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Roberto De Zerbi *OFFICIAL*

ricky2tricky4city said:
Just go back to our own OMT and two or three pages before kick off.

Why is so many people's default stance negativity these days? Weighing in with fudging negativity.
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lol - my pre-match post was this

"OK, let's get our positive heads on for this game. We have to at least start that way."

I got one like from @Mikey10

So I followed it up with

COYS !!!
COYS !!!
COYS !!!
COYS !!!
COYS !!!
COYS !!!
COYS !!!
COYS !!!
COYS !!!
COYS !!!
COYS !!!

And got 2 likes from @BrentwoodSpur and @elyid

Looks like we need to have a new pre-match routine to get some positive vibes going as if hadn't have done this then we clearly wouldn't have even got the draw :tearsofjoy: :tearsofjoy: :tearsofjoy:
 
ricky2tricky4city said:
Excellent post Muttley.

Hold tight everyone
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Exactly this. Have to admit, I did post a smart-arsed comment on RdZ when I saw the team on Saturday but I was proved wrong.

I have absolute confidence in RdZ. Results, at this point, don't matter to me as far as judging him. If we get to the new year and we're still floundering, results wise, maybe it's time to start a conversation but he's got a free pass for me right now.

The goal this year, IMO, was for us to finish well clear of any dogfight, have momentum in the second half of the season and play some attractive football. That's still well within reach and until it's not, RdZ won't be questioned as far as I'm concerned.

This is rough if you look at results but successful rebuilds sometimes are.
 
ricky2tricky4city said:
Just go back to our own OMT and two or three pages before kick off.

Why is so many people's default stance negativity these days? Weighing in with fudging negativity.
Click to expand...

As one of the more optimistic usually, I'll explain my pre-Old Trafford feelings. State of the world, my dog, the feeling that nothing is going right for the club, my projection of what was/is needed not being 'satisfied' by pre-match talk, the slow wear and tear of last season...so a series of factors which actually have little to do with RDZ in fairness. He definitely is in the unfair firing line.

And I think it is important to catch yourself and realise when that is the case, and acknowledge that in the end you know so little versus the manager. He was 100% with that 11. I thought that first half was great stuff, with the second-half not far off it. Long may it continue and soon give us the rewards we deserve!
 
thfcsteff said:
As one of the more optimistic usually, I'll explain my pre-Old Trafford feelings. State of the world, my dog, the feeling that nothing is going right for the club, my projection of what was/is needed not being 'satisfied' by pre-match talk, the slow wear and tear of last season...so a series of factors which actually have little to do with RDZ in fairness. He definitely is in the unfair firing line.

And I think it is important to catch yourself and realise when that is the case, and acknowledge that in the end you know so little versus the manager. He was 100% with that 11. I thought that first half was great stuff, with the second-half not far off it. Long may it continue and soon give us the rewards we deserve!
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It's a results based business and so far the performances don't match the results, and he needs it to. His selection worked, so credit to him there.

I'd say, it's going to be step by step for the next few months

- Player fitness needs to get to 100% (we still slowed down after about 60 mins, better than the 25-30 mins in earlier games)
- Savio, Marmoush, Kudus, Maddison, all need to find some rhythm (none have played enough for last 12+ months)
- Porro back will help, would really like to see Udogie, Porro, Savio, Kudus all on at same time.
- We will need to make do with Solanke rotating around Marmoush
- Hopefully Deki gets some games in by Nov/Dec and makes an impact.

I still think it's getting the team to decent results and surviving until January. Move on Richi (maybe even Solanke), hands in pockets, buy a more natural #9.

But surviving means he needs to figure out getting results, even in a win 2, lose 1 kind of way for now.
 
Raziel said:
It's a results based business and so far the performances don't match the results, and he needs it to. His selection worked, so credit to him there.

I'd say, it's going to be step by step for the next few months

- Player fitness needs to get to 100% (we still slowed down after about 60 mins, better than the 25-30 mins in earlier games)
- Savio, Marmoush, Kudus, Maddison, all need to find some rhythm (none have played enough for last 12+ months)
- Porro back will help, would really like to see Udogie, Porro, Savio, Kudus all on at same time.
- We will need to make do with Solanke rotating around Marmoush
- Hopefully Deki gets some games in by Nov/Dec and makes an impact.

I still think it's getting the team to decent results and surviving until January. Move on Richi (maybe even Solanke), hands in pockets, buy a more natural #9.

