Is Bruno Lage A Good Manager Or Should He Go?

[jd1981]

I don't buy that, with a competent manager Newcastle flew up the table because they had some quality. The teams who struggle to get out are there because their players aren't good enough, that's not the case for us. Anyone half way competent would have us on at least 10 points by now.

Big if and that man whoever it may be isn’t here yet.

 

[WsWolf]

Big if and that man whoever it may be isn’t here yet.

Hardly a big if. There's hundreds of managers who would have been able to get that sort of return from this squad.

 

[PuntsWolf]

Yeah but we appointed Water Zenga and Bruno Lage. We’re in trouble if they get the next appointment that wrong.

 

[SSB]

Jeff reports to Guo who to be honest, doesn't really care that much.

He didn’t give that impression in his executive box the other week. He appeared to be loving it.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

Yeah but we appointed Water Zenga and Bruno Lage. We’re in trouble if they get the next appointment that wrong.

As I said earlier, I think they will actually learn from this. They got to a point in 2021 where we'd been in the Premier League for three years, we have a decent squad, we've had two excellent seasons and one was rubbish but we were never going to get relegated, so it's fine. It runs itself, we don't need new players, we can put prices up and the fans will just pay it (and actively pat us on the back along the way for some reason, nice one), Nuno is being difficult and has possibly outrun his race, so look, just put one of Jorge's mates in to manage the team and it'll be ok.

I think they now realise you can't do this because the league is too strong, hence the investment in players, and they aren't just going to pick a similar level "coach" to Lage as successor. They'll get a proper manager.

 

[Johnny75]

We don't have a board as such.

It's two legacy directors who never have had any say as such, then Jeff and his crap executive team. Jeff reports to Guo who to be honest, doesn't really care that much. That's it.

I think Guo has been the catalyst for the spending.

Mendes clearly his tool for PR and he's seen the shitshow Jeff and his team are.

I would say Shi will be bulleted soon too. The Chinese love a good change at odd times.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

Sorry. When I say Guo "doesn't care" I mean I don't think granular analysis of how we're playing is really his thing. So he will have thought we were doing really well last season when it was fairly obvious we were winging it...until we weren't.

 

[pr0sl0]

The curious thing for me is just how ambitious they might be willing to go. The spending on players indicates that ambitions have been raised again, and last time that happened we came extremely close to landing Lopetegui in the Championship before having to settle for Nuno (not as rated as Lopetegui at the time, but still dropping down below his perceived level).

The longstanding interest in Lopetegui makes me think he's still going to be our number one target, but at the same time, who's the equivalent kind of target relative to Wolves' standing in 2022? Would they actually put feelers out to gauge the interest of someone on the level of a Pochettino? Going for another bargain bin yes man like Lage wouldn't fit the new transfer policy of recent weeks.

 

[PuntsWolf]

As I said earlier, I think they will actually learn from this. They got to a point in 2021 where we'd been in the Premier League for three years, we have a decent squad, we've had two excellent seasons and one was rubbish but we were never going to get relegated, so it's fine. It runs itself, we don't need new players, we can put prices up and the fans will just pay it (and actively pat us on the back along the way for some reason, nice one), Nuno is being difficult and has possibly outrun his race, so look, just put one of Jorge's mates in to manage the team and it'll be ok.

I think they now realise you can't do this because the league is too strong, hence the investment in players, and they aren't just going to pick a similar level "coach" to Lage as successor. They'll get a proper manager.

Sometimes even good appointments in theory can just not work out though. And if we’re already playing catch-up then who knows what can happen.

I mean I don’t think this will happen. We could appoint Scott Parker and he’d keep us up. But it’s not always so clear cut. Need to just get him out before he does more damage

 

[SSB]

Sorry. When I say Guo "doesn't care" I mean I don't think granular analysis of how we're playing is really his thing. So he will have thought we were doing really well last season when it was fairly obvious we were winging it...until we weren't.

To be fair I think his enthusiasm at Fulham game was akin to when you see a parent filming his kid walking into a packed stadium for the first time, then sticking it on the internet in the hope it goes viral.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

Dave Jones got 9 points from his first 10 games in 2003/4.

We have 3 from 5.

Can we get 6 from Southampton, Liverpool, Man City, West Ham and Chelsea to match that?

Just to reiterate - to MATCH Dave Jones' Premier League start with Wolves.

 

[Lupollet]

Dave Jones got 9 points from his first 10 games in 2003/4.

