The Hiddink Thread

[Ossie the King 634]

LOL. What utter rubbish to come with after 2 games in charge. At least we created against Watford and looked more like an attacking team. Moruinho lost against Bournemouth. Let's put things into perspective. How about we use common sense and wait until Hiddink has had a few games in charge.

I get you like Mourinho a lot mate but did you ever criticize him for those exact things he did himself? I don't think you did pal.

I don't think we should have kept with Mourinho. First game without him and we play our best football of the season? Coincidence or not.

I don't mind people who defend Mourinho but berating Hidding for what Mourinho done is completely hypocritical and shows that some people will defend Mourinho, no matter what. Now when Hiddink guides us to wins, I guarantee you a lot of the Mourinho supporters will start reverting to the claim "they want to play for Hiddink but chose to not play for Moruinho" because they don't want to give any credit to Hiddink.

And regarding Matic, you are being very harsh. He was a big reason we never lost the game. He was very good today apart from the miss. He got another chance to play and Hiddink's decision proved right. He was excellent.

The issue is that if we sacked Mourinho then appointed someone who does the same, what's the point?

As for the Sunderland game, yes we played well. So why not stick with Stevie Holland? Why go to Romans mate? Tell me one thing that Guus has done in the time Jose won four titles and a champions league that makes him the man for this job.

Fact is we've got rid of one of us and appointed another of Romans yes men. Guus will sit there like a kitten having his belly rubbed whilst Emenalo and granovskaia go about acquiring players for Brendan Rodgers. Is that what you're happy with or did you think when you called for Jose to be sacked pep guardiola would be on the first flight from Munich?

[Stats 7,136]

The issue is that if we sacked Mourinho then appointed someone who does the same, what's the point?

As for the Sunderland game, yes we played well. So why not stick with Stevie Holland? Why go to Romans mate? Tell me one thing that Guus has done in the time Jose won four titles and a champions league that makes him the man for this job.

Fact is we've got rid of one of us and appointed another of Romans yes men. Guus will sit there like a kitten having his belly rubbed whilst Emenalo and granovskaia go about acquiring players for Brendan Rodgers. Is that what you're happy with or did you think when you called for Jose to be sacked pep guardiola would be on the first flight from Munich?

I see your point however because he has been in charge for a few days, I am assuming he does not want to make wholesale changes as of yet. He probably saw how we performed against Sunderland and did not want to change too much. However the next few weeks will show if he is willing to make different changes to Jose. I hope he does tbh but I think he wanted to continue with a winning team against Sunderalnd. Play safe against United. Now he has a whole week more to prepare, we will see how different he is to Jose.

[Muzchap 8,966]

Jesus - can we please have some perspective and patience here!

2nd game, Yes 2nd game in charge and already the hatchets are out?

Seriously?

Of course he's going to play the team that has been previously playing - he needs time to evaluate the players following his instructions, you cannot compare previous VT of players as the coach would have been using different tactics

I do seriously question some of the anger on here. I took over a poorly performing team in my previous job, I instantly identified the weaknesses, but it took me over a month to implement the changes.

I'm sure Guus will get to it quicker, but I would expect more of the same against Palace and then a different approach. To me that's fair and reasonable.

Please let's not resort to craziness already - give the guy a chance.

If come end of Jan, Ivanovic is still a starter and things haven't improved, I will gladly eat my hat!

At least we have a point more than we did prior to the game.

[Barbara 15,149]

So, who's ready to admit sacking Jose was a bad decision?

never agreed with it and made it clear many times. I don't believe in interim managers. I just hoped Guus was better than what I feared, turns out that doesn't seem to be the case, quite the opposite.

But I won't criticize him beyond his team selections - as someone mentioned, José had been walking in thin ice for weeks, and Emenalo or whoever probably talked to him back then. Study a team doesn't take weeks, it takes only that: study. If he had studied the team, he wouldn't have dropped Zouma and he'd know Ivanovic is a walking nightmare. He'd play Kenedy instead of one of our many useless AMs or even as a LB.

