Good managers will devise tactics that get the best from their players, those same Leeds players have done it under 2 managers with quite different styles of play.
Leeds players have done it under two different managers with two different styles, Wolves players have failed to do it under two different managers with different styles, in an attacking sense at least.
Which were meant to be the better group of players again?
I think Nuno did have a system that got the best from his squad, just that it was a very conservative brand of football that was heavily reliant on counter attacking in massive open areas for any attacking output. Not going to knock it's effectiveness but it's not my favoured brand of football, I do however think that's what this group of players, or at least an influential core of them, are best suited to.
Don't disagree with that, but would point out that 5 of yesterday's starting 11, plus 1 of the subs were bought for this manager. 1 game obviously isn't a fair sample size, but this is his team of International footballers, if he can't get a coherent attacking gameplan beyond trying to hope for a bit of individual brilliance then that's on him. I certainly wouldn't be giving him more than another half dozen games to prove he can at least show a pathway towards it
Be interesting to see if the new additions are more aligned to a quicker paced, more attack minded style of football. Sa we've seen has been a much better fit for how they now play than Patricio would've been, Collins looks comfortable enough in a four. Jury still very much out on Guedes and Nunes, can't for the life of me think who the fifth player is!
I think the international footballers tag is a bit of a red herring, it's not the quality I'm questioning but the suitability for certain tactics. Doesn't matter how good they are if they're just not on the same page.
I do worry there are big presences in the squad that are going to be big obstacles to full change, Neves being the biggest for me, Jimenez and Neto possibly others. It'll be seen as a mental move to those kind of players on but if they want big tactical revolution I think they might have to.
I still feel the players get off far too lightly in criticism too. Lage gets a lot of flack for his approach being simplistic, one dimensional, whatever but a lot of the time these players fail through inaction as much as error, in terms of movement and decisions at times it's almost nonexistent. No matter how bad anyone considers any manager to be surely no-one would accuse them of issuing the instruction to do literally nothing. Most of this squad has been at big clubs and/or big footballing nations, they should have a bit more wherewithall to do something from time to time even if they were given zero guidance from the coaches.
