lj comments

[Londoner]

4 minutes ago, windmillhillred said:

The comment was that he would never learn from his mistakes. My point is that is the first time he has made that error (in charge of City at least).

It might be the first time of that specific error....but he does, on occasions, make bizarre tactical decisions that imo display massive naivety 

[windmillhillred]

1 minute ago, Londoner said:

It might be the first time of that specific error....but he does, on occasions, make bizarre tactical decisions that imo display massive naivety 

And yet, we're sixth in one of the most competitive leagues in the world...

[Londoner]

4 minutes ago, windmillhillred said:

And yet, we're sixth in one of the most competitive leagues in the world...

And in danger of imploding. Big concern at the moment.

[Esmond Million's Bung]

2 hours ago, spudski said:

Every manager makes mistakes....very few come out and are honest as LJ in every post match summary. He's done brilliantly to get us in the top 6 all season playing attractive entertaining football.

I totally understand why he did what he did at half time yesterday.

Sunderland were by far the worst team I've seen this season first half. I even thought...'go for the throat, and sort our GD difference out after the Villa game'.

What he didn't realise, or perhaps trusted too much, was the performance of Diony. His performance completely changed our dynamic and how we played. He influenced the game massively negatively. It effected everything we did completely.

He would have seen that...however...how can you sub, a sub, who is massively low on confidence? You are going to destroy him. So he gambled. As many a manager would have in his situation.

The biggest mistake was to have shut up shop at 3-1 and bring Walsh and Magners on sooner. He's admitted that.

Yes, a day to forget tactically...but still in the top 6 and only 6 points off second place. It's still all to play for.

The bloke needs a medal for the season he's given us after only 2 seasons...not slagging off.

I agree with the overall sentiment, but we have to look at our form over all in the past 7 league games and QPR apart we have been incredibly poor and looking at games coming up does anybody feel confident that we can reverse our fortunes?.

Gambles are for when you are losing, like at QPR.

I am surprised that you of all people have fallen into the blame Diony camp, Kent wasted 2 gilt edged chances, either side of Sunderlands first goal either of them would have been the winner and in the 2nd half he and especially Paterson were so incredibly wasteful when we were in dangerous positions, with the constant need to beat one more player or trying the difficult pass, the service to Diony was woeful, there were several times when either Kent and Paterson broke forward and Diony and Diedhiou were both unmarked but they carried on until they were dispossessed and we were and for the 3rd game running carrying an ineffective passenger in Paterson. Having said that overall Kent played really well and is a talent, Paterson however needs a rest.

The most important goal was always going to be Sunderlands first and Bryan was caught out of position for the 2nd game running and our 'right back' was caught ball watching and never even made a challenge.

The biggest mistake was at Bolton and yesterday instead of playing Magnússon (and yes I am i'm not a fan, but I never signed him and I never had him idling away on the bench for both games) and keeping Bailey Wright at right back, LJ has tried playing midfielders there and that has for both games weakened our midfield especially given that defensively Paterson is poor and Kent isn't much better. He is trying to cover up the stubborn mistake of not signing a right back and it's not working and suddenly our midfield is being bullied something that I thought that we had eradicated after 2 years, he cannot hide behind the excuse of "we never thought that we would lose an important defender for 3 games" because that is the sort of problem that he should have catered for because it's his job.

LJ has impressed me greatly this season and even now we are in a position I never dreamt of before the season started but it is tinged with the sadness of that we find ourselves in the middle of a very poor run for the first time this season and yesterday was a game in which we needed 3 points and not a 'gamble' at 3-0, it will be interesting to see the long term phycological effects yesterdays result has on our future performances.

 

 

[BRISTOL86]

3 hours ago, Kid in the Riot said:

In fairness he's demonstrated overwhelmingly that he's learnt a hell of a lot since last season, evidenced by our league position and excellent cup run.

Why let facts get in the way though?

[Andy082005]

2 hours ago, 1bristolcity said:

And so the antI LJ  brigade start dusting down the banners, either you want a Wanock type or LJ type, I know who I prefer. 