I know there's pressure on the team to recover and although he's only an interim, there's some pressure on him too, but he could and must do better than that.

At the end of the day criticizing an interim work is counterproductive. He's not here to stay, he doesn't seem to have a clue, but at least the atmosphere is much better now - or it should.

Getting a better atmosphere was the only thing we could accomplish by firing Mourinho in the middle of the season, and we might get that, but I don't see anything beyond that - because as I said a few times, I don't think the players are good enough to dig out of the hole they and Mourinho got the club in. I'd be worried about relegation, but it shouldn't be hard as Villa and Sunderland already claimed their positions there with some delay if you ask me. If don't get to finish out of it when in reality there's only one spot in dispute, we deserve what we get.

I don't see this team even finishing in the top half, no matter who we bring on January (I don't think we'll bring many guys). I just think it's the best chance we have to start integrating youth in a more significant way. We won't want to throw the kids in the lion's den, but once we get a good margin away from relegation, they should be more played. What was the point of having many of them in the bench today if he hasn't used them?

[Stats 7,136]

Jesus - can we please have some perspective and patience here!

2nd game, Yes 2nd game in charge and already the hatchets are out?

Seriously?

Of course he's going to play the team that has been previously playing - he needs time to evaluate the players following his instructions, you cannot compare previous VT of players as the coach would have been using different tactics

I do seriously question some of the anger on here. I took over a poorly performing team in my previous job, I instantly identified the weaknesses, but it took me over a month to implement the changes.

I'm sure Guus will get to it quicker, but I would expect more of the same against Palace and then a different approach. To me that's fair and reasonable.

Please let's not resort to craziness already - give the guy a chance.

If come end of Jan, Ivanovic is still a starter and things haven't improved, I will gladly eat my hat!

At least we have a point more than we did prior to the game.

Majority of Mourinho supporters who are bitter about him leaving are literally waiting to pounce on Hiddink on anything he does wrong rather than give him support.

[LDN Blue 7,903]

You want Hiddink to sort out the right side of our defence, that's fine but what really are his options? You take out Ivanovic and put Azpi on the right side and then you have a gaping hole on the left side instead. We have Baba Rahman for that position but lets not forget how shaky he has been in his previous appearances in the starting XI. He could do better than Ivanovic on the right or hell, do even worse. It's really a double edge situation and there's no obvious solution right now. We would have more/better choices if it weren't for Mourinho and his appalling squad management.

Yeah, I mean I did bring up the same issue in the Ivanovic thread. But at the same time, given the fact we're talking about hindsight lately on various ex-players, Rahman could come good with a run of games. Whether it's true or not, it's still a proactive approach. This approach is reactionary, Hiddink's waiting for his disaster to fix itself without some intervention other than 'look at yourselves in the mirror'.

Again, I'm not calling for his head but I don't buy this argument he hasn't had enough time to analyse our weak links.

[LDN Blue 7,903]

Majority of Mourinho supporters who are bitter about him leaving are literally waiting to pounce on Hiddink on anything he does wrong rather than give him support.

Come on Stats, you're better than that. Like with every thread that starts in it's early days (see; Lampard), there are some valid points that aren't out of spite.

[Reddish-Blue 2,489]

The issue for me is that you guys have got what you wanted. Jose is gone and what's left?

Another of Romans mates in charge who doesn't seem to have a clue about the squad and has achieved not very much in the last 6 years. And who's in charge of transfer targets in January? Another of Romans mate and heir to Avram's throne. Now if you feel more connected to the club since Jose left then I envy you.

For me I don't have any faith in any of these people and I genuinely think relegation might be the only way we change things. Otherwise we appoint Rodgers or Pellegrino and repeat the same mistakes for the same decade. That's what most of us have been saying that it goes beyond just the coach, and I'm pretty sure those guys who sang Joses name in the stands today probably agree on the whole.

He might not have a clue about the squad...but at least we look like a team capable of scoring goals

[Muzchap 8,966]

Majority of Mourinho supporters who are bitter about him leaving are literally waiting to pounce on Hiddink on anything he does wrong rather than give him support.

