Is Bruno Lage A Good Manager Or Should He Go?

[AndyWolves]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1521464368059330565

Who actually wants to play the negative, boring stuff? Is it Bruno or the players?

 

[Boozad]

It doesn’t matter. If he wants to play the boring negative stuff he should go. If he can’t get the players to do what he wants then by default he’s a shit manager and should go.

 

[Alan]

Charlotte have more of a tactical identity than Wolves and the club has only existed for two months.

He's got to go.

 

[Del Woppio]

It doesn’t matter. If he wants to play the boring negative stuff he should go. If he can’t get the players to do what he wants then by default he’s a shit manager and should go.

How many managers do we need to go through before we start wondering if the problem is a little bit deeper than that?

We've got a squad of players with a realistic peak of churning out tight results if we basically play with a back 7. Both Nuno and Bruno need to shoulder a big chunk of blame for the style, but then when you've got lemons...

 

[darlowolf64]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1521464368059330565

Who actually wants to play the negative, boring stuff? Is it Bruno or the players?

After throwing Hoever and RAN under a bus, the sequel is to throw the entire squad under it... Way to win back the dressing room

"I'm frustrated with how they're playing"... You are 'coaching' them mate

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

How many managers do we need to go through before we start wondering if the problem is a little bit deeper than that?

We've got a squad of players with a realistic peak of churning out tight results if we basically play with a back 7. Both Nuno and Bruno need to shoulder a big chunk of blame for the style, but then when you've got lemons...

Well, we aren't even getting results now and have had three entirely separate awful runs this season (4 defeats in our first 5, 2 goals in 8 games in Nov/Dec, lost 7 out of 10 now with more to come in the post).

Yeah, the squad looks like it needs a major refresh, we're pretty easy to play against and rarely dominate games or create loads. That is true. The current situation is predominantly on the manager though and it's completely untenable.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

After throwing Hoever and RAN under a bus, the sequel is to throw the entire squad under it... Way to win back the dressing room

"I'm frustrated with how they're playing"... You are 'coaching' them mate

Ridiculous isn't it. I've never seen him own any defeat. Always someone else's fault.

Imagine if Hoddle, Saunders or Lambert (broadly speaking unpopular managers) had said "the players just don't understand my brilliant ideas" after a series of shit results. They'd be laughed out of town.

Also bear in mind how appalling we were on Saturday...yet it's not completely definitive that it was our worst performance of the season. I think Brentford at home might have been worse, Palace at home was about the same (and away was no better), a complete capitulation to Norwich in the cup, he wrote off West Ham away himself with a nonsense selection, the "effort" to get back in the game at Burnley is about as limp as it gets...

Most people had the concern that while he'd had an initial burst of spectacular form at Benfica, it ended with literally their worst run ever. I mean no exaggeration, the worst run the club has ever had in nearly 120 years. I think we can see why.

 

[Boozad]

How many managers do we need to go through before we start wondering if the problem is a little bit deeper than that?

We've got a squad of players with a realistic peak of churning out tight results if we basically play with a back 7. Both Nuno and Bruno need to shoulder a big chunk of blame for the style, but then when you've got lemons...

How many managers do you want to keep whose team offers nothing for an hour, goes behind and doesn’t make a single change until 77 minutes?

The same players who throttled the life out of Utd and Spurs away?

 

[Tony Towner]

How many managers do we need to go through before we start wondering if the problem is a little bit deeper than that?

We've got a squad of players with a realistic peak of churning out tight results if we basically play with a back 7. Both Nuno and Bruno need to shoulder a big chunk of blame for the style, but then when you've got lemons...

The players aren't without blame, Saturday was different to the others where I'd put 90% of the blame on the manager, they have to carry at least as much as him for lack of effort. Whether that's because of a training ground bust up, losing faith in him or too many not believing they will be here next season then that's disappointing because the vast majority have been here for some time and you'd hope they wouldn't do that for the sake of the fans.

As for the back 7 argument, I know people get bent out of shape when this is suggested, but I do wonder how much of the issue is the wish/perceived need/direction (delete as applicable) to play Coady? Off the pitch he is a tremendous ambassador for the club both in media and community duties. On the pitch his desire and effort isn't in question, but his organisational skills defensively are overblown and as much as he tries to gee the team after a goal is conceded it doesn't seem to do anything. If he weds us to a back 3 whilst having wing backs who aren't natural attackers I do wonder if that's an issue

 

[Wolfmania]

Judah has done a tweet saying something along the lines of “don’t let the truth get in the way of a good rumour”

He doesn’t explicitly allocate that to the bust up rumour but I’m not sure what else it could refer to. Unless he provides more substance I’m inclined to believe he’s been told “there’s no /current/ issues” and possibly pushing that. The team selection for our next game will be interesting.

