Holmes_and_Watson

From his comments... Ralph got us punching above our weight, in large part because he had a system that worked, and had the players to get it working for good spells of a season. I remember a player saying that Ralph's coaching took them away from years of how they would have normally approached things. Now we have a manager who says it's about the players, and not the systems. This is popular among elite managers who don't see themselves as setting up in a 5-3-2 or 4-4-2, but as a fluid group adapting to the game and maximising opportunities within it. When NJ has tried to implement things, we've been left with confused looking players. There were rumblings about the complexity. That's not something at odds with NJ's desire for direct outcomes into the box. It's also that he wants them to be pressing, harrying, closing, blocking, but also counter pressing, making deep passes to attackers and on and on. The players are left wondering how they can magically be in two places at one, and it falls apart into a systemless shambles. There's obviously a gap between playing levels. While NJ might think he was the best in Europe statistically (on a shoe string), it's at a lower, more forgiving level. While not diminishing that manager of the year he should be proud of, it doesn't mean that it transfers to a faster, tougher, sharper, more talented level. He even mentioned that he'd been too soft on the group because they were premier League players. They wandon't be for much longer. He'll be able to relate to them more quite soon. it's disappointing that he feels they were pandered to. That's something a manager who already had experience at a top level, wouldn't have had to bother with. That's one reason they get that bounce. They've run hundreds of matches at top levels, know what works and what doesn't in short order with the squad they get and can plough through egos, inner club battles and coaches/ department heads putting their nose in, where it's not wanted. NJ is having to learn all this the hard way, brought in when we've no time for that to happen. Well, unless the owners are okay with relegation, and are confident of a quick return. He says he was brought in to work in a certain way. But he also cites the limitations in the squad to fit that way, as big reason for recent results. The first way, that attempted to get the best from the group's established strengths hasn't worked. And despite the break and all the later weeks, he never liked it anyway. Now he's going to do it his way, regardless of whether the team can do it or not. You'd think that would make things worse, but the first way is such a low bar. It doesn't say much about those who hired him, if they didn't bother to see if NJs statistical success was based on things our players could actually do. From the post match comments, there was a lot of lines being drawn. Lots of "no mores". Sadly one big line should have been on his first day, and he should be further down the path of making the changes needed to keep us up. He says as much himself, as he mentions the compromises he's made. I want any of our managers to succeed. Watching NJ take painful lessons every week at a level he's not been at before, isn't nice for any number of reasons. I can only hope this this new approach works very soon. Otherwise the statistics he will have to trot out in interviews will be the ones relating to him being our worst ever manager.

Yes, we've fallen off one. Oh, did you mean cliffnotes? 🙂

We might be baffled and see them as legitimate questions. He will see it as intrusive questioning from those less qualified into his methods of squad management. That's never going to end well. It's never going to start well, for that matter. He's going to be judged on results, probably across the rest of the season. We might think we're miles off. He says we're really close. SR have supplied players. He'll have had a decent run at it, by the time the next one comes around.

True. Fulham have also had one of those striker folks that I hear can make a real difference to a season, especially if you have one from the start. 🙂 He's done well after a torrid time, the last time they were in this league.

14 deadline day targets missed by Everton. We get a few mentions. Link pinched from the Beeb. https://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/1729419/everton-news-14-stars-deadline-day-sean-dyche-empty-handed

Snipers. 🙂

Ruin

NJ *is* the next manager. The one after that is a foetus currently coaching a German under 8s team. Rasmus will sabotage the foetus' bid for under 12 team glory, to teach it failure, and despair. Only then, will it be ready to take over our first team. 🙂

Comedy thrives under adversity. If the material put on the main channels doesn't appeal, then it could be problems with their commissioning or the same production companies they frequently use. Or it might just be your personal taste differs. Fortunately, there's loads of comedy venues and online content available for you to find new funny things. The last golden age of comedy had strong roots in radio comedy. Lots of various shows there. The same with music. I don't catch a lot of new music. But it doesn't take too long on something like 6 music to find something I really like, and listen again to/buy. I get the bonus that, by the time I've heard it, they often have a decent bit of material out, so I get to binge. One very mainstream example in a load of other stations, online platforms and live venues. Again, a lot of lasting music comes through adversity. It always has, and there's no signs it's changing. It might not be in radio 1 play lists. But that doesn't mean it's not around. The list of horrible recent things are echoes of similar horrible past events. Some on the list have never gone away. I'd disagree that their appearance has led to the end of either music or comedy. You list 8 that you already like, with some of the Apollo too. That's a decent start. Is there a figure where that becomes a special age of comedy? Would we recognise one, if we were watching it, while at bit of us kept trying to compare it to Fawlty Towers? 🙂

Harry Rednapp's fantasy transfer windows.

