Is Bruno Lage A Good Manager Or Should He Go?

[Boozad]

as shit as we've been for months we're still going to be a top half Premier League team.

Hang on, I need to catch up here. I thought we were going down nest season?

 

[pr0sl0]

It won't happen unless we promise him a fair wedge to spend and presumably he'd be less than keen to lose Neves, Moutinho, Jonny etc.

Easy to spin that though. “You get to rebuild the team in your own image immediately, here’s £120m, get shopping.”

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

Hang on, I need to catch up here. I thought we were going down nest season?

I mean this year. The starting point is still going to be that we've finished 8th, 9th or 10th. So you're building from a better position than Nuno was in 2017 where we were a shit Championship team with hardly anyone worth keeping, I think (and so do an increasing number of people) that we've underperformed since February mainly because of Lage, not because all the players are rubbish.

Nuno gave up CL football with Porto - they didn't sack him, he left after we tapped him up - for that, hence it's not out of the question that Lopetegui would do similar now when there's far less work to do and you're playing Man City and Liverpool rather than Barnsley and Hull.

 

[AndyWolves]

I mean this year. The starting point is still going to be that we've finished 8th, 9th or 10th. So you're building from a better position than Nuno was in 2017 where we were a shit Championship team with hardly anyone worth keeping, I think (and so do an increasing number of people) that we've underperformed since February mainly because of Lage, not because all the players are rubbish.

The players don't get off that lightly for me.

 

[Boozad]

I mean this year. The starting point is still going to be that we've finished 8th, 9th or 10th. So you're building from a better position than Nuno was in 2017 where we were a shit Championship team with hardly anyone worth keeping, I think (and so do an increasing number of people) that we've underperformed since February mainly because of Lage, not because all the players are rubbish.

And you won't find me disagreeing with any of that. For what it's worth I'm now in the mindset for the first time since we got promoted that we could be in serious trouble of going down, I don't care where we end up this season, it has zero bearing on next season. What does really fucking count towards next season is the abject performances coupled with the total lack of leadership.

Is it worrying? Not really as it's just football, but if you really want to invest yourself then yes it is.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

The players don't get off that lightly for me.

If we send out a team that contains all of Sa, Kilman, Semedo, Jonny, Neves, Moutinho, Neto and Raul, most would agree that there's a fair amount of talent there (and then there are others where mileage varies but they're not shit are they, apart from Hwang).

So either the manager can't motivate them or he just generally plays awful football, take your pick. Either way it's on him.

He's also cheap in Premier League terms so who would you look to remove, nearly all our squad who are better than anything any of us have seen in the last 40 years, or a manager with a CV that doesn't fill a side of A4 and who talks shit all the time. Tough one.

 

[Tony Towner]

He's definitely overplaying - in my view the impact of injuries. Don't know if he's delusional enough to believe it or just using it as a smokescreen

 

[Boozad]

So either the manager can't motivate them or he just generally plays awful football, take your pick. Either way it's on him.

Said it before and I'll say it again, it's all on him. He needs to go.

 

[AndyWolves]

If we send out a team that contains all of Sa, Kilman, Semedo, Jonny, Neves, Moutinho, Neto and Raul, most would agree that there's a fair amount of talent there (and then there are others where mileage varies but they're not shit are they, apart from Hwang).

So either the manager can't motivate them or he just generally plays awful football, take your pick. Either way it's on him.

He's also cheap in Premier League terms so who would you look to remove, nearly all our squad who are better than anything any of us have seen in the last 40 years, or a manager with a CV that doesn't fill a side of A4 and who talks shit all the time. Tough one.

I don't really want to go round this loop again, suffice to say I don't think replacing Lage is the panacea it's necessarily being made out to be.

 

[Tony Towner]

I don't really want to go round this loop again, suffice to say I don't think replacing Lage is the panacea it's necessarily being made out to be.

I don't think anyone is saying it is. The squad is stale and needs a rebuild. Either his tactic, man management or a combination of the two are making it look worse than it is though

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

I don't really want to go round this loop again, suffice to say I don't think replacing Lage is the panacea it's necessarily being made out to be.

Is it going to make us worse?

Unless we appoint someone like Allardyce or a Mendes client with even less experience than Lage had a year ago (not likely), or we decide that yes, Aitor Karanka is the man for us, I would say no.

He doesn't have any tactics, or any proper track record where you can think "he could turn this around because he's done xyz" as he's done virtually nothing, and he has no relationship with the players or fans, nor does he have any ability to attract players on his own like a Gerrard or a Lampard could, because he's nobody, and he's on a run which is only slightly better than Terry Connor managed.

By no means is he the sole problem at the club, he's a major one though and I don't think there's a single person who isn't Bruno Lage or related to Bruno Lage that thinks he's a better manager than Julen Lopetegui.

 

[AndyWolves]

I don't think anyone is saying it is. The squad is stale and needs a rebuild. Either his tactic, man management or a combination of the two are making it look worse than it is though

Yeah, that's what I'm saying, the players need to be considered too, but it seemed like some were disagreeing that.

 

[AndyWolves]

Is it going to make us worse?

Unless we appoint someone like Allardyce or a Mendes client with even less experience than Lage had a year ago (not likely), or we decide that yes, Aitor Karanka is the man for us, I would say no.

He doesn't have any tactics, or any proper track record where you can think "he could turn this around because he's done xyz" as he's done virtually nothing, and he has no relationship with the players or fans, nor does he have any ability to attract players on his own like a Gerrard or a Lampard could, because he's nobody, and he's on a run which is only slightly better than Terry Connor managed.

By no means is he the sole problem at the club, he's a major one though and I don't think there's a single person who isn't Bruno Lage or related to Bruno Lage that thinks he's a better manager than Julen Lopetegui.

I'm not defending him, I'm saying a new manager alone won't be enough.

 

[Boozad]

Yeah, that's what I'm saying, the players need to be considered too, but it seemed like some were disagreeing that.

Do you honestly think any of those players wanted to go out there and play shit? To be one of the only teams to look the equals of Norwich? I don't think so, demotivation comes from the manager. In any business.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

It wouldn't be enough on its own.

But I don't refuse to fix my leaking roof because well, that isn't going to do anything to rectify my sofa that's somehow got a load of water damage.

 

[AndyWolves]

It wouldn't be enough on its own.

But I don't refuse to fix my leaking roof because well, that isn't going to do anything to rectify my sofa that's somehow got a load of water damage.

Agreed, you won't be comfy unless you do both. But being dry and uncomfortable is better than being wet and uncomfortable.

I'm not saying we shouldn't fix the roof.

 

[Tony Towner]

Yeah, that's what I'm saying, the players need to be considered too, but it seemed like some were disagreeing that.

It's the big division in the fan base. He didn't get his own players / we finished top half (both of which are correct) versus christ have you watched the last 1/3 of the season?

I can't guarantee which is correct, but I know which side I'm on

 

[AndyWolves]

Do you honestly think any of those players wanted to go out there and play shit? To be one of the only teams to look the equals of Norwich? I don't think so, demotivation comes from the manager. In any business.

It's largely the same group who downed tools under Nuno.

 

[Johnny75]

It's largely the same group who downed tools under Nuno.

It’s almost like it’s neither manager’s fault and there’s something else at play.

Can’t prove it, nor do I know what it is but there’s something not right. I’d put my money on some fucked up yank data bullshit being involved somewhere though.

We had such a bunch of cunts involved in the club through some bullshit esports deal. I don’t think it’s a coincidence.

 

[Boozad]

It's largely the same group who downed tools under Nuno.

Downed tools or were mismanaged?