Lage OUT

[Contrarian]

Some might say he should be gone last season. Personally I think give him the chance to work with the signings he's been asking for since he came. He's only had 4 or 5 games with them and even now he has no centre forward and 1 centre half

He had that last season. Nothing changed. The stat of us being the worst attacking side in the league covers last season, too.

 

[WolfInSheep'sClothing]

Whose to say when a new manager assesses our squad that he won't be more cautious than the one we've got. They all know that time in football is short and there priority is to get points

Which is all well and good when you are getting points.
On the balance of probability we will get someone better.

 

[Bawtry Wolf]

But they was doing double sessions pre season they should have the fitness

Hoisted by your own petard. Double sessions and they still aren’t fit.

 

[TFWanderers]

tbf, I’m not sure this was actually the reason for bringing him in. I genuinely feel that Nuno had outstayed his welcome with Fosun/Shi for whatever reason and that the relationship had been soured. Sure the football had gone stale but Bruno has been similarly unsuccessful, but no trigger pulled. So on that basis, it looks like perhaps Bruno was just a gamble from Fosun based on a good half season with Benfica, and a decision they made on the basis that they needed someone who ‘appeared’ to be more attack minded because they’d just removed a fan’s favourite.

I agree, something happened with Nuno and Shi. The pandemic definitely had an impact, he looked absolutely drained.

We were in no danger with Nuno, although it did look like we would be at one stage. He ground out the results. We were boring but we got points on the board, enough to steer clear. All the players were on side though.

I don't think Bruno can grind the results out. I don't think the players have bought into his ideas. We've had former players leave and say his man management is questionable. We've had weird departures of key senior players and we're now starting to see the omission of first team players with no real reasoning behind it.

Something is amiss, it has been since the end of Feb and the slide simply has to stop.

Fosun have invested a fair chunk of cash into this project but their £350m business will massively shrink in value should we go down.

We don't have to look far to see how easy it is to relegate an established Premier League club. We have a better squad than both the WBA and Stoke squads that got relegated put together but if history can tell us one thing, it's this next appointment HAS to be right. They both got it wrong. Both having spent a decade in the Premier League have gone and are struggling to return.

If we get the appointment wrong then we're well and truly in trouble.

 

[Eastern Wolf]

But they was doing double sessions pre season they should have the fitness

They just don't look fit as a team. We don't press as a team nor do we attack often en masse. Perhaps it's Bruno telling them to hold their positions in case of being counter attacted, or to save energy or maybe players are really just not fit enough.
And on top of the lack of running we seem to tire before the end of the game, which was never an obvious problem with Nunos teams.
Would be good for someone to put up some match running figures. The truth is out there.

 

[Contrarian]

Ok….ok…

But we have two weeks til W.H…….it gives time for Costa to get fit, ( maybe Raul too),, Bruno to figure something out,( if he can), and then, who knows?

2 weeks relaxing on a beach somewhere, judging by the energy in this current squad.

 

[Contrarian]

I’d only get rid of Bruno if there’s a quality manager who’s an improvement ready to come in. If Lopetegui/AVB were happy to say yes today then I’d be sending Bruno on his bike. Zero point ditching him though if we don’t have a serious replacement lined up.

Bournemouth have improved 100% since getting in the caretaker who nobody had heard of. When a squad has totally lost it's confidence, that kind of thing is not unknown. A bad manager can make a squad worse than no manager at all.

 

[WasStefan]

How much more time do you give him? We have 1 win in 14 games. Another 3 games? 6?

i’d give him till the end of September………

 

[superwolves]

Which is all well and good when you are getting points.
On the balance of probability we will get someone better.

Yes maybe hopefully we will that's the aim with every new manager alot of times it doesn't work out

 

[TFWanderers]

They just don't look fit as a team. We don't press as a team nor do we attack often en masse. Perhaps it's Bruno telling them to hold their positions in case of being counter attacted, or to save energy or maybe players are really just not fit enough.
And on top of the lack of running we seem to tire before the end of the game, which was never an obvious problem with Nunos teams.
Would be good for someone to put up some match running figures. The truth is out there.

Has anyone got any distance covered stats for us?

It would be interesting to see the difference between this team and Nuno's.

 

[superwolves]

Hoisted by your own petard. Double sessions and they still aren’t fit.

Are they unfit? We're not exactly getting turned over by teams on the hour mark and hanging on

 

[TFWanderers]

i’d give him till the end of September………

I'd give him the West Ham game.

If we look hopeless, pull the trigger.