But surviving means he needs to figure out getting results, even in a win 2, lose 1 kind of way for now.
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I thought we saw some very encouraging signs from Savio, Kudus and Maddison at the weekend in terms of them finding their rhythm.
Porro coming back would be a bonus as he is an excellent player. However, I thought that Gray had a great game at the weekend, he is a very capable right back and has an old head on young shoulders.
I think we'll try to get another number 9 in January but don't think we'll move Solanke on.

I think that by and large we have got better with each game this season. The shape with and without the ball is good, the ball progression from back to front is becoming very good and it is now the shot, the last pass and the movement in the box thats need work (and two of those things will probably naturally improve as the new players get more understanding of playing with each other). One positive (for me at least) is that I enjoy watching us again, I really didn't enjoy watching us at all under Frank, it was just all so negative. Fingers crossed we start to get the results that the performances are now deserving.
 
Finney Is Back said:
I thought we saw some very encouraging signs from Savio, Kudus and Maddison at the weekend in terms of them finding their rhythm.
Porro coming back would be a bonus as he is an excellent player. However, I thought that Gray had a great game at the weekend, he is a very capable right back and has an old head on young shoulders.
I think we'll try to get another number 9 in January but don't think we'll move Solanke on.

I think that by and large we have got better with each game this season. The shape with and without the ball is good, the ball progression from back to front is becoming very good and it is now the shot, the last pass and the movement in the box thats need work (and two of those things will probably naturally improve as the new players get more understanding of playing with each other). One positive (for me at least) is that I enjoy watching us again, I really didn't enjoy watching us at all under Frank, it was just all so negative. Fingers crossed we start to get the results that the performances are now deserving.
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Amen to all of that. I really enjoyed Gray's mature performance as well. I liked the way he stayed on that right side and mostly had it buttoned down. I remember the game where Spence put in a really mature performance against Mbuemo but from LB. Gray's performance was about concentration and discipline but also not scared to push forward. Could have been the hero as well if that ball had been laid to him when he was unmarked.
 
ricky2tricky4city said:
Why is so many people's default stance negativity these day?
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Trump in The White House, Putin in The Kremlin, XI in charge in China, war in Ukraine, war in the Middle East, the UK’s economy flatlining for a decade, a new PM every six months or so, spiralling bills and falling salaries, worries about AI, the head of MI5 telling us all that we’re at great threat…not hard to work out really.

Football has always been a mirror to society.
 
Mikey10 said:
Trump in The White House, Putin in The Kremlin, XI in charge in China, war in Ukraine, war in the Middle East, the UK’s economy flatlining for a decade, a new PM every six months or so, spiralling bills and falling salaries, worries about AI, the head of MI5 telling us all that we’re at great threat…not hard to work out really.

Football has always been a mirror to society.
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You missed Webb in charge of PGMOL, Infantino in charge of FIFA, Cefferin in charge of UEFA, and finally Jose in charge of Real Madrid.
 
Mikey10 said:
Trump in The White House, Putin in The Kremlin, XI in charge in China, war in Ukraine, war in the Middle East, the UK’s economy flatlining for a decade, a new PM every six months or so, spiralling bills and falling salaries, worries about AI, the head of MI5 telling us all that we’re at great threat…not hard to work out really.

Football has always been a mirror to society.
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Not forgetting Milei in Argentina, Bolsonaro Jnr likely to take over Brazil (with the help of MAGA’s Techbros) and if that happens then there might be a domino effect as Musk uses his platform and plundered $billions to encourage a wave of far right nationalists to take hold of Europe and dismantle the EU from within.

www.theguardian.com

Europe’s big election season is about to kick off. It could change everything | Nathalie Tocci

If far right nationalists gain power in four big countries simultaneously, we are in for a dramatic Trumpian tilt, says Guardian Europe columnist Nathalie Tocci
www.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com

On the upside, at least if WW3 does break out then we won’t have to worry about enduring yet another relegation battle!
 
Watched a YT vid of how Flick has Barca playing Total Football (positionless players rotating around the pitch) this season in the attacking half and it instantly made me think of what RDZ is trying to implement. Maybe not quite as extreme but he certainly values players with a multitude of technical qualities and abilities.

His style and tactics are certainly more complex than those of a Moyes/Pardew/Dyche manager and a far cry from Frank. That part will take time and requires patience but I am confident we will see a beautiful free-flowing, front-foot style of football under his tenure.

The harder and potentially more important aspect is the team’s mentality. This is something which has had a good two seasons to embed itself in the players’ brains and needs to be exorcised. I believe several of the offseason sales were as much about changing the atmosphere in the changing room as much as anything. Again, this will take time and we will have setbacks but I still believe RDZ was absolutely the best coach for our current situation and am firmly behind him for the rebuild.

