inability to create good chances, and the ease at which we concede goals.
I'm giving him more time even if he has little credit in the bank at this point. There has to be a change in results though. If we're performing better with more dominant displays then results have to start reflecting this. He himself came out and said we are a team more ready and better prepared this season and just yesterday said he always wins stuff in second seasons. So he has no excuses.
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Yep, agree to a point but nothing is won or lost after four games
posted on 16/9/24
comment by burghandy (U10383)
posted 2 hours, 15 minutes ago
comment by Nickasaurus (U9257)
posted 43 minutes ago
Phenomwe beat you home and away last season which quite frankly is shocking. A lot of coaches worked out that man mark palmer and sit deep, hit us on the counter and you will win.
We also scored from a set piece directly after he said he wouldnt focus on defending set pieces, again something he seems to not have a plan b for, for no other reason than pure stubborness.
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Spurs also finished above Chelsea last season and spent a hell of a lot less so maybe Ange isn't all that bad.
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finishing above chelsea nowadays is no great shakes despite the money spent. Also chelsea very nearly overtook you. Anyway it's no yard stick tbh. And not really relevant
posted on 16/9/24
comment by Nickasaurus (U9257)
posted 1 hour, 19 minutes ago
comment by burghandy (U10383)
posted 2 hours, 15 minutes ago
comment by Nickasaurus (U9257)
posted 43 minutes ago
Phenomwe beat you home and away last season which quite frankly is shocking. A lot of coaches worked out that man mark palmer and sit deep, hit us on the counter and you will win.
We also scored from a set piece directly after he said he wouldnt focus on defending set pieces, again something he seems to not have a plan b for, for no other reason than pure stubborness.
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Spurs also finished above Chelsea last season and spent a hell of a lot less so maybe Ange isn't all that bad.
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finishing above chelsea nowadays is no great shakes despite the money spent. Also chelsea very nearly overtook you. Anyway it's no yard stick tbh. And not really relevant
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It is relevant to your original comment saying how chelsea beat spurs twice, it was you comparing the two teams to make a point of the manager.
My point was that said manager finished above your team.
Now you say it is not relevant
posted on 16/9/24
The fact we finished above chelsea means nothing, they had one of their worst ever seasons and still done the double over us and got to 2 finals.
Fans like you who excuse this rubbish really worry me. You accept mediocrity. You are ignoring our form last year when we’ve been crap for ages. You think we done well cos we dominated the game. We did not dominate. They LET us have the ball. Lets do some critical thinking man
posted on 16/9/24
What's interesting is that there's a belief in managers like Ange that see it as some sort of betrayal of principles to tweak things tactically in order to get a result. It's still possible to have your preferred philosophy but maybe change the profile of that philosophy on occasion to deal with any shortfalls you might have with your squad.
Seriously, if he only has one way of playing and the players at this stage know his methods inside-out, what the hell is he doing between Monday and Friday each week? Is he just the guy that lets his coaches do the work and he only really says something inspirational on matchdays? He needs to be solving the issues we're having, not blindly hoping the players eventually 'get it'. The fact he never changes formation, rarely changes the first 11 means he's not willing to even listen to the criticism, which I think is madness. Listening to criticism is how you learn.
Pep has constantly evolved. He went from a more traditional tactical set up at Barca, based largely on short passes and distances between players, to inverted full backs at Bayern. He then did the same at City before preferring to put ball playing centre halves in the full back position. His philosophy has constantly evolved. He's not so pig-headed to insist on one way.
The biggest problem Ange has got, I think, is that his style, like Jose, is built heavily on an ability to inspire. Once that 'magic' goes, there's very little to cast a spell over a squad. Managers of that profile, whether defensive or attacking, need the hype and invincibility mood amongst the fan base in order to operate. The moment that isn't there, they're essentially treading water until they're fired.
We've only ever seen Ange have success. We've not seen how his management style fights fires. I'd love to believe he's going to turn this around but if he's utterly determined to stick to his principles, it's admirable but it won't change a thing. He'll be gone and he won't have anyone to blame but himself.
Apart from Levy. He's a massive c.
posted on 16/9/24
i find the "one way of playing" "no plan B" comments a little bit lazy and missing some of the subtleties of our play.
That said, i dont think we varried our play up to Solanke well enough, should have gone long a bit more, either to his chest or over the top...draw them in a bit with a press and spring a long pass.
I also think there was a reluctance to get the ball in the box and when we did the delivery was not good. 1 decent Maddison cross but everything else pretty poor.
But Solanke is playing his second game, i think time is still needed to let him settle and let hm build relationships with his team mates.
The only real positive i take from this game, and indeed the NUFC game, is that last season these teams played us off the park scoring 7. Still we have not points which is not good enough but some of the basics are there in terms of dominating and working good positions. But some of the same issues are there in terms of set pieces and individual errors and wrong decisions making.
For this reason im not putting it down to the 'one way of playing' narrative which really doesnt hold much water, and particularly when we havent had much time to integrate key players like Solanke.
posted on 16/9/24
comment by BISS Bash BOSSED (U8366)
posted 2 hours, 42 minutes ago
The fact we finished above chelsea means nothing, they had one of their worst ever seasons and still done the double over us and got to 2 finals.
Fans like you who excuse this rubbish really worry me. You accept mediocrity. You are ignoring our form last year when we’ve been crap for ages. You think we done well cos we dominated the game. We did not dominate. They LET us have the ball. Lets do some critical thinking man
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I didn’t say finishing above chelsea meant anything, I suggest you read my reply again.
You worry about fans like me yet after four games of a new season you want the manager gone. Is that because sacking the manager each time has worked so well for us in the past?
Get a grip man. I said we need to improve but it’s people like you that don’t see the bigger picture. We lose a game you just shat the bed!
We finished 5th in his first season playing better football. Let’s see what will happen this season. Way too early to make any judgments about whether we keep the manager or not.
posted on 16/9/24
comment by burghandy (U10383)
posted 3 hours, 48 minutes ago
comment by BISS Bash BOSSED (U8366)
posted 2 hours, 42 minutes ago
The fact we finished above chelsea means nothing, they had one of their worst ever seasons and still done the double over us and got to 2 finals.
Fans like you who excuse this rubbish really worry me. You accept mediocrity. You are ignoring our form last year when we’ve been crap for ages. You think we done well cos we dominated the game. We did not dominate. They LET us have the ball. Lets do some critical thinking man
----------------------------------------------------------------------
I didn’t say finishing above chelsea meant anything, I suggest you read my reply again.
You worry about fans like me yet after four games of a new season you want the manager gone. Is that because sacking the manager each time has worked so well for us in the past?
Get a grip man. I said we need to improve but it’s people like you that don’t see the bigger picture. We lose a game you just shat the bed!
We finished 5th in his first season playing better football. Let’s see what will happen this season. Way too early to make any judgments about whether we keep the manager or not.
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Lose a game? Haven't we won something like 12 of our last 34 games or something under Ange?
When will enough be enough?
He should be under huge pressure right now.. He should have interviews asking him some tough questions and he should be working overtime to find a solution. If he was a true winner he would find a way, any way possible. But he doesn't. He sticks to the only way he knows. Yes it would get the off decent win which may pacify some fans, but not me. I want to see drastic change in results regularly, including against the top teams. That's apparently where we are meant to be dining.
We all know where this will end.