Is Bruno Lage A Good Manager Or Should He Go?

[Lupollet]

Downed tools or were mismanaged?

Yeah. Downed tools it was. I know this because Nuno was best manager we’ve had in 50 years and tossers like NNW on the mix wanted him out after what was basically a bad patch. Covid, Rauls injury, Jeff poking his nose into everything. Nuno should have been offered a 10 year contract, but instead we bought in Bruno who is the very definition of a 0.6 season wonder.

 

[t3ch]

Can’t prove it, nor do I know what it is but there’s something not right. I’d put my money on some fucked up yank data bullshit being involved somewhere though.

I will fight you

 

[Boozad]

Yeah. Downed tools it was. I know this because Nuno was best manager we’ve had in 50 years and tossers like NNW on the mix wanted him out after what was basically a bad patch. Covid, Rauls injury, Jeff poking his nose into everything. Nuno should have been offered a 10 year contract, but instead we bought in Bruno who is the very definition of a 0.6 season wonder.

But why would a group of players who'd achieved more for us as a club in decades suddenly stop playing for the manager who'd overseen it all and was adored by virtually everyone? I will give you Willian Jose, the ultimate lazy bastard, but there were a lot of mitigating factors contributing to why last season went horribly wrong. And while I love Nuno and didn't want him to go he played his part in it as well. I'm not absolving the players of any blame, they did put in some shocking performances as they have this season, but I think it became evident as last season wore on that Nuno had lost his mojo, and with losing Raul I just think the players didn't know how to respond. This season they're just managed by a chancer and more often than not they've failed because of that.

I could well be wrong but I honestly don't think the players set out to get Nuno sacked, I'd be more inclined to believe it about Lage but can you seriously believe Moutinho would ever contemplate walking onto a pitch with the intention of playing shit? I'd struggle to accept that a MolMix poster wanting Nuno out would be the killer evidence to prove otherwise.

 

[Del Woppio]

Ten year contract ffs. Get some counselling. The bloke wil forever be a legend, but he'd done his chips. Teams had figured out how to stop us countering, and he couldn't come up with a second plan. He could've been given longer, but nobody other than his wife believes that he could have turned it round, and freshened up something that been getting progressively more stale for over a season's worth of football. I'm actually glad he went before it got toxic like mick suffered through.

I don't particularly disagree with the notion that Lage is in a similar boat either tbh. I'm not sure I'd sack him just yet, I'd leave it a few months, but at the same time if he was binned off on Monday I'd probably be quite excited

 

[Tony Towner]

I think being shit is being confused with downing tools under Nuno. Not defending last season as it was dull, dull, dull, but there's only Burnley and Utd at home where I'd look at a collective lack of effort, the latter after Nuno leaving was already known.

 

[PuntsWolf]

Wouldn’t say they’ve downed tools this season either. We just aren’t very good and statistical anomalies have papered over it

 

[Lycan]

They definitely downed tools against Brighton. Not in a 'out to get the manager sacked' way but in that whiney, mopey way when it wasn't going well for them.

 

[Tony Towner]

I think you could debate it for a few games. For me there is no debate against Brighton though

 

[AndyWolves]

Villa is the only game in recent history where they actually looked bothered. There are obviously loads of reasons why players may look like they're bothered or not.

 

[PuntsWolf]

Leeds we fell apart, Newcastle we just had an awful front 3, limited Cundle and Marcal. Burnley we just don’t know how to score. Don’t think we didn’t try in any of those.

Brighton was just like Palace. More physical, more mobile, better on the ball, pressed us and we have no answer. Particularly with a Hwang/Silva/Donck front 3 and an unfit Neves. I only really had Jonny in that game as downing tools. The rest were just demoralised as Lycan says and shit.

Chelsea we tried. City we tried until we were demoralised after getting spanked. Norwich we were just shit, again having no way to score a goal.

That’s how I see it anyway.

Just don’t think we’re very good which Stems from the managers deficiencies rather than the players not trying.

 

[Templeton Peck]

I think being shit is being confused with downing tools under Nuno. Not defending last season as it was dull, dull, dull, but there's only Burnley and Utd at home where I'd look at a collective lack of effort, the latter after Nuno leaving was already known.

West Brom at home
Chorley

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

I wouldn't say we didn't try against Albion. We had tons of chances in the first half, should have been out of sight. Defended calamitously but still didn't really deserve to lose, the first penalty was a joke (not a foul and not in the box) and Gibbs then got away with literally catching the ball.

It all got very muddled after we went behind in the second half what with taking Coady and Neves off, and we didn't react well enough (Cutrone had our only real big chance, should have buried it) but that wasn't a lack of effort.

Chorley was indeed terrible from almost all concerned (I'll give Ruddy a pass for a couple of saves and Vitinha for the goal, none of the others though).

 

[Tredman]

Bruno is forever waffling about how we spend most of the time in training focusing on attack. You can really tell that over the last few games, as the defence has looked shambolic - a lot of the team are being sold down the river due to lack of preparation. I think it was Doc who said, with Nuno, the players always knew where to be to prevent attacks as Nuno had prepped them very well.

 

[big mean bunny]

I am on the other side. I will never be convinced that we needed to move on from Nuno or he had been figured out. People just ignore the Jiminez game we started with a back 4. He had seen and spoken of the need to change, his reverting was caused by having Silva and Jose as options.

This season, with players added, Raul with a manager he had his most success with, there is nothing to indicate we wouldn't have been better off other than the Sa/Rui debate. Baring in mind as great as Sa has been Rui has looked to have rebounded and is in a European final.

 

[Deano]

Sa is way better than the current version of Patricio.

 

[PuntsWolf]

Exactly @Tredman . Our attacking has got no better, but our over performing defenders and GK have stopped over performing. Saiss has gone back to being bang average, Coady back to being extremely limited defensively (why are you letting Pukki come back inside just because you were too scared to engage him? Seriously bad defending) and Kilman has got injured/ lost form.

Sa would have saved KDBs first two goals a few months ago but now his foot to the ball knocked it into the top corner stopping Coady clearing it.

EP will tell me it’s just revisionism but I don’t think it is, I’ve been pretty consistent with my views about false position etc. Even so, I don’t necessarily think it’s wrong to look back at things when the evidence increases. The underlying stats aren’t really changing it’s just the results, so that supports that we’ve never actually been that good.

 

[NicholasG1973]

Sa is way better than the current version of Patricio.

I bet Patricio didn’t cost us as many goals in his final season as Sa has in this one…….

Just saying.

 

[Tredman]

Did you actually watch his last season?

 

[Newbridge Wolf]

1 year ago since they announced Nuno leaving according to my memories.

Also 4 years since Shaun Wane announced he was leaving Wigan, bad day the 21st May!

 

[PuntsWolf]

Patricios PSxG was horrific last year because pretty much any shot on target went in. Much like Sa’s is ridiculously high this year contains an element of luck it also has to be Skill as well. Patricio was probably unlucky but was not playing well either.

The Norwich goal Ruddy conceded is a good example. That was the sort of goal Rui was conceding and you could say “he’s wrong footed” or “unsighted”. But good keepers playing well either don’t find themselves wrong footed/unsighted or still get down and make the save anyway.

Rui wasn’t necessarily making howlers, just wasn’t making any saves either.