Roberto Di Matteo

[Tommo_b]

We spent £50 million which is a lot you could argue, but with the inflation in player prices, is 50 million really enough to buy you top quality players to replace near enough a whole starting 11? It's almost like we needed to spend that and possibly more, just to get back to square one. 

Every other team in this division has started the season with a settled squad, the teams from league one are coming up bouyant, Norwich and Newcastle came down but they were still miles ahead of our team last season, guess what I'm saying is, that 50 million was spent on playing catch up and trying to rectify one of the worst squads in premier league history, has it improved us? Yes, will it get us promoted? Possibly not, but the foundations of a better squad have been laid, and for me that's better then anything the last 5 years have served up and I look forward to RDM moulding this team.

[cbr600rr]

a five year demise wont be fixed in one season,the club his rock bottom last year, RDM has had to get rid of the rubbish & try to rebuild the club again

one side of me says we should be doing better with the spending & the other side is saying he needs time, i dont think this team will get promoted but next year?.. who knows?

if this current team was the the prem it would be bottom 5 for sure, it needs time unless your going to do a "man city" project

[Mantis]

1 hour ago, DCJonah said:

Sherwood turned out to be very shit. But for a very brief period it was fun. More fun than it had been in years. 

Yeah it was but he really was dire and I think some people let that couple month period where we were good cloud their judgement.

In fairness though, we had a good spell under Lambert too in 2013.

[Vincenzo]

Not all our players are match fit enough to play with all the attacking players he wants to fit in.

Championship teams run for 90 minutes plus and our players have got knackered at the end of games. That's why we have conceded so many late goals

He's changed it recently to backup the defence when needed. As the match fitness of players like Tishbola and Amavi etc improves so will we....I hope

[Demitri_C]

10 hours ago, cbr600rr said:

a five year demise wont be fixed in one season,the club his rock bottom last year, RDM has had to get rid of the rubbish & try to rebuild the club again

one side of me says we should be doing better with the spending & the other side is saying he needs time, i dont think this team will get promoted but next year?.. who knows?

if this current team was the the prem it would be bottom 5 for sure, it needs time unless your going to do a "man city" project

Absolutely if we were in premier league with thia team we would definitely get relegated. But as discussed weeks the ultimate goal is promotion and then im sure xia will authorise funding for better players.

[rubberman]

I hope we've seen the end of the back 3 experiment and will firmly move back to the attack minded line-ups.  I'd have taken a draw with the geordies before the game and the way we came back should start to rebuild the confidence.

I'd keep Gestede to come on from the bench and hopefully we'll see McCormack and Jack back.  Fully expect 2 wins this week and everything to start looking more optimistic.

[ender4]

 

The most expensive team ever assembled in the Championship. 

Even if we started with zero players, i would expect £50mill+ to have a squad good enough to be mid-table after 20% of the season.

i don't think mid-table is asking for much.

[srsmithusa]

On 9/23/2016 at 18:03, perchman said:

Hello, first proper post. Figured here's as good a place as any (I have introduced myself in the welcome thread)

The only thing that worries me is looking across and seeing inaction in the dugout, it just brings back too many horrid memories. I'll never forget seeing Wilkins sat there almost looking on with bemused joy at the 11 headless chickens during some of our games last season, sat there thinking what an easy pay check.

If RDM isnt the sort to show a lot of passion in the technical area, some one needs to be. I just don't see any passion from the dugout, how can there not be, I watch my sons under 11's and nearly pass out from the adrenaline rush. I just don't get how you can profess to care and not even show it....a bit..... and I'm very disappointed in Steve C for this.

 

Maybe I'm the geezer that's been cheated on too many times and I'm looking for the next lie, but something isn't right in that dug out.

 

 

I think it's more fun  and entertaining to see a frantic "passionate" leader on the bench, I'm not sure it's always the best.  Like, for example, if your team is lacking confidence and self-believe... being up yelling and gesticulating and "coaching" can feed the desperation and confirm the self doubts.  "he thinks we can't even decide when to make a run..."

So, bottom line I don't care if the manager gesticulates, sits on his hands, or stands on his head, or sips an adult beverage in the skybox.... just win.

[srsmithusa]

On 9/23/2016 at 18:03, perchman said:

Hello, first proper post. Figured here's as good a place as any (I have introduced myself in the welcome thread)

The only thing that worries me is looking across and seeing inaction in the dugout, it just brings back too many horrid memories. I'll never forget seeing Wilkins sat there almost looking on with bemused joy at the 11 headless chickens during some of our games last season, sat there thinking what an easy pay check.

