Deano will get criticism for getting it wrong which he has done lately, and he’ll get praise when he gets it right like the changes against Fulham.
I think it’s normal for fans to get frustrated at recent performances, we started off as one of the best teams in Europe and we were playing like one as well, I didn’t dream it, we looked bloody threatening every time we had the ball, 20-25 shots per game, we looked unstoppable, whatever Deano was doing it was working, the form from the end of last season carried straight through, even in the friendlies beating Arsenal and Man Utd.
Deservedly beat Liverpool who were lucky it wasn’t double figures, Smashed Arsenal 3-0 away, hard fought draw against Chelsea and Leicester, and the Manchester teams both got very lucky and cheated their way to wins.
I remember the old heads on here saying this form will drop and we’re playing well above our level, I didn’t quite believe it myself, We were on fire, how could we play this well consistently game after game and for us to drop back to relegation form after the new year with an easy run, and still not get out of that bad patch with the hardest run you could Imagine with 9 games to go (now 8 games)
Still have the 3rd best defence in the league, which in itself is a massive achievement for a team who were sinking goals left right and centre last season.
Konsa has the most blocks in the league, Martinez will equal Friedel’s record with one more clean sheet, Mings an England international and with the cockups he is big enough and man enough to pick himself up and sort himself out coming out the other end as a better experienced player for it, he’s still learning his game in the Premiership really, a late bloomer, Targett has gone from zero to hero this season, probably the most improved player and for me he’s got to be on the verge of a call up himself alongside Cash and Konsa.
So massive massive credit for Deano for getting that right and sorting us out defensively.
I’m sure he’s scratching his head himself, how we can play this badly after getting it so right to start with, and I’ve been saying he’s been making really poor choices in terms of making a change on the bench, and not really giving any other formation or tactic a go, he seems really stubborn in that department.
I really hope he’s just giving smoke in the media with transfers this summer, keeping fringe players such as Trezeguet (now injured), Traore and Al Ghazi a lift that they’re still well apart of the plans and it’s upto them to play themselves into form and keep the shirt.
Although we’ve got a recruitment team for a reason, Lange will be fully aware himself in what we need, with a decent transfer window this summer, with better players on the bench to actually change the game rather than swap players for like for like, I’m sure Deano will use the bench more and hopefully a few new faces in the first team too.