I want a manager who can bring us....in time...Premiership football. I dont care who it is

[spudski]

1 hour ago, Esmond Million's Bung said:

I agree with the overall sentiment, but we have to look at our form over all in the past 7 league games and QPR apart we have been incredibly poor and looking at games coming up does anybody feel confident that we can reverse our fortunes?.

Gambles are for when you are losing, like at QPR.

I am surprised that you of all people have fallen into the blame Diony camp, Kent wasted 2 gilt edged chances, either side of Sunderlands first goal either of them would have been the winner and in the 2nd half he and especially Paterson were so incredibly wasteful when we were in dangerous positions, with the constant need to beat one more player or trying the difficult pass, the service to Diony was woeful, there were several times when either Kent and Paterson broke forward and Diony and Diedhiou were both unmarked but they carried on until they were dispossessed and we were and for the 3rd game running carrying an ineffective passenger in Paterson. Having said that overall Kent played really well and is a talent, Paterson however needs a rest.

The most important goal was always going to be Sunderlands first and Bryan was caught out of position for the 2nd game running and our 'right back' was caught ball watching and never even made a challenge.

The biggest mistake was at Bolton and yesterday instead of playing Magnússon (and yes I am i'm not a fan, but I never signed him and I never had him idling away on the bench for both games) and keeping Bailey Wright at right back, LJ has tried playing midfielders there and that has for both games weakened our midfield especially given that defensively Paterson is poor and Kent isn't much better. He is trying to cover up the stubborn mistake of not signing a right back and it's not working and suddenly our midfield is being bullied something that I thought that we had eradicated after 2 years, he cannot hide behind the excuse of "we never thought that we would lose an important defender for 3 games" because that is the sort of problem that he should have catered for because it's his job.

LJ has impressed me greatly this season and even now we are in a position I never dreamt of before the season started but it is tinged with the sadness of that we find ourselves in the middle of a very poor run for the first time this season and yesterday was a game in which we needed 3 points and not a 'gamble' at 3-0, it will be interesting to see the long term phycological effects yesterdays result has on our future performances.

 

 

Read my reasons as to why I thought Dionysus changed the dynamic of our team Emb.

Ask yourself why the 'service' was considered poor by you.

Do we know how Diony was asked to play, or whether our team was asked to adapt to his way of playing?

It was like oil and water.

10 playing one way, 1 playing another way.

No problem with Diony...he must have shown promise in training otherwise he wouldn't have been used.

Everyone can have a poor game, Pato yesterday for example, but he was at least one keeping shape and to the game plan.

Yesterday Diony looked like a little boy lost. You could actually see him at some points relaxed on the half way line, then a few seconds later realising what he was meant to be doing...too late then. His performance noticeably effected how everyone else played. 

We lost our energy, urgency, pressing and short game.

However...I thought Pack and Smith were outstanding.

[Esmond Million's Bung]

7 minutes ago, spudski said:

Read my reasons as to why I thought Dionysus changed the dynamic of our team Emb.

Ask yourself why the 'service' was considered poor by you.

Do we know how Diony was asked to play, or whether our team was asked to adapt to his way of playing?

It was like oil and water.

10 playing one way, 1 playing another way.

No problem with Diony...he must have shown promise in training otherwise he wouldn't have been used.

Everyone can have a poor game, Pato yesterday for example, but he was at least one keeping shape and to the game plan.

Yesterday Diony looked like a little boy lost. You could actually see him at some points relaxed on the half way line, then a few seconds later realising what he was meant to be doing...too late then. His performance noticeably effected how everyone else played. 

We lost our energy, urgency, pressing and short game.

However...I thought Pack and Smith were outstanding.

Agree to disagree, the difference between our 1st and 2nd half performances was entirely down to the way our widemen played, leading up to and after our 2nd goal yesterday Diedhiou was constantly being played in by Kent, Pack, Smith and Reid, he looked awesome, 2nd half him and Diony were never played in once and both looked poor but it was down to lack of supply and greed and poor decision making of Kent and Paterson and up to and beyond their 1st goal we had more than enough attacking situations where they could have played either Diedhiou or Diony in, my appraisal of Diony is like most foreign players the physicality, pace and intensity of the championship football catches them out big style, he reminds me of Diedhiou after his debut struggling with the physicality of the game, the Diedhiou we are seeing now is a different animal to the one that we saw prior to his injury, he is now far more difficult to shove off of the ball, probably I suspect whilst being laid off being able to work on his upper body strength has been a bonus. None of our foreign signings have just managed to settle into life as a championship player from the get go.