If RDM isnt the sort to show a lot of passion in the technical area, some one needs to be. I just don't see any passion from the dugout, how can there not be, I watch my sons under 11's and nearly pass out from the adrenaline rush. I just don't get how you can profess to care and not even show it....a bit..... and I'm very disappointed in Steve C for this.

 

Maybe I'm the geezer that's been cheated on too many times and I'm looking for the next lie, but something isn't right in that dug out.

 

 

I think it's more fun  and entertaining to see a frantic "passionate" leader on the bench, I'm not sure it's always the best.  Like, for example, if your team is lacking confidence and self-believe... being up yelling and gesticulating and "coaching" can feed the desperation and confirm the self doubts.  "he thinks we can't even decide when to make a run..."

So, bottom line I don't care if the manager gesticulates, sits on his hands, or stands on his head, or sips an adult beverage in the skybox.... just win.

[TrentVilla]

With the squad we have the formation has to be 4-3-3 and with a proper midfield 3 not sticking in a forward there and hoping it works.

Di Matteo has to accept he can't play all the attacking players at the club and that includes some he signed.

[choffer]

16 hours ago, cbr600rr said:

a five year demise wont be fixed in one season,the club his rock bottom last year, RDM has had to get rid of the rubbish & try to rebuild the club again

I'm not sure that many of us are convinced of that.

Edited September 26, 2016 by choffer

[markavfc40]

16 minutes ago, TrentVilla said:

With the squad we have the formation has to be 4-3-3 and with a proper midfield 3 not sticking in a forward there and hoping it works.

Di Matteo has to accept he can't play all the attacking players at the club and that includes some he signed.

I disagree mate although I think 4-3-3 has its place in some games. I am not an advocate of playing centre forwards out wide to accommodate them but I do think we have the players to play 4-2-4 without putting square pegs in round holes and I do think it is the best formation to get the best out of the squad RDM has moulded which is very attack heavy.

I would go with a 4-2-4 with Jed and Tish in the middle, two of Ayew, Adomah or Grealsih out wide and Kodija and Gestede or McCormack up top. Ayew/Adomah/Grealsih are hard working enough to track back when required.

We started the season with pretty much that formation although with some square pegs in round holes but even so we dominated possession for a lot of games, creating plenty of chances. It was the fact we failed to take those chances, then sat deeper and deeper, and made some stupid mistakes both as individual players and tactically late in games by the manager, that led to us not securing the points performances deserved. It wasn't down to us starting games with a 4-2-4.

One thing is for sure RDM needs to scrap this 5-2-3 crap as it is too defensive and doesn't work. Since Forest got that late equaliser it seems Di Matteo has lost his nerve and gone negative and it needs to stop and we need to get back to utilising the squads strength which is in our attack and going at teams, pinning them back. The chances will again come, eventually we will take them and I can see us winning games comfortably.

The standard in this division is surprisingly poor and we need to have a bit more confidence in our ability and get back to doing what this squad is set up to do best which is attacking teams.

Edited September 26, 2016 by markavfc40

[BOF]

4-2-4 is a slightly terrifying prospect, but even within that conversation, the very least 4-2-4 must have is very disciplined and quality fullbacks.  We don't have that on both sides in the absence of De Laet, so I think it might be a non-starter.  I'm with Trent.  4-3-3 with a very expensive bench.

[terrytini]

Prefer Marks - Home and Away - but happy with Trents.

Whichever, for Gods sake get them drilled so as they know what they are doing !  Then stick with it (allowing for last half hour alterations depending upon the state of the game).......Unfamiliarity seems a bigger problem than anything else at present.  I can't account for the time and soace we gave Newcastle except for players not knowing their roles.

Players are definitely good enough.

[BOF]

Oh and 3 of our next 4 are away from home.  Just saying.

[TrentVilla]

31 minutes ago, markavfc40 said:

I disagree mate although I think 4-3-3 has its place in some games. I am not an advocate of playing centre forwards out wide to accommodate them but I do think we have the players to play 4-2-4 without putting square pegs in round holes and I do think it is the best formation to get the best out of the squad RDM has moulded which is very attack heavy.

I would go with a 4-2-4 with Jed and Tish in the middle, two of Ayew, Adomah or Grealsih out wide and Kodija and Gestede or McCormack up top. Ayew/Adomah/Grealsih are hard working enough to track back when required.

We started the season with pretty much that formation although with some square pegs in round holes but even so we dominated possession for a lot of games, creating plenty of chances. It was the fact we failed to take those chances, then sat deeper and deeper, and made some stupid mistakes both as individual players and tactically late in games by the manager, that led to us not securing the points performances deserved. It wasn't down to us starting games with a 4-2-4.

