Johan Lange - appointed

[Footy-Vill]

Why is Lange making moves for a right winger in Sarr.
Or is this just a distraction as it's only a submitted bid with there no clear cut actual transfer.
It makes little sense unless they are seemingly saying it's an upgrade on Traoré who's being shipped out.

[eamonn]

Gerrard might have recommended we go for him. Don't always rush to blame our Johan!

[PaulTheVillan]

I don’t have a problem with Lange or Purslow. I think they’ve done their jobs well. Just need them to get the next manager appointment correct.

[Footy-Vill]

Anyone who critical of Gerrard has to also be critical of Lang and Purslow though.
Lange making moves now that are just any deal will do
If we sign Bednarek we're going the wrong way

[wittonwarrior]

Anyone who critical of Gerrard has to also be critical of Lang and Purslow though.
Lange making moves now that are just any deal will do
If we sign Bednarek we're going the wrong way

Totally agree 100%  Purslow's reputation in the game is dependent on Gerrard performing which he is not.  Why buy a winger when we don't play a wide game. 

[Footy-Vill]

Eriksen wouldn't come and is not required anyway. Damsgaard is not required and is a health-risk.

Johan has done a great job. Come on Footy, I thought you were a compassionate soul.

Well we see differently. Its a squad game.
And we have a major following in Scandinavia I believe more should be done in getting such top players of Scandia here and also give some of our players to these Nordic regions.
Alexander Isak of Sweden would be great striker for us.
Mohamed Daramy with Copenhagen connections why not bring him into fold. Being able to acquire those would suggest Lange is able to flex some influence outside of data profile players and established names he's done that woth two excellent acquisition of GK and Left back.

Anyway I hear no ill to Lange just would want a few more to help Gerrard squad to be competitive in the higher echelons.

Daramy only signed for Ajax last year, and is an Ajax player back on loan at Copenhagen for the season, so nothing doing there. Isak's record is a bit shit. I don't think we should be signing players based on their nationality to be honest.

Isak is class player. Lange needs to be watching him tonight scored and has all attributes to be very good..

[Drummond]

Anyone who critical of Gerrard has to also be critical of Lang and Purslow though.
Lange making moves now that are just any deal will do
If we sign Bednarek we're going the wrong way

No they don't.
You've no idea if that's true.
I agree, he's not good enough and we'd have been as well keeping Hause.

[kippaxvilla2]

Do you seriously believe that the Sporting Director is going off on jollies of his own and trying to buy players above the managers head?  And recommending we buy a £25m player without reference to anyone else?!

[OCD]

I don't think Lange should be beyond criticism.

With Grealish in the team, we were playing 4-2-3-1 or a variation of it. Once we sold Grealish, rather than keeping the shape the same and changing the personnel, we embarked on this scattergun approach to what the shape should be. Bringing Danny Ings in with no clear idea of how to get him and Olly Watkins into the same side. We tried several formations and the idea seemed to have been to change to a 3-5-2 (which inevitably becomes 5-3-2 when you're not a team packed with world class stars who are going to help you have the lion share of possession).

This change of shape was where all problems started.

We've then gone for a manager who believes the width should come from the full-backs, preferring 4-3-2-1 but changing to 4-3-1-2 to, again, try and accommodate both Ings and Watkins.

All this messing around with shape has led to the proliferation of players, bombing out of players and being stuck with unwanted players.

The owners have got a great philosophy of youth development but with said proliferation of players, it looks like we're blocking the pathways for the promising kids that we've got coming through.

In short, there seems to be a lack of joined up thinking between what's happening at senior level and with what's going on at the younger age levels of the club.

My point is this...as Sporting Director/Technical Director, why isn't there a drilled down blueprint that is there to be followed from the top down?

One where we know the shape we want to play (4-2-3-1 would be my preference) and we make appointments and signings accordingly.

No more making appointments because they make good presentations, have a detailed dossier of our players and generally interview well.

No more wholesale squad changes because we make an appointment who has beliefs about shape and tactics that go against said club philosophy.

No more players with potential having their pathways to the first team being closed off to them and generally few opportunities to impress (what was Gerrard expecting from Archer with 3 minutes on the clock yesterday?).

Gerrard is a symptom rather than the disease. The problem stems from higher up. While Purslow will cop his share of blame, he seems to be doing well elsewhere (the stadium expansion plans for instance). Purslow shouldn't have been involved in the Gerrard appointment and Lange is either greatly under-performing his role or the structure isn't right. Perhaps a bit of both.

The technical director/head coach model should mean that it's a lot easier to change the head coach when they underperform. There shouldn't be a tearing up of the plan and going back to the drawing board (and everything that entails) everytime a change is needed.

[Neil Hawkes]

Good post OCD.

[robleflaneur]

OCD makes some excellent points about the role of the sporting director.In defence of Lange we needed to buy another striker as we only had injury prone Davis as back up.
Smith was at fault trying to put Ings and Watkins into the same side,although he came close to solving it with 3 at the back v Wolves but Tuanzebe and late substitutions let us down.A different shape in his last match v Soton but opportunies for J.Ramsey and Archer as subs with Aaron Ramsey and Chuck on the bench,so clear pathways to the first team.
A set shape is an ideal but good coaches like Potter will change the shape during a game.

[ChicagoLion]

The shape and selection of the team down to the manager, nothing to do with the Sporting Director.
Maybe there is a blueprint and it is very possible that the manager is ignoring it.

[OCD]

Thanks Neil/robleflaneur.

While there has to be some flexibility to change shape according to the opponent and circumstances, how does it make sense to change from an approach that required wingers to one where they're redundant (selling your wingers). It doesn't look like it's going to work out with Gerrard, so what if the next manager goes back to using wingers?

There has to be some continuity planning.

And if there is a blueprint that's being ignored, then that's not good management from top down either.

[ChicagoLion]

Thanks Neil/robleflaneur.

While there has to be some flexibility to change shape according to the opponent and circumstances, how does it make sense to change from an approach that required wingers to one where they're redundant (selling your wingers). It doesn't look like it's going to work out with Gerrard, so what if the next manager goes back to using wingers?

There has to be some continuity planning.

And if there is a blueprint that's being ignored, then that's not good management from top down either.

I believe there was a plan under Smith.
But Purslow has allowed Gerrard to come in and change lots of things, it started with binning Delaney and there has been a power grab.
This is why I believe that Purslow may be vulnerable.

[dave.woodhall]

As I keep saying, and will keep saying. We had a plan. It worked. Then Purslow decided that his mate needed a job so everything that had worked was chucked out for the benefit of Purslow's mate. I don't blame Gerrard; he must have thought Christmas had come early to get the opportunity of managing an ambitious, underachieving Premier League club. We ripped it up, we started again, and there's every chance that before the clocks go back we'll be doing it again.