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Management The positivity thread: evAngelists only
- Thread starter WillWilliams
- Start date
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We've been a little unlucky our past couple of dozen matches.
Thursday is our turning point, with a big win over the Frankfurteers. Then into the semi finals we march with an air of arrogance and a disdain for any opposition that stands in our way of our next Trophy.
Onwards and upwards.
Thursday is our turning point, with a big win over the Frankfurteers. Then into the semi finals we march with an air of arrogance and a disdain for any opposition that stands in our way of our next Trophy.
Onwards and upwards.
Looking back without any rose tinted glasses we were absolutely awful in the league that season.
Similar to this one.
But his free kick was just from another planet.
We really need something like that Thursday to ignite some belief.
Scenes from the Richard Alison household
But have you seen the before and after photos of his garden??
Under Poch
Post Ange
Scenes from the Richard Alison household
You're talking about a guy who couldn't figure out how shit Ange was 18 months ago, and has been backing him despite all the evidence in front of him ever since.
If he hit the gym every time we lost, I'd fully expect to find him in the clothing section of Asda insisting it was a gym, quoting stats about how long he's been there and telling you it's only a matter of time before it clicks and he becomes the above.
If you had Ange figured out 18 months ago (15/11/2023 or thereabouts) when we were unbeaten in the league, can you let me know the winning lotto numbers for this weekend as well?
Richard Arlison has been Ange Out for a good few months now, may have taken longer to see the light than most of us but I won't fault him for trying to be positive and he never made it personal with anyone despite a few attempting to do that to him. But just FYI, claiming you've known all along how shit he is and you were Ange out since 18 months ago/the chavs game/whatever is almost as unbearable as the people who are still Ange In now. We all just want to see the club do well and short of being a fucking soothsayer theres no way you knew this was going to go this way that long ago.
I've said since before he came that he was a nobody.
I said during the mythical 1st 10 games there were issues.
By the time we went gung ho against Chelsea and got away with "only" losing 1-4, the alarm bells have been ringing loudly for me.
He certainly wasn't my first, second, fourth or even eighth choice, but he was very much an unknown quantity at that point. There were minor issues in the first 10 games for sure, there were also some incredibly promising signs, particularly when we actually started winning games late on as opposed to throwing points away late on like we had done in Conte's second season and under Stellini/Mason.
The Chavs game was a bit of an eye opener but realistically I'd say the veil only dropped with him for me during the last couple of months of last season, when we started getting injured players back and results got worse if anything. I came into this season with an open mind, I appreciated some bits of transfer business we did, especially with Ange specifically coming out and saying he doesn't fear our lack of depth anymore. Of course he was talking absolute bollocks, didn't rotate the squad nearly enough early on and reaped the rewards, not to mention he didn't use the summer in any meaningful way to try to fix some of the gaping tactical holes.
Well, we're all different. But was fully convinced he was out of his depth as soon as the wheels fell off after those 10 games.
I may not have been as vocal then as I was by the end of December and for the remainder of the season, but the warning signs were there.
I certainly wasn't won over by the possession stats when it was obvious from sitting through the games, it was all side to side outside the box.
The game after Chelsea was Wolves away, where we scored in the first few minutes, then proceeded to play out the worst game we'd seen for years, before losing late on. I said in the match thread, 10 minutes before Wolves even equalised that we'd been awful and that Wolves would not draw, but win.
It's been that way ever since.
You're missing the cruical Leicester pre-season team photo:2014-15
Leicester City
P38 W11 D8 L19
Season after, champions
2024-25
Tottenham Hotspur
P32 W11 D4 L17
Still on course, steady as she goes
Fear not....
...your prayers will be answered!!
I haven't been on this for a while, as I'm staying true to the thread title, and the last thing I have been for months is positive.
I'm torn between a grudging admiration for those who still have faith in Ange and wanting to shake them into reality of the horrible situation we're in.
I'm torn between a grudging admiration for those who still have faith in Ange and wanting to shake them into reality of the horrible situation we're in.
That's the thing though, I really disagree with that sentiment based off the first 10 games. Unfortunately in retrospect I think some of our previous playstyle with the sharp, snappy passing and quick counters dovetailed very nicely with what Ange was adapting them to, which resulted in more overall game control and quite effective use of that control. Unfortunately the longer Ange has had the squad and the further we move from the Conte days, the less incisive and the more "backwards and sideways" we have become I would say, it wouldn't at all surprise me if I looked it up and found our possession and pass completion stats have steadily been increasing in Ange's time as the xG, shots and shots on target steadily decrease.
The Wolves game just gone is a perfect example of how neutered the team is now, 63% possession and almost double the completed passes but Wolves outperformed us on every important metric; goals, shots, shots on target, big chances created, xG, everything. It is why it's so hard to understand why Ange thinks we'll swallow the "individual errors" bollocks, you can go and look at several of our away games to that calibre (bottom half) of opponent and it reads exactly the same, dominate the possession and "field tilt" but concede far more chances and usually, goals.
It's a comprehensive de-coaching of the team over nearly 2 seasons.
Thing is, similar performances were happening.
Day 0 - 2-2 away to Brentford
70% possession, 18 shots to 11 but 6 each on target and I'm sure they had the better of most of the match in overall play.
We had 28 shots for the Sheff Utd game and only 10 on target, and 2 of those were the 98th and 100th minute goals. We never actually looked like scoring. If that game didn't have the new and unusual amount of time added on, we'd have lost 1 nil and everyone would have been bemoaning our lack of clearcut chances and inability to break them down.
Those 1st 10 games were very much an anomaly where a new system was making teams cautious when they played us as well as players still in good shape and match sharp. Since then almost all of them have gotten worse and teams have grown far more confident that they'll score and beat us.
We get to give Liverpool a guard of honour in a couple of weeks, our players can gain inspiration from that to go onto be champions next season
I get the feeling we will lay down and get pumped at Anfield. Just a little hunch based on us doing it so much.