The Alfred Johansson Thread

[wellfan]

5 minutes ago, stv said:

That's exactly what the impromptu pitchside meeting looked like to me. I felt a bit embarrassed for the manager.

Trouble in paradise? Players losing faith in their manager. A manager who’s never actually done what he’s asking them to do. Perhaps that’s cynical, but that’s a possibility. 

[wellsince75]

A bit like having AI as a manager- he’s read all the text boooks , understand the theory but doesn’t have the experience of doing the role and suspect doesn’t have the ability to man manage .

He seems a decent enough bloke but he’s struggling .  Very similar to Hammell in that respect .

[couttsy]

Completely and utterly relieved to get out at 2-0, should have been far far more. 

My god we were so passive. To only commit 3 fouls at home against a team with 66% possession is a disgrace. McGregor could have played with his slippers on apart from 1 tackle that Hodge was carded for. We had to get closer and put some physical pressure on them. Playing through us with easy. 

Vogts can’t be seen again and we should not be starting games with SOD at centre half again. 

Next week we need to go back to basics and get our best players in their best position on the pitch. Would be great to see Priestman back, we’ve missed him massively.

I fear if we lose next week Alfred will lose the majority of the support and we’ll be heading into a relegation battle. 

[David]

1 hour ago, wellfan said:

Trouble in paradise? Players losing faith in their manager. A manager who’s never actually done what he’s asking them to do. Perhaps that’s cynical, but that’s a possibility. 

I'd probably believe the whole outdated "he's never played the game, so he doesn't have a clue" angle if our team was made up of "good honest laddies" who "run their socks off", but it isn't. It's made up of players who have been, for the most part, brought in because they understand the modern, progressive style of football we're looking to implement. They should be familiar with the type of coaching they're getting, and the modern analytical approach. And that includes a modern coach whose resume isn't built on playing for Luton Town, Bristol City, or any of the middling to lower-level clubs we have up here.

What we're going through is absolutely a process. We've lost a fair amount of our best players in the summer. We've had to replace them with new players, and unlike last year, when everything clicked and our purchases paid off big time mostly, we're not seeing as easy a transition this time around. 

It was always bound to happen, in my opinion. What we did last season is basically unsustainable for a club our size, but some fans are insisting on comparing the current team and manager to one of the best teams and managers we've probably ever seen at the club in modern times.

Remember back when Kettlewell was manager? And fans were saying that they simply expected a team on the park who can at least try to play some attacking football, give us something to be excited about, and look to challenge for top six? 

That's what we have. 

We were taken apart today by a team that has the resources and ability to bring players like Jota off the bench. Celtic were on their game, and could easily have taken four or five off us. If they play like that against the teams around us, they'll likely hand out a fair few hammerings. 

But at least we somewhat gave it a shot. I remember watching us under previous managers just sit back and hope to grab something. Today we at least had some flashes of football to watch, and a team that tried to do something. It didn't work out, but that's how it goes. 

In short, the football isn't anywhere near as eye-bleedingly bad as it has been, and we're still one of the better sides to watch in the league. I'm interested in seeing how the new players eventually settle in, see who makes the cut, see who really grasps the opportunity to replicate what others have done before them and win a big move, and see who will become a quiz question in 10 years time. 

At least watching Motherwell is enjoyable again. I'm liking how we're playing. Add in some decent results and we're all good.

 

[Motherwell Daft]

I said in an earlier post that he needs time, however we could be 2nd bottom next week..at what point to the board pull the pin after that?