Zatara
Player Valuation: £100m
Looking at our results, they are not bad at all, but the performances are worse each week.
Through against Ruzomberok and Hajduk SPlit
Beat Stoke and drew with Man City
Lost to Chelsea and Spurs
"For a coach you always have to know that the next game could be your last" Thomas Tuchel
This quote could be directly attributed to Ronald Koeman as well, now just over a year into a 3 year deal I think it's apparent that he picks a team to get a result out of each game with only a minimal look to the future.
"I know myself that I am a manager who really gives young players a chance when they deserve it" Ronald Koeman
There have been three different approaches to signings since Koeman was appointed manager last season;
1 -- David Unsworth has not only been bringing through young players but has also been able to spend decent amounts on players for his u23 team. The main player we can look at is Dominic Calvert-Lewin who was a 1.5million signing from Sheffield United. His success is apparent but additionally we can see the great joy it brings 'Rhino' when he sees one of his prodigies make the first team or perform well for his country.
2 -- Steve Walsh as Director of football has to agree with Koeman on each deal, or so we have been told. Personally I feel that the signings of Gana, Lookman, Sandro and Vlasic were all his choices. His remit, I think has been (and will continue to be) signing players who can come into the team for the long term at a comparatively low cost.
3 -- Ronald Koeman has clearly been focused on the short term when it comes to signings. How else can the high priced signings of Klaassen, Sigurdsson, Williams and Bolasie along with the idiotic signing of Cuco Martina be explained?
There are three signings who I think both Walsh and Koeman agreed upon: Rooney, Pickford and Keane.
Our squad is like "a little horse that still needs milk and to learn how to jump" Jose Mourinho
The problems we have are the following;
A -- Our defence is usually comprised of players who are unable to get back into a defensive position if we play a high line, therefore we sit deep as a necessity and are already very far from the opponents goal and by virtue, they are much closer to ours!
B -- We play with two defensive midfielders which would be logical if we played with very attack minded wingers or on a fast counter strategy. As we are not using these tactics or playing with such players the sole reason to use two players here must be because the defence isn't trusted and there would be a large gap between our deep defence and the centre midfield.
C -- We have Six number 10s in not only Rooney, Sigurdsson and Klaassen but the unsold Barkley, the on loan Dowell and new signing Vlasic.
D -- There is only Dominic Calvert-Lewin with the skillset required to be able to hold the ball as a traditional number 9 in the team.
"It's just a question of 5 or 10 metres whether its a 442 or a 4321; you only see teams adhering to that at kick off and perhaps eight times during the game" Julian Nagelsmann
This is what I call a balanced team, the players all compliment one another;
Here we have injured or other players who can rotate in/out even ignoring other squad players;
We also have Barkley, Mirallas and others I haven't mentioned and we should be able to play good expansive attacking football with this group of players.
We appear to have the makings of a good team but although Koeman keeps talking about pressing we only seem to do it for 15 minutes of a game.
Still, the players look like they can play good football...is it Koemans tactics/formation/motivating that is lacking?
People want success. it's like coffee, they want instant. Bobby Robson
We've heard Unsworth talking last year about how the 'golden generation' are ready and yet Koeman didn't seem to think so a fortnight before being forced to play Davies after ignoring him for half a season.
Personally, I just want to see us building something...there's nothing better than seeing a young player come into the side and perform well. It does seem though that they could play well and get dropped for no reason (Calvert-Lewin/Holgate/Davies) or they could be ignored for far inferior players (Kenny) and whilst I'm patient it seems to me that these players should now be brought into the team much more frequently than before.
Now is the time for the English players of Pickford, Kenny, Holgate, Keane, Davies, Davies, Calvert-Lewin, Lookman to all be considered regulars and Vlasic, Sandro, Klaassen and even Besic to be brought into the side on rotation.
I don't make promises. I promise results. Joe Royle
If we can do this and keep results going well against the teams below us last season then we will be making huge strides forward and can focus on only one or two positions to strengthen. That's the key for me and none of Koemans crying about how hard it is to finish top 6.
We cant compete with the big money signings but we need to build a team from what we have and the young lads. Despite all the negativity, we have the makings of a good team.
Through against Ruzomberok and Hajduk SPlit
Beat Stoke and drew with Man City
Lost to Chelsea and Spurs
"For a coach you always have to know that the next game could be your last" Thomas Tuchel
This quote could be directly attributed to Ronald Koeman as well, now just over a year into a 3 year deal I think it's apparent that he picks a team to get a result out of each game with only a minimal look to the future.