 

[Tredman]

He’s an attention seeking moron.

 

[The Bion]

Re: Coady it's a big issue. In fairness to him I'm pretty sure he's playing injured as he doesn't seem to have misses any significant time even though his ankle was noticeably bothering him not that long ago.

But he's arguably our weakest one on one defender (both physically and positionally), is certainly the slowest, and while he makes up for a lot of that with last ditch interventions etc sometimes I do wonder if he's the principal beneficiary of the shape we play, to the detriment of some others.

Wonderful ambassador for the club, without question, but such things don't help on the pitch, unfortunately.

 

[Deano]

Judah is a cunt. Wonder if he will be slapping the club on the back again if they raise prices like last time.

 

[MARKakaJIM]

Re: Coady it's a big issue. In fairness to him I'm pretty sure he's playing injured as he doesn't seem to have misses any significant time even though his ankle was noticeably bothering him not that long ago.

But he's arguably our weakest one on one defender (both physically and positionally), is certainly the slowest, and while he makes up for a lot of that with last ditch interventions etc sometimes I do wonder if he's the principal beneficiary of the shape we play, to the detriment of some others.

Wonderful ambassador for the club, without question, but such things don't help on the pitch, unfortunately.

I think it would be harsh to pin the overall conservative nature of the team predominantly on Coady though. His inclusion may well dictate the shape, at least to some extent, but that shape doesn't have to be as restrictive as the way it's currently played.

The midfield could already play with more freedom given the extra centre half behind them but they never have. Ditching a centre half for another attacker would only leave that pair further shackled to their defensive duties, to my mind at least. You go from a three man attack for a 4 man one but you're still a long way short of pretty much every other team in the league in terms of getting bodies forwards.

 

[Tony Towner]

You leave those centre mids as the double pivot and that extra attacker sits behind the forward in a 4231/4213. The full backs can still get forward, but you are relying on them to give you the overload, not bring the creativity like in Saturday's 352.

 

[PuntsWolf]

As for the back 7 argument, I know people get bent of shape when this is suggested, but I do wonder how much of the issue is the wish/perceived need/direction (delete as applicable) to play Coady? Off the pitch he is a tremendous ambassador for the club both in media and community duties. On the pitch his desire and effort isn't in question, but his organisational skills defensively are overblown and as much as he tries to gee the team after a goal is conceded it doesn't seem to do anything. If he weds us to a back 3 whilst having wing backs who aren't natural attackers I do wonder if that's an issue

Well you only have to look at that Podence stat. Basically take him out and none of Semedo, RAN, Marcal, Hwang, Trincao, Silva and Raul are capable of creating a goal for each other/themselves.

 

[Tony Towner]

Well you only have to look at that Podence stat. Basically take him out and none of Semedo, RAN, Marcal, Hwang, Trincao, Silva and Raul are capable of creating a goal for each other/themselves.

I don't like Podence so I'm not looking at any positive Podence stat .

In all seriousness he does look to commit players and do something, much as some of the shenanigans that come with it do my nut in

 

[big mean bunny]

How many managers do we need to go through before we start wondering if the problem is a little bit deeper than that?

We've got a squad of players with a realistic peak of churning out tight results if we basically play with a back 7. Both Nuno and Bruno need to shoulder a big chunk of blame for the style, but then when you've got lemons...

The thing with this though, when Nuno arrived he moved the squad to his own way which was very different for most of the ones here. It may be different but he moved Coady to the 3rd CB, had Saiss back in the side then later moved him, sorted Doherty into a player that used just his strengths.

Its not a case of Lage just needing his own players and it being that simple, especially when Sellars made that remark if he disagrees on a signing he has final say.

 

[MARKakaJIM]

You leave those centre mids as the double pivot and that extra attacker sits behind the forward in a 4231/4213. The full backs can still get forward, but you are relying on them to give you the overload, not bring the creativity like in Saturday's 352.

I don't see that there's much to gain from the fullbacks by just asking them to do a bit less attacking.

They'll probably look a bit less wasteful as individuals because they won't be squandering so many opportunities at the byline by virtue of being deeper but they aren't suddenly going to start flinging killer balls in from 20 yards further back either. I think the only really change would be that they'd generally become the person receiving the safe backward pass down the flanks opposed to the one making that pass.

 

[Dennisons Wrong Foot]

I definitely thought it was time to sell Jota, and believed more than most that it was time for Nuno to go. Yet I have been reluctant to say the same about Bruno - never being totally convinced that he is to blame for the problems. It might be the players, and it most certainly is Jeff.

But a decent manager will impose his style on a team, and we have seen nothing of Bruno-ball since the first 3 games. The only change from last season to this is the higher defensive line, and that is because of Sa not Lage. He may not succeed but at least try to have us play his way. If he cannot even do that then he is not a Premier League manager.