Roberto De Zerbi *OFFICIAL*

[SteveAWOL]

Is this is biggest pay day though?

Hopefully that £120m cash injection from the Lewis siblings last week isn’t going to be eaten up by RDZ’s pay-off because they were so desperate last season that they negotiated his contract with the astuteness of Charlie Kane!

 

[Welshspur60]

I am in a minority here who still thinks Solanke can be decent. Then again watching him today, he was flat footed and seemingly unfit when running back. Definitely one who needs to up his fitness and game.

No mate hes absolute gash. Never looks like hes got goalsv n him, and his career bar one fluke season shows that.
Never wanted him and hes done sod all to change my mind. A 65 million joke of a player.

 

[revlis]

Just dipping in briefly to say fudge off De Zerbi. Never wanted him, great times when we stayed up, but ultimately nothing has changed. Our players still look like they have no desire. Most of our play is pointless passing and no movement.

We've wasted over 300 million on "Premier League proven" without improving the team. The culture of not achieving is strong within this club.

We've gotten rid of some very promising players that could have been given a chance to develop (we're not winning anything this season, we'll struggle to be top half) instead of wasting money of Tonali and Marmoush. (Thank you Lewis family, hope you're enjoying it).

We've hired a manager with no track record beyond making "under dogs" play decent football. De Zerbi's style doesn't work when the opposition won't give you spaces to attack.

Relegation and owners fudging off would have been better.

See you in a year or two.

Oh no. You mean we won’t get to enjoy posts like this anymore?

,Back at my hotel room. Hate Ange, hate this team. Thought we might just fluke our way to a trophy, but no chance of that. Get the fudge out of my club you clam.

 

[SissokoWasGood (BoL)]

I am in a minority here who still thinks Solanke can be decent. Then again watching him today, he was flat footed and seemingly unfit when running back. Definitely one who needs to up his fitness and game.

Agreed. He’s been bad and I think like Tel the two of them are sort of risking giving up their shot at Spurs. Which is a real shame. But they need to improve whether that is fitness or confidence. I think Solanke ‘has it’ but he looked a class below the rest of the team today.

Overall though, I think we just need to score, when we’re putting in the massive physical exertion to swarm teams. That opens everything else up. It doesn’t need prime R9 to convert the chances we are creating. It just needs cool heads to get something over the line, not smashing something over or straight at the keeper.

It’s actually a very similar thing to Frank. I think I could understand what he was trying to do tactically as there were times before it really fell apart where we would have great periods in games and not score, and then concede when we were actually trying to defend. Frank seemed to want a first 15 of high intensity, where we’d look good, and then we’d manage to concede in the first half, then we had a lot of second halfs where we had the energy to huff and puff but couldn’t get a result because we gave ourselves too much to do, and had no possession game to speak of to actually worry the opposition anyway.

It feels like RDZ is going for a very high intensity first 30, to the point where if we don’t score then we are knackered. And even though we have a better possession game the players can’t raise themselves to get back into it. But I don’t think the tactics or the system or even the position the players are selected in is that wrong, I think it’s just execution. Games swing on goals, and we’re conceding at the worst possible time and failing to score when we create more than enough opportunities to do so.

If we can get in front like we intend, all of the press baiting and exploiting space in behind becomes way easier. We’re just failing to score. Players need to execute. And I’m not sure what the answer is other than them just chilling out when they’re in the box.

 

[Benny_Lad]

Agreed. He’s been bad and I think like Tel the two of them are sort of risking giving up their shot at Spurs. Which is a real shame. But they need to improve whether that is fitness or confidence. I think Solanke ‘has it’ but he looked a class below the rest of the team today.

Overall though, I think we just need to score, when we’re putting in the massive physical exertion to swarm teams. That opens everything else up. It doesn’t need prime R9 to convert the chances we are creating. It just needs cool heads to get something over the line, not smashing something over or straight at the keeper.

It’s actually a very similar thing to Frank. I think I could understand what he was trying to do tactically as there were times before it really fell apart where we would have great periods in games and not score, and then concede when we were actually trying to defend. Frank seemed to want a first 15 of high intensity, where we’d look good, and then we’d manage to concede in the first half, then we had a lot of second halfs where we had the energy to huff and puff but couldn’t get a result because we gave ourselves too much to do, and had no possession game to speak of to actually worry the opposition anyway.

It feels like RDZ is going for a very high intensity first 30, to the point where if we don’t score then we are knackered. And even though we have a better possession game the players can’t raise themselves to get back into it. But I don’t think the tactics or the system or even the position the players are selected in is that wrong, I think it’s just execution. Games swing on goals, and we’re conceding at the worst possible time and failing to score when we create more than enough opportunities to do so.

If we can get in front like we intend, all of the press baiting and exploiting space in behind becomes way easier. We’re just failing to score. Players need to execute. And I’m not sure what the answer is other than them just chilling out when they’re in the box.

This is how I’ve been speaking about it. It’s execution.

No other manager would get any more of a tune out of the players than RDZ got for the first 30 yesterday and against Everton. So then it’s over to the players.

Shots need to be on the corners, not straight at the keeper - think Savio. Decisions need to be better - Look at Archie Gray yesterday in the first half. He probably feels unlucky not to score there - but its poor execution. City or Arsenal just pull that back for someone to tap in.

Instinct - Kane had it in abundance, Lankshear has it. Richy has it a bit. Our players do not. It’s written all over their data. It’s no fluke when you see certain players always stood in the right place (the POMO - position of maximum opportunity - as Allardyce calls it). Watch when we cross from one side, the other wide forward is so often in a position where it would be almost impossible to score from. Brennan Johnson was good at that. Literally 5 or 6 free goals a season.

And as you say, timing is everything. Get one of these moments right in the early stages against Everton or Villa and it’s probably a comfortable win. That will have RDZ rearing his hair out.

I’m not sure these players have it in them. Ultimately we’ve frozen out our top scoring striker from last season and not replaced his goals. It’s a novel way of doing things.

 

[Bishop]

Yes, bought Palhinha, not bought Tonali (Bentancur can do his job).
Kept Spence, not got Robertson
Kept Vuskovich over Sensei & Tosin
Sold Richi and Solanke, spent the 100M saved from Tonali plus whatever we get on a top tier striker, kept Lankshear
Bought a #10

Lots of decisions that in hindsight start to look really bad if this doesn't turn around quickly.

And it's not just RDZ neck on the line now, surely the Vinai/Lange review is up again?

I get that you're saying you're not particularly happy with the summer business but why would you resign Palhinha if you want to improve the passing game and chances created? He doesn't add that and we know this from what he is as a player and what we saw with our eyes last season.

I personally I would have kept Spence but not for the left hand side. We needed an actual LB and whether that was getting in Robertson or just trusting in Souza I don't mind but Spence should have this season only been available for the right hand side.

I get why we didn't sign a 10 as we have 3 of them already. Buying a 4th would have been questionable but then they actually did try and buy a 10 hybrid in Ndiaye so TBF you kind of can't criticise the lack of the additional 10 when we did almost get him.