Go on, admit you were wrong

[Mike Oxlong]

I was right to think he was great when we were storming the league and now I’m right to think he’s tosh when we’re doing crap. I don’t believe I have ever been wrong 

[bmt]

6 minutes ago, funkyrobot said:

There are moments when Enzoball has been sublime. They are when our confidence is up and we play the game with pace and movement. The problem has been a reluctance to try any plan B in terms of tactics and players as teams have got wise to us and strengthened their teams in January. 
 

Enzo’s style needs a squad of outstanding footballers whereas we have a select few great players and a majority who are being asked to do something that realistically they aren’t quite able to do. None of our strikers have the skillset to both be a lone striker AND play some complex football deeper and under pressure, one of our number 8’s is actually a CDM destroyer, our left back is either a centre back or a right back who hates his left foot, our inverted right fullback is either a wingback or a back up DM. Our 1st choice wingers are with us because they haven’t shown the consistency needed at the highest level to back up their technique. We’ve become increasingly reliant on an hot headed impetuous central defender. Our bench is full of players even less suitable for Enzoball.
 

I guess Enzo was expecting a January window to correct many of these compromises but that soon became only 1 player and then that disastrously went to -1 players when PSR stopped the Sensi deal and Chelsea shithoused the Butch Casadei loan. It’s been a painful decline since this disappointment. Enzo’s game needs a squad of outstanding specifically skilled talent like at Man City and because of past transfer mistakes and a clampdown on PSR Enzo hasn’t been able to build this. 

Bang on

[Stadt]

Inexperience is fine if a manager is responding to situations they've never encountered before. Enzo is responding to sterile possession play by doubling down and not changing things up.

 

Inexperience can only explain so much, it's boring to keep bringing him up but McKenna isn't that experienced, he's just not as dogmatic.

[whoareyaaa]

No doubt he is a great man manager and comes across as that, I don't mind this style but when we need to change it up we don't and that's what's costing us right now as we look so lack lethargic at times and just keep doing the same thing over and over again.

 

Surely a manager should be able to adapt the system and another forward get more men forward, not we must keep passing as teams like Millwal will happily take that.

 

I think in the Prem it would be different as most teams will attack regardless and that opens up the games a bit more

[Tommy Fresh]

4 minutes ago, whoareyaaa said:

No doubt he is a great man manager and comes across as that, I don't mind this style but when we need to change it up we don't and that's what's costing us right now as we look so lack lethargic at times and just keep doing the same thing over and over again.

 

Surely a manager should be able to adapt the system and another forward get more men forward, not we must keep passing as teams like Millwal will happily take that.

 

I think in the Prem it would be different as most teams will attack regardless and that opens up the games a bit more

Yeah this is my sort of thinking, I don't mind the style as such, just the seemingly complete reluctance to mix it up as and when required.

[The boy Linacre]

2 hours ago, BenTheFox said:

To be honest, I got a bit giddy about him simply because he said a lot of the right things and wasn't Brendan Rodgers. Our performances have been underwhelming for most of the season and they certainly haven't gotten better. 

 

I still quite like the bloke, but his football is stifling us massively. 

And aside from the points deduction, unless there is wholesale personnel changes IF we go up, that lot or most of it, will get severely found out REPEATEDLY in the Prem.  Many of them have some serious confidence and intelligence issues and desire.

Last night was about who wanted it more, we know the answer, and then its the bosses job to change it.  I was at Ashton Gate, he didn't have clue.  Presume by what I have seen last night was repeated.

[WoodyFox]

Plays one of the best RWB's in the prem let alone championship in CM

[Kierzz]

I am a fan overall of Enzo as I think he has taken on a big risk to change our style of play and challenge our current players to completely changed the way they normally play (e.g. Ndidi in the No 8 role).

 

He has also significantly improved KDH and other players (I don't think this is simply because they have dropped down a league level).

 

We are struggling at the moment but still top of the League despite the chaos going on off the pitch which is bound to affect the players. 

 

However, Enzo needs to improve his tactical tweaks during games to influence results. Maybe he will argue he doesn't have good enough options on the bench to change round the team and strategy during games. All he seems to do is move his inverted full back from inverting alongside the deep lying playmaker (Winks) to inverting alongside the No 8s (KDH and Ndidi). He needs to get better at this - Pearson and even Ranieri were brilliant at tweaking shapes and players to turn games and secure results.

 

Guardiola players a similar style and is the master of changing things round during games to secure a win. So Enzo's style of play isn't influencing his inability to do this.

