beorhthelm
A. Virgo, Football Genius
- Jul 21, 2003
- 36,020
Alot is being said about our early bath being Svens fault. I both agree and disagree.
He is clearly the best manager we have had in a long time. His tactics are, while not allways perfect, good - he's seen us to the World Cup Quaters and the Euro Quaters, making us 8th best in the world really. Not too Shaby.
But he does seem to have a fault - he insists on playing his first team. Now i know thats a funny thing to say but hear me out. There is a long standing issue of the left midfield slot but why is it made worse by playing quailty, creative midfielders out there. They either make a hash of it defensivly or their ability is wasted. Then there appears to be the law that states that Beckham must play. This also applies to Scholes. Both these players should not have palyed yesturday. Sven would have known from training that Beckham is well below par fitness wise (he's not been himself the whole tournamant) and the France game showed that Scholes cant do anything against aggressive wingers. But they're two of the best players, so we have to play them even though tactically it doesnt work. We have an embarressment of quality attacking midfielders, but Joe Cole and Dyer dont seem to get a full game only bit parts against the likes of Iceland. They're not asked to really go out and show their stuff for a full 80-90 minutes. The solution to the leftwing is there for all to see, but because Barry isnt considered a brilliant young talent he's overlooked time after time.
All im saying is that it seems to me Sven lacks the courage to take tough descisions. If you play your strongest 11, then you the manager can tbe critisied. If he started last night with, say Dyer on the right and Hargreaves on the left, he would been hailed a genius had we won, or a turnip had we lost. He just lacks the courage to let his record speak for itself.
He is clearly the best manager we have had in a long time. His tactics are, while not allways perfect, good - he's seen us to the World Cup Quaters and the Euro Quaters, making us 8th best in the world really. Not too Shaby.
But he does seem to have a fault - he insists on playing his first team. Now i know thats a funny thing to say but hear me out. There is a long standing issue of the left midfield slot but why is it made worse by playing quailty, creative midfielders out there. They either make a hash of it defensivly or their ability is wasted. Then there appears to be the law that states that Beckham must play. This also applies to Scholes. Both these players should not have palyed yesturday. Sven would have known from training that Beckham is well below par fitness wise (he's not been himself the whole tournamant) and the France game showed that Scholes cant do anything against aggressive wingers. But they're two of the best players, so we have to play them even though tactically it doesnt work. We have an embarressment of quality attacking midfielders, but Joe Cole and Dyer dont seem to get a full game only bit parts against the likes of Iceland. They're not asked to really go out and show their stuff for a full 80-90 minutes. The solution to the leftwing is there for all to see, but because Barry isnt considered a brilliant young talent he's overlooked time after time.
All im saying is that it seems to me Sven lacks the courage to take tough descisions. If you play your strongest 11, then you the manager can tbe critisied. If he started last night with, say Dyer on the right and Hargreaves on the left, he would been hailed a genius had we won, or a turnip had we lost. He just lacks the courage to let his record speak for itself.