Sage in or out

[StandbyPalace]

Well, I suppose Strand-Larsen is probably a 'false 9'.

In fact, at times he seems positively fraudulent....

The Wolves project failed so anything in relation to them is damaged goods eg Matt Hobbs. So having Rob Edwards as our manager doesnt fill me with much confidence.

 

[TheBigToePunt]

We need to remember that;

1) Sage lost 3/4 of his most experienced defenders for more than the last month ( Tomiyasu / Riad / Disasi )
2) Disasi, Khalaili and Anahor are still bedding in
3) The system is still bedding in
4) The system is getting us goals without the two players who scored most of our goals last season
5) The club will surely buy a quality and pacy CB in January
6) Basic defensive errors are the fault of players, not a system or manager
7) Even with all those problems, we are treading water, not cut off at the bottom like with FDB

Finally, most of those problems are fixed by time. Which is what we need to give this manager. He will bring us success.

And we have Mateta and Sarr to bring up to fitness, Pino and Kamada playing even better than last season and Timber already proving his worth. And Doucoure hopefully challenging for starts too -our twice POTY.

Let's not meltdown just yet.

I agree with most of this.

My concern, however, is not so much where we are in the league or even recent results, its the approach Sage is taking. If we had the same (or even slightly worse) results but the performances suggested a viable way of playing that would, over time, come good then I would have no concerns.

That's not really the case, though. I worry that we could get Tomiyasu and Disasi back, give the new boys and the system plenty of time and patience, get Sarr and Mateta back and playing, buy another centre back in January, and see defenders cut out personal errors a bit more but still be an absolute pushover in far too many games.

I think Sage changes either his ways, or his job.

 

[Willo]

The Wolves project failed so anything in relation to them is damaged goods eg Matt Hobbs. So having Rob Edwards as our manager doesnt fill me with much confidence.

Matt Hobbs is not the only person with a Wolves connection behind the scenes.
Apropos Rob Edwards, he was appointed after Hobbs departed and he inherited a team destined for relegation.When he was appointed Wolves were rock-bottom on 2 pts after 11 PL games.They were relegated with 5 of their games still to play.

 

[mtp1958]

And bear in mind that City will almost certainly be gone at the end of the season as well

There odds on now with 365

 

[Glazier#1]

Well, I suppose Strand-Larsen is probably a 'false 9'.

In fact, at times he seems positively fraudulent....

Yes.

Jorgen Grand Larceny

 

[Lanzo-Ad]

Dose anyone on this site, seriously think that with players we have that 3-4-2-1 is the best formation to play, even though it is Sages 1st choice formation, he has to get the best out of what he has, is he managing the players as beast as he can? i don't think so.

 

[BromleyMonkey]

Dose anyone on this site, seriously think that with players we have that 3-4-2-1 is the best formation to play, even though it is Sages 1st choice formation, he has to get the best out of what he has, is he managing the players as beast as he can? i don't think so.

Sometimes it takes a good hiding to shake things up, so let’s see what his formation will be Thursday and Sunday. My worry is that whatever formation we play the players are just not good enough now. Three at the back, a back four with no wing backs, you’ve still got to do the basics i.e marking, tackling, getting your head on the ball in the penalty area from set pieces and keeping your shape

 

[Talvlad]

Sometimes it takes a good hiding to shake things up, so let’s see what his formation will be Thursday and Sunday. My worry is that whatever formation we play the players are just not good enough now. Three at the back, a back four with no wing backs, you’ve still got to do the basics i.e marking, tackling, getting your head on the ball in the penalty area from set pieces and keeping your shape

and for the avoidance of doubt we should add 'to steer the ball away from goal'

 

[Mystic Smeg]

How many years is it that we have been in transition for now..................... Let me think.

I'd pretty much say we weren't when we won three bits of silverware, but unfortunately we are again

 

[mtp1958]

Dose anyone on this site, seriously think that with players we have that 3-4-2-1 is the best formation to play, even though it is Sages 1st choice formation, he has to get the best out of what he has, is he managing the players as beast as he can? i don't think so.

