Claude’s future and stories of player bust ups have now made its way in to the mainstream media.
No sources or quotes so there is always the chance they are just reacting to stuff on twitter etc or whether the booing on Saturday has got their attention.
There’s a few questions that need addressing in this discussion.
Is there actually a problem in the first place - we’ve got to a cup final and will finish 9th (maybe 8th, maybe 10th). What more are people expecting? Breaking top 6 is incredibly difficult. We were cheated out of that cup final as a perfectly good goal was disallowed.
If there is a problem and our achievements this year are not enough, then whose fault is it? Is Claude the problem or is it the players (or even the board)? We’ve had some players underperform this year - is that Claude’s fault?
I think like most people, I wouldn’t shed tears if Claude left. It’s been a frustaring year. I’m not demanding he be sacked and would be happy enough to give him another year. Maybe with Virgil back and a bit of a clearout we can make progress again. I think it’s time to move some players on.
Jay has been given enough chances now and I think for his own sake he needs a new club.
Shane isn’t being anywhere near as effective as he was last year (again, is that his fault or Claude’s?). He cannot be carried anymore - it’s one thing having a striker who doesn’t really score if he offers other things, but I don’t even think he’s offering other things.
Tadic needs to improve. There are times when he is great but too often he isn’t. I really didn’t like his moaning to the press about being subbed and think that that shows that maybe he isnt the team player I would want. But again, is this down to Claude or just him?
We have a number of good squad players, like Claise and Hojbjerg but need to strengthen midfield. Will Hojbjerg come good? He’s still young and |I would like to think he’s got a lot more to offer. Boufal is clearly talented but needs to do it regularly. He’s nowhere near that at the moment but again, I think he could come good. There are rumours of a poor attitude, but if we listened to all rumours I don’t think there would be a club left.
People question Forster- I’m on his side but I know lots aren’t.
I like Cedric, Yoshida has improved, Stephens is ok and improving, Bertrand is class. Redmond has surprised me and can improve futher, Gabbi seems very good, Davis is decent, JWP has made a lot of progress this year and looks as if he could end up as a good premier player.
I can’t decide if it is Claude thats the problem or just that we have too many average and/or inconsistent players or if the two things are linked.
There’s ALWAYS a problem after a crap game…people are fickle, especially football forum people.
Tadic is the most frustrating player in the starting XI, for me. Take Saturday for example. If he put as much effort into his game as he does fucking moaning and having a go at others, he’d be a great player. As a no 10 he’s poor - little pressing, doesn’t use the ball as well as he should and hardly ever gives MG an option and as for his shooting ability, it’s shite.
This is an easy one for me. Claude has to take most of the stick here.
It doesn’t take a genius to identify Long’s strengths. Pace, direct running in behind (without the ball I hasten to add) and work rate closing from the front. Those attributes are only effective when you play counter attacking football where there is space in behind the opposition defence. We simply do not play this way under Claude. The football is far too slow. Our goalkeeper, two centre halves, at least one full back and Romeu each need to have a touch of the ball before we are willing to attack.
Simply put, Claude has not adapted his tactics to fit the skill set of Long’s game. As an orthodox centre forward, playing with his back to goal Long isn’t very good. He also hasn’t got the physical stature that spells had, the intelligent movement of Gabbiadini or the predatory instincts of Austin. On Saturday Long was coming short for the ball… I had my head in my hands. He should never be anywhere other than the shoulder of the last defender in my opinion.
Earlier in the season the rotation policy also didn’t help. He was in and then out. Regardless of form or opposition. The saddest thing for me is that there are games that Long should have played over Jay but didn’t by virtue of the fact that he’d played the game before. And vice versa. It looked as though he was just sticking 11 ‘fresh’ players out there without much thought.
Look back at Shane’s goals last year. If memory serves me, 4 or more were in games against Arsenal and City etc. Because we played on the counter against quality footballing teams who we knew would have the lions share of the ball.