 

[Bawtry Wolf]

Are they unfit? We're not exactly getting turned over by teams on the hour mark and hanging on

No we’ve already lost by then. We look slow and knackered. Ait Nouri is generally blowing through his backside by 70 minutes.

 

[Hoganstolemywife]

Sums Bruno ball up to be honest.View attachment 30340

Atrocious. Literally couldn't be worse!

 

[Contrarian]

The 1st half against spurs was actually some of the best football we've seen if we can reproduce that then we're onto something

It really wasn't that good. It was just better than the rubbish we've seen 90% of the rest of this year. Did we test their keeper? Do we *ever* test an opposing keeper, other than unforced errors (Ben Foster!). No.

Just like the second half v City, pointless possession in the middle of the pitch means nothing when you are totally toothless. Compare with our away match at Man U on our first season back, just pulling a random match from memory. We had 3 or 4 shots in the first 20 minutes. Now *that* was good football. TBF, We haven't really produced any ourselves since Covid, so understandable we've forgotten what it looks like.

 

[superwolves]

They just don't look fit as a team. We don't press as a team nor do we attack often en masse. Perhaps it's Bruno telling them to hold their positions in case of being counter attacted, or to save energy or maybe players are really just not fit enough.
And on top of the lack of running we seem to tire before the end of the game, which was never an obvious problem with Nunos teams.
Would be good for someone to put up some match running figures. The truth is out there.

You see podence trying to press or moutinho or Neves I just think they don't have the speed to get there in time

 

[woop woop barmy army]

Prefect opourtnity to get rid now. International break and find the new man.

We are heading for relegation with this clown in charge. Our form since February is woeful. Never really took to the bloke on a personal level. Had a difficult act to follow with Nuno.

Enough is enough

 

[WasStefan]

Decision may already be made, but no announcements for a few days cus of state mourning, i hope

 

[WolfInSheep'sClothing]

I’m not convinced by Lage; however it should be noted that Nunez gave the ball away for the first city goal, Sa should have saved the second and Collins had a brain fart!
Non of that is really Lages fault.

Nunes gave the ball away for the the first goal due to how man city pressed. That first goal De Bruyne(RCM) overlaps Foden(RW) to cross for one of Haaland(CF) Grealish (LCM) and Bernardo Silva (LW) all overloading the back post.
We win the ball back in those situations do we score or commit as many people forward? Do we ****. Can you imagine Moutinho overlapping and putting a ball in for Matheus Nunes? God no.

Is that a tactical thing? Almost certainly. We are set up to try and control the ball from deep and slowly build possession up.
Now I don't expect us to score as many as city do or attack with attacking abandon but it isn't rocket science why we aren't scoring and one striker alone isn't going to change it. Quite simply we try to keep posession for possessions sake, without trying to get players into positions where they can hurt the opposition.

 

[Contrarian]

Are they unfit? We're not exactly getting turned over by teams on the hour mark and hanging on

Mighty Preston? Leeds? We've not scored in the second half of any match this season. I'm surprised you say that as to me, it's noticable how consistently little we've offered in the final 30 minutes of every match this season. Bournemouth we had a go for about the final 15 minutes, though still never really looked like scoring. A Bournemouth team who just lost 9-0 and even Bruno supporters were saying "judge him if we can't beat Bournemouth". Judgement now postponed again, of course. Every other match, we look like we offer nothing after that hour mark, losing or drawing. Nothing.

 

[superwolves]

It really wasn't that good. It was just better than the rubbish we've seen 90% of the rest of this year. Did we test their keeper? Do we *ever* test an opposing keeper, other than unforced errors (Ben Foster!). No.

Just like the second half v City, pointless possession in the middle of the pitch means nothing when you are totally toothless. Compare with our away match at Man U on our first season back, just pulling a random match from memory. We had 3 or 4 shots in the first 20 minutes. Now *that* was good football. TBF, We haven't really produced any ourselves since Covid, so understandable we've forgotten what it looks like.

Spurs was very good to go to that calibre of opposition to take the game to them control the match we had plenty of players in the box just we are not clinical when we do get a chance

 

[Contrarian]

Spurs was very good to go to that calibre of opposition to take the game to them control the match we had plenty of players in the box just we are not clinical when we do get a chance

What about the calibre of Bournemouth and Preston as opposition? Fulham? Norwich last season? To *not* create anything against those teams is abysmal. Though the calibre of opposition hardly matters. We create nothing and control nothing regardless.

 

[Bawtry Wolf]

Decision may already be made, but no announcements for a few days cus of state mourning, i hope

Have you heard anything? Or is it just genuine hope?

