I do love a rational balanced opinion.
Let's examine things ;
He inherited an ageing goalkeeper with no competition has he replaced and improved on that situation he/ they brought in a youngish unheard of Italian and a young hungry Kinsky,neither are better than Hugo at peak but imo there's genuine competition there now ...
A right wing back that was effective going forward but couldn't defend. For shit . is that situation improved.. has to be a yes
THe lack of a center bac pairing .. brought in van the man... Him and rom MATCH FIT
aBsolute top class
a left bac situation with possibilities. He's brought through Udu MATCH FIT absolutely TOP draw player
Spence a refugee under previous cantankerous management...we now have a player who can effectively cover both left and right bac .. not many of those around.
Midfield ... Lacked vision and creativity... Brought in Mad's match fit and on his day plays on a different level..
He's brought through sarr and brought somewhere near the best out of biss' whereas b4 under Conte I very rarely saw him make forward pass .. like he was absolutely afraid to f##c up, he is a bit hit and miss .. but he's showing signs of the player we thought he was
Johnson and gray.. I'm putting them together as I'm wondering if our director of football was a victim of buying the glossy image that nepotism can create and ignoring other factors . BOTH came from clubs that parents were entrenched in legendary status. And arguably were never going to fail there. whilst you cant argue with Johnsons goal scoring .. and his pace is unquestionable his overall skill set is not great. And gray .. ignoring the idolator lavish media attention he was given during his extended run .. it totally ignored that game in game out his errors that WERE costly .. and we've seen enuf recently to question if his skill set is up to the prem.. maybe with both ang will improve them . Time will tell
Ang lost 25 to 30 goals a season when kane left..which ever side of the fence you sit with kane .. THAT'S A SIGNIFICANT BLOW .. he/we needed reinforcements asap and in a limited market bought In a bang inform center forward at an over inflated price, who grafts and has 100% bought into the team ethic . BUT unfortunately as yet hasn't quite delivered.. tbh I've got a y class to get to and the dog needs walking so I've got to go. But there's loads more plus's that just make your pub manager quote look absolutely what it is.. Sunday morning pub talk.
Been reading on this forum for months and months but never post. Love the difference in opinions etc but this has just done me.
First, having competition for goalkeepers is NOT improvement or a step in the right direction.
RWB, if talking about Porro, then no, he hasnt improved him defensively. Most of our goals conceded come down that right hand side.
Udogie was already very good before his arrival, so no he didnt bring him through. Believe he was bought from Udinese as a Conte type player before he imploded.
If that is the best he can get out of Biss, then do we want either Ange or Biss to stay? Probably not.
Madders yes, very good but works better getting in the pockets of space, we dont play that way.
Cant knock Gray im afraid. Asking an 18 year old to play at the highest level of sport in a position you have never played, and still pull out consistent performances, hats off to him. He proved me wrong as didnt think much of him when he first arrived.
On to the Harry Kane statement. We scored more goals in the premier league last season (74) than we did in Kane's last season (70) so 'losing' 25-30 goals didnt really seem much of a problem last year.
Again, cant really have any gripes with Solanke. Geezer is 6ft 3 and we put majority of crosses along the floor. Play to his strengths and you'll see a different player.
Bottom line is, whilst Ange may be a good motivator in the changing room, his in game management, tactics and general demeanor are not what is required for a big club. Cant get away with it elsewhere but not in the PL otherwise, we would simply not be 17th.