For me, this example shows the rigidity of Claude and his tactics.
Inconsistency.
Take Palace - awful at our place in the middle of an amazing run, that ended with an awful defeat.
Swansea beat Liverpool, but hardly anyone else.
Players are inconsistent, and those that aren’t are on £200k a week.
Along with 15 of the other Premier League clubs we shop at the hit and miss bargain centre.
We just need to offload the ones that miss every week.
And shouting at Forster to just hoof the ball upfield hasn’t been classed as tactics since Wimbledon went under, so I won’t be taking too much ‘expert advice’ from the most vocal at SMS.
One minute something is a rumour, then it becomes a fact. I take all this stuff with a pinch of salt and it is more about the posters agenda than it is the truth. Poch and Koeman both came in for a fair amount of stick too and in Koeman’s case many of those on TSW were calling for him to be sacked at Christmas. For some reason, if we dont win every game and dont play like Barcelona every game, then, for some, the manager is flawed and has to go. If you had offered up a decent cup final and a mid table finish at the start of the season most people would have been happy with that. Yes we have been inconsistent, but we were also inconsistent under Poch and Koeman. They had better players to work with and Puel has had to do with a second string pairing at CH for a long stretch. When we have played well we have played very well. I’d like to see him given backing in the transfer window in the summer and another season to show what he can do with his own team. As for all this stuff about losing the dressing room…I am sure there are rows in every dressing room when things dont go well. I am sure some disgruntled players stir things up when they dont get their own way. This happens at every club. Every club also has supporters who want to believe the worst and post unsubstantiated rumours as if they are facts. If things have broken down to the extent that some would have us believe, I am sure we will find out in the fulness of time. But until something happens that backs up those rumours, I am taking them as mischief making bullshit.
SOS will want a link written by Oscar Wilde and Henry Winter before any thing is to be believed, this falls under the ruling of you if it doesn’t fit it with an agenda you agree with you consistently ask for a link regardless of whether common sense tells you after the performances.
Do you reckon he is get binned off then B? Who is you recommending to the Board? Is Mancini still ur Man?
Bert Van Marwijk for me, Mancini also wouldn’t be a bad option to have.
Bert Van? Might get confused with Bert Rand. Could cause problems.
You dont have to agree with an agenda to want proof of what someone has written Barry. You have been on the Internet long enough to know that is is easy to spread unfounded gossip and have people believe it. The incredibly stupid Donald Trump has even coined a phrase for it. Fake news.
Is this gossip?
and Virgil Van
If we’d won the cup final, which in all honesty I think we would have if the officials were on their game, then I don’t think anyone would seriously be considering sacking Puel. A top ten finish and a cup would be a success. Similarly I don’t think Puel would have ‘lost the dressing room’ (if that’s even the case) if he’d engineered a cup win - players love trophies, and I think most would have accepted it was a successful season if there was silverware involved.
Just because we were ‘cheated’ out of the cup doesn’t mean we should sack Puel. Although I remain unconvinced about his style of play (I don’t give a fuck about his ‘charisma’ in front of camera) I think he should be given more time.
Oh, and anyone who says that Puel is ‘out of his depth’ either doesn’t understand what that phrase means or is a fucking dumbass when it comes to understanding the sport of football - Puel has managed in the Champions League, getting a team to the semi-finals - how the fuck can he be out of his depth in the Prem?
Managing in the Champions League is an assurance of quality?
What shit is that?
He’s been given the boot wherever he’s been, not moved up the ladder just sideways moves.
He is out of his depth, what has he done to show otherwise?
Got us to a cup final?
So getting to a Cup Final is a reason not to sack him?
if that’s the case ie if the Cup Final holds such importance why do we field 2nd string teams and others also?
I thought he should be judged upon the whole season, the whole season of many issues and not a good Cup run, its not amateur night, I’d like to think we’re run a bit more professional than that.
