Is Bruno Lage A Good Manager Or Should He Go?

[Lupollet]

You do know Jeff doesn't actually go out and scout the players and if he likes what he sees whips his cheque book out don't you ?

He’s never blown £35m on a generational talent then?

 

[Dire Wolf]

Neither Bruno nor Shi are going to go, I don't think. Bruno should be sacked simply for the repeated picking of Hwang. But given that's probably under instruction from on high, it's never going to happen.

 

[jd1981]

Said it on the verdict thread that Bruno will start the season with us next season. Two things will happen he’ll start of in awful form and be gone before October or worse case he’ll kick the can down the street until new year then won’t be sacked until it’s to late.
The situation is similar to that of MM at the end of the 10/11 season. Board felt they could sack him after he’d kept us up but reality is we were in massive decline.
The fact is the PL is ruthless league can’t be complacent which we’re and reward average performances.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

Mick McCarthy had huge credit in the bank though, you could at least understand how you'd keep him out of loyalty (we also had reasonable enough form to finish 2010/11 after we signed O'Hara and started playing Fletcher regularly).

Bruno Lage has less in the bank than Nick Leeson in 1995. He's done nothing and there's no bond with the fans, players or club.

 

[Templeton Peck]

This season we had enough quality to see us through but Neves leaving could see us relegated if he's replaced with more Hwangs.

 

[Tony Towner]

His post game interview says he's off (Neves, not Lage)

 

[jd1981]

Mick McCarthy had huge credit in the bank though, you could at least understand how you'd keep him out of loyalty (we also had reasonable enough form to finish 2010/11 after we signed O'Hara and started playing Fletcher regularly).

Bruno Lage has less in the bank than Nick Leeson in 1995. He's done nothing and there's no bond with the fans, players or club.

As said though a ruthless call needed to be made back then, anyway I think people genuinely believe that the board are to blame for a lack of investment. To a point I can see that but absolving Lage of responsibility is short sighted.
The very least he should be able to do is get the basics right and keep a side well organised.
Fact comes back to he’s had Jimenez, Hwang, Trincao, Podence, Traore (until January) and failed to get anything out of them.

 

[Keef]

Not seen either player I mention play ( only highlights) so I’ll go with the consensus on here,
As bad as he is it’s looking like it’s a high up decision to play him rather than Silva who does at least look like a footballer, and who cost us £35 million we could have spent elsewhere.
Feel free to point out I know nothing, it’s fine.

 

[jd1981]

Thing is a player out of form you can still see glimpses of what they can do ie Trincao yes been anonymous for large parts but you can still see he has the touch, vision and movement to play at this level.
Hwang doesn’t I’m afraid it’s a case of player playing in a league out of their depth not his fault just shouldn’t have been signed.
Due diligence simply wasn’t carried when he was signed.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

Brighton (A)
Chelsea (H)
Man Utd (A)
Southampton (H)
Brentford (A)
Arsenal (A)
Tottenham (A)
Leicester (H)

We got 19 points from those 8 games in December/January/February. We didn't play brilliantly in all of them but it probably contains our two best performances of the season and some other stuff that was decent in parts. The points haul is genuinely excellent.

Beyond that we got 32 points from 30 games.

Basically that tiny little mini-run, which is totally out of kilter with 75% of the season, is what saved us from a relegation fight. The vast majority of the season was either awful results, awful performances or both.

 

[jd1981]

He has got some big results that’ll please the fans, first manager to win at Old Trafford in 42 years, winning at Spurs and doubling Villa.
The Man Utd performance should’ve been the blue print for the rest of the season.

 

[Wilf Wolf]

He has got some big results that’ll please the fans, first manager to win at Old Trafford in 42 years, winning at Spurs and doubling Villa.
The Man Utd performance should’ve been the blue print for the rest of the season.

If only other teams let us play like MU did... They gave Neves and Moutinho acres of space and when that happens they can control the game. Sadly other teams soon learnt that if you press us we collapse and our only response is occasionally throw Donk into the mix.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

The narrative on Twitter often confuses me (see them overwhelmingly backing season ticket price rises the other week) but it's definitely changed re: Lage of late. A month ago, despite us being mostly shite, hardly ever scoring and being in rubbish form, it was at least 80% "he deserves backing and time to see what he can do with his own players". That's very much the outlier now, the majority want him gone.