Patience in spades but we can see the improvement weekly in terms of playing style and adoption of tactics…now we just need that first win and maybe we’ll start getting the rub of the green sometimes, a lucky bounce or generous VAR decision etc, but IT WILL HAPPEN.

We are the mighty Spurs, and nothing can hold us down forever. COYS, COYS and more COYS!
 
So he can really show pragmatism and adaptability

"We played three at the back, I want to explain why, because for the injured players in the midfield position, Conor Gallagher came back two days ago, and at the beginning of the week, the medical staff told me maybe he could be not available to play. Bergvall was injured, Mateus Fernandes worked just the last two days (in the Marbella training camp) for his son, and I thought three at the back was the best solution to defend the counter-attack, to have more control of the game, and for that I'm happy because we didn't concede a counter-attack. The Coventry style of play is 80 per cent counter-attack, and we didn't concede any counter-attack. We conceded one shot. We didn't create more chances or too many chances like the other games, to be honest, but I knew before the game, and I prepared the game, saying to the players this game was maybe the most difficult, because the defensive style of Coventry is different than Manchester United or the other games."
 
JerusalemMan said:
So he can really show pragmatism and adaptability

"We played three at the back, I want to explain why, because for the injured players in the midfield position, Conor Gallagher came back two days ago, and at the beginning of the week, the medical staff told me maybe he could be not available to play. Bergvall was injured, Mateus Fernandes worked just the last two days (in the Marbella training camp) for his son, and I thought three at the back was the best solution to defend the counter-attack, to have more control of the game, and for that I'm happy because we didn't concede a counter-attack. The Coventry style of play is 80 per cent counter-attack, and we didn't concede any counter-attack. We conceded one shot. We didn't create more chances or too many chances like the other games, to be honest, but I knew before the game, and I prepared the game, saying to the players this game was maybe the most difficult, because the defensive style of Coventry is different than Manchester United or the other games."
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I can't be sure about his statement about conceding one shot, especially when I look at some online stats. However, I can forgive him that. He has deserved this result for a while. He is studying the opposition, assessing what squad he has to work with and then adapting tactics to suit. He knows we are not good enough yet just to mostly let teams worry about us, even newly promoted ones.

Thinking back, we weren't when Ange tried to run things that way and I always said he was wrong not to work towards an end set of tactics rather than just lock them in from day 1. Ange found himself having to revisit his stance and we won a trophy in the low block, counter style. I think you have to do it RDZ's way in this league as you come a cropper. Roberto seems to understand this subtlety of the PL, but hasn't quite seen the fruits of his labour. He is working really hard with this squad and you can see players growing into his versatile tactics.

Just like we all did with Ange and Frank, I really hope Roberto gets a break with the injuries soon.
 
Muttley said:
I can't be sure about his statement about conceding one shot, especially when I look at some online stats. However, I can forgive him that. He has deserved this result for a while. He is studying the opposition, assessing what squad he has to work with and then adapting tactics to suit. He knows we are not good enough yet just to mostly let teams worry about us, even newly promoted ones.

Thinking back, we weren't when Ange tried to run things that way and I always said he was wrong not to work towards an end set of tactics rather than just lock them in from day 1. Ange found himself having to revisit his stance and we won a trophy in the low block, counter style. I think you have to do it RDZ's way in this league as you come a cropper. Roberto seems to understand this subtlety of the PL, but hasn't quite seen the fruits of his labour. He is working really hard with this squad and you can see players growing into his versatile tactics.

Just like we all did with Ange and Frank, I really hope Roberto gets a break with the injuries soon.
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Undoubtedly RDZ has more flexibility than say Ange ever showed and honestly I think that's all we can really ask for at the end of the day.

If he sees something isn't working and he attempts to address it, in the moment it might not seem to make much sense and it might not even work but at the very least it's an attempt to stop the bleed rather than acting like the knight from the Monty Pylon Holy Grail movie.

He is going to get some things wrong and while I do think the Coventry keeper was quite culpable for our 2nd and 3rd goals you do make your luck especially by actually shooting and I definetly take it as a positive that we managed to win without neccesarily playing well and dominating.

In the last 3 years we've essentially had to play perfectly to get the win. Even the smallest drop in that performance level even for a small period in a match to say 90% would result in at best a draw but more likely a loss. So it's nice that we got the win without playing well, something I hope we are able to add to our repertoire as a standard.
 
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