Well, its going to be a tough old season I guess. I really feel like the problem is mental with these guys. They started off decent enough, but then started giving the ball away cheaply in midfield. They then keep losing cheap turnover after cheap turnover til eventually Brighton start cutting into us. At which point we lose what little confidence we ever have and start bricking it even more. Rinse & repeat. Second half when we start to put some modest pressure on them, we continually looked scared at their ability to counter attack us. The reality is these guys just aren't confident at playing the ball in the way the boss requires.
You obviously hope that ETH will just be able to flick a switch & sort out the boys' heads, but nope. So this is going to take time. Its going to take months, probably, to get the group of players up to the level of rigour required to playing the game the way the boss demands.
There's an idea we talk about at our work called time debt, where if you put off developing something for too long, you're just storing up all the time you should have spent for another day and it'll take longer and longer to eventually sort it out. Same applies here. We've spent years assembling a squad and coaching them in playing tactically simplistic football with little focus on complex build up play or possession under pressure. Most of what this group has ever known is just Jose and Ole, neither of whom ever focussed on developing the kind of modern football we need to start playing. ETH isn't simply trying to coach a tactically astute group of players in his particular style, he's building up from a painfully low level.
There's no getting around the hard work that's required, even in the transfer market. Upgrades here or there are important, but replacing 12 to 16 players with alternatives would take 3 or more seasons, so there's no shortcutting things that way. Its going to take coaching, which will take time. I just hope the fans and, more importantly, the Board continue to trust ETH even if it continues to be bumpy for the next few months.