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Manager Thomas Frank
- Thread starter The Fighting Cock
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Yeah but those two Rice free kicks vs Real Madrid was very much like winning the Champions League, no?
If keeps eeking out results he will mate. It's going to be garbage to watch but they'll stick with him.
I'd be amazed if we turn into a good team under Frank but you never know.
Every bit of my footballing intuition tells me he won't.
Tbf there is a chance it's teething problems as the new "style" (bypassing midfield) beds in but... doesn't look great for sure.
It’s Ben Jacob’s, he doesn’t know his arse from his elbow, but it wouldn’t surprise me if it is true. See my earlier posts for the reason reasons why.
fixed my good man
Make of it what you will but , individual players progressive passes is way lower than last season & as is our pass completion .
I think if it’s the odd player then it’s their drop off but the whole squad , has to be a coaching problem
I think if it’s the odd player then it’s their drop off but the whole squad , has to be a coaching problem
Meh - like I said I don't think anyone objective would think him defending Vic from being booed is "digging out the fans". People subjectively attached to Spurs would feel otherwise.
I'm not sure he's thrown players under the bus. And I think he thinks he IS trying to get us to play "free flowing football" but by bypassing midfield altogether because that's always been his way. (not my type of football but its always been his so... get what you hire I guess, and it's worked for him in the past)
I'm not defending Frank here mind you. Like I get that Spurs fans would be irritated. Personally the only big misstep I think he's made in the media was referring back to the 17th place finish and even that is more because I don't think senior players like Romero, VDV, Vic and Udogie would feel responsible for that as they were injured for most of the losses then not played together as a unit for the last three months of the campaign.
I think he's under a lot of pressure and probably handled it better than the last guy. So far...
But he absolutely needs results and quickly. People literally don't give a shit what the manager says when we're winning.
There are a lot of fucking pussies in this fan base if they are upset at what Frank has said. He’s hardly been making stuff up or offered anyone out for a fight like the last manager. Unless I’ve missed it.
In real life I’ve seen nobody upset with what he’s said but then again I don’t know any complete fannies.
It’s definitely a coaching problem now. We were told people like Cochrane were elite sought after coaches yet what is he and the others doing? Surely they can’t be following Frank’s orders blindly and must see their jobs are at risk if he goes. Or most likely, they don’t give a fuck?
No it's not.
Not everyone in the Champions League finishes top 4 or 5 in the EPL. We've even beaten a couple of them. Scored three against the reigning champions too.
and then Ange got into a strop with Werner and didn't pick him after we'd extended his contract. He was the one who could blast down the left and send the ball across for BJ at the far post. So stupid.
All the online supporters I've seen throwing tantrums over Frank's pressers were either mysteriously quiet or went "that's MY manager
" when the last guy cupped his ears at us and insulted us for not wanting Woolwich to win the title. Nothing he's said has even come close to the numerous times Ange stopped to glare at supporters while walking down the tunnel.Nevermind, I've found at least some of the relevant data on FBREF from previous seasons actually. Cool.
Some definitions and clarifications:
My takeaways:
- Long balls: Passes longer than 30 yards [attempted]
- Short passes: Passes betwen 5-15 yards [attempted]
- Touch 1/3---> Number of touches inside the opponents' final third
- Pass 1/3 ----> Number of accurate passes that land inside the opponents' final third
- PassPen: Number of accurate passes that land inside the opponents' penalty area
- Progressive passes: See this
- ProgDist----> Progressive passing distance: Combined distance covered by all progressive passes a team successfully played
There is room for improvement, but even the improved version most likely wouldn't be something fundamentally different than this.
- I stand by my earlier opinion regarding Frank's footballing brain being hardwired in a way that will always lead him to favour long balls / direct play over short passes / possession play. 22/23 in particular where Brentford were 2nd and 19th respectively in number of long balls and short passes attempted strongly confirms this, and the overall data also point in that direction.
- Touches & passes inside the final third and the penalty area also suggest a team that struggled to get there, and/or were also quite direct once they got there.
