King Kante

Don't tell Enzo M that, playing for draws in the most boring fashion and playing down to the ability of the other side and still struggling is his forte.

Mate, until people realise Caicedo is a 6 and not a 4 (or a 4/6 combined) and Enzo is a luxury hybrid 8/10, we are always going to get overrun in CM.

You guys do realise this guy was still playing barefoot at 15-16 with no real footballing education or even formal education? Yeah, he is at fault here. Not the Diet Pep guy who sent him on against a sh*house Brazilian team just after he had lost his starting position when chasing the game.

Sanchez is a big problem but Diet Pep is a much bigger problem. Before he goes we cannot even discuss individual players. If you want to look at a proper manager, just look at Conte (who gets clowned) he literally turned Victor Moses into a PL team of the year player by playing to his strengths. Yet, Diet Pep had Palmer move 10-20 yards up the pitch to play sideways and backwards - so that we keep possession better - and Sanchez is the biggest problem. Literally 1984 shit.

At Sunday league this is an argument. At elite level it is not. Literally, you're acting like every boy/man at top level has not had to graft to make them stand above 100,000's of boys' to allow them to earn £10,000's+ a week. You do know that youth football is absolutely cut throat? Every year there are 100,000's of 13-17 year old boys in various academies - across the world in total - who get told they sold their childhood chasing a dream and now won't make it, right? Yet, those boys that do make it, don't know how to graft? OK. It is definitely that and not that since 7 years old they've been told to follow the manager's/coaches instructions......Literally only guys like Jackson - who I actually stand up for (owing to his footballing education - see how he was still playing barefoot at 15/16 - who have an argument ) Hence, why I asked you if you felt bringing him on 2-1 down in that situation was a good idea? Either way, it is clear you think the players are them problem because they do not know how to graft. Maybe you're right, but it just doesn't seem logical to me.

I really don't like Sanchez, like you I see him for what he is - a middle of the road keeper (at best-) However, anyone who takes this squad and has them playing OAP walking football tactics - despite being one of the youngest squads in Europe - has significantly more to answer for.

It is simple. It was actually an amalgamation of things. First, we had Poch and his gung ho approach, with no tactics, then Diet Pep with his possession obsessed approach. In the middle, we actually hit the nivarna, where we had a young squad using their enthusiasm and nativity in a way that wasn't necessarily that easy to fathom e.g. see PSG.

Keeper is a problem, however Diet Pep is a much larger one by 100x's.

Football is a team game, the overall strategy is given by the manager. Blaming individuals only works when they do something that is clearly not apart of the strategy. That aside, who actually beings on Jackson in a situation like he did? I mean do you need day to day with Jackson and still not know sending him on in a game where you're chasing - just after he has lost his starting position - in a game against a sh*thouse Brazilian team is a bad idea? Honestly, people that don't see Diet Pep is 99.99% of the problem is deluded.

OK, mate so you don't understand how predictable tactics - especially when they're so passive - equate to other teams being able to predict what you're going to do. Got it. Blame the players.

Really, players have to take the blame when the instruction are pass sideways and backwards the whole time. Literally, tell me what Enzo's strategy is apart from keep possession and how he provides a platform for our most creative players to play to their strengths?

Got dominated by Kiraren McKenna with Ipswich. Really a surprise?

Was Palmer allowed to play his game?

Because he wants to move the ball forward and not just pass sideways and backwards.

I don't blame the players. Literally this manager is the one that thought taking Palmer away from the final third to the middle third to play sideways and backwards passing was a good idea. Anyone defending the manager or blaming individual players needs to get a grip.

I never want to see Enzo in the dugout. Anyone blaming individual players is not on. Yet again. OAP FUCKING WALKING FOOTBALL WITH THE TOUNGEST TEAM IN THE PL. Absolutely passive playing sideways and backwards the whole time. Subs that make absolutely zero sense apart from KeEpInG PoSseSiOn. Guy is a fucking clown that hipster people want over because of UnDeRlYiNg StATs.

This is why the tournament should 100% have been in Brazil/Argentina. The thing with a tournament like this - new, not particularly wanted by European fans - is that it needs spectacle. The empty seats in a number of games so far is low hanging fruit for the critics. If is was held in SA it would've been packed stadiums in most games and with the ones that had home teams it would've been cauldron like atmospheres. I mean just imagine the Maracana and La Bombonera packed to the rafters with their ultras and the flares etc. Would've been impressive. Either way, PSG losing cracks the tourney open for us a little bit. Really important we win tonight. Once you get to the semis anything can happen in one game KO tourney football.

I have said it for a while that he looks to me to be a profit sell in the next few windows. With his passport and getting into the England team he can probably give us a easy £20m+ on the books profit. Personally, I don't want him sold unless we get someone to replace him who is better and as durable. Gittens is not that so if that is the idea I would rather keep him as he is usable and nowhere near as bad as some people make out. However, someone like Yildiz and that is fine.

Absolute mystery. Hoping he can pull an Ivanovic where he sits around for months/a year then takes his chance and doesn't look back.

Maresca will have to actually allow us to go out and play tonight. Flamingo are the best team in Brazil currently and this tournament means everything to them. Playing OAP walking football will be a recipe for disaster.

Could also say if the manager didn't implement his full style from November on wards we could've qualified easily for the CL and maybe even given Liverpool something to think about. The change in our playstyle from Aug-Oct to Nov-May was a large reason why CL qualification became of fraught. How a team that got one point from 6 against Ipswich still qualified for the CL sums up last season. That is also before you get to playing for draws at best against teams like City and Arsenal away.

Exactly. He will need to be shifted and WHU are one of the few clubs reportedly interested. However, he is a bit of a hard sell and WHU needs some funds. This for me could be similar to Maatsen/Kellyman and Conor/Gallagher minus the pure profit bit.

I imagine it will be the PSR rules that will dictate this. I imagine there is a way out of paying wages - as MM has brought this on himself. The transfer fee and how that is added/taken away from the books will be the sticking point imo.

Apprantly they're quite keen on Hall. That may be one to look at as a PSR dual transfer e.g. Hall for £30m, Kudas for £50m or something similar.

100%. Maresca is one of those managers so welded to his philosophy that he cannot adapt. Every game with him it is the same repetitions with the idea that if you do the same thing over and over you'll become elite as if you dominate possesion you technically cannot lose. Instead the truth of the matter is that he was essentially a Pep minion who was tasked with training his teams to work on possession and as a result cannot see the shifts in games or how you adapt to your opponent - hence why we always play down to the level of whoever we are playing but just try to 'keep possession' better. Overall strategy isn't his thing as he just cares about possession above all else, not only is it absolutely mind numbing it is also incredibly inhibiting.