AjaxAndy wrote: ↑Mon Apr 08, 2024 11:40 am
But we did win and that's really all that's important at this stage of the season. If we can scrape a draw against Chelsea it'd be 5 points in 3 games which is hard to argue with when every point matters.
True but saying we set up to win ugly is one thing.
Saying we set up to win by an absolute howler of a fluke by their goalkeeper instead of creating a goal ourselves… is another.
Unless people think he is genuinely claiming that was his plan?
At some point, and this is going to be hard for some to understand, we have to play football.
AjaxAndy wrote: ↑Mon Apr 08, 2024 7:03 pm
I think we're set up not to lose and hope we snatch a lucky win... Went to plan perfectly, just absolutely horrendous to witness.
True. But we also had a few good chances and look how fucking woeful we were at trying to convert them.
Bluenose91 wrote: ↑Tue Apr 09, 2024 8:25 am
I don't think we ever set up to not win a game to be fair to him? It's one of the things I've been pleasantly surprised about since he got the job.
The way we go about it and style of footy is obviously another debate but I don't think you can say he doesn't try to win games.
I don't think we mean it literally, but giving up on possession and letting teams hit us wave after wave has cost us points this season. When we've pressed and harassed we get the crowd going, create chances and look better all round. When you have Godfrey and Young as your right side, you just open the door to pressure. Dyche is Dyche and we won't change him, but that's a flaw, not his strength. We lose, our hearts get broken... he leaves a few million pounds better off
We'd be comfortably mid table without the points deductions. That is an improvement on where we've been for a while. Add to that having to deal with the negatives the deductions bring I think he's handled it well. I'm confident we would be more expansive had we been mid table with the sense of progress that would have brought.
I think we all want to see us pressing like earlier in the season, but the players don't have it left in the tank to do it. Doucoure was practically stumbling when trying to run after about 60 mins against Burnley. I know it's Ramadan but he has looked knackered ever since coming back from injury.
I'm not convinced there's any way of playing decent footy with this paper thing squad and everyone running on empty.
We do need to find something though as it feels a little like we're just hoping to get enough points rather than proactively looking to do so.
Harrison hasn't played the last 2 games, and he's genuinely shit, but hopefully the rest allows him to find some energy to give us the ability to press higher up. McNeil was pressing like mad second half too... If those 2 can do it then it'll help a lot.
bigmanbob wrote: ↑Tue Apr 09, 2024 7:49 am
One thing Dyche will never, ever do is change the way we play and our approach to the game. He's got absolutely no history of ever doing it.
For balance, and I know formation doesn't mean everything, but in our first 8 games this season he played 4411, 4141, 4132, 451, and 343. He's also played 4231 and 442 more recently. Whilst he's never really looked for high possession, he's also mixed up tactics with a high press, 11 behind the ball, and different counter approaches amongst a few others.
I'm not sure its fair to say he's a one trick pony.
It has been a reality check for fans over the past 2 years.
As a club, we are fighting for our lives. It's a very ugly fight, on and off the pitch, and you need people that have been there and done it.
Whilst we are in the trenches, he is a pretty decent, experienced managerial option.
We would all love to be more comfortable in the table, in matches, and in possession of the ball. And perhaps in the future when we are in a more positive state, Dyche will need to either adapt his football, or be sacked.
But for now, he is a steady hand, and is doing a half decent job when you add back the points deductions and all of the other nonsense that is surrounding the club. It cannot be easy.
football is awful and he is quite unlikable but he would have us on 35 points if it wasn't for the ineptitude above him and that's with a worse squad that the inept Lampard and Benitez had. I'm sure he would argue he would have us on more points if he had a squad to rotate in key areas, too.
Juanito wrote: ↑Tue Apr 09, 2024 3:51 pm
football is awful and he is quite unlikable but he would have us on 35 points if it wasn't for the ineptitude above him and that's with a worse squad that the inept Lampard and Benitez had. I'm sure he would argue he would have us on more points if he had a squad to rotate in key areas, too.
I don't think you can underestimate the impact on the team of all the uncertainty regarding points deductions and the mental fatigue from being in a relegation fight which wouldn't be the case but for the points deductions.
I think the only real black mark against Dyche for me was the long winless run and the Palace and Bournemouth games where the game plan was just horrible.
Other than that I can live with the football, especially given I feel like we've seen what the footy can be like under him if he has the players available and not completely exhausted by the demands placed on such a small squad... It wasn't necessarily pretty but it was fun and effective.
He does need to find us some points though in the important matches coming up, rightly or wrongly he'll ultimately be judged on if we survive or go down.