We have 3 from 5.

Can we get 6 from Southampton, Liverpool, Man City, West Ham and Chelsea to match that?

Just to reiterate - to MATCH Dave Jones' Premier League start with Wolves.

The simple fact is that it’s very unlikely indeed.

 

[Tom Hark]

I've always thought that, generally speaking, poor team performance is often as much the fault of poor recruitment as it is of poor management, and that on many occasions swapping managers is just an ineffective knee-jerk reaction to a deeper-seated problem, but, my goodness, if Lage can't propel us up the table with the squad Fosun have now assembled for him he should be stripped of his coaching badges. I fear he is out of his depth, though. The owners' patience surely isn't going to last long without swift and significant improvement. This window has been a clear statement of intent on their part; we need someone in charge who is capable of taking full advantage of it.

 

[jd1981]

I swear when reading Facebook some of our fans were on the board of the ECB or British Olympic Committee in the 90’s.
Never known such leniency towards such crap results and performance.
He’s giving it his best yes we all would but that’s not enough.

 

[Bigbadwulf07]

IMO I don't count last season as Lage had no support from the board, little option but to revert to the previous tactics, no effective signings, Key players out injured for extended periods or recovering from life threatening injuries. So far this season, the same team for the first 2 games, no effective bench, and only now we have the 'final' squad available starting with Southampton. No time to gel. Yes, would've been great to have all the new players weeks before the season started and all players from pre-season returning at 100%. It all seemed to change from when Guo attended a game. For me the season starts now and my opinion of Lage will be based on how we perform from now on. Fantastic window in my opinion which has to be at least in part down to Bruno. Would've liked to keep MGW but understand the economics and the players input, also would've kept Fabio here, I think this would've been a breakthrough season for him. Now putting on my tin helmet

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

Do you expect us to get 6 points from the next 5 games (Southampton, Liverpool, Man City, West Ham, Chelsea)?

If so:

1) I'll have a pint of what you're on, cheers

2) Even if we do, that's 9 points from 10 games. Which is shit. Dave Jones got 9 points from 10 games in 2003. We were rubbish, we got relegated.

We do not have time to 'gel' and he has shown absolutely nothing ever to suggest he is a good manager.

 

[Alan]

The time for his ideas to gel was last season. Part of changing a club's style of play is changing the culture within the dressing room to support those stylistic/tactical changes; to give the players belief in the end goal even if you can't turn the dial up to 10 right away.

Bruno has failed at installing those cultural changes spectacularly. He couldn't sell me a cup of coffee, much less a tactical plan.

 

[Johnny75]

The time for his ideas to gel was last season. Part of changing a club's style of play is changing the culture within the dressing room to support those stylistic/tactical changes; to give the players belief in the end goal even if you can't turn the dial up to 10 right away.

Bruno has failed at installing those cultural changes spectacularly.

I honestly have no idea what you're talking about.

 

[Tony Towner]

IMO I don't count last season as Lage had no support from the board, little option but to revert to the previous tactics, no effective signings, Key players out injured for extended periods or recovering from life threatening injuries. So far this season, the same team for the first 2 games, no effective bench, and only now we have the 'final' squad available starting with Southampton. No time to gel. Yes, would've been great to have all the new players weeks before the season started and all players from pre-season returning at 100%. It all seemed to change from when Guo attended a game. For me the season starts now and my opinion of Lage will be based on how we perform from now on. Fantastic window in my opinion which has to be at least in part down to Bruno. Would've liked to keep MGW but understand the economics and the players input, also would've kept Fabio here, I think this would've been a breakthrough season for him. Now putting on my tin helmet

Each to his own, but that is extremely generous of you on last season. Defeats to Leeds, Burnley, Palace, Brighton and Newcastle had his DNA all over them

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

I mean, the idea that poor old Bruno Lage had to struggle through with such shite at his disposal as:

José Sa
Nelson Semedo
Conor Coady
Max Kilman
Rayan Ait-Nouti
Jonny
Ruben Neves
Joao Moutinho
Pedro Neto
Raul Jimenez

And like it was some heroic effort to have us playing awful football but at least we didn't go down. Come on now.

I hate this "he had to revert to the old tactics stuff" too. He tried playing a back four in pre-season and was completely incapable of doing it. We looked like a shit League One team. That is his fault.

We did not play markedly differently in the first three games to any other point, other than "quite well" (and this is massively overblown). He didn't change a fucking thing stylistically.