If Paterson kept his shape I would hate to see him bent out of shape, just before our 2nd goal he did what he does every single game, he gave a 6foot pass to an opposition player by passing it inside across our own box, he should have been replaced at half time, that's 3 games now where he has been under performing.

I fully agree about Pack and Smith, although I felt sorry for them as well because they were forever covering for Kent and especially Paterson, they needed Brownhill to help steady the ship, as the game progressed we were being bullied more and more in midfield something that has been highlighted in the last 2 games  and to be honest I don't think we realise how much we are missing ODowda, the defensive part of his game has improved so much this season.

 

[Davefevs]

2 hours ago, Londoner said:

It might be the first time of that specific error....but he does, on occasions, make bizarre tactical decisions that imo display massive naivety 

And some have resulted in points gained too.  

36 minutes ago, spudski said:

Read my reasons as to why I thought Dionysus changed the dynamic of our team Emb.

Ask yourself why the 'service' was considered poor by you.

Do we know how Diony was asked to play, or whether our team was asked to adapt to his way of playing?

It was like oil and water.

10 playing one way, 1 playing another way.

No problem with Diony...he must have shown promise in training otherwise he wouldn't have been used.

Everyone can have a poor game, Pato yesterday for example, but he was at least one keeping shape and to the game plan.

Yesterday Diony looked like a little boy lost. You could actually see him at some points relaxed on the half way line, then a few seconds later realising what he was meant to be doing...too late then. His performance noticeably effected how everyone else played. 

We lost our energy, urgency, pressing and short game.

However...I thought Pack and Smith were outstanding.

Spud, I asked earlier whether you think the way we played second half was different.  I thought we lost our shape, Pato and Kent swapped and also wanted to play too much inside.  I think that might be a reason why Diony couldn’t make the rubs he wanted (and pointed to).  If they’ve been working all week on integrating the new boy, and then we throw away our shape, does that help?

[Robbored]

5 hours ago, downendcity said:

Derby a year ago?

Yeah, away from home against a much better side than Sunderland.

[Robbored]

3 hours ago, cidered abroad said:

Not if you're an experienced professional coach! 

He might be a professional but experienced he certainly isn't.

[redsquirrel]

3 hours ago, Davefevs said:

Korey was in midfield.

Brownhill played RB yesterday.

were you at AG yesterday?  That’s not me being rude, just wondering if perhaps you were listening on radio.

i cant go til fulham at the moment,i was listening on the radio. my apologies for getting that wrong

[Davefevs]

4 minutes ago, redsquirrel said:

i cant go til fulham at the moment,i was listening on the radio. my apologies for getting that wrong

No need for an apology....you’d expect the radio commentary to be able to bring a picture of the formation to you.

[spudski]

27 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

And some have resulted in points gained too.  

Spud, I asked earlier whether you think the way we played second half was different.  I thought we lost our shape, Pato and Kent swapped and also wanted to play too much inside.  I think that might be a reason why Diony couldn’t make the rubs he wanted (and pointed to).  If they’ve been working all week on integrating the new boy, and then we throw away our shape, does that help?

We do play inside and narrow Dave...Diony was looking for through balls that were completely different to our first half game plan.

When have you seen any of our forwards all season playing off the shoulder looking for a ball down the channel or in behind the last defender?

Compare that to how Reid plays...it's chalk and cheese.

I'd hold my hands up if wrong, but why were 10 players trying to play the same way as the first half, but one wasn't?

Do you think Diony was told one thing and everyone else something else?

Tomlin and Leko come to mind...players with obvious skill, but singing off their own hymn sheet.

Not being funny mate, usually agree with you, but he had a stinker.

[Davefevs]

15 minutes ago, spudski said:

We do play inside and narrow Dave...Diony was looking for through balls that were completely different to our first half game plan.

