AyeDubbleYoo Posted January 21, 2020 Share Posted January 21, 2020 Going to win the FA cup imo. Popped in to my mind a while ago, with this luck and everyone else being bad, it could happen. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disco Posted January 21, 2020 Share Posted January 21, 2020 Going to win the FA cup imo. Popped in to my mind a while ago, with this luck and everyone else being bad, it could happen. Draw is extremely favourable to the top end of the PL. In theory it’ll be a strong last 16. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The College Dropout Posted January 21, 2020 Share Posted January 21, 2020 This is Pardew-esque. He’s done well to keep morale high but boy are we getting the rub of the green. This season will be enough to get him another PL job when we get relegated next season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
toon25 Posted January 21, 2020 Share Posted January 21, 2020 He’s just a fat Tony Pulis. MA’s wet fucking dream. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sean Posted January 21, 2020 Share Posted January 21, 2020 Schar for Joelinton sub changed the game Did he actually come on for Joelinton? Seems like he definitely showed him how to do his job if so. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just a propheteer Posted January 21, 2020 Share Posted January 21, 2020 Bruce hoping Saint Maximin and bentaleb can play against Oxford. Only good thing I will say for him is it's so good to be treating these cup games seriously Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Away Toon Posted January 22, 2020 Share Posted January 22, 2020 What made 74 so terrible was that the mackems had won the year before and the semi final was the best game I ever attended. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pata Posted January 22, 2020 Share Posted January 22, 2020 Haven't ever seen a run like this. Mathematically it shouldn't be possible to be this lucky. Liverpool are even luckier. Infogol ran 10000 simulations based on Liverpool's xG stats this season and the best one had them at 18 wins and 3 draws which would happen once in 800 seasons. The problem (?) is that they are really lucky and really fucking good while we are really lucky and absolute garbage. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willow Posted January 22, 2020 Share Posted January 22, 2020 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stottie Posted January 22, 2020 Share Posted January 22, 2020 I reckon we are now Rafa's defence, with better set pieces and a big slice of luck. Regarding the defence, it's as was, except that the best defensive striker in the league (Ayoze) has been lost. Miggy is doing an amazing job at covering lots of ground though. Today's were ping-pong stick it in the mixer, and we've seen some awful set penis ones, but our set pieces are way more successful now, league leading for goals scored even, and there is more to it than simply Andy Carroll. Bruce gets credit for this. My fear is of course is that Bruce will not be able to reconstruct the defence if players get sold or age or go down to long-term injury. The luck will surely run out as well. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeyt Posted January 22, 2020 Share Posted January 22, 2020 Schar for Joelinton sub changed the game Did he actually come on for Joelinton? Seems like he definitely showed him how to do his job if so. He did but Schar played centre mid and played better in that 10 mins spell than either of the Longstaffs Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Collage Posted January 22, 2020 Share Posted January 22, 2020 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The College Dropout Posted January 22, 2020 Share Posted January 22, 2020 I do think you create a fair bit of your own luck. Managers like Bruce and Pardew can sometimes build really great team spirit and morale, with determination you get the rub of the green more often than not. You make good chances harder for the opposition. Make the most of yours. Often it’s by not over complicating things. That’s where our biggest failures like Souness and SMC failed. One couldn’t build team spirit because he fell out with players. The other over complicated things and couldn’t motivate and build momentum. For Bruce It’s when they’re genuinely unlucky. Heads drop. Players start questioning their methods or the motivation wanes they can’t turn it around. But for now it’s working and he deserves credit for it. Worse managers would be in deeper trouble. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
samptime29 Posted January 22, 2020 Share Posted January 22, 2020 We've defo improved on set pieces - we look more threatening and we're scoring more goals. Team morale looks good, we've picked up a reasonable amount of points from behind, and you can't accuse the team of a lack of effort. Bruce has no attacking identity. No evidence he's improved our passing/build up play etc. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve_69 Posted January 22, 2020 Share Posted January 22, 2020 The easier side of management is making a team hard to beat. I'm not suggesting anyone can do it, but organising a defence isn't rocket science. Plenty of very average managers have made careers for themselves out of building a solid defence and concentrating on scoring from set pieces - it's limited football manager 101. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrmojorisin75 Posted January 22, 2020 Share Posted January 22, 2020 The easier side of management is making a team hard to beat. I'm not suggesting anyone can do it, but organising a defence isn't rocket science. Plenty of very average managers have made careers for themselves out of building a solid defence and concentrating on scoring from set pieces - it's limited football manager 101. The key is getting the balance between putting the whole team in front of the opposition and actually being able to transition to attack then. We'd just kicked into gear and started that under Rafa, I suspect we're unlikely to see it in a hurry under Bruce. More likely we'll have more games where we score a few more and more where we get dicked. When he gets "his" players that is. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AyeDubbleYoo Posted January 22, 2020 Share Posted January 22, 2020 We also don't have Rondon and Perez, who were absolutely key to how we played. Seems this season is more hope for a counterattack with a couple of fast players, where under Rafa it was more structure and more based on winning the ball higher up. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RS Posted January 22, 2020 Share Posted January 22, 2020 https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/it-quite-refreshing-not-having-17609622 Refreshing. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
WarrenBartonCentrePartin Posted January 22, 2020 Share Posted January 22, 2020 https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/it-quite-refreshing-not-having-17609622 Refreshing. Fucking tedious. Haven’t added their own opinion at all. Not like he’s sanctioned the £40m signing of someone who clearly isn’t an out and out goalscorer, meaning we’re still embarrassingly light up front, Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Crooks Posted January 22, 2020 Share Posted January 22, 2020 All well and good saying that before the window is over. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TBG Posted January 22, 2020 Share Posted January 22, 2020 Clearly Rafa was all words and just wasn't actually man enough to stand up to Ashley unlike local Geordie Steve Bruce who on multiple occasions has pointed out that he's definitely in no way, not one way whatsoever a puppet Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackyboy Posted January 22, 2020 Share Posted January 22, 2020 Bruce, like Pardew, do okay until they change the team from what they inherited to build THEIR team. That's when it falls apart Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AyeDubbleYoo Posted January 22, 2020 Share Posted January 22, 2020 I wouldn't be surprised if some players liked Bruce more than Rafa TBH. Rafa's very formal and quite strict, even ex players who were successful under him don't always like how hard they were worked and how specific their instructions were. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nufcjmc Posted January 22, 2020 Share Posted January 22, 2020 It's ok Bruce no need for strikers we playing well: "If somebody better can improve the squad, then I’ll try and grab. But what’s the point if Andy Carroll and Dwight Gayle and (Yoshinori) Muto are going to be fit in the next two or three weeks? What’s the point of just bringing in someone if they’re not going to be any better? I’m going to be patient.” Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TBG Posted January 22, 2020 Share Posted January 22, 2020 He's got a point. How could we possibly do better than Big Andy and Gayle. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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