 

[superwolves]

Mighty Preston? Leeds? We've not scored in the second half of any match this season. I'm surprised you say that as to me, it's noticable how consistently little we've offered in the final 30 minutes of every match this season. Bournemouth we had a go for about the final 15 minutes, though still never really looked like scoring. A Bournemouth team who just lost 9-0 and even Bruno supporters were saying "judge him if we can't beat Bournemouth". Judgement now postponed again, of course. Every other match, we look like we offer nothing after that hour mark, losing or drawing. Nothing.

It's not about Bruno supporters and he can do no wrong it's just people who see it differently under the circumstances of how his time has panned out and what he's had to contend with. There's plenty of people see that just cause they don't post on here doesn't mean they don't exist

 

[WickedWolfie]

It's not about Bruno supporters and he can do no wrong it's just people who see it differently under the circumstances of how his time has panned out and what he's had to contend with. There's plenty of people see that just cause they don't post on here doesn't mean they don't exist

It's a results based business. I don't want a hard luck story relegation.

 

[superwolves]

What about the calibre of Bournemouth and Preston as opposition? Fulham? Norwich last season? To *not* create anything against those teams is abysmal. Though the calibre of opposition hardly matters. We create nothing and control nothing regardless.

You say that like these teams are supposed to roll over to us. Did Newcastle beat Bournemouth the weekend with there new £60 million striker. What we was saying is if we can repeat what we achieved at spurs then we're onto something

 

[Ginger Chimp]

Let's hope his supporters who will claim that that's enough to keep us up notice that little asterisk

I’d missed it

 

[superwolves]

It's a results based business. I don't want a hard luck story relegation.

Exactly and people have to accept that maybe we need to play defensively to get those results with the goal scorers we have available in our squad

 

[Wolf316]

You say that like these teams are supposed to roll over to us. Did Newcastle beat Bournemouth the weekend with there new £60 million striker. What we was saying is if we can repeat what we achieved at spurs then we're onto something

Newcastle stuck 3 past Man City whilst we managed to have a whole one shot on target.

 

[sillytuna]

Mighty Preston? Leeds? We've not scored in the second half of any match this season. I'm surprised you say that as to me, it's noticable how consistently little we've offered in the final 30 minutes of every match this season. Bournemouth we had a go for about the final 15 minutes, though still never really looked like scoring. A Bournemouth team who just lost 9-0 and even Bruno supporters were saying "judge him if we can't beat Bournemouth". Judgement now postponed again, of course. Every other match, we look like we offer nothing after that hour mark, losing or drawing. Nothing.

The Bournemouth game was the turning point for me. We *had* to go out and attack in that game but we did the complete opposite. Just like against Norwich and others last season. There were no excuses for that performance. We started that game is if we'd be happy with 0-0.

 

[WasStefan]

Have you heard anything? Or is it just genuine hope?

No, just speculating

 

[superwolves]

Newcastle stuck 3 past Man City whilst we managed to have a whole one shot on target.

With 10 men?

 

[Hoganstolemywife]

3 sources have said there's a genuine chance he's going this week. (@stever is one on here)

 

[superwolves]

The Bournemouth game was the turning point for me. We *had* to go out and attack in that game but we did the complete opposite. Just like against Norwich and others last season. There were no excuses for that performance. We started that game is if we'd be happy with 0-0.

Yet if Nunes chance goes in rather than hit the bar then Bournemouth have to come out and play rather than time waste from 60 mins onwards and we win the match 3-0 it's all fine margins

 

[TFWanderers]

With 10 men?

We could have had 12 men on, we still wouldn't have done anything.

 

[Bawtry Wolf]

No, just speculating

Damn

 

[superwolves]

3 sources have said there's a genuine chance he's going this week. (@stever is one on here)

Well if he does then let's hope the new manager has us flying up the league he shouldn't have no problems now Brunos out the way everything should be a doddle for him

 

[superwolves]

We could have had 12 men on, we still wouldn't have done anything.

Very true but they are arguably the best team in the world at present

 

[wanderer89]

Well if he does then let's hope the new manager has us flying up the league he shouldn't have no problems now Brunos out the way everythink should be a doddle for him

You are Bruno Lage and I claim my £5.

 

[Hoganstolemywife]

Well if he does then let's hope the new manager has us flying up the league he shouldn't have no problems now Brunos out the way everythink should be a doddle for him

I don't think it's a doddle for him....but the fact that we are literally the worst Premier League team since he was appointed on every attacking metric is an incredibly galling stat.

There's no shame in losing to Man City. It's the other matches - and the lack of doing anything in them - that should be the death knell for his stewardship