The Bruno Lage Appreciation Thread

[thisisgil]

Similar to PK for me, I am not as enamoured by him as some, but he isn't the car crash I was expecting, or worse fearing. He isn't an improvement for me though.

So would you have preferred to keep Nuno after last season?

 

[big mean bunny]

I would have yes, especially with his view we needed more depth, but in the interest of everyone let's not go over that again just yet.

 

[Throbber3]

For what its worth the on field performances last season were a tough watch. Nuno appeared reluctant to change anything and relied on the same 15 people regardless of their form. You could argue 4 or 5 of those regulars should have been dropped at some stage last season on performance alone. Having decided to make the change Fosun should have backed Lage to a greater degree in the window, and we all pretty much agree that. Given the resources he has available Lage sits at 7/10 for me. He tried a more expansive game and got zero points. He reined it in a bit and we have seen some positive results. He is playing us higher and pressing higher. We remain shit with our set pieces. I am in the minority I know, but I am happy with Sa. I felt that there was an overrating of Patricio by many based on his previous record not his record here. He was good first two seasons, without being outstanding. His distribution has always been weak for us as has his domination of the 6 yard box. He had a poor year last season by his standards. Sa is already performing better than Patricio did last year , even though he is bonkers and he will give some goals away in what can only be described as Grobbelaar style. Is he a world class keeper? No. Does he suit how we try to play under Lage ? Yes. Is he value for money? Yes.

Hee-Chan Hwang could end up with cult status if he continues as he has started. Tremendous potential shown so far. Clinical finisher too. So I am happy with that bit of business too. Trincao has all the poise and touches with plenty of skill but spends too much time on the periphery of games so far. Jury is out but it wont take much for him to really click. He appears to have all the attributes , but is a little off the premier league in terms of strength pace.

We needed a proper centre half and a centre Midfield. We didn't get them. That's why we will have the almost cross breed style for a while under Lage as we are , in my opinion , stuck between the two styles because of the players we have at Lages disposal. January is a big window. I don't expect us to pull up any trees . On the balance sheet Fosun have sold one of our highest earners and replaced his salary with that of Trincao , Sa and Hwang combined ( I would guess) so they will look at that as good business.

 

[thisisgil]

I am in the minority I know, but I am happy with Sa. I felt that there was an overrating of Patricio by many based on his previous record not his record here. He was good first two seasons, without being outstanding. His distribution has always been weak for us as has his domination of the 6 yard box. He had a poor year last season by his standards. Sa is already performing better than Patricio did last year

Your instincts are spot on as far as Sa is concerned. Statistically third best keeper in the Prem so far - he has saved 84% of shots on goal this season - only Mendy and Ramsdale have a better record than Sa.

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[Tony Towner]

That's a really weak stat even moreso at this stage of the season as it fails to take into account quality of shots and difficulty of saves. It also doesn't show that at least one of the goals conceded was undeniably on him

 

[PuntsWolf]

Eyes tell you he’s had little to do, done most of it well (bar United), has good distribution and a good sweeper keeper.

Need more evidence to fully assess his shot stopping abilities really

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

Also your eyes can tell you that Aaron Ramsdale is shit.

 

[AndyWolves]

Your instincts are spot on as far as Sa is concerned. Statistically third best keeper in the Prem so far - he has saved 84% of shots on goal this season - only Mendy and Ramsdale have a better record than Sa.

Premier League Goalkeeper Stats | FBref.com

Check out Goalkeeper Stats for the 2024-2025 Premier League season.

fbref.com

Post shot expected goals - goals allowed is the stat you want.

He's joint 2nd in the league on that one

 

[PuntsWolf]

Also your eyes can tell you that Aaron Ramsdale is shit.

Haven’t seen him play a single game this year tbh

 

[AndyWolves]

Also your eyes can tell you that Aaron Ramsdale is shit.

He was shit, I'm not sure he's as shit as he used to be though

 

[YoungWolf]

That's a really weak stat even moreso at this stage of the season as it fails to take into account quality of shots and difficulty of saves. It also doesn't show that at least one of the goals conceded was undeniably on him

There’s a good stat that takes into account difficulty of saves….

 

[thisisgil]

The last set of results has really reinforced in my mind what a great decision it was to bring Bruno in.

We were about a minute and a gnat's hair away from winning 4 matches on the bounce for the first time in Prem history. Meanwhile, I listen to the match report of West Ham v Spurs and I hear "Nuno clearly set this team up to play for a draw, with anything other than that a bonus". The only shocking thing about this is that he got Spurs playing exactly like we did in just a fifth of the time.

 

[Johnny75]

Only somebody who hasn't seen the games would write such nonsense.

 

[thisisgil]

Only somebody who hasn't seen the games would write such nonsense.

You're surprised that I didn't watch West Ham v Spurs?

 

[Johnny75]

You're surprised that I didn't watch West Ham v Spurs?

In more surprised you think the football is different over three last 4 games.

 

[thisisgil]

In more surprised you think the football is different over three last 4 games.

That's not what I said. I said that we are in good form right now and almost set a club record, whilst Spurs have seemingly taken a step backwards since Nuno joined. What part of that do you disagree with?

 

[Jinky]

I think we need to stop comparing the two, to be honest. Nuno is bang up against it at Spurs and was on a hiding to nothing from the moment he took over.

As long as we stay roughly where we are in the league for now, Bruno has my backing until Shi actually signs some players for him which will allow him to implement the system he wants to play. Obviously I'm not a fan of playing anti-football tactics, which we're slowly slipping back towards, and I don't want to hear him spouting rubbish about "controlling the game" when we clearly haven't; but overall I am personally happy to give him the benefit of the doubt for the time being.

 

[PuntsWolf]

I tend to think the “controlling the game” is lost in translation as Nuno says/said similar.

Controlling the game to us means lots of possession, whereas in Portuguese it may mean the opposition were doing what you wanted I.e possession/chances from non dangerous parts of the pitch, keeping them at bay etc. Without actually having control of the ball itself.

 

[Elephant Pyjamas]

I tend to think the “controlling the game” is lost in translation as Nuno says/said similar.

Controlling the game to us means lots of possession, whereas in Portuguese it may mean the opposition were doing what you wanted I.e possession/chances from non dangerous parts of the pitch, keeping them at bay etc. Without actually having control of the ball itself.

I think you're right, but i also think Bruno should be aware of the difference too.

 

[Johnny75]

That's not what I said. I said that we are in good form right now and almost set a club record, whilst Spurs have seemingly taken a step backwards since Nuno joined. What part of that do you disagree with?

If rather be where Spurs are than we are both playing the same football at the moment.