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Management Cristian Stellini

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I think there will be no major shake-ups in how we play.

We've gotten rid of the tumour. This isn't about making us pretty by changing the style of football, it's about results in the next 10 games only.

There is continuity with the squad and with the staff, everyone knows their jobs and each other, it's about being calm whilst the press and fans lose their collective shit and melt. Now is the time for focus.

I am more confident in Sellini & Mason tweaking stuff, as they shown to great effect vs Man City for example. They will use subs better and make changes quicker. There is no need for them to be stubborn and freeze a player out for their ego as Conte has done.

But the blueprint of Conte ball will be used. It's how all of the staff (with the exception of Mason) are also set-up for.

Also what is to be gained by trying to implement a new style of football, there isn't time to train and implement it properly. They know the players and the players know them. No new manager coming in to assess the team etc.. When Mason took over he was also supported by a mish-mash of backroom staff (Michael Vorm and we robbed U18/U21 coaches to fill the gaps).

Everton (away) W (but hard as they are fitting relegation, so motivated)
Brighton (home) D (they play better than us, have done under Potter too, but we have the better individual players and as a result have beaten them 6 to 3. But this game is huge for both teams a true 6-pointer for 4th and I fear it).
Bournemouth (away) W (another club motivated as they fight relegation, they also have turned a corner in performances)
Newcastle (away) W (another head to head 6 pointer for 4th but I think we are better, they are struggling and didn't play better than us when they beat us at the Lane)
Man U (home) L ( Yet another genuine 6-pointer for 4th - depends on what team turns up, for either but I feel Utd best is better than our best. I don't see us getting anything from this game)
Liverpool (away) L (yet another 6-pointer for 4th - but only assuming we've gotten results in the previous game to keep us in contention. Ironically if both teams are still in a position still to fight for 4th then I think Liverpool win, they like these high-pressure games just see 7-0 vs Man U)
Palace (home) - W (they will be fighting a relegation battle and have sacked their manager, fortunately, it's Hodgson that's taken over, I don't they he will give them the bounce they need to beat us).
Villa (away) - W (a tough game but given us a win as if we are still in contention for 4th I think this will be enough against a side safe in mid-table and nothing to play for)
Brentford (home) - W (we know this is a tough game, it might also be a 6-pointer for 4th, I think perhaps not for them)
Leeds (away) W (another very tough game if they still need the points to keep them up)
I can see Mason pushing hard for a 4231. If we stick with 343 we won’t finish 4th. That two man midfield is suicide
 
I can see Mason pushing hard for a 4231. If we stick with 343 we won’t finish 4th. That two man midfield is suicide
I don't have a crystal ball, so just guessing obviously, but with that two-man midfield we have won 15 PL games this season, only Man City and Woolwich have won more games (all be it we've played 2 more).

The noise and depression surrounding the club are greater than the issue we face on the pitch.

We now play once per week for the rest of the season. The tumour has been surgically removed, now is not the time to start fresh, and implement new ideas. It's time for calm, cool heads.

Stellini & Mason have already shown more tactical flexibility and better use of subs in their short number of games than Conte has done all season and that did include putting an extra man in midfield against City.
 
If we exclude Klopp and Guardiola, the average tenure of a PL manager is about 18 months.

So Conte's tenure as manager is about average, so his leaving is not some seismic change or 'change in strategy' as some of the media have as their headlines , its par for the course !

So thanks for getting us 4th last season, but time to move on Antonio. And we do have a stronger squad than when he arrived so lots to be cheerful about - even if he moaned about the medical staff, players etc , all things we can change in due course !
 
I can see Mason pushing hard for a 4231. If we stick with 343 we won’t finish 4th. That two man midfield is suicide
Changing system mid-season is equally suicidal. 3-4-3 got Top 4 last year and has us in Top 4 now despite Conte and the squad falling out.

Maybe they can tweak it by playing somebody on the left WB role that can play more in MF like they did with Emerson as the RWB playing inside more?
 
Changing system mid-season is equally suicidal. 3-4-3 got Top 4 last year and has us in Top 4 now despite Conte and the squad falling out.

Maybe they can tweak it by playing somebody on the left WB role that can play more in MF like they did with Emerson as the RWB playing inside more?
Rubbish. Teams change formations in the first half. Not against a tweak, but something has to change be it LWB Emerson tucking in or Kulu playing centrally. It may have worked last season but it won’t this year, and we are 4th by proxy only
 
Changing system mid-season is equally suicidal. 3-4-3 got Top 4 last year and has us in Top 4 now despite Conte and the squad falling out.

Maybe they can tweak it by playing somebody on the left WB role that can play more in MF like they did with Emerson as the RWB playing inside more?

Or if we are playing Kulusevski as RW, he can drop back into a CM role when Spurs are not in possession - he has in the past (pre Spurs) played as a box to box midfield player or an advanced attacking CM in the past, so its not impossible.

Doing that can be tiring but playing once a week for most of rest of season means it should be possible in most games.
 
I think there will be no major shake-ups in how we play.

