Is Bruno Lage A Good Manager Or Should He Go?

[Deutsch Wolf]

Sam Allardyce got Everton to finish 8th. Pretty sure they were atrocious and no-one thought it was unfair that he got sacked.

 

[SSB]

there seems to be a significant number of people in the south bank who believe he hasn't been backed, and therefore the blame doesn't really lie at his feet.

I’ve not heard that much vocal grumbling come from the South Bank yet. Barmy Army is still being sang with his name in it.

 

[Elephant Pyjamas]

Sam Allardyce got Everton to finish 8th. Pretty sure they were atrocious and no-one thought it was unfair that he got sacked.

Point remains, if we were as poor as you (keep on) suggesting over the course of the season, we wouldn't be in the top half.

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

Yes we could be. Our goalkeeper has massively over performed on every stat out there. Thats why we are where we are.

 

[Jinky]

By the end of January, middle of Feb, we were on a high, a comfortable 8th in the league by several points, and everyone was raving about getting into Europe and how good our defence was. That's a good sign isn't it?

Surely the manager has to take credit for that if he's taking the blame for the last 3 months results? Particularly when most people weren't expecting us to be even in the top 10, and you in particular were convinced we were going to be relegated.

No-one is excusing our collapse since then, but equally you can't just write off the first 5 months worth of results this season.

I think most of us were delighted with the league position at Christmas/New Year, but also there were plenty of people that said we were somewhat over-performing, given the form of Sa and how many times he bailed us out. That along with a ridiculous run of results where we were creating such a small number of chances but somehow converting the 1-2 big chances per game we were getting, which in reality gave us an inflated points total. It was a completely unsustainable way of playing.

I think most predicted a drop off in points/results/form, but I don't think any of us expected such a stark and alarming drop. The reality is, we're going to finish mid-table but definitely on a downward slope. That's why people are calling for change.

EDIT: @Paddy, you are getting an annoying knack of posting similar points a minute before me

 

[Elephant Pyjamas]

Yes we could be. Our goalkeeper has massively over performed on every stat out there. Thats why we are where we are.

Is our goalie not part of our team then!?

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

Jinks summed it up above. A goalkeeper massively out-performing on every statistic and forwards scoring just about every chance they get is utterly unsustainable.

So our table position is actually more than a touch false.

 

[Elephant Pyjamas]

I think Lage has lost the dressing room and i would prefer him to be replaced rather than 10 players going in and out.

However i am so tired of reading we have been shit all season, it's a load of bollocks.

19 points from 24 is our highest return in this league since we came back up, there have been good performances this season, it's as though some of you are trying to say things enough times to make them true.

 

[Lycan]

I’ve not heard that much vocal grumbling come from the South Bank yet. Barmy Army is still being sang with his name in it.

Why does that matter though?

I was in the South Bank yesterday and sang Bruno Lage's barmy army. I still want him gone though. It's just noise, trying to create an atmosphere. Most of the fans I spoke to yesterday shared the same view as me, that his football is boring and he's out of his depth.

 

[Elephant Pyjamas]

Jinks summed it up above. A goalkeeper massively out-performing on every statistic and forwards scoring just about every chance they get is utterly unsustainable.

So our table position is actually more than a touch false.

It's not false though is it, Sa performed well and our players scored their limited chances.

They did what they did, it's not false at all.

It's unsustainable, but it isn't false! It literally happened!

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

An unsustainable league position boosted by ridiculous over performance on several stats is the very definition of a false stat.

 

[Tony Towner]

Why does that matter though?

I was in the South Bank yesterday and sang Bruno Lage's barmy army. I still want him gone though. It's just noise, trying to create an atmosphere. Most of the fans I spoke to yesterday shared the same view as me, that his football is boring and he's out of his depth.

Interesting.
It matters because it gives the impression to Jeff and co that the fans are behind him. Plenty of alternative songs to sing to create an atmosphere

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

I think Lage has lost the dressing room and i would prefer him to be replaced rather than 10 players going in and out.

However i am so tired of reading we have been shit all season, it's a load of bollocks.

19 points from 24 is our highest return in this league since we came back up, there have been good performances this season, it's as though some of you are trying to say things enough times to make them true.

Go on then, pick out 10 objectively good performances. You'll be doing a fair bit of reaching.

 

[Tony Towner]

Not that it really matters what anyone thought before we'd even kicked a ball.

I just think we haven't been as terrible as you say all season. Recent form is awful, previous form was good. I personally don't remember thinking we looked a horrible team before the Leeds game.

If we had finished the season in the top half with average form throughout then I think that the general concensus would be positive, but 11 points from our last 14 games, players obviously checking out, terrible team selections, none discernable pattern of play other than sideways, awful or none existent substitutions can't be ignored, neither can momentum. If we'd started the season with that record he'd have been sacked.

 

[AndyWolves]

I think Lage has lost the dressing room and i would prefer him to be replaced rather than 10 players going in and out.

However i am so tired of reading we have been shit all season, it's a load of bollocks.

19 points from 24 is our highest return in this league since we came back up, there have been good performances this season, it's as though some of you are trying to say things enough times to make them true.

I'm pretty sure all the post match verdict threads we're scathing at the time too.....

 

[Lycan]

Interesting.
It matters because it gives the impression to Jeff and co that the fans are behind him. Plenty of alternative songs to sing to create an atmosphere

I don't choose which songs get started and I'm not going to stand there in a grump refusing to sing because I don't like Lage. If a chant is going I'm joining in.

 

[The Bear]

Sa has been good but I don't think he's been exceptional or anything. He's been at fault for a fair few goals, plus conceding the most penalties ever by a keeper in a single season the Premier League.

He's allowed the entire defence to be better by being quicker to come off his line. He's also been a very good shot stopper.

As plenty of people like to say though, that's his job and I'd expect him to make the majority of the saves he does.

 

[Throbber2]

I don’t think Lage is up to much and he can’t get a tune out of the current squad. The fact that squad is likely to break up significantly this summer means it’s likely he stays and we get three or four under 25 Portuguese speaking midfielders and forwards ready to play a 4222 or a 4231. Next season is a tough one. Lage has already lasted much longer than many predicted . He is Teflon.

 

[Tony Towner]

Sa has been good but I don't think he's been exceptional or anything. He's been at fault for a fair few goals, plus conceding the most penalties ever by a keeper in a single season the Premier League.

He's allowed the entire defence to be better by being quicker to come off his line. He's also been a very good shot stopper.

As plenty of people like to say though, that's his job and I'd expect him to make the majority of the saves he does.

Most of those goals/penalties have happened over the last few months, which is the point really. YW called it first, the stats were so freakish in terms of GS and GC versus opportunities that there had to be a regression to the mean. If this is mean then we are are a relegation side - it's over 1/3 of a season

 

[Elephant Pyjamas]

An unsustainable league position boosted by ridiculous over performance on several stats is the very definition of a false stat.

A league table isn't a stat.

There aren't false positions after 37 games.