 

 

[grobyfox1990]

30 minutes ago, funkyrobot said:

There are moments when Enzoball has been sublime. They are when our confidence is up and we play the game with pace and movement. The problem has been a reluctance to try any plan B in terms of tactics and players as teams have got wise to us and strengthened their teams in January. 
 

Enzo’s style needs a squad of outstanding footballers whereas we have a select few great players and a majority who are being asked to do something that realistically they aren’t quite able to do. None of our strikers have the skillset to both be a lone striker AND play some complex football deeper and under pressure, one of our number 8’s is actually a CDM destroyer, our left back is either a centre back or a right back who hates his left foot, our inverted right fullback is either a wingback or a back up DM. Our 1st choice wingers are with us because they haven’t shown the consistency needed at the highest level to back up their technique. We’ve become increasingly reliant on an hot headed impetuous central defender. Our bench is full of players even less suitable for Enzoball.
 

I guess Enzo was expecting a January window to correct many of these compromises but that soon became only 1 player and then that disastrously went to -1 players when PSR stopped the Sensi deal and Chelsea shithoused the Butch Casadei loan. It’s been a painful decline since this disappointment. Enzo’s game needs a squad of outstanding specifically skilled talent like at Man City and because of past transfer mistakes and a clampdown on PSR Enzo hasn’t been able to build this. 

Great post, you cannot discount the times we have ripped teams to shreds. Soton, Blackburn (at the time), Norwich all top 6 teams dispatched with ease away from home. Preston at home was belting. 

Only part I'd disagree with is 'needs a squad of outstanding footballers' - I think he has that, at this level. There's a good few teams I could get a game for at this level. Most teams' players are physically weak, unfit and unable to control a football.

[David Hankey]

If anyone thought Enzo was the 'Messiah' having never managed a football club before must be deluded.

 

No doubt, he learnt a lot under Pep but there is a hell of a lot of difference between that situation and coming here.

[Footballwipe]

43 minutes ago, Stadt said:

Inexperience is fine if a manager is responding to situations they've never encountered before. Enzo is responding to sterile possession play by doubling down and not changing things up.

 

Inexperience can only explain so much, it's boring to keep bringing him up but McKenna isn't that experienced, he's just not as dogmatic.

IDK why some of our fans love to use "inexperience" as if it's a get out. There's a similar narrative about Top.

 

We've been consistently one of the top 20 teams in England over the last decade. It might be a "hot take" but I don't think we should be a breeding ground for people to learn their trade. Either we think they're good enough to manage/lead us or not. This sport, at this level, does not allow time for "inexperience."

[Matt]

From the moment we were linked his strong associations with Pep and Man City were always red flags and cause for concern for me, I put all concerns to one side and generally I’ve enjoyed this season and how we’ve played for the most part, this is coming from someone who despises possession based football, however those concerns are coming to roost.

 

Edited 10 April by Matt

[LC1884FC]

38 minutes ago, WoodyFox said:

Plays one of the best RWB's in the prem let alone championship in CM

This isn't the issue ffs. Ricardo can play wherever he wants in this league and still be one of the best players in the division.

[Pita]

When plan A is no good we are in trouble as no plan B. He needs a long hard rethink 

[Hammo]

I find his ‘idea’ of playing football sound in theory but often tediously dull and predictable in practice. His biggest flaw though is his unwillingness and/or inability to change and adapt - especially during games - when things are going against us.

 

However, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. If he gets us promoted, he will have been a success. If he doesn’t, he will have been a failure. Black and white. Simple as that. 

[SystonFox]

we were on track for record points. not just nicking it we were due 116+

now we might not even finish top two.

 

i love this club and i have enjoyed this season but my word you try and argue against that?! last nights performance was one of the worst i've seen in years! its bournemouth at home last season bad. its southampton away, watch and analyse the game, bad. its losing 2-1 to hull on opening day after being crowned champions 10 weeks prior. its stoke away on a sunday afternoon whilst they got promoted to the big time and we go down to league 3.

 

football eh?

[squidsworth]

He's not responded to our problems, comes across as having blind faith in his own abilities, a bit like the last person in the hot seat. Never for one moment considering the worse will happen,  but traction is a dangerous thing, there is a point of no return. 

And it seems that is where we are at, yet again.

I fear the only thing he will be winning, is a big slice of humble pie, and if that's the case, hope he is also served his P45 for dessert.

[kingfox]

We knew what his philosophy was going to be like from the outset, winning 13/14 at the start of the season and cruising at the top, it’s very hard to be critical when things are looking so rosy. 
 

