And Gana has been one of our better players lately.
and bringing in £70m ?
When everyone else is looking to improve and spending multi millions
The other issue is some of our players are now too old but we have no funds to replace them
Gana, Doucoure, Young, Coleman
pushing on…mid-table mediocrity. Absolutely fine, everyone would agree. But the first ten games have generally been awful. Another relegation battle beckons when the squad we have is better than a number of other clubs. December looks horrific.
I don’t understand Branthwaite bring on the bench, I don’t understand Harrison always getting game time ( first substitution yesterday unsurprisingly but he offers next to nothing, maybe Patterson could have been given a go there?). You just know Lindstrom will pay the price in the next game to bring back Harrison. Lindstrom needs games but looks like he won’t get the chance.
It’s hellishly frustrating because we are better than our league position and performances show. I was hoping this season would see Dyche being a little more expansive, maybe bringing in an attacking coach (I don’t think the other two offer much tbh) but that yesterday was an appalling result. I know his choices are restricted but you can’t help feeling that Dyche is his own worst enemy at the moment.
Oh, and we really need Broja fit asap.
Plan with the ball whether that’s from the back or winning the ball high up is a massive worry. Calvert-Lewin wants crosses and we seldom look to cross. Probably more of an issue with the full backs being played in that sense.
As for being shouted down, I’m not sure that’s true. Most are expressing concern at the lack of a style of play in possession. The style of possession is pretty obvious if largely ineffective sadly. The players are better than the play and results suggest for me and not playing your best players in their best positions is also a concern that lives long with Dyche. He is a very rigid manager (like many that’s also true) but does not change even when he has albeit limited options. Branthwaite massively impacts the team when he plays and I hope he’s not playing purely as he is not fully fit and not because if the incumbent players doing ok when he is clearly an improvement on them.
....was to let them try to play out, and then win the ball off them in the attacking third. Remember Arteta ditched Ramsdale because he didn't think he could do this. They looked shaky, and it was an obvious tactic to use.
Obviously that results in a lot of passes for them in their own half, but on a fair few occasions our hunting in packs did create turnovers, which obviously we wasted.
But the idea that it was a negative approach is something I fundamentally disagree with.
Sadly I think any attempt to look at the situation with nuance is just shouted down right now.
So he's toast sooner or later. Barring an unexpected transfer window we'll be back here in a few months having the same debates, if he is replaced soon. Moyes or anyone else will set these players up in largely the same way.
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