If true that's really sad ?

I don't look at members on here and see Pro-Mou / Anti-Mou - just see fans...

We need to stick together now, more than ever.

We need to back Hiddink to the rafters, the wheels are already off the season, now is about hitting 40 points as quickly as possible and seeing what other bonuses we can pick up.

I do expect the same team against Palace, then I'm hoping for some serious changes moving forward.

[Barbara 15,149]

btw - I agree with whoever says is too early, but when you see 60, 75 minutes of horrible football by some footballers in a way it's difficult to imagine how worse they could be, and you still won't have your subs done there's just no excuse to be done for you as a manager. Happy to say I used to criticize Mourinho a lot for the same. One of the things he missed from his early days, when he was sharp and quick with his subs.

[Muzchap 8,966]

btw - I agree with whoever says is too early, but when you see 60, 75 minutes of horrible football by some footballers in a way it's difficult to imagine how worse they could be, and you still won't have your subs done there's just no excuse to be done for you as a manager. Happy to say I used to criticize Mourinho a lot for the same. One of the things he missed from his early days, when he was sharp and quick with his subs.

Sadly I missed the game - but it doesn't sound good and yes, Subs change games - but maybe Guus was concerned he might change it and make it worse

I will have to watch the match

However, it is way too early to start thinking Guus can wave the miracle wand

I hope to see some big changes after Palace - only then with the hectic schedule gone will we find out whether Mr Hiddink has a little, big or dead horse ?

[Barbara 15,149]

Sadly I missed the game - but it doesn't sound good and yes, Subs change games - but maybe Guus was concerned he might change it and make it worse

I will have to watch the match

However, it is way too early to start thinking Guus can wave the miracle wand

I hope to see some big changes after Palace - only then with the hectic schedule gone will we find out whether Mr Hiddink has a little, big or dead horse

Well, but you have to react someway. I'm talking about our attacking players. Mikel and Matic (except for the goal he missed) were good. But Oscar, Willian (he has credit, but wasn't good today) weren't good at all. Pedro and Hazard were better, but he could have just given one of the kids some minutes.

I don't know, I thought things would be lighter. That was literally my only expectation when Mourinho was fired and then when Guus was announced I thought even more so. I doubted then his tactical qualities - but more based on results, as I don't follow international football much less Russian league...

I won't talk about tactics, about systems, about approach. There's no point on it, he's an interim... but knowing the squad weaknesses and making some changes is the least we can expect. Sure we should give him time, but the lack of subs really annoyed me.

[Muzchap 8,966]

Well, but you have to react someway. I'm talking about our attacking players. Mikel and Matic (except for the goal he missed) were good. But Oscar, Willian (he has credit, but wasn't good today) weren't good at all. Pedro and Hazard were better, but he could have just given one of the kids some minutes.

I don't know, I thought things would be lighter. That was literally my only expectation when Mourinho was fired and then when Guus was announced I thought even more so. I doubted then his tactical qualities - but more based on results, as I don't follow international football much less Russian league...

I won't talk about tactics, about systems, about approach. There's no point on it, he's an interim... but knowing the squad weaknesses and making some changes is the least we can expect. Sure we should give him time, but the lack of subs really annoyed me.

Let's hope he steps it up against Palace

Unless, like Mourinho, he is also confused at the players giving 100% in training and then shutting the bed come matchday.

Probably sat there stunned and unable to grasp what was happening

Maybe we need a team of sports psychologists

[Essien19 1,415]

I get you like Mourinho a lot mate but did you ever criticize him for those exact things he did himself? I don't think you did pal. I don't think we should have kept with Mourinho. First game without him and we play our best football of the season? Coincidence or not. I don't mind people who defend Mourinho but berating Hidding for what Mourinho done is completely hypocritical and shows that some people will defend Mourinho, no matter what. Now when Hiddink guides us to wins, I guarantee you a lot of the Mourinho supporters will start reverting to the claim "they want to play for Hiddink but chose to not play for Moruinho" because they don't want to give any credit to Hiddink. And regarding Matic, you are being very harsh. He was a big reason we never lost the game. He was very good today apart from the miss. He got another chance to play and Hiddink's decision proved right. He was excellent.

