When Amorim came in, we all recognised how important it was to show patience as he and the squad got use to each other and what he is trying to implement.
That would probably result in some inconsistent results and performances, but the main thing was to hopefully see some gradual process rather than reacting from game to game.
Recent performances against Liverpool and Arsenal can make it easy to deviate from above or expect more, without accepting that some games suit us better than others - the classic example being yesterday, where we got the result, which was probably most important, but our ability to dominate bread and butter games and take the initiative is very much an on-going issue for us.
Amad is in a real purple patch. No doubt when he comes out of it, there will be the usual knee-jerk reaction on here.
At the opposite end, we have Garnacho, who isn't in a great place at the moment, and seems to be written off by many, which is disappointing. Still so young and time to develop, we really won't know for another 18 mnths or so as to how good he can really be.
Thankfully Amorim is saying the right things in terms of seeing room for improvement in all players and needing time to do this.
I remember when the likes of Giggs, class of 92, Ronaldo etc first played - they were given time, they weren't perfect etc. I'm not saying the current crop will turn out that good, but the approach should be the same. Of course they were coming into winning, dominating squads which made it a bit easier, but they had seasoned pros around them, even when we were playing a lot of the class of 92.
It's easy to forgot how inconsistent a lot of them were at a young age, but they was masked by partly not playing all the time, and partly because they were part of a winning squad.
The likes of Mainoo, Garnacho, Amad, Hojlund are being expected from a very young age to already be the starts of the team without that safety net of having seasoned top professionals to help them along in their positions (Hojlund in particular)
Bruno, whilst not a great captain, probably helps by leading the way with his performances (yes, he has his faults etc, but he has been our standout player in the past 5 years).
Rashford would have been ideal to also help with this, but we have seen what has happened to him, and it is clear that he is not really that type of player to help bring along others etc (that's just the way he is, not everyone can be like that)
At the back, i think Maguire is seen as a good example, and the likes of him, De Ligt and Martinez means Yoro isn't rushed in for every game - that's what we need further forward.
I think Cas can help here also - all the talk is of moving to Saudi (I just wonder if that's just a case of he's an older player on big money, so people just link him to Saudi), but I hope he is a good experienced influence on the younger players also.
I recognise our transfer strategy is to bring in young talent and develop them, but I think we need to bring in 2 or 3 proven EPL players who can help bring the kids along so we aren't relying o them week in week out - the likes of Bowen at West Ham is someone who I see as a great pro, has seen and done it and would be good around the squad. I am sure there are similar out there.
The likes of our younger players will still need a few years to really develop and hopefully become the great players we want them to, but we have a bit of a gap in the midterm in terms of experience until we get there.
Patience
posted 2 hours, 2 minutes ago
Bruno was the scapegoat du jour for a while, and so received wisdom had it that he has no leadership qualities. I think we're beginning to see how much tactical confusion makes individual players perform worse, make worse decisions, etc. Not only does Bruno look like a captain who understands what he is leading, he also is much clearer about his oen role on the pitch, as seen by the quality and choice of passing. Under ETH, hero ball was more encouraged due to the transitional focus, and the lack of build up pattern also meant Bruno attempting hero balls for lack of other options.
BTW I really like the way he has put the spotlight on other players when celebrating goals, e.g. focusing on Garnacho's assist when he scored against Arsenal.
posted 2 hours, 1 minute ago
That's leading by example. As was his performance against Arsenal, which was certainly a 'take the game by the scruff' type showing.
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yes, it was.
posted 1 hour, 53 minutes ago
It's become a bit of cliche but it's so true for us. We need leaders all over the pitch. The captain can only do so much but others need to step up. It's especially important for our young players which is kinda relevant considering they're constantly in the limelight atm.
The problem is you can't be a leader to others if you yourself aren't putting in a shift or applying what the manager is asking. Which is why most in that squad shy away from it. We can name names like Ugarte but if he's getting hooked 7 mins into the second half it's not a great look.
posted 1 hour, 46 minutes ago
I think Bruno is great with our players, but there is still some petulance in him, and the sending-offs this season aren't ideal from someone who is our captain.
For me it's a case of one of our most experienced and best players being the captain, and there's not much choice amongst the others, except Maguire really.
Away from the captaincy, there were some questioning if Bruno would fit into Amorim's set-up - he has adapted very well, and shown how key he is to us and deserves credit for that.
posted 1 hour, 41 minutes ago
I hope that vs Brighton RA continues with JZ. He just seems to be more able to keep the ball and create more for others than Hojlund does. Hes probably going to be a better player IMO (Which might be unpopular)
posted 1 hour, 35 minutes ago
comment by RB&W - Our representative on the pitch (U21434)
posted 1 minute ago
I hope that vs Brighton RA continues with JZ. He just seems to be more able to keep the ball and create more for others than Hojlund does. Hes probably going to be a better player IMO (Which might be unpopular)
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It's very early to say with either of them still. Something might just click and they suddenly go up a level or two.
Of course they aren't similar style of players either - Hojlund is more of an out and out goalscorer, JZ probably has a bit more to his game all-round.
Can they play together?
My overall gut feeling is Hojlund my turn out to be better for us, although what both need is seasoned pro who can take pressure off both of them
posted 1 hour, 25 minutes ago
We should try and sell Hojlund this summer and sign a good striker. He’s so shiiiit.
posted 1 hour, 13 minutes ago
comment by Ruben The King Amorim Tim Tagi Dim (U10026)
posted 5 minutes ago
We should try and sell Hojlund this summer and sign a good striker. He’s so shiiiit.
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We're asking a young developing striker to lead the line without any support from seasoned pros - he literally has little chance of being a success. At his age, the likes of Kane, Shearer etc would be struggling also.
Even players who were immediate stars in their teens / early 20s, like Rooney, Owen, even Fowler, had the support of playing around experienced forwards.
There is still time for Hojlund, and maybe he will turn out not to be great - but we seem to be doing our best to make sure he isn't successful, with the lack of credible support we are giving him
posted 59 minutes ago
Whilst true it doesn’t address the issue of him being crap at football. Sell him and get a good striker and let Zirkzee play as the back up. Hojlund is stealing a living at the club.
posted 6 minutes ago
comment by Ruben The King Amorim Tim Tagi Dim (U10026)
posted 47 minutes ago
Whilst true it doesn’t address the issue of him being crap at football. Sell him and get a good striker and let Zirkzee play as the back up. Hojlund is stealing a living at the club.
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You could argue that Zirkzee is no better. I would rather keep both for the time being and see how they develop and actually bring in another striker to support them. Zirkzee can not be the back-up striker, he can play one of 2 behind him, but he's not the goalscorer at the top of the tree.