2018/19 Marco Silva - New Poll Added

Grade Marco Silva's 2018/19 Season

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Will be interesting to see what happens to McCarthy when he returns from injury. He could be the box to box player needed for Silva's system, or he could return to permacrockland for a few more months.
 
..apologies for intervening but personally, I don’t think it’s right to correct folk on grammar. None of us know what medical or social problems people have in their lives. As long as you can understand what they’re posting then it should suffice on a footy forum.

I’ll get back in my box now.
I generally agree with you, but when someone is acting like the god of football knowledge, just waving off any opinion not his own as a falsity, I find correcting such an enormous grammar mistake the correct move. There is nothing wrong with not having perfect grammar, Im fairly garbagy myself, but if someone doesnt even know basic first grade grammer maybe they shouldnt act like some all knowing king.
 
I generally agree with you, but when someone is acting like the god of football knowledge, just waving off any opinion not his own as a falsity, I find correcting such an enormous grammar mistake the correct move. There is nothing wrong with not having perfect grammar, Im fairly garbagy myself, but if someone doesnt even know basic first grade grammer maybe they shouldnt act like some all knowing king.
Hell no! - correcting people's grammar is an opportunity too show how intellectually superior you are. Especially if the mistake was caused by a spellchecker or English is not their first language!!
 

Also, if we’re around the top 4 in January you just know we’ll spend big to kick on.

Who do you think Brands / Silva would spend big on in Jan to kick us forward in that situation?

If not an actual player, what type of player?
 
i doubt anyone would have believed him haha tbf there's so many different routines we can practice and it seems from his words, that was specific for soton. So if we have specific set pieces for teams in our minds, they're constantly on the back foot worrying about what we'll do to them.

When we progress and have a 6 foot 5 giant with another 6 foot centre back waiting for one of bernard, suggy and baines to plant one in the box on their nod, they will be worrying about that even more. It also makes the "foul richarlison every two minutes" tactic even more dangerous too.

Exactly
 
Not a case of showing our arse though mate. Just a different tactic. We'll still play a heavy pressing game, but in our own half rather than theirs. They'll be playing a high line so will be open to the quick counter too. And we can have a very quick attack too if we pick the right players.

We'll be compact in defence, but provided when we do counter we do it in numbers and with real purpose and intent, I think it's a great tactic against the likes of City and Liverpool especially.
Thing is, that's fine in theory but we don't really like it in practice. When we got beat 4-0 at Anfield having had 61% possession and 19 shots, nobody came on here and said 'wasn't it great to see us having a go?'. If you go toe to toe with teams who are better than you, you will usually lose, and often lose badly, so I can completely understand (and agree with) the decision to change things when you're playing a better side.

The key for me is to have a good manager/coach who is capable of devising different ways of playing depending on who the opposition is. I have no interest in seeing us going to City and playing like we did against Wolves, because, frankly, they'd annihilate us and potentially shake both the players and fans faith in the system and tactics. Then again, nor would I want to see us play like we did there last season, showing absolutely no ambition at all after going a goal up. A happy medium is fine, acknowledging that you're playing a team who can hurt you but still having every intention of attacking whenever you can. If Silva can start to find a balance that our last few managers have failed to in that respect, I'll be very happy.
I just disagree I think lads although both of you make good points.
Re: Martinez vs Liverpool, we just didn't play well. We weren't dynamic and alot of the shots were wild. We were playing the medium block as we always did, only pressing when Liverpool entered our half. It's important to point out that on that night we mirrored every other performance there we've had since 1999. Were they all tactical mishaps or, as i'd contend, was it more a mentality thing? Did we honestly believe we could win? I don't think so, personally.

My view is, let's not compound the quite clear mental disadvantage we are already at going to Kopite Central by diluting the tactical messages to the players. Their defence is there to be got at. We should get joy down our left hand side for starters.

Gary Neville summed it up perfectly last night- Pep / Klopp / Pochettino et al- they don't have plan B. They make plan A better. And Poch' at Spurs is the perfect example of a manager who hasn't diluted the messages to his players, even if it has meant a drubbing like vs City last season. Instead, he's kept improving the team tactically and now they are constant top 4 finishers.
 
I know, I’m full of respect for Marco, not even worried by Citeh. They are decent, but sitting back and taking a hiding is not the way to beat them. Think Silva can spring a counter on them. If it fails it fails. But, confident we will have a go.

Was at Watford's game away at City in January so, obviously, a few caveats on that game - Silva on the verge of the sack, key players heads weren't in it and City were battering everyone but they almost were set up to counter and do damage.

