0-3 on opening day. Ouch.
There's probably a fair few players that need some encouragement at the moment.
BR has been busy talking the talk but I suppose now we'll get to see just how good a manager he is.

The missus, despite having very little interest in football probably sensed my disappointment (with both the results and probably the sacking of KD from many moons ago) actually asked this;

"How many 3-0 defeats will the club take before BR is booted out?"

Normally I would have laughed this off, but Manchester City, Arsenal, Sunderland, Man Utd and Norwich are our next five games. Sunderland and Norwich, which on paper would be the most winnable are away games.

If things go sour, would the owners stomach 6 defeats in a row?

Didn't we also sign a young highly rated scottish cb last season? is he loaned out or has he been sold?

I am a firm believer that when you fail to pick a lock you then proceed to bash the door down.

Just saying.

giving me a ferrari doesn't exactly mean that i will be able to arrive any sooner.
arrive in more style perhaps, but i will still be a slowpoke driver and be stuck in traffic.

and iirc, we said the same about Roy, and we all know too well how that turned out.

again, just saying.

I think managers nowadays are a confused lot.

Said this many many times before, but aren't good managers the ones who make the most out of what they have instead of making wholesale revamps? As much as I dislike his approach SAF is probably one of the 'genuine' managers around - just how many times has he adjusted Utd's game plan/style to suit his squad. Sure, the fundamentals are the same and some would argue that it is his assistants who are doing the actual work, but there is no arguing that over the past 15 or more years he is miles ahead of the rest.

Managers nowadays are so apt to clear 'deadwood' and bring in people who play 'my way'.

To put things into perspective - I'm an ex auditor from a big 4 firm. I've recently joined an upcoming SME as a troubleshooter and have noticed that we are severely lacking in the accounting department when it comes to knowledge and approach. But that does not mean that I am to recommend that everyone be reassigned or sacked do I? I need to guide the department and give everyone a chance to catch up. Only then do I reassess and see if I need to bring in a new accountant, no?

The moniker came about imho not because he was apt to make wholesale changes to the first 11 (which many other managers do) but because he would change the whole tactical approach and the way the team plays from game to game.

Not too sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing though.

last night was promising. last week wasn't.
still to early to tell where we're going to end up, but at least we've settled on a direction to move towards

let's just sell everyone from pre-BR times and buy Swansea plus whoever else BR wants.
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Some fans get over eager to ditch players too fast imho, and champion a system that had Swansea finish BELOW us last season. Oh well.

Again I will ask, if you gave me a ferrari, does it automatically make me a better driver or get me to my destination faster?

'If not for the lack of goals?' A system that comfortably outplays people but does not score enough goals is great?
Might as well say if instead of hitting the crossbar/upright had we scored instead we'd finish much higher up.

I'm giving BR the benefit of the doubt, but I feel that some of us get a bit carried away with his 'system' and our own expectations.


Allen and Lucas will be a great midfield pairing though imho. And If Hendo ever finds his feet and form again, a pass and move triangle down the middle of the park will be awesome.

KD was a victim of expectations.

At the end of the day, it is all about results. We did win a trophy, got to the finals of another cup, qualified (only just though) for Europe and finish above Swansea.

Were we expecting more - yes, most definitely. Did the team, as a whole under perform - yes, very likely.

Did Swansea punch above their weight - again yes. But does one (or was it two) seasons of 'relative success' make BR a better manager?

Heck, people have short memories.

But we're going round and round in circles here. BR shows promise, but so did the other Mourinho protege who was hired and fired within a season. Tried to do too much, change too fast and we all know what transpired after that.


On a separate note, that loan signing we made - it comes with a 'buy at the end of the loan' option? I sure hope it's a 'try and buy' instead of a 'help my player grow and he will help you this season' sorta arrangement. Call me 'in denial' but having to loan players from other teams just doesn't sit well with me. Always thought that it was something midtable and relegation fodder teams did.

This post has been edited by madmoz: Aug 29 2012, 03:19 PM

this.

rafa had already run his race when we parted company with him.

it is only the third game of the season, and we've played both manchester city and arsenal. since some of us are happy with loaning players (which i still think is something mid-table teams do) then we also need to adjust our expectations - we are a mid table team. Seen in that perspective, barring that defeat on opening day we have performed as expected. I doubt Swansea would have fared any better

i don't know really... I've been reading soccernet since '94 and not footballnet

i suppose you're not in the 'oh a joke hahah' mood now?