We've gotten rid of the tumour. This isn't about making us pretty by changing the style of football, it's about results in the next 10 games only.

There is continuity with the squad and with the staff, everyone knows their jobs and each other, it's about being calm whilst the press and fans lose their collective shit and melt. Now is the time for focus.

I am more confident in Sellini & Mason tweaking stuff, as they shown to great effect vs Man City for example. They will use subs better and make changes quicker. There is no need for them to be stubborn and freeze a player out for their ego as Conte has done.

But the blueprint of Conte ball will be used. It's how all of the staff (with the exception of Mason) are also set-up for.

Also what is to be gained by trying to implement a new style of football, there isn't time to train and implement it properly. They know the players and the players know them. No new manager coming in to assess the team etc.. When Mason took over he was also supported by a mish-mash of backroom staff (Michael Vorm and we robbed U18/U21 coaches to fill the gaps).

Everton (away) W (but hard as they are fitting relegation, so motivated)
Brighton (home) D (they play better than us, have done under Potter too, but we have the better individual players and as a result have beaten them 6 to 3. But this game is huge for both teams a true 6-pointer for 4th and I fear it).
Bournemouth (away) W (another club motivated as they fight relegation, they also have turned a corner in performances)
Newcastle (away) W (another head to head 6 pointer for 4th but I think we are better, they are struggling and didn't play better than us when they beat us at the Lane)
Man U (home) L ( Yet another genuine 6-pointer for 4th - depends on what team turns up, for either but I feel Utd best is better than our best. I don't see us getting anything from this game)
Liverpool (away) L (yet another 6-pointer for 4th - but only assuming we've gotten results in the previous game to keep us in contention. Ironically if both teams are still in a position still to fight for 4th then I think Liverpool win, they like these high-pressure games just see 7-0 vs Man U)
Palace (home) - W (they will be fighting a relegation battle and have sacked their manager, fortunately, it's Hodgson that's taken over, I don't they he will give them the bounce they need to beat us).
Villa (away) - W (a tough game but given us a win as if we are still in contention for 4th I think this will be enough against a side safe in mid-table and nothing to play for)
Brentford (home) - W (we know this is a tough game, it might also be a 6-pointer for 4th, I think perhaps not for them)
Leeds (away) W (another very tough game if they still need the points to keep them up)

22pts does seem a bit ambitious from me!!! let's hope Newcastle keep getting the draws, Man U to still get spanked 7-0 (they do have a congested end to the year which might affect how they play). Brighton might also struggle with fixture congestion 2 more league games than us, plus an FA Cup quarter-final and still have to play (Man City, Man U, Woolwich, Chelsea and us, not to mention a 4th place 6-pointer vs Newcastle + Brentford, then face Leeds, Palace, Bournemouth, Wolves, Forrest & Southampton all fighting relegation!!).

I think our biggest threat to 4th is Liverpool.

I think that is pretty ambitious for sure. I think we'll be lucky to win half our games. But honestly, it could go either way. The players managed to put a run together last Spring when they smelt CL so who's to say they cant do it again? I'm fairly certain that is what happened and it was down to them rather than Conte because its the only decent form and football we've played since Conte came in. So the players could do it if they motivate each other.
 
Rubbish. Teams change formations in the first half. Not against a tweak, but something has to change be it LWB Emerson tucking in or Kulu playing centrally. It may have worked last season but it won’t this year, and we are 4th by proxy only
Or if we are playing Kulusevski as RW, he can drop back into a CM role when Spurs are not in possession - he has in the past (pre Spurs) played as a box to box midfield player or an advanced attacking CM in the past, so its not impossible.

Doing that can be tiring but playing once a week for most of rest of season means it should be possible in most games.

Yup, both of those make sense to me.

Not sitting here saying let's keep watching Hojberg and Skipp get overrun in MF until Skipp gets burnt out and we lose games.

Just have that memory of Conte switching to back 4 against Chelsea and it instantly resulted in brutal fuck ups. Just not sure we have 2 CBs that can play 2 atb and without Davies, who plays LB?

Either we play Emerson LWB and have him sit more and play more centrally. Would allow Son to play off Kane and on the shoulder more without exposing Lenglet as much.

Or Kulu plays CM without the ball.
 
On one hand seems odd we’d just appoint Conte’s 2nd in command.

On the other hand it gives Stellini a chance to step out of Conte’s shadow and audition for future manager jobs
 
Stellini had us playing more free flowing attacking football when Conte was out, right?

That's a small tweak that's big enough to get us some more wins, without sacrificing a lot of the system put into place.

Changing systems causes confusion for players, which leads to more chances for error. So any changes without a preseason need to be measured and responsible.
 
I am a glass full person. The fact that we sack a manager in March when the club are top 4 in the PL is a positive thing. Have we ever had a manager leave when we were top 4?
 
Coaching staff staying with Stellini and Mason include :

- Goalkeeping coach Marco Savorani,
- Set-piece specialist Gianni Vio and
- Fitness coaches Stefano Bruno and Costantino Coratti.
 
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