- They were also below average overall, and one of the worst in the league during the first 2 seasons in particular, in progressive passing.
- The discrepancy in 24/25 between number of progressive passes (11th) and the overall distance those passes covered (5th) is definitely a conundrum. My ill-informed guess is that they were landing their medium-long range passes at a higher rate than usual: Boosting the latter without doing much for the former. And there is some tentative evidence in favour of this guess actually : They were 16th, 13th and 12th in long ball success rate during their first 3 seasons; only to jump to 6th in 24/25.
View: https://x.com/i/status/2008485845825974659
He's still here then?
FBREF has us at 3rd in number of long [30 + yards] passes attempted. You know which team leads the league by the way.
This by itself doesn't mean we're simply hoofing it up, even though eye test also strongly hints towards that conclusion. It's also possible to play rather purposeful mid-long range passes where the passer has a clear target in mind.
We're only 13th in the latter department though. We also happen to be 15th in number of short [5-15 yards] passes attempted, while Frank's former team is even lower at 17th.
There's a clear pattern here.
This by itself doesn't mean we're simply hoofing it up, even though eye test also strongly hints towards that conclusion. It's also possible to play rather purposeful mid-long range passes where the passer has a clear target in mind.
- City for example are 20th in attempts and 1st in percentage: Extremely purposeful and selective
- Villa are 19th in attempts and 5th in percentage
- Brighton are 17th and 2nd
We're only 13th in the latter department though. We also happen to be 15th in number of short [5-15 yards] passes attempted, while Frank's former team is even lower at 17th.
There's a clear pattern here.
Yeah yeah sorry but it's a load of bollocks mate. Trophies are not everything, not when it isn't backed up by consistent excellence. They are winning every week, have one of the best teams in the world, and the reality is they will win trophies if they contine as they are. Who do genuinely think are the happier fan base? us because we won the Europe League in May? or Woolwich fans?
It's easy to say Arteta has spent a billion, yes he's been backed like crazy but he still needs to put together a very good side and he has. He's an absolute moron but he's a fantastic coach, that is plain to see. He gets the best out of all his players.
Maybe I speak for myself but I want us to be in Woolwich's position, fuck being 17th and winning the Europa. Give me top of the league at Xmas, and a realistic chance of going for the league and CL.
Our fanbase is as unhappy as it's ever been, winning a trophy in May didn't really do much to change that did it.
can people explain why he should be doing better? please explain it so i can understand???
James Maddison had 12 goals and 11 assists last season (9 goals and 7 assists in the league)
Dominic Solanke had 16 goals and 8 assists last season (9 goals and 3 assists in the league)
Heung min Son had 11 goals and 12 assists last season (7 goals and 10 assists in the league)
Dejan kulusevski had 10 goals and 11 assists last season (7 goals and 4 assists in the league)
so that's 50% of the goals we scored in the league. Take away Brennan Johnson contribution of 18 goals and 7 assists (11 goals and 5 assists) and thats 67% of our goals from last season that is not an option.
Do you not get how absolutely damaging the loss of these players has been????? the same posters that are saying he should be doing better are the same posters that go on about how shit our players are ffs.
James Maddison had 12 goals and 11 assists last season (9 goals and 7 assists in the league)
Dominic Solanke had 16 goals and 8 assists last season (9 goals and 3 assists in the league)
Heung min Son had 11 goals and 12 assists last season (7 goals and 10 assists in the league)
Dejan kulusevski had 10 goals and 11 assists last season (7 goals and 4 assists in the league)
so that's 50% of the goals we scored in the league. Take away Brennan Johnson contribution of 18 goals and 7 assists (11 goals and 5 assists) and thats 67% of our goals from last season that is not an option.
Do you not get how absolutely damaging the loss of these players has been????? the same posters that are saying he should be doing better are the same posters that go on about how shit our players are ffs.
Sorry if I'm being thick, can you explain what the percentage means please? I assume the first number means that City attempt fewer long passes than anyone else, but what does the % mean? Is it that theirs hit the intended target most often (judging by the context you kindly provided)? Or something else like that?