Separating the truth from fiction (I’m not encouraged)

[Silvio Dante]

3 minutes ago, Red Skin said:

I am expressing an opinion in response to yours, not denying you your opinion.   

The football isn't great.  Change is painful.  Sometimes you go backwards to go forwards.  Is LM the answer?  I have no idea, but he needs time.  

Your original post started with an apology to @Harry for playing on the words of his original thread.  I think his thread offered something new to what's been said in numerous other threads.  Whereas this one is just expressing the same discontent that permeates every other thread on here right now.  

You haven't addressed the point I made above.  If 6 games is enough time to judge LM.  How long do we give the next bloke? 

I think LM can be criticised, but the level of of criticism is quite unprecedented for someone in post for such a short period.  I'm not accusing you, but as @Harry post laid out I still think alot of that is down to anger with the decision to sack Pearson.

If Pearson had been sacked in response to calls from the fans for his sacking, would LM really be held up to the scrutiny and criticism as is being now?  I don't think he would. 

 

 

 

I think I did answer your points and apologies if it didn’t come across that way. Let me be crystal clear so you are in no doubt:

- I didn’t agree with the decision to sack Pearson but agree we must move on from that

- I don’t think top six is attainable

My concern in the here, in the now, is whether Manning is performing for Bristol City. And clearly, if Pearson had been sacked as a response to fans calling for it no, he wouldn’t have been held to the same scrutiny as he is now because by definition he would have been taking over a poor scenario. He wasn’t. So it’s fair that he should do as well or better than the prior occupant - I don’t think that’s unreasonable in any walk of life. 

As to whether in the unlikely event he was sacked - which wasn’t called for - the next occupant would be held to the same standard the answer is again, obviously no as he’d be taking over a side that is confused, playing poorly and is in bad form. Again by definition that would get more time but it’s currently the scenario LM has managed us into in his six games (again acknowledging the small sample)

And as for whether he’s delivering in the here - it’s fair to say we have regressed. It’s fair to say the Blackburn first goal was coming. If you don’t agree then that’s your perogative. It’s also then reasonable in response to the “we need to give him time” argument to assess what he does when given that time. And it’s a stone cold fact that given time at MK Dons he turned them into relegation candidates. I’m not sure that’s controversial either.

The only way I see him in relation to Pearson is that he was the next man in. And I’ve been clear elsewhere that he didn’t create the scenario. What he has done thus far is not imbue confidence that he can improve things, which leads to natural questions.

And, fwiw, if you don’t like permeating discontent you’re probably supporting the wrong club!

[Davefevs]

53 minutes ago, GrahamC said:

Genuine question for you & possibly @Davefevs re Williams.

If he’s not a DM, what on earth is he? He certainly isn’t box to box, maybe he was before his time with us & it could be the injury he suffered on arrival but I don’t see him as that now.

He certainly is no goal threat, he is even less likely to score than James.

I am not asking the question just so posters can slag the bloke off but to me if he isn’t a defensive midfielder I am at a loss to know what he is.

James I get, a better passer, often keeps it simple, keeps the ball moving, good reader of the game & not a DM in the truest sense of the definition but a player you can rely on (in a side that’s lacking them) to retain possession.

A midfielder!!!

He is / should be the midfield rat, getting into players, hurrying them, tackling them, injecting tempo into the game.  I thought he did that fairly well on Saturday.  Last night he only did it for 20 mins.  He’s not the player we signed, box to box, a real pest.

I’d say he suited Nige’s system more than LM’s and I think his time here will come to an end.

[Red Skin]

28 minutes ago, Silvio Dante said:

And, fwiw, if you don’t like permeating discontent you’re probably supporting the wrong club!

Thanks for the reply.  I've seen and heard plenty in my time.  This seems to be at another level to me.  

I really do respect your opinion. I tend to agree with much of what you post. I don't necessarily disagree with much of what you have been posting in terms of observations of the football under LM, but I guess I am more sympathetic to someone seeking to change things and accepting that in the short term things can get worse.   It's clear he needed to change things because he believes in a different way to do things.  He couldn't just come in and say we'll do the same thing, but I'm just gonna ask the players to do it better. 

[Silvio Dante]

5 minutes ago, Red Skin said:

Thanks for the reply.  I've seen and heard plenty in my time.  This seems to be at another level to me.  

I really do respect your opinion. I tend to agree with much of what you post. I don't necessarily disagree with much of what you have been posting in terms of observations of the football under LM, but I guess I am more sympathetic to someone seeking to change things and accepting that in the short term things can get worse.   It's clear he needed to change things because he believes in a different way to do things.  He couldn't just come in and say we'll do the same thing, but I'm just gonna ask the players to do it better. 

It’s pace of change isn’t it? Thats a point I’ve been pretty consistent on and Dave has also articulated well. I think his biggest mistake so far is to go total baby:bathwater and impose the new “style” when it didn’t fit with the squad he had. I’ve actually got no issue with him moving towards that if it’s how he wants to play (caveat - and it gets results) even if I’m not sure it’s a style I like, but the first move I think most coaches should make is assess what they have and see what works and then gradually implement that style if it’s best for the resources they have.

Effectively he’s pushed himself into a poorer start than he needed to. I couldn’t care less about some of the stuff he’s getting stick for (looking down in interviews FFS) but doing that has really set the alarm bells ringing for me in terms of flexibility, compounded by the in game management. So you dig deeper into what was he like elsewhere, what did he do elsewhere and so on.

 

[Harry]

3 hours ago, GrahamC said:

Genuine question for you & possibly @Davefevs re Williams.

If he’s not a DM, what on earth is he? He certainly isn’t box to box, maybe he was before his time with us & it could be the injury he suffered on arrival but I don’t see him as that now.

He certainly is no goal threat, he is even less likely to score than James.

I am not asking the question just so posters can slag the bloke off but to me if he isn’t a defensive midfielder I am at a loss to know what he is.

James I get, a better passer, often keeps it simple, keeps the ball moving, good reader of the game & not a DM in the truest sense of the definition but a player you can rely on (in a side that’s lacking them) to retain possession.

Good question GC. 
In my eyes he’s not a DM. He’s just a CM who has (had) some gritty qualities. But that was pre injury. 
Right now, he’s a bog standard CM. And he’s out of contract soon and won’t be sticking around.