I know of at least three people, absolute die hards who follow us everywhere, who had tickets for yesterday and either punted them on or went to Liverpool for the day out and didn't bother going to the game.

I remember back in February/March people saying "he's matched Nuno" FFS Well he didn't, did he, we finished 10th - bear in mind in Nuno's two 7th places, we had an FA Cup run to the semi final and a Europa League run to the quarter final too, so far more strain on a small squad, mentally and physically. The uplift from last season (completely unacceptable apparently and we simply had to sack the manager) ended up being six points and we had a fair bit of luck to get that many. Scored a whole two more goals than last season too.

How many genuinely good performances can you pick out? Even if you grant all the first three games (which is extremely debatable for two of them) despite losing them all without scoring, and I'm charitable about it:

Leicester (A)
Tottenham (H)
Man Utd (H)
Everton (H)
West Ham (H)
Brighton (A, second half only)
Man Utd (A)
Tottenham (A)
Watford (H)
Aston Villa (H)

I can just about get to 10 (well, nine and a half) and I'm being really kind there.

These were all objectively dreadful and there's absolutely no argument about any of them:

Brentford (H)
Crystal Palace (A)
Norwich (A)
Burnley (H)
West Ham (A)
Crystal Palace (H)
Newcastle (A)
Burnley (A)
Brighton (H)
Man City (H)
Norwich (H)

11 of them. Not just a bit below par, not a case of "it wasn't our day today", not "hold your hands up, we were beaten by the better team today", just fucking diabolical from start to finish. That's not good. Chuck in a limp cup exit to the worst team in the division when we had the chance to throw a lot of resource behind the competition, given our league position.

He's gorra gew Franksie.

 

[Tony Towner]

I'd add Leeds × 2 and Arsenal away to the terrible list. 3 games we threw away with cowardly in game management. Newcastle and Eveton could well have gone the same way

 

[Johnny75]

We know he's not good enough for us, is there any point in constantly labouring this?

 

[Lupo]

We know he's not good enough for us, is there any point in constantly labouring this?

Yeah but he ay had chance to fill the team with Hwangs yet and has had to work with Nuno's squad which reached the Europa QFs a year or so before

 

[prawnking]

I think the interest in Hwang is club-led and precedes Bruno by some time.

I'm sure I read he was offered as a signing for Nuno (along with another player whose identity escapes me) a while ago and Nuno declined the opportunity.

 

[PuntsWolf]

I think the interest in Hwang is club-led and precedes Bruno by some time.

I'm sure I read he was offered as a signing for Nuno (along with another player whose identity escapes me) a while ago and Nuno declined the opportunity.

Definitely a Scott Sellars/ Wolves network signing. Which fills you with dread that they have watched this guy for 2-3 years and still thought it was a good idea. Then doubled down on it by signing him in January when in my mind it was clear he was rubbish after a few games despite scoring a few jammy goals.

 

[Elephant Pyjamas]

I think the interest in Hwang is club-led and precedes Bruno by some time.

I'm sure I read he was offered as a signing for Nuno (along with another player whose identity escapes me) a while ago and Nuno declined the opportunity.

Nuno reportedly has concerns about £22m Wolves target, despite his CL displays

Hwang Hee-Chan has shone for Red Bull Salzburg but a move to Premier League outfit Wolverhampton Wanderers is far from guaranteed. Nuno Espirito Santo has...

www.hitc.com

 

[jd1981]

If he’s not left by the end of the week it’s pretty clear he’s here again next season. The more Hwang keeps being the go to option the more you feel it’s a directive from above, no one with half a football brain can think he is a better option over Trincao, Podence or Fabio.
Which ever it is both are deeply disturbing, Bruno is only part of the problem, until the club sorts out it’s hierarchy and ways of operating this will keep ongoing. Football decisions at the club are being made by people nowhere near good enough.