Tbf it's also on him. He could have refused to play Ronaldo. I was a big fan but he doesn't have the balls required for this job. Not the tactical nous either.
If we sack ETH tbh I don't even know who I'd want next. We've tried literally all options possible and it seems nothing works.
This could still go either way imo.
Today wasn’t that bad. Don’t get me wrong, I’m annoyed and upset. Objectively we put in a decent effort to break down a very defensive team.
Setting up a low block and trying to nick a goal is the easiest way to get an average team to win (or not lose) matches. Managers who do that are not out-coaching or “schooling” their opponent, they are just doing the only thing they can to try and hang on and somehow get something out of the game. Sometimes it works sometimes not.
I mention this because EtH is trying to establish an attacking way of playing which will win major trophies. This is much harder to do. It takes time to work and you lose some games while it’s developing. There were signs today that the players are starting to get it. But we still lost and, as I’ve been saying, we hate to lose.
Going back to your post: The thing we haven’t tried yet is letting the whole horrible process play out. I mean really just let the thing go even when we’re bottom half and sliding for the trap door. Let it run its course. Cull the players who don’t fight to come out of it. SAF built a team of scrappers, hard men who would literally (if it came to it) fight to the death to survive, to only lose 3-0 instead of 4-0, to finish 12th instead of 13th. Yes the bar has been raised from that but the principle should be the same.
You could ask if we have the right coach to ride that storm out because that is basically what we need: A guy to take the shit, keep taking it, hold his nerve, keep doing the job, not give a feck what people think, to be the last man standing. A guy like that takes players with him - the right sort of players - if they can’t hack it they fall - it takes time and it isn’t pretty but it’s exactly what is required. Is Erik that guy?