The INTERNET never forgets. Explaining is losing but I hammed Manchester United up on occasion to try to irk rival Footix. That said, there were a couple of brief periods when Ten Hag looked to be settling into the job & getting a tune out of them. He even seemed to be embedding a structure at one stage in the first season around the time of that League Cup win. So I wouldnât deny the general thrust of that post, just it was exaggerating matters. Iâm pretty sure I have a post at the end of that season where I said that the Anfield 7-0 effectively ripped up any progress, & it was the type of humbling to a rival that has long lasting implications & they were going nowhere under him.
As last season went on, it became obvious that they had no IDENTITY & were just a collection of individuals, some of them not up to the required standard irrespective of manager, scratching around. Youâd see teams like Bournemouth & Brentford playing to a particular pattern & with well rehearsed tactics & outplaying them. Theyâd still win every other game due to individual interventions, a bit of tradition, being willed on by fans/referees etc but there wasnât any foundation to build a team that could challenge in the league. It was mad how these lower ranking clubs would just run through their midfield - they couldnât or didnât want to run. Eriksen, Casemiro, McTominay & those lads. Bizarre how you could spend so much money to end up with such a poor squad.
In a strange way (Bill), not having any tactics sometimes worked against the top sides - not being able to get possession makes you end up playing like a minnow in desperately defending your box, kicking it away & getting a few breakaway goals when teams have overcommitted. The FA Cup win muddied the waters, as they were absolutely shite last season & the new owners bottled getting rid of him after that.
It will be interesting who they go for now. Brendan Rodgers would be the obvious choice.