I imagine he was bruised after Stoke, and wanted to see if he could recapture his Luton mojo, and carry that into a strong championship season. A premier League job wasn't going to come up often, it was the next step without getting a team promoted, and his back 5, stats based approach matched Rasmus. Not short on self belief, like lots of managers, it was the right time. Oh, and that he'd failed at Stoke, and done a lot of self appraisal over it, was a big hit too. It couldn't go horribly wrong twice, after all. 🙂 He has time to turn it around this season. It would have been far better had he not got the reinforcements in at the last minute. Considering how long SR stuck with Ralph, I don't see NJ going anywhere, if there are some clear signs of progress with the new look attack. We'd have to be getting thumped, *and* have Forest like performances, for a change to happen.

Presser Comparison Site... Press: Could you explain why a back 5 is your preferred choice? Response: Confused face Press: Despite 2 recent goals, Perraud was serving burgers today. Why was that? Response: passive aggressive confused face Press: Despite a couple of months, your players look baffled at your instructions, and can't put the ball in the net. Any thoughts on how to turn that around? Response: Confused face. OR Presser Comparison Site... Press: Could you explain why a back 5 is your preferred choice? Response: It's about the system to best enable us to score goals. It's not about individuals or personal outcomes. It's not about my bosses favouring that formation from their xGC stats, wanting to show horn it in regardless of suitability, and only hiring me as I agreed with them. Press: Despite 2 recent goals, Perraud was serving burgers today. Why was that? Response: It's about personal outcomes. It's not about systems or individuals. Perraud has to learn to develop outcomes that aren't just goals. Such as the outcome of feeding all the hungry fans at half time. Press: Despite a couple of months, your players look baffled at your instructions, and can't put the ball in the net. Any thoughts on how to turn that around? Response: It's about individuals. It's not about systems or personal outcomes. It's all the other things to absorb and use information. They couldn't do it before me, even including those runs of winning, attractive football. My messages of hoof it across to the small side men, are clear and consistent. The players inability to create things from where the ball ends up, is entirely their fault. Hmmmm. Tougher than I thought. I've not taken xP (expected pedantry) into account though.

Like a first match in charge, a manager's first fans' forum doesn't count. NJ has learned from the Liverpool game. 🙂

Jacob Murphy's hand waving, and stupid grin when he was a subbed sub get a mention. Bruno's disbelief at getting sent off, despite numerous fouls and terrible challenge, and general man-child behaviour gets another. Not in the Greenwood class, but still...

😀 Weston had even added buses in the list of broken things. Getting old is not being able to retain information from one thread to the next. 🙂

Like everyone else in the squad, perhaps outcomes will improve now we've actually got a striker. KWP is always first choice. I could see a manager switching the other based on the threat, or if Perraud doesn't offer quite as much support if we're playing three at the back(doesn't seem any worse considering how rubbish that is). Perraud may be unlucky, in that the specific outcomes NJ is looking for are the deep, direct passes from the new Teacher's Pet signing. Rather than getting in at their defence and actually putting the ball into the net. Who would want that, after all? 🙂

Nah. Over there some folk pre judge a manager before his first day....oh wait... 🙂

Don't we still train the police of dodgy regimes? While our own armed forces are a bit tatty, don't we still sell lots of killing things to various regimes? We might not be world leaders in it, but I thought we were top ten... ... here we go...

Every season I visit their forum, they are invariably saying it's the end of their club, they'll never come back from the certain upcoming relegation, the sky is falling in and not even their dugouts will protect them. Perhaps as a fanbase they broadly have higher minimum expectations. No doubt they expected a heck of a lot more return for the huge sums they've spent. They were no doubt dreaming of a Newcastlesque rise, only to watch the car crash unfold. Add to that the vocal minority on forums, a cup of tea, and you have a fun 15mins reading about the apparent end of the universe. They are now failing to sign free agents, and diddling their accounts to massively overclaim the impact of covid, just to stay within the rules. I'd take any 3 to be below us this season. So, not a shred of sympathy. 🙂

If you get to the bus stop closer to it's scheduled time, then it will be quicker. And at a state pension age, it will be free! Not all bad news. 🙂

Sudden

Thanks for that saintscottofthenortham. Good to hear the players are enjoying working with the new boss. When we have won, there have been some genuine looking smiles between players and NJ. I had thought Che was for a move last summer, when we were bringing in new strikers that never arrived. Interesting that it was the other windows, although someone did mention it again this window. Hopefully the new signings will give him more chances, rather than have to put away the few, if good chances, he gets. I have always liked that he just gets on with it.

Luck

I'd like to see them play for a game or two. While it's been an impressive amount of money spent, it took to the last hours of the window to address the massive scoring gap in the team. That's a risk that will take to the end of the season to see if it paid off. Romeu is still a massive loss. Not helped with Lavia's fitness. Baz looks less than impressive, a problem in narrow games. Also emphasised by the strengthening others have been able to do. Lots of money. Lots of players. Yet still weaknesses in the first team, even if the new guys all do well.