One thing is for sure RDM needs to scrap this 5-2-3 crap as it is too defensive and doesn't work. Since Forest got that late equaliser it seems Di Matteo has lost his nerve and gone negative and it needs to stop and we need to get back to utilising the squads strength which is in our attack and going at teams, pinning them back. The chances will again come, eventually we will take them and I can see us winning games comfortably.

The standard in this division is surprisingly poor and we need to have a bit more confidence in our ability and get back to doing what this squad is set up to do best which is attacking teams.

Always enjoy a discussion with you mate but honestly, I couldn't disagree more re 4-3-3 and 4-2-4.

I think 4-2-4 is right out of the Kevin Keegan book of tactics, which if you've not read it consists of 3 pages, one of which is a foreword by John Carver.

Yes Di Matteo has put together a very attack heavy squad but now he needs to mold a team and I'm afraid for me that means he needs to face up to the fact he can't play all of those attacking options. That will require some tough decisions and potentially leaving out someone he has paid a lot of money for.

I both agree and disagree with your third paragraph but would be repeating previous posts I've made if I cover that again.

On the rest I completely agree re 5-2-3 and Di Matteo having lost his nerve.

[markavfc40]

7 minutes ago, BOF said:

Oh and 3 of our next 4 are away from home.  Just saying.

Brian I genuinely see nothing to fear in this league. I have been pleasantly surprised at just how poor the standard is. I think had we have kept with the way we started the season which was very attack minded the performances would have yielded the results they deserved by now. Since that late Forest equaliser though the manager has lost his bottle. Certainly up until the last 30 mins of the Newcastle game.

Attack is where our strength lies so lets again play to that strength regardless of being home or away.

One thing is certain is if we persist with this 5-3-2 bollocks and continue to fail to win games then the manager is going to come in for some serious stick and the pressure will mount. Drawing games when you have had a real go and that is the least you deserve is one thing but when you have set up negatively and it is all you deserve then serious questions have to be asked, which in fairness plenty of supporters are.

[BOF]

FWIW I agree Mark.  The league is as bad as I thought it would be.  Unfortunately for a variety of reasons we've somehow been unable to capitalise on that.  I was just pointing out that if RDM is to save his own bacon and get this show on the road, he'll have to do it ... eh, 'on the road'

[VillaChris]

18 hours ago, Tommo_b said:

We spent £50 million which is a lot you could argue, but with the inflation in player prices, is 50 million really enough to buy you top quality players to replace near enough a whole starting 11? It's almost like we needed to spend that and possibly more, just to get back to square one. 

Every other team in this division has started the season with a settled squad, the teams from league one are coming up bouyant, Norwich and Newcastle came down but they were still miles ahead of our team last season, guess what I'm saying is, that 50 million was spent on playing catch up and trying to rectify one of the worst squads in premier league history, has it improved us? Yes, will it get us promoted? Possibly not, but the foundations of a better squad have been laid, and for me that's better then anything the last 5 years have served up and I look forward to RDM moulding this team.

We are not playing in the premier league anymore.

Most clubs spend 2-5m at this level, that's what the likes of SHA and Huddersfield do anyway.

50m should be more than good enough to compete at the top.

[markavfc40]

16 minutes ago, TrentVilla said:

Always enjoy a discussion with you mate but honestly, I couldn't disagree more re 4-3-3 and 4-2-4.

I think 4-2-4 is right out of the Kevin Keegan book of tactics, which if you've not read it consists of 3 pages, one of which is a foreword by John Carver.

 

Likewise mate.

My issue with 4-3-3 is that aside from Tish you are then looking at putting two sitting midfielders in alongside him, or three when he is missing, as that is all we have and I don't see the need for that in this league. I genuinely don't know but do many teams play with a genuine three in the middle in this league? I really don't think aside from maybe a handful of sides that the threat is there to require us to have three natural centre midfielders.

I don't advocate this playing Kodija or McCormack out wide. That to me is putting square pegs in round holes and accommodating players. Adomah is a natural wide player though and knows you have to track back and do the defensive side. I see Ayew now as more of a wide player than a central striker. Grealish is comfortable out wide.

I think you put two from Kodija, Gestede and McCormack up top, and play them as a genuine two then they will wreak havoc at this level. Defensively maybe we wil be vulnerable but if, as we did at the start of the season, we can pin team backs, play the game on the front foot and take the chances that will inevitably come then we can be comfortable in games and then make the changes to hold what we have and see the games out. Something we failed to do against Forest which then led to this overly negative approach and throwing the baby out with the bath water by the manager.

Edited September 26, 2016 by markavfc40