But once the losses start to come in and the wheels begin to fall off, it’s very easy to question whether Enzo Maresca is all that. 
 

When things start to go wrong with a possession based system, it quickly becomes apparent just how boring possession based football can be. Once opposition teams work you out, more often than not they’ll play a defensive compact shape, and try and catch you out on the counter. It also becomes increasingly difficult to break teams down, which in turn makes our possession based football look rather tedious. 
 

However it’s nothing new to us, we’ve seen it all before with Puel & Rodgers, we know how the story goes by now.

 

Unfortunately Maresca is cut from a similar cloth, a good chunk of the fanbase have just become burnt out from having to watch a possession based style. 
 

It’s been tried and tested at this football club, we’ve had numerous successes, but when push comes to shove, it always leads the same way, with fans becoming increasingly bored as time goes on. 
 

A different style needs to be implemented at this football club, but unfortunately King Power seem adamant to stick with a possession based principle. 

[Nalis]

Not having a go at this OP in particular but I often find threads like these never meet the desired outcome for various reasons. 

 

They are usually aimed towards a few unnamed people and those unnamed people either fall into the camp of saying nothing at all because they know they were wrong and would rather say nothing, or those that kind of what to post but do not want to admit they were wrong and end up fighting a losing battle so don't post - and we know there are quite a few people in general on here who hate admitting they were wrong.

 

So what you end up with is a load of similar minded people posting who were in a sort of large centre ground, and no one ends up 'winning'.

[ourla]

I think the whole concept of this thread is wrong.

 

He's a rookie manager - whose only previous spell as a #1 was fairly short and unsuccessful. Our squad/club was in turmoil. I didn't get a great deal of positivity/confidence on here before the season started. And if he hadn't come from Man City and worked with Pep expectations would have been even lower.

 

As it happens he/we did great in those opening months and people, quite rightly IMO, got quite excited. Suddenly we are going to walk the league. Except life ain't like that and we've had some losses, lost some of our swagger, etc.

 

Of course people have figured us out a little bit, of course Enzo is struggling a bit, he's a rookie.

 

I accept the style of play isn't always a great watch and maybe we don't have the players/squad for it but changing too much has risks too. I hope we can just hold it together and get it done, Then we can think again.

[trooky]

No, it's his first season and proper job.

 

He's made mistakes, doesn't trust some of the squad and as a result the starters are running on empty and loosing form at the wrong time.

 

He's also inherited a squad, with many of the players out of contract soon, so how committed are they?

[Death by Football]

I don't like his rigidity of playing style but think he can still come good.

It's fine to hire an inexperienced manager with strong ideas of how he wants to play.  You can't make it as a manager if you don't have belief in your way of doing things.

But to do that I think you need the guidance of a real Director of Football with actual experience of the game who can offer some advice from time to time on how things can be improved and be a sounding board for the manager.  We have no football people at the top of the club so to an extent the tail wags the dog.

[Gamble92]

It's actually more I told you so from me. Although I wouldn't actually say I told you so. 

 

I feel like every single bob decision this club have made in the last few years I seem to have called and they haven't. Disgrace. 

[Stadt]

The Pep comparisons are weird because he relentlessly changes things, he has a philosophy but he's not wedded to an 'idea' in the same way Enzo is. You'd think EM would have learned that.

 

It's like Enzo's 433/3241 is the end itself rather than the means. Hopefully him actually putting two forwards on (albeit for about 8 minutes) is tacit admission we can't blind fully carry on like this.

[chapero82]

1 hour ago, Kierzz said:

I am a fan overall of Enzo as I think he has taken on a big risk to change our style of play and challenge our current players to completely changed the way they normally play (e.g. Ndidi in the No 8 role).

 

He has also significantly improved KDH and other players (I don't think this is simply because they have dropped down a league level).

 

We are struggling at the moment but still top of the League despite the chaos going on off the pitch which is bound to affect the players. 

 

However, Enzo needs to improve his tactical tweaks during games to influence results. Maybe he will argue he doesn't have good enough options on the bench to change round the team and strategy during games. All he seems to do is move his inverted full back from inverting alongside the deep lying playmaker (Winks) to inverting alongside the No 8s (KDH and Ndidi). He needs to get better at this - Pearson and even Ranieri were brilliant at tweaking shapes and players to turn games and secure results.

 

Guardiola players a similar style and is the master of changing things round during games to secure a win. So Enzo's style of play isn't influencing his inability to do this.

 

 

Change out style of play??? It’s the same as the last few seasons