I would have liked seeing more of Loftus-Cheek, especially during the pre-season. I criticized Mourinho for denying the boy more playing time.

During the season, i thought that during the crisis having more experience on the field would be better, that means no Loftus-Cheek...

You're right that i often tried to find common sense why Ivanovic was given another opportunity and bringing up arguments why not Baba,

i remember stating match fitness and other reasons.

Finally Baba was rewarded some playing time, Loftus-Cheek not. But it should have been more!

Some time ago i stated that i'm a so called 'Mourinhonista', despite of other fans i had and still have love for the man, i truly believed that there must be reasons

why a highly decorated man like Jose Mourinho chooses to field the 'old guard', he's a specialist, he knows more than me and i have always been in his corner,

no matter what!

Time passes quickly, we have seen more and more, but we're still not playing more convincingly, imo. Something has to change, NOW.

I was sad about Jose Mourinho's dismissal, but i get that it didn't happen just because of the current moods of Abramovic or Emenalo, no,

the style of play has been piss poor so far and Jose Mourinho should have played more youth players and changed the fullbacks. That's on him!

I'll give you and others that...

I wasn't happy about Guus taking over, didn't like what he did with Holland and what exactly has he done in the last years?

I'm not a child, i give Guus chances, maybe you and others don't believe me, but i can't change that!

But i won't cut him as much slack as i did for Mourinho, he's not my man, i have no love for him, but i will give him credit if he turns this shit around.

Yes, i do think that some of our players are fed up by Mourinho's antics, that's on both parties, if Hiddink fixes it, he deserves credit, imo!

After Mourinho was gone, i considered that maybe Mourinho was a bit stuck in his idea of the ideal linup and style of play.

I hoped that Guus would do things differently, that he chooses to field guys like Loftus-Cheek, Baba, Kenedy and maybe put Musonda on the bench.

I thought that he was a different man compared to Jose Mourinho, things aren't looking this way, Ramires was substituted in,

but maybe i'm too harsh and things will change but need more time.

I didn't call for his head, i pointed the finger at some things which i thought could have been handled differently.

First game without him and we play our best football of the season?

Are we only speaking about the league games?

What about the first game of the season against Swansea, what about the win against West Brom?

That counter attack against 'the hawthorns' was very well executed, imo.

I'm not sure that one can clearly say that the game against Sunderland was the best so far, for me that's controversial, but yes, i respect your opinion.

Matic should have buried that chance, that cost us big time, but he still brings some good things to the table.

He ist still a constat force and always driving forward, Mikel or Ramires can't do it like that, i have to give it to him.

For me he wasn't that great, but i 'whoscored' is on your side, so there you have your support.

I was too harsh on him!

OveralI, i smell schadenfreude, some of you don't want to talk about the game, no, they try to find contradictions in my previous arguments, what's the objective?

To make a fool of myself, try to discredit my statements and most importantly brand me as a hypocrite?

Maybe i'm, maybe i'm not, i tried to explain my view, is it that bad?

I say sorry if it's that the case, but it wasn't my intention.

Regards!

[Ossie the King 634]

Well, but you have to react someway. I'm talking about our attacking players. Mikel and Matic (except for the goal he missed) were good. But Oscar, Willian (he has credit, but wasn't good today) weren't good at all. Pedro and Hazard were better, but he could have just given one of the kids some minutes.

I don't know, I thought things would be lighter. That was literally my only expectation when Mourinho was fired and then when Guus was announced I thought even more so. I doubted then his tactical qualities - but more based on results, as I don't follow international football much less Russian league...

I won't talk about tactics, about systems, about approach. There's no point on it, he's an interim... but knowing the squad weaknesses and making some changes is the least we can expect. Sure we should give him time, but the lack of subs really annoyed me.

Guus might just think this is his best side. It would be funny if he actually came to the same conclusions as Jose and played a similar team.