Tiresias

I honestly think he thought all he had to do was come in, say "time to take the handbrake off lads" and we'd cruise to top 10 and a cup or something. Moron.

I won't slag off our players too much, Messi wouldnt even get played and when he did he would be at left back coached by Bruce.

Honestly can see a fluke win, man u are awful.

Have we seen one single bit of evidence of any attempt at a 'positive' attacking bit of football? Rafas tactics by the way were definitely cautious but was about making us a very difficult to break down unit for a platform to attack from. We scored plenty of goals second half of last season. Calling them Negative is silly, we were never a Pulis side or anything. As for team unity it was beyond clear that teh squad would run through walls for Rafa. It's probably because he's let Colback and Shelvey back into the fold more.

Basically he's come in, seen all this fancy defensive drilling and highly detailed planning his predecessor put in place, decided that's worthless so taken us back to basics and just work hard and show pride etc, then every time it goes wrong it's back even further to basics until presumably at end of the season we are hunting wooly mammoths with sharp sticks or something.

To be fair it's kinda a win win, do well for a year or two before leaving as no chance of investment you look good and within your rights to jump ship for better offer, fail miserably, well the clubs a shambles you can't be blamed

Another relegation won't see him sell up. It will take a sustained spell in the Championship - once all of the TV cash has gone, and there are no assets left so sell. And he will still expect £350m

What irritates me is the sense from bits of the media etc that seem slightly sympathetic about the lack of ambition but think he's running it smartly from cost control point of view. The loss of sell on value from our squad who looked good last season to now would more than have paid for Rafas demands. He's bleeding money all for the sake of having a yes man in steve bruce rather than Rafa. Another season under Rafa and could have had some ridiculous fees for Lascelles etc and more than replaced them if he was actually shrewd. Instead we will be stuck with a wage bill in teh championship and a bunch of players ruined by dreadful coaching.

Just think of the millions of value dropping off our players for playing under Bruce compared to Rafa, millions and millions lost

Rafas fault for teaching them to tackle (yeah stupid tackle, red is fair)

Aaaah the old if you run directly at them let them through style of defending. Still good goal i suppose

de bruyne is god

George Caulkin was talking about Rafa not really enjoying how we played either but felt he had no choice with the resources at hand. Bruce is absolutely entitled to try a more attacking set up, but actually do it if you can rather than blame the previous guy, maybe it's possible. It's pretty clear he isn't up to it tbh. That display against Brighton, where he tries to turn the last 5 minutes basically as a positive... The mad pressure at the end of games where a homeside is desperately trying to score and both sides are too tired to defend properly is not a tactical blueprint for a full 90mins...

ASM is very good, but what a waste of a game. At home to brighton we clung on for 75 minutes. Not. Good. Enough.

Finally trying to press for the ball back off Brighton was going to say up the pitch but basically at all

Not like any of his options would have done out, if anything schar is our most accomplished shooting player

Love how the cliche is that proper british managers like bruce at least make the teams work hard, but we worked so much harder under Rafa and were more tactically astute. Rubbish.

In this day and age, at home against a team we should be competitive with, watching their keeper pass it out to their defence after a set piece while our whole team runs back to our own half to let them compose themselves and attack us has to be a criminal offence

Remember all the criticism Rafa got for low possession figures against man city and liverpool :lol:

Come on don't rule their goal offside, just let it happen. Players don't know their positions. Again. Plenty into the season. Absolutely pathetic.

Bruce's idea of pressing is standing about 6 ft away from them as they pass around

Lucky, they are starting to turn the screw.

My goodness What is 'it' though? What is the plan? We aren't doing anything at all I don't see any strategy at all

Come on Miggy one of those will go in one day surely

It's like we've never seen a high press before.