Something that has fascinated and baffled in equal measure is the dogged determination those who set us up have to a system and personnel that look like they will be the death of them.
There's loyalty and a coping mechanism in sticking with what you know and those who may have served you well in the past, but then there's a point where that same criteria is the death of many a manager who, for whatever reason, just will not even attempt something different.
McFred have done well by Ole in the past and it made sense to persevere with them off the back of credit banked, but surely, you have to see that McTominay (most likely not fit) is flagging, badly, and Fred has dropped some levels this season? The same goes for Maguire - he's Ole's captain and he sees him as a bedrock of the side, however, Maguire is struggling out there (most likely not fit on top of that) and has been more of a hindrance than an aid to a man with his job on the line. There's a sense that sticking by him through thick and thin could reap dividends, but equally, there can be no surprise whatsoever if/when he absolutely crumbles out there over the course of these three crucial games.
Finally, our formation, no matter how they try, our coaches and manager cannot make it work; this might well be more detrimental to them all than standing by under-performing players actually, because it's the easiest inlet possible for rival coaches to exploit the inherent flaws in a system that isn't working on any level. Our system enables managers to plan, in detail, how to get at us and it's tried and tested to the hilt this season with a blueprint team after team we face are utilising.
The divides regarding Ole are basically scorched earth by now and this thread isn't asking you whether he is good enough or should stay on - it's about what we will choose to do against Spurs, Atalanta and City and whether we'll see any changes whatsoever. Will there be any attempt to approach the games differently with either personnel or the system we play?
There's loyalty and a coping mechanism in sticking with what you know and those who may have served you well in the past, but then there's a point where that same criteria is the death of many a manager who, for whatever reason, just will not even attempt something different.
McFred have done well by Ole in the past and it made sense to persevere with them off the back of credit banked, but surely, you have to see that McTominay (most likely not fit) is flagging, badly, and Fred has dropped some levels this season? The same goes for Maguire - he's Ole's captain and he sees him as a bedrock of the side, however, Maguire is struggling out there (most likely not fit on top of that) and has been more of a hindrance than an aid to a man with his job on the line. There's a sense that sticking by him through thick and thin could reap dividends, but equally, there can be no surprise whatsoever if/when he absolutely crumbles out there over the course of these three crucial games.
Finally, our formation, no matter how they try, our coaches and manager cannot make it work; this might well be more detrimental to them all than standing by under-performing players actually, because it's the easiest inlet possible for rival coaches to exploit the inherent flaws in a system that isn't working on any level. Our system enables managers to plan, in detail, how to get at us and it's tried and tested to the hilt this season with a blueprint team after team we face are utilising.
The divides regarding Ole are basically scorched earth by now and this thread isn't asking you whether he is good enough or should stay on - it's about what we will choose to do against Spurs, Atalanta and City and whether we'll see any changes whatsoever. Will there be any attempt to approach the games differently with either personnel or the system we play?