But from wide starting positions.  I thought Pato and Kent were too keen to get inside (clogging up the space) into goal scoring / glory positions because they thought goals galore was in store.  I might be wrong though!

When have you seen any of our forwards all season playing off the shoulder looking for a ball down the channel or in behind the last defender?

Reid - quite a lot, Diedhiou - less so.

Compare that to how Reid plays...it's chalk and cheese.

Reid will coming short into space much more I accept.  Diony happy to stay up against his CB.  That’s the main difference.

I'd hold my hands up if wrong, but why were 10 players trying to play the same way as the first half, but one wasn't?

Possibly, but I don’t think Kent and Pato helped, because they played differently in the second half too...so maybe we only had 8 playing the same way 

Do you think Diony was told one thing and everyone else something else?

No idea, doubt it, but maybe he was reacting to how the game was being played out, and we weren’t the same shape, that’s all I’m saying.  I thought he showed some nice touches in tight spaces, he’s not up to speed, KITR suggests he’s been struggling with flu too, but there are loads on here saying he’s shit.  He’s not.  But then again, the majority of them thought Diedhiou is shit....many of them saying that as recent as last Friday night after Bolton.  I know you’re not one of them!

Tomlin and Leko come to mind...players with obvious skill, but singing off their own hymn sheet.

I need to see more minutes first.  I think he looks different to them.  I see intelligence in his layoffs and movement.  Whether he fits is of course a gamble.

Not being funny mate, usually agree with you, but he had a stinker.

I usually agree with you, but you’re most used to watching a single player from a scouting perspective, and I think I saw things that from a general play may have contributed.  I will look at his runs next game for sure.

Generally when we don’t stick to the plan, we look half the side of when we do, we get strung out and exposed, even if we look threatening at the other end.  It’s starting to happen too regularly.  The sooner we can get back to a 442/4411 with players in position the better.  If that means upsetting a few, I think we need to.

 

[Aizoon]

20 hours ago, roddy-d said:

I don't understand what your getting at with the comment I've given. 

3-0 at half time. 

I'm talking last Friday & today.?? 

Well in fact LJ should of learnt from last season. I'm sure we was 3-0 up at half time then. 

I was asking what you consider to be comfortable. 3-0? 4-0? 6-0?

[robin_unreliant]

4 hours ago, Phileas Fogg said:

I think if you had yesterday’s result last year LJ would’ve blamed a player or the collective group for the result. In public anyway, he blamed himself. That’s progress in my eyes. I found it very uncomfortable when he singled out Magnússon and Moore last season (Preston, Ipswich).

 

I'm totally in agreement there. It really irritated me when he was doing that and he has stopped this season. This is one area where he definitely seems to have changed his approach this season. Glad to see it myself.

[roddy-d]

22 hours ago, Aizoon said:

How much more comfortable than 3-0.at home do you want?

Look you need to have more points in the league table than other teams. Before you even consider goal difference. Forget goal difference look to get as many points as you can. This is what matters points on board. That's what is comfortable. It's a marathon not a sprint. 

[Kid in the Riot]

2 hours ago, Robbored said:

He might be a professional but experienced he certainly isn't.

He's managed 262 games, that's a fair bit of experience.

[Robbored]

6 minutes ago, Kid in the Riot said:

He's managed 262 games, that's a fair bit of experience.

How many of those at Championship level? 

[Talk Of The Town]

8 minutes ago, Kid in the Riot said:

He's managed 262 games, that's a fair bit of experience.

Not many people on the planet achieving in football  what he is at 36. If we sat back and drew 3-3 people would be whinging about us sitting deep and bringing teams onto us. The players choked and bottled it.

[Londoner]

25 minutes ago, Robbored said:

How many of those at Championship level? 

A load more than a large number of current championship managers

[Kid in the Riot]

28 minutes ago, Robbored said:

How many of those at Championship level? 

Just under 100. 

Not exactly a novice, is he?

I believe I read he's also the 29th longest current serving manager in English football and is obviously one of the longest current serving in the C'ship

[Robbored]

7 minutes ago, Londoner said:

A load more than a large number of current championship managers

Really? 

