Unless I’m missing the blindingly obvious, which is entirely possible on a Sunday evening, surely Sage has managed to identify the problem and then proceed to make it worse?
In his interview, he acknowledges that when the full-backs played deeper, we had more space and created opportunities. He then talks about the opposition pinging balls into the space behind us. So having identified that, why on earth would you push your wing-backs even higher and create precisely the space you’ve just admitted is causing problems?
Now, I appreciate I lack Mr Sage’s tactical genius, but surely that’s the entire bloody issue? It’s like looking at a wall, deciding the paint might still be wet, and then sticking your entire hand in it just to confirm your suspicions.
And as for highlighting the two quick turnovers against Beşiktaş that led to attacking opportunities, that’s all very well, but Beşiktaş weren’t particularly good. This is the Premier League. If you’re going to press that aggressively while leaving acres of space behind, a half-decent side will pick you apart. A genuinely good side will absolutely trounce you.
The most worrying thing isn’t even that we’re making these mistakes. It’s that Sage appears perfectly capable of identifying them in his interviews, yet seemingly incapable of doing anything about them on the pitch.
Other teams have figured us out. The question is, why hasn’t our own manager?
USA
