Fair point. I'm not sure Roy would actually want to go on beyond the end of this season but if he doesn't common sense tells you we need another pragmatist. Preferrably with a decent level of experience.
We'd all love to see passing attacking football but as Roy has repeatedly said before, you have to form a strategy based on what you have to work with.

Football teams are all about players. A good manager might add a little something, but in the main, the most you can ask for is to avoid appointing a bad one who reduces the natural level of the players.

We struggle when Eze and Olise are not fit, which is quite often this season. We miss Zaha. of course. The players who take their places are not as good (not even remotely usually) and that's our problem in a nutshell.

We are not Man City, and will never have five or six top-class attacking players from which to pick two or three. We need our key players fit and in form to do well, otherwise it's all a bit of a grind. The key is not to dream of what could be if only we had a bench full of top internationals, but instead to devise a plan to get the required points when our key players are missing. That is what Roy does. When the best players are back and fit, that same plan looks very different, of course.

No new manager will change any of that, so why change the manager? We've tried all sorts over the years now and never found anyone better than Roy.

Football teams are all about players. A good manager might add a little something, but in the main, the most you can ask for is to avoid appointing a bad one who reduces the natural level of the players.

We struggle when Eze and Olise are not fit, which is quite often this season. We miss Zaha. of course. The players who take their places are not as good (not even remotely usually) and that's our problem in a nutshell.

We are not Man City, and will never have five or six top-class attacking players from which to pick two or three. We need our key players fit and in form to do well, otherwise it's all a bit of a grind. The key is not to dream of what could be if only we had a bench full of top internationals, but instead to devise a plan to get the required points when our key players are missing. That is what Roy does. When the best players are back and fit, that same plan looks very different, of course.

No new manager will change any of that, so why change the manager? We've tried all sorts over the years now and never found anyone better than Roy.

When Eze and Olise have been out we amassed 4 points. A turgid performance and a lucky point at home to Forest and a somewhat fortuitous win against a Burnley side who have lost all of their games at home this season. I'm starting to wonder if Roy's steadfast approach is starting to get old hat.

To say managers don't make a difference is odd. I agree you can't turn a crap squad into prime Barcelona by changing the manager, but you only have to look at Villa and Brighton as two obvious examples where a new manager with fresh ideas have taken squads to another level. I think a manager who would bring more intensity to our play would be good, similar to what O'Neill has done at Wolves. Attack with intent and less slow passing around sideways and backwards.