Johan Lange - appointed

[London Villan]

The change to the wingless approach will see the best part of £50m leaving or sitting on the bench. Add to that having a record signing as an understudy to the manager's underperforming mate then it doesn't look well planned at all. We might have rich owners, but to have £80m of players (two of which were signed just 12 months ago) not able to get into the starting lineup isn't good.

[dave.woodhall]

It's getting to the stage where Sir Graham came back to find something like five of the club's seven biggest wage earners sitting in the stand, effectively on strike.

[London Villan]

Without turning this into another Gerrard thread - surely some of this would have been part of the selection process and remit or even the expectation where the new manager has to use the player we have identified and signed to fit in a certain system.

[Toronto Villa]

With all managers on their last legs they get more and more insular and stubborn. Gerrard won’t drop McGinn however poorly he plays. He has been very outspoken about choosing “his captain”. And he will look stupid after 4 games walking away from that by changing captain or better, benching his captain. And the more he is criticized the more he will back himself into a corner. Playing 2 up front, not playing Buendia and Bailey. Staying with wing backs. He is going to go down fighting for his way of playing. He strikes you as a stubborn bastard. He will be fired for that.

[LeonW]

Gerrard was either told or asked when he was recruited to get the best out of the Bailey and Buendia signings in how we play and he’s just refusing to utilise them adequately.

Or the club were happy with him saying ‘i can’t guarantee that, i’m doing it my way.’

Either way, the root cause of the problem is Purslow because he’s either allowing Gerrard to continue to depreciate 2 expensive assets or he recruited him on the basis of no guarantee of implementing approx £70m worth of talent, which is a criminal waste.

[rooboy316]

Would good managers take the job if a system was dictated to them?

[London Villan]

No, but it would be a fair question to ask how the interviewee would go about getting the best out of our two record signings and the +£70m they cost.

[ChicagoLion]

Gerrard was either told or asked when he was recruited to get the best out of the Bailey and Buendia signings in how we play and he’s just refusing to utilise them adequately.

Or the club were happy with him saying ‘i can’t guarantee that, i’m doing it my way.’

Either way, the root cause of the problem is Purslow because he’s either allowing Gerrard to continue to depreciate 2 expensive assets or he recruited him on the basis of no guarantee of implementing approx £70m worth of talent, which is a criminal waste.

Managers from the continent all ready work under / with a Technical Director.

[OCD]

You don't have to look far to see the model working well. Wolves had a system, recruited for it, had a manager that had done ok but was a bit defensive minded and they've switched to a manager who's tweaked the system a bit but not massively and made them a little more attacking and they've been pretty consistent and making gradual progress. It's not good still being behind them in terms of where we are at the moment. We've got ambitions of top 6 yet the teams in 6th to 10th position seem to be doing a better job of progressing.

[Risso]

You don't have to look far to see the model working well. Wolves had a system, recruited for it, had a manager that had done ok but was a bit defensive minded and they've switched to a manager who's tweaked the system a bit but not massively and made them a little more attacking and they've been pretty consistent and making gradual progress. It's not good still being behind them in terms of where we are at the moment. We've got ambitions of top 6 yet the teams in 6th to 10th position seem to be doing a better job of progressing.

Wolves are second from bottom...

[London Villan]

There was all the talk about teams at level of the club playing the same system too... I wonder if that still happens?

[OCD]

You don't have to look far to see the model working well. Wolves had a system, recruited for it, had a manager that had done ok but was a bit defensive minded and they've switched to a manager who's tweaked the system a bit but not massively and made them a little more attacking and they've been pretty consistent and making gradual progress. It's not good still being behind them in terms of where we are at the moment. We've got ambitions of top 6 yet the teams in 6th to 10th position seem to be doing a better job of progressing.

Wolves are second from bottom...

They made a similar start last season too and did alright.

[LeeB]

You don't have to look far to see the model working well. Wolves had a system, recruited for it, had a manager that had done ok but was a bit defensive minded and they've switched to a manager who's tweaked the system a bit but not massively and made them a little more attacking and they've been pretty consistent and making gradual progress. It's not good still being behind them in terms of where we are at the moment. We've got ambitions of top 6 yet the teams in 6th to 10th position seem to be doing a better job of progressing.

Wolves are second from bottom...

They made a similar start last season too and did alright.

They got a surprise comeback win out of nowhere that really seemed to ignite their season. We could do with playing the team they played to do the same to ours.

[OCD]

We always seem to be the team you want to play if things aren't going well. West Ham bottom of the table, not won a game, not scored a goal...most of us could probably see what was going to happen.

[Hookeysmith]

Well Lange, Purslow, Gerrard, Uncle Tom Cobberly and all better get their collective fucking fingers out and get some players in before tomorrow.

If a bit part Southampton CF is the answer the the next question should be how do we replace all of the above (Maybe keep Tom Cobberly)