Likewise, just got back and received the same. Shame there were more questions about the quality of food and drink that the quality of the match experience.
Agreed wholeheartedly FLT and l fully accept that RH does not have much talent to work with. All that said: RH seems to be tactically challenged, too many times this season we have been set up poorly from the outset, having to make adjustments at half time and end up having to chase down lost causes. Am wondering if losing his assistant manager this season is also a big problem for us in addition to our terrible Board of Directors.
I get it that we don’t have as good a squad as we once had. But look at Sheff Utd. Our squad is at least as good as theirs and yet they are flying. Why? A good manager. Sensible tactics. Bloody 4-2-4
This. We now have what I'd consider to be a competent braintrust...Crocker seemed to carry a fair bit of respect when he managed the Academy, and was well-regarded at the FA, and Ralph is no fool. But I suspect that there's a pretty considerable trust deficit built up, and the rot built up long enough that it will probably take a fair bit of time before anyone at the club believes that football is a priority for our football club.
Really good analysis of their surging centre back approach here. There’s nothing remotely sensible about it to me. Innovative and hard to play against. Tellingly it came out of being a dominant team and needing to break down defensive opponents. Stephens surging run forward today was something we need to do more often in place of the sideways pointless passing we do a lot of. As soon as that CB runs from deep no one knows what to do about it, who should pick them up. Overloads the oppo and creates space and chances. VVD was great at it. .. such a shame he’s dead now. https://medium.com/@Mase159/sheffie...t-of-the-overlapping-centre-back-aed8c1110fe0
Worth noting it’s not as simple as having a good manager. Ralph’s record is as good as wilders and at a higher level. But wilder has built his team over time, Ralph has inherited our over paid underperformers and is trying to mould them. Wilder has been there since 2016. Ralph has had 12 months.
Wilder has been there a while though, you'll never achieve anything like that if you sack your manager every season.
I don’t get why he has to wait until half time to effect changes. We were overrun in midfield first half and it was a simple process, imo, to move redders more central, ahead of PEH and JWP giving us more bodies there and an option for a forward pass. We shouldn’t be waiting until half time, and a goal down before making changes.
I am not convinced that the squad is totally defective. Yesterday seemed to demonstrate two things for me. The first is that Redmond should have been dropped much sooner. He is not doing the things he had learned to do last season and there play now seems to stop when he gets the balls as opposed to going down the flank and trying to cross when getting behind the flanks. I felt we were much too static last night and Redmond was a large part of the problem although I did not feel the Djenepo was much better. The other problem for me is that Ralph finds it a challenge to make substitutions which make an impact. I was surprised Romeo came on so early last night(maybe to counter Antonio) whereas I thought that Armstrong deserved more of a run. Things were note working against West Ham and we seemed unable to find a solution. I am beginning to think that there is enough in this squad to work with if we could only sort out the defence. We were lucky last night only to lose 1-0 and the frustrating thing was that this was exactly the kind of performance we have produced all too often under Ralph since his appointment. I don't feel this squad is as poor as the one Redknapp had to work with when we were relegated. It should be much higher up the table. The problem for me seems to rest entirely on home form which seems to give the impression that Ralph is inadequate. I wish we could put the same kind of performance in that we seem to when playing away.
Eilliott (by the way MP? You’ve been quiet on here for a while. Been busy doing anything important recently.... you know, like campaigning? ) Do you honestly believe Ralph signed and sold the players he wanted to in the summer? If you do, then I suspect you don’t pay too much attention to what gets said away from matches.
Easy from the sides isn’t it Ian. How long has it taken you to “begin to realise” there’s enough in the squad. You’ve been watching this squad for 3 years. It’s been the same squad for 3 years and the 4th year before that had 2 good defenders and a manager who sorted the defence out, yet you led the charge to remove him! The problems are so deep at our club, that it’s almost pointless finger waving at the coaching and even players (not really their fault they’re not good enough). Yes some tactical mistakes have been made. Some wins have been had. We’ve suffered an embarrassing hammering. We’ve thrown leads away. It’s pretty much been the same for three seasons. Pretty much since the owner wanted to sell and took an eye off what is going on with the matches. We’ve not been that great away from home really either. Better at Arsenal and at times at Newcastle, but Sheffield Utd and Brighton we’re food wins, not good performances Let’s sack Ralph and bring a new coach in just to keep the same bloody cycle going - just don’t expect anything different into the club changes
Does anyone know what Gao thinks? About anything? Admittedly I haven’t done any research, but I still know absolutely ****all about the bloke