Patrick, what are your early opinions of Sage?
I think at least initially he's going to persist with Glasner's system, which to me makes sense so as not to disrupt a system the players have been playing for a few seasons.
Continuity could be important in trying to avoid the De Boer fiasco when he threw everything up in the air and tried to implement a system that the players were not suitable to implement.
I think how Sage gets on will depend on the resources he has at his disposal.
I think he could struggle if players like Wharton, Mateta and Munoz or a combination thereof depart.
I think the defence is likely to be damaged in any event with the departure of Guehi and Lacroix.
I'm not convinced by our transfer dealings in recent months and feel the quality of the players has been downgraded.
I do feel the early weeks could be challenging ( e.g Everton, Man City) and with the hangover of players returning late from the World Cup and the bedding in of any new players we do bring in.
For me I think it will challenging for Sage, but in fairness it would be for other managers too.
What is unknown is his temperament in terms of how he reacts to setbacks and pressure.
Perhaps the club recognise that it's a transition phase, will be patient, and won't be too trigger happy as long as it looks like we're not in danger of going down.
What do you think?
England
