Ronald Koeman discussion

The binman chronicles · January 14, 2017

davek said:
If a club has a player like him as a defender they aren't pushing to be the best they can. He is not up to it. To believe we have him at LB for another 3 seasons as you suggest is depressing. He's going backwards with every season as it is.

I cant believe Koeman wont look to move him aside this summer. It just doesn't make sense retaining him as a starting LB.

You have a point but surely we can say that about all our players? I think it's just prioritising what we most need and LB is not the place I would start. Father time will catch up Baines sooner or later and he will be shown the door but how many better left backs are currently out there that we can get?

Presumably we may need to go homegrown for that position considering the better attacking talent is foreign. Saying that I have no idea if we comfortably meet the quota to care or not.

bluestevon · January 14, 2017

Khalekan said:
It is not so much I don't think we are capable of putting a good run together, stevon.

It is more that I do not see enough of the six above us dropping enough points for us to somehow sneak that fourth place, no matter how well we do.

Or even to get any higher than we are now if I am honest with you.

As others have stated elsewhere and even Koeman himself alluded to it the other day, something is happening in English football this season and a "super six" teams seem to have moved up a notch.

And as in the early nineties when the Sky/EPL revoloution started, EFC has been caught flat footed and we are already playing catch up

Oh God mate, 4th is long gone barring some minor miracle really, just be happy now with the last 18 games, the team starting to get together and take on board what the manager wants - with the new faces hopefully accelerating that process and hopefully by the end we will be able to see the system he wants the team to be playing settled in so we can start well next year.

as for the top 6 mate, nah not buying the narrative that sky will feed you in the upcoming months, we are one season away from both the rs and chelsea finishing mid table, united not qualifying for the CL and Leicester winning the entire thing

This like last is just a wierd season with 6 teams all performing at a title challenging level so far, won't be the normal way though

davek · January 14, 2017

Kev50 said:
Kendall in private was even worse than Koeman. Your best mate up until the moment he's almost literally booting you out the door. Publicly, not so much, but he did force the whole team to do a punishment training in front of the fans, so I don't see a huge difference

I can never remember Kendall condemning large part of his own squad. Maybe he did in the private conversations that you allude to. I;m not sure how you have proof of this attitude behind closed doors like.

FreddyStar · January 14, 2017

He's lost the players and the Leicester game showed it.

davek · January 14, 2017

TrixyStevens said:
Would agree, but for the fact he has played well the last month. He will need replacing next summer though, fitness is the issue there.

I'd say he's been no worse than the rest in a largely up and down team, form wise. That's a far cry from being back though.

He's the past. I cant imagine him going in any other direction than down. We need to bring a new player in shortly. Personally I'd have Galloway back there for now and then scout a good prospect for LB and buy in. Someone like Robertson at Hull would do a job for us for a couple of seasons.

davek · January 14, 2017

The binman chronicles said:
You have a point but surely we can say that about all our players? I think it's just prioritising what we most need and LB is not the place I would start. Father time will catch up Baines sooner or later and he will be shown the door but how many better left backs are currently out there that we can get?

Presumably we may need to go homegrown for that position considering the better attacking talent is foreign. Saying that I have no idea if we comfortably meet the quota to care or not.

Two out the PL within our reach:

Robertson and Bertrand. Either would do.

Kev50 · January 14, 2017

davek said:
I can never remember Kendall condemning large part of his own squad. Maybe he did in the private conversations that you allude to. I;m not sure how you have proof of this attitude behind closed doors like.

I'm just relying on the glum interviews of J Bailey K Ratcliffe N Southall et al, all alluding to HKs ruthlessness when the time had come to say goodbye. He even says it himself in his bio that its best to just get people out the door

TrixyStevens · January 14, 2017

davek said:
I'd say he's been no worse than the rest in a largely up and down team, form wise. That's a far cry from being back though.

He's the past. I cant imagine him going in any other direction than down. We need to bring a new player in shortly. Personally I'd have Galloway back there for now and then scout a good prospect for LB and buy in. Someone like Robertson at Hull would do a job for us for a couple of seasons.

I like the guy, Willems at PSV. Good attacking left full

Mikeonlythebestwilldo · January 14, 2017

FreddyStar said:
He's lost the players and the Leicester game showed it.

Better players in midfield either injured or gone to Africa had to play Barry who's past it unfortunately and the board being slow with schneiderlin plus Leicester had signed a player finally to cover what they've missed with kante

jceverton · January 14, 2017

davek said:
"Koeman has done this and Koeman has said that."

Mate, he's done nothing here. I'll start sitting up and taking serious note of what that feller does and says when he starts to do his job. The fact he points the finger at others means nothing to me. We play terrible football and the season is over in January. That's what he's done so far.

You forgot to mention the game time he's given to players who've got no future ahead of promising young players who are desperate to play for the club.

davek · January 14, 2017

Kev50 said:
I'm just relying on the glum interviews of J Bailey K Ratcliffe N Southall et al, all alluding to HKs ruthlessness when the time had come to say goodbye. He even says it himself in his bio that its best to just get people out the door

Oh yeah. That's just good management. End of shelf life - no sentiment required. But he worked for years with many of those players and squeezed their value out before reluctantly parting company. And he'd never have banged on ceaselessly about how bad he had it with a poor squad in the press. Koeman is cut from a very different cloth than HK...which is why the latter will always be respected as a great manager as well as a great player.

Foot Long Hot Dog · January 14, 2017

FreddyStar said:
He's lost the players and the Leicester game showed it.

Sure Del

davek · January 14, 2017

jceverton said:
You forgot to mention the game time he's given to players who've got no future ahead of promising young players who are desperate to play for the club.

I seriously doubt Davies would be in the reckoning if Gueye's absence wasn't a prolonged one and McCarthy hadn't been injured.

jceverton · January 14, 2017

bluestevon said:
True Khal, but at the same point last season, after 20 games, we where 3 points above Saints (27 compared to 24 points) he had them finishing 16 points above in the end and only just missed out on CL (3 points off compared to say us missing out in 13/14 by 7)

Due to Leicester being the story of last season, just how well he did was overlooked.

No doubt he did well in the second half of the season but you'd have to say it was a very strange season though, lowest points total for Premier League title, United, City, Chelsea, Arsenal all underperforming. 72 points would have got you second that year!