Now, City scored after about a minute but Silva didn't shut up shop or try and damage control, he encouraged his players to play. And they did, to an extent.

Janmaat got abused by Silva and Sane so City kept getting in down that side, which ultimately won them the game but in midfield, Watford were narky and played the game of kicking.

He probably won't do that every away game at a decent side for us but it's not to say he doesn't have it in his arsenal either.
 

I just disagree I think lads although both of you make good points.
Re: Martinez vs Liverpool, we just didn't play well. We weren't dynamic and alot of the shots were wild. We were playing the medium block as we always did, only pressing when Liverpool entered our half. It's important to point out that on that night we mirrored every other performance there we've had since 1999. Were they all tactical mishaps or, as i'd contend, was it more a mentality thing? Did we honestly believe we could win? I don't think so, personally.

My view is, let's not compound the quite clear mental disadvantage we are already at going to Kopite Central by diluting the tactical messages to the players. Their defence is there to be got at. We should get joy down our left hand side for starters.

Gary Neville summed it up perfectly last night- Pep / Klopp / Pochettino et al- they don't have plan B. They make plan A better. And Poch' at Spurs is the perfect example of a manager who hasn't diluted the messages to his players, even if it has meant a drubbing like vs City last season. Instead, he's kept improving the team tactically and now they are constant top 4 finishers.
I agree to a point but I think that's very easy to do when your players are better than everyone elses!

Martinez was criticised for not having a plan B because we actually needed one. We weren't good enough to just go out and play however we wanted against teams because invariably the better teams beat us, and we got sick of it. If we had De Bruyne, Sterling, Aguero and Sane then we wouldn't have been worrying about a plan B because plan A would have had us 3 or 4 goals up in 90% of our games.
 
Obviously tactics and approach are critical and generally speaking, its hardly rocket science to suggest that teams with better players win more often than not.

It simply cannot come down to a meek acceptance of that though - as we saw under Allardyce and Koeman. Its still 11 vs.11 and you set out to play to your strengths and exploit the oppenents weaknesses. Of weakness, there may not be anything glaring in a side like Man City, but they are still there.

It has been discussed here before regarding the "mentality" of our manager and players and if they are lacking in this respect. I would say they hardly go out to lose games and/or take a beating, but our record against "big" sides is so poor now that clearly something is lacking from a confidence or motivational viewpoint. A policy of damage limitation worked against the RS but not without a large slice of luck at the pit. Same vs. Chelsea at home. To me, you play that way knowing before you go out that any hope of a win is lost. You then play accordingly and it becomes a self fulfulling prophesy. I'd at least hope under Silva that we are competitive in these games and make the opposition work for their win and I don't mean in a heroic, backs-to-the wall, defensive sense. In all honesty, I'd hope for a bit more, we have a few players who can do some damage.
 
Who do you think Brands / Silva would spend big on in Jan to kick us forward in that situation?

If not an actual player, what type of player?

Have a feeling no one, January is a bad time to get players. With the signings we have made reckon we will be saving money to convert loans to full signings if they prove successful.
 
Was at Watford's game away at City in January so, obviously, a few caveats on that game - Silva on the verge of the sack, key players heads weren't in it and City were battering everyone but they almost were set up to counter and do damage.

Now, City scored after about a minute but Silva didn't shut up shop or try and damage control, he encouraged his players to play. And they did, to an extent.

Janmaat got abused by Silva and Sane so City kept getting in down that side, which ultimately won them the game but in midfield, Watford were narky and played the game of kicking.

He probably won't do that every away game at a decent side for us but it's not to say he doesn't have it in his arsenal either.

You’d hope with the better players available to him, he may be capable of having a go. I think the pace we have could do damage to a team like City’s - The four nil game a perfect example, with more pace in the team you could argue.

I feel for the first time in a while, a defeat will only help him understand his players more - With an eye on replacing certain players who show they are simply not up to the task of improving our fortunes.

This season is so much more exciting than I thought it would be. Positive early signs with what looks like additions that can only make us stronger.
 
I agree to a point but I think that's very easy to do when your players are better than everyone elses!

Martinez was criticised for not having a plan B because we actually needed one. We weren't good enough to just go out and play however we wanted against teams because invariably the better teams beat us, and we got sick of it. If we had De Bruyne, Sterling, Aguero and Sane then we wouldn't have been worrying about a plan B because plan A would have had us 3 or 4 goals up in 90% of our games.
You could argue that we did have a plan B under Martinez. That 3-0 home win against Arsenal was classic counter attacking football. It's my favourite game in recent years. Now I'm not sure whether Martinez sent them out to play like that or it's just the way the game panned out. Probably the latter.
 

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