Ivan Juric

[sambosa75]

7 minutes ago, Chez said:

I can't argue with that, but posts like "the players are unfit" or "the players don't care" only seem to appear when we are losing. Defeats sure do hone the fitness detection eye. 

 

We are losing every week handsomely.  I think its a pretty valid conclusion to reach don't you?

[Convict Colony]

i just want us to fluke 3pts and break derbys total.

[saintant]

31 minutes ago, Chez said:

Whenever we are going through a shit patch "fitness" is blamed and all kinds of experts with amazing eyes for player fitness emerge.

Could it be that the players are fit, and they are trying too, but they are just not playing well, good enough, confident, winning etc...

If anyone believes we are as fit as the rest in this league they are watching a different game to me. It's all about opinions but I see a team that labours through every game while opponents such as Bmuff seem able to run and run for 90 minutes.

[trousers]

24 minutes ago, Fabrice29 said:

I think the post I quoted in the previous page sums up nicely the point I was making. 

I don't think it does but life is too short to argue the toss on a internet football forum.

Edited Wednesday at 15:24 by trousers

[trousers]

20 minutes ago, Chez said:

I can't argue with that, but posts like "the players are unfit" or "the players don't care" only seem to appear when we are losing. Defeats sure do hone the fitness detection eye. 

 

I guess that's because it's natural / logical to look for possible reasons why we lost when we lose.... There's logically no need for a post-mortem if/when we grab a (rare) win. Nevertheless, even teams that aren't fully fit will inevitably scrape a result every now and then.

Edited Wednesday at 15:24 by trousers

[TheAlehouseBrawlers]

It’s understandable that fitness levels are being questioned, the requirements of the PL are certainly on another level. Other sides just look, sharper, stronger and a yard quicker.

It’s also evident that when you’re on a winning streak everyone wants the ball, when you’re losing every week players go missing. Ridiculous for ‘professional’ footballers but how it is.

[Lighthouse]

2 hours ago, beatlesaint said:

You cannot be serious! Even RM used to make changes dead on 60 mins (or as near as) cos they were running out of steam (nothing to do with 2 days off a week and just passing the bloody thing around in little triangles in training I'm sure).

There is a reason everything is so slow and laboured, THEY AREN'T FIT ENOUGH !! A crap player who is being outclassed can still put in tons more effort than this shower of shite. Juric was on a hiding to nothing trying to get them fitter from mid-season onwards but whilst there have been the very odd sighting its by and large not changed.   

Lots of managers make planned changes on 60 minutes, when Leicester won the league you could set your watch by them bringing on Okazaki for Ulloa (or vice versa, I forget which), that doesn’t mean anything. 2 days off a week and just passing around in triangles in training is complete conjecture, I’ve nothing to say to that.

You can choose to believe that Martin let his mates have half the week of and that training was just a jolly for the lads if you like, but going by what we’ve seen on the pitch you would also have to accept that Juric has come in and changed nothing.

As it is I don’t think that’s the case at all, I don’t think our players are unfit and it’s not something I need to blame on either manager this season. Our players are quite simply outclassed, low moral and chasing around far superior players. I think some people underestimate the psychology of everything going to sh*t and being in a situation which you know is hopeless.

[Lord Duckhunter]

1 hour ago, Chez said:

posts like "the players are unfit" or "the players don't care" only seem to appear when we are losing.

We got 2 lucky wins, Everton should have scored & the Ipswich keeper had a Baz. Perhaps if we were fitter and the players cared a bit more, we’d be up with the mighty Ipswich. 

[Holmes_and_Watson]

3 hours ago, trousers said:

I don't think it does but life is too short to argue the toss on a internet football forum.

No, it isn't! 🙂

[danjosaint]

For me the concerning thing about Ivans tactics is not only is a shit formation for the EPL but whatever they are discussing and trying out with players in and out of possession. Last night I actually watched player movement as opposed to game in general and it was bizarre. I get the basis without the ball we fall into a 5 and with the ball we push full backs on, or a cb will step into midfield.what is baffling is there is literally no shape or cohesion. You have Aribo playing lcb but in 2nd half he broke away as the left winger and low and behold it was Bree i think on the edge of there box, smallbone had filled in at cb, the amount of times certain cbs were the furthest forward, hence when Downes got caught out for 2nd the cb was ahead of him and downes was on his own trying to recover. Our cbs where everywhere except in a solid shape, no wonder we get cut open through the middle several times a game, then chasing game we change to a false 9, really really bonkers, I'm not sure if it's down to this alleged multi man marking he prefers and they decide pre game who's marking who but yes the players are crap but you can understand why nobody seems to know where they're supposed to be positioned and it's a disorganised mashed up mess. It's so embarrassing watching Aribo and Smallbone a yard behind play trying to grab players like kids football. I liked what Ivan had to say at the start but my God how we found such an awful tactician is beyond me

Edited Wednesday at 18:54 by danjosaint

[trousers]

10 minutes ago, Holmes_and_Watson said:

No, it isn't! 🙂

*Trousers suppresses his inner Widow Twanky*

[Gloucester Saint]

2 minutes ago, trousers said:

*Trousers suppresses his inner Widow Twanky*

She’d still be quicker over ten yards than Smallbone 

[OnceaSaintalwaysaSaint]

11 hours ago, Appy said:

Still playing a back three when we have no decent centre backs or any centre backs really, shows what a naive, poor tactician he is. 

Was prepared to give him a few games to see what impact he could make, but having watched us concede 8 and score none in the last four days is enough for me. I get it he's on a hiding to nothing, I get it that some players have thrown in the towel but what I don't get is his inability to adapt and try new tactics.

He gives off an air of someone who wants out. That's understandable. He probably came in thinking he'd give it a punt and quickly realised his position was hopeless. But poor tactics and playing players out of position (why does he play Aribo at centre back?) tell me he isn't the one to lead us next year.

[EBS1980]

18 hours ago, Give it to Ron said:

Even though we didn’t sign a decent forward we needed? We need better physical players , pace, power and ability we have spent over 200m to have this shambles of a squad.

Last season recruitment wasn’t a problem. This season yes, we didn’t do enough to strengthen the areas we knew we were short. Too many gambles or players known not to be PL level

[Whitey Grandad]

On 26/02/2025 at 15:29, TheAlehouseBrawlers said:

It’s understandable that fitness levels are being questioned, the requirements of the PL are certainly on another level. Other sides just look, sharper, stronger and a yard quicker.

It’s also evident that when you’re on a winning streak everyone wants the ball, when you’re losing every week players go missing. Ridiculous for ‘professional’ footballers but how it is.

There was a comment in another game the other night,

”Nobody wants the ball and when they get it they don’t know what to do with it”