Even better example is looking at how well and how quickly Hughes has got Stoke playing nice football ont deck. I mean, Stoke! They've been drilled into Pulis's horrible style for so many years and yet within a month or two Hughes had them playing a fluid(ish) passing game.rss1969 wrote:I just cant see a way back from here. BM has been in charge for a year...........not long but long enough to put your own DNA into the teams ethos and style, their hunger desire and shape. This has not happened and we are going to end up with a squad of players that nobody wants. Whatever happened to managers that got the best out of the players they inherited?
Pulis has drilled and changed the attitude of his squad, without the addition of 6 or 7 players. They are probably not good enough man for man to compete in the prem, so he uses organisation to his benefit. Poyet has done the same.
Strangely, immediately after taking over, when he made the 'best passing side in the championship' comments, McDermott did appear to be coaching the side into playing slick football: remember the 32 pass move for Austin's goal against Burnley? Even Jason Pearce can do it. It baffles me that we're now regressing. It must be his choice of style, it's not Warnock's leftovers; he proved at the end of last season that he could get this bunch to play nice football. So what's happened? Murphy's reputation heralded him as an ideal signing for a ball playing side, Zaliukas (last few games excepted) also is very capable with a ball at his feet, another signing in the right direction. Then we get in some wingers who can run at players with pace and get you ont edge of your seat, even more ammunition to enable us to play exciting football.
Basically it's not the squad or the lack of signing Wells or any other big name that worries me, McDermott has done fine in that department; echoing Mellor's posts here but I just don't understand where the 2-3 year plan and passing football ideals have gone. What's causing that disparity between stated ambitions and apparent actions? My instinct is it's the coaching that's the problem, but then it's BM that made those statements... I hope he's just getting his head around it, didn't expect us to be so high up right now and tried the wrong things, I don't know. Of course I want to give him time, I'm just more dubious about his plans at the moment than I ever have been. Football for me is all about enjoying the spectacle and so I want to believe what BM promised us. I will wait and see whether that faith will be repaid.