I'd love to know how many but can't be arsed to look it up.

[Londoner]

11 minutes ago, Robbored said:

Really? 

I'd love to know how many but can't be arsed to look it up.

Let me think from my head

Sheff wed wolves Barnsley Leeds Norwich Bolton? Reading sheff Utd millwall Sunderland?

Coleman may have managed more but hard to say but definately a very different league. Obv Barnsley and Leeds before it just changed.

 

[Phileas Fogg]

17 minutes ago, Londoner said:

A load more than a large number of current championship managers

I did a quick check.

Column 1 is an educated guess - 'No' is managers with less Championship games than LJ. There was no readily available data online so had a guess here as couldn't be bothered working it out scientifically - according to my estimate he's the 11th most experienced in Championship games. 

Column 2 is overall games - this isn't a guess and is taken from stats sites. He has the 7th most games managed out of managers in this league. 'Yes' means more games managed at any level.

Nothing too interesting in those stats, one has him bang on the middle for Championship games and one a shows he's still a relative rookie in overall management. He's still the second youngest manager in the league.

Neil Harris	No	Yes
Dean Smith	No	Yes
Slaviša Jokanović	No	No
Chris Wilder	No	Yes
Phil Parkinson	No	Yes
Jaap Stam	No	No
Daniel Farke	No	No
Nuno Espírito Santo	No	No
Alex Neil	No	No
Jos Luhukay	No	Yes
Paul Heckingbottom	No	No
Mick McCarthy	Yes	Yes
Nigel Clough	Yes	Yes
Neil Warnock	Yes	Yes
Steve Bruce	Yes	Yes
Ian Holloway	Yes	Yes
Gary Rowett	Yes	Yes
Steve Cotterill	Yes	Yes
Chris Coleman	Yes	Yes
Nigel Adkins	Yes	Yes
Tony Pulis	Yes	Yes
Aitor Karanka	Yes	Yes

[Robbored]

37 minutes ago, Londoner said:

Let me think from my head

Sheff wed wolves Barnsley Leeds Norwich Bolton? Reading sheff Utd millwall Sunderland?

Coleman may have managed more but hard to say but definately a very different league. Obv Barnsley and Leeds before it just changed.

 

So you couldn't be arsed either.

Thankfully PF could be arsed......

[spudski]

5 hours ago, Davefevs said:

And some have resulted in points gained too.  

Spud, I asked earlier whether you think the way we played second half was different.  I thought we lost our shape, Pato and Kent swapped and also wanted to play too much inside.  I think that might be a reason why Diony couldn’t make the rubs he wanted (and pointed to).  If they’ve been working all week on integrating the new boy, and then we throw away our shape, does that help?

Sorry fella...That's the point I was trying to make Dave...our shape disintegrated, because in the final third our players were expecting different movement imo.

We haven't had anyone play up front and make moves and expect balls in certain areas like Diony asked yesterday.

When they tried, how many times did we lose possession? Nearly every time.

Our game is possession based and percentage based.

The balls Diony wanted were almost 50/50 type balls.

Crazy moves that I haven't seen used in years tbh. It was awful. You can't play that way anymore...defenders are too good at this level to deal with it.

LJ has spoken about Gus not getting into the correct areas, and that is one of the reasons we haven't used him so much.

LJ wants our players to get into the danger areas, where we can be in control, be dangerous, but also have a great deal of control as to the areas of the pitch the ball may end up if we lose it.

[Davefevs]

Ok, so you think Diony’s movement was the cause of Pato and Kent’s movement and the disintegration of our play?  That’s fine if that’s your view and it’s not like you post a load of bollox .  Personally I think that’s harsh.

One to differ on, but I’ll take more interest in his runs next time.

[spudski]

12 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

Ok, so you think Diony’s movement was the cause of Pato and Kent’s movement and the disintegration of our play?  That’s fine if that’s your view and it’s not like you post a load of bollox .  Personally I think that’s harsh.

One to differ on, but I’ll take more interest in his runs next time.

We can agree to disagree mate...all good with me fella :-)