"I know myself that I am a manager who really gives young players a chance when they deserve it" Ronald Koeman
There have been three different approaches to signings since Koeman was appointed manager last season;
1 -- David Unsworth has not only been bringing through young players but has also been able to spend decent amounts on players for his u23 team. The main player we can look at is Dominic Calvert-Lewin who was a 1.5million signing from Sheffield United. His success is apparent but additionally we can see the great joy it brings 'Rhino' when he sees one of his prodigies make the first team or perform well for his country.
2 -- Steve Walsh as Director of football has to agree with Koeman on each deal, or so we have been told. Personally I feel that the signings of Gana, Lookman, Sandro and Vlasic were all his choices. His remit, I think has been (and will continue to be) signing players who can come into the team for the long term at a comparatively low cost.
3 -- Ronald Koeman has clearly been focused on the short term when it comes to signings. How else can the high priced signings of Klaassen, Sigurdsson, Williams and Bolasie along with the idiotic signing of Cuco Martina be explained?
There are three signings who I think both Walsh and Koeman agreed upon: Rooney, Pickford and Keane.
Our squad is like "a little horse that still needs milk and to learn how to jump" Jose Mourinho
The problems we have are the following;
A -- Our defence is usually comprised of players who are unable to get back into a defensive position if we play a high line, therefore we sit deep as a necessity and are already very far from the opponents goal and by virtue, they are much closer to ours!
B -- We play with two defensive midfielders which would be logical if we played with very attack minded wingers or on a fast counter strategy. As we are not using these tactics or playing with such players the sole reason to use two players here must be because the defence isn't trusted and there would be a large gap between our deep defence and the centre midfield.
C -- We have Six number 10s in not only Rooney, Sigurdsson and Klaassen but the unsold Barkley, the on loan Dowell and new signing Vlasic.
D -- There is only Dominic Calvert-Lewin with the skillset required to be able to hold the ball as a traditional number 9 in the team.
"It's just a question of 5 or 10 metres whether its a 442 or a 4321; you only see teams adhering to that at kick off and perhaps eight times during the game" Julian Nagelsmann
This is what I call a balanced team, the players all compliment one another;
Pickford
Kenny Holgate Keane Baines
Schneiderlin
Davies Sigurdsson
Rooney Calvert-Lewin Lookman
Average starting age of 23.8Kenny Holgate Keane Baines
Schneiderlin
Davies Sigurdsson
Rooney Calvert-Lewin Lookman
Here we have injured or other players who can rotate in/out even ignoring other squad players;
Robles
Coleman(inj) Jagielka Williams Mori(inj)
Gana
Besic Klaassen
Bolasie(inj) Sandro Vlasic
Average age of 26.5Coleman(inj) Jagielka Williams Mori(inj)
Gana
Besic Klaassen
Bolasie(inj) Sandro Vlasic
We also have Barkley, Mirallas and others I haven't mentioned and we should be able to play good expansive attacking football with this group of players.
We appear to have the makings of a good team but although Koeman keeps talking about pressing we only seem to do it for 15 minutes of a game.
Still, the players look like they can play good football...is it Koemans tactics/formation/motivating that is lacking?
People want success. it's like coffee, they want instant. Bobby Robson
We've heard Unsworth talking last year about how the 'golden generation' are ready and yet Koeman didn't seem to think so a fortnight before being forced to play Davies after ignoring him for half a season.
Personally, I just want to see us building something...there's nothing better than seeing a young player come into the side and perform well. It does seem though that they could play well and get dropped for no reason (Calvert-Lewin/Holgate/Davies) or they could be ignored for far inferior players (Kenny) and whilst I'm patient it seems to me that these players should now be brought into the team much more frequently than before.
Now is the time for the English players of Pickford, Kenny, Holgate, Keane, Davies, Davies, Calvert-Lewin, Lookman to all be considered regulars and Vlasic, Sandro, Klaassen and even Besic to be brought into the side on rotation.
I don't make promises. I promise results. Joe Royle
If we can do this and keep results going well against the teams below us last season then we will be making huge strides forward and can focus on only one or two positions to strengthen. That's the key for me and none of Koemans crying about how hard it is to finish top 6.
We cant compete with the big money signings but we need to build a team from what we have and the young lads. Despite all the negativity, we have the makings of a good team.