No , maybe in 2 years when they have grown up and use as a option , dont know if you see my option with the current squad 4321 to stop the rot

 

[park the bus]

I'd pretty much say we weren't when we won three bits of silverware, but unfortunately we are again

We transitioned from a side that won nothing to a side that won stuff in a short space of time. It was most unusual and quite a shock. Now it looks like normal service has been resumed.

 

[mtp1958]

We transitioned from a side that won nothing to a side that won stuff in a short space of time. It was most unusual and quite a shock. Now it looks like normal service has been resumed.

We all knew there was a step back period , for a club like us to keep winning trophies its a big ask . Yes we could become a cup winning side on a more regular period ,but even then its a big ask

 

[Davepalace707]

We transitioned from a side that won nothing to a side that won stuff in a short space of time. It was most unusual and quite a shock. Now it looks like normal service has been resumed.

And that’s the reality isn’t it. At least we’ve been in this situation many many times

 

[Spindle]

Does anyone genuinely know why Sage left a team that finished 2nd in the French League, qualified for the Champions League, and generally coming along quite nicely according to his footballing philosophy, to join a team that finished 15th, on the slide after losing its better players and with a dubious director of football? Can't be just the salary surely?

Well yes it can be, and the opportunity to manage in the best league in the world.

Why stay a big fish in a small pond

 

[dreamwaverider]

Our next 2 games and results should help clear the mist for the club to decide where and how we head forwards. If we beat Newcastle for instance we could even see ourselves in the top 10. If we lose? Let's not go there.
Very much doubt we will see any more activity outside the Old stand this year.

 

[JHB]

Sometimes it takes a good hiding to shake things up, so let’s see what his formation will be Thursday and Sunday. My worry is that whatever formation we play the players are just not good enough now. Three at the back, a back four with no wing backs, you’ve still got to do the basics i.e marking, tackling, getting your head on the ball in the penalty area from set pieces and keeping your shape

I think the can be no doubt the first eleven is weaker than the one that started last season. However, we saw against Leeds that they can play well enough to compete with a decent side when set up correctly. Maybe that was a one off but it is clear t he tactics were different that day. So while I think this team is not as good on paper as the one that started last year it should be good enough to be better than we’ve seen and certainly not the worst defence in the division on almost every measure

 

[Spindle]

I must say when I see a manager feeling sorry for himself live on tv and making excuses for the performance I have to have serious doubts about his ability to find a solution and motivate his players.
Perhaps it's a cunning form of reverse psychology.

Would you have preferred cliche sound bites?

 

[PatrickA]

It looks like he's getting at least the next 2 games.
Then it will depend on the results ( and performances) of those games and whether there is a preferred candidate to take over.
There's a lot of speculation at the moment which can't all be true e.g' he's both lost the dressing room' and 'has the support of the players who like him,' ' the hierarchy are sympathetic and understanding of what he inherited,' the hierarchy are unhappy at his use of players .'

 

[doombear]

It looks like he's getting at least the next 2 games.
Then it will depend on the results ( and performances) of those games and whether there is a preferred candidate to take over.
There's a lot of speculation at the moment which can't all be true e.g' he's both lost the dressing room' and 'has the support of the players who like him,' ' the hierarchy are sympathetic and understanding of what he inherited,' the hierarchy are unhappy at his use of players .'

Exactly. Who to believe? I think our performances on Thursday and Sunday will help clarify this. If the players put proper shifts in and the defending begins to look better then, irrespective of the results, there's a chance Sage can turn things round. If not - if the players continue to make silly mistakes, make ill-judged passes in dangerous situations and the defence look as clueless as they have done in recent games, the writing will undoubtedly be on the wall for Pierre Sage.

 

[est1905]

I think we are the worst team in the Premiership….by some margin. Two very lucky wins are papering over massive cracks. Fulham and Forest deserved to batter us. We got exactly what we deserved against Brighton. We have fallen far and I cleave the board. Resenting us with a hotch potch of free transfers and loans. Instead of wisely reinvesting the money from selling our superstars.

The table does not lie. We are not the worst team in the division.
Last time I looked nearly scoring and missing sitters didn't count. If Forest and Fulham dont score as many as we do in a game most with a brain would come to the conclusion we deserved to win.

We can talk about luck (good and bad) all day long. Plenty of people on here like to slag Palace off when we miss chance after chance but you seem to almost feel sorry for the opposition when they do it.