Jeeagles, your name must be Stanley cos you are a complete tool.

Your obsessive hatred of RH is bizarre. Are you sitting there pulling the wings off insects?

WTF has him visiting South Africa years ago got to do with anything now.t

Responsibility Deficit Disorder is a medical condition. Symptoms include inability to be corrected when wrong, false sense of superiority, desire to share personal info no else cares about, general hubris. It's a medical issue rather than pure arrogance.

Most reports have us about 16th in the league when it comes to investment in players (transfer fees and wages). As the published financial report shows, that's cpfc flat out. We can't spend any more than we already do. Hence the need for an academy and a new stand.

You get what you pay for mostly, and our players are as good as they are. One or two will hit an uplift in their career from time to time, and get noticeably better, just like one or two will do the opposite. By and large though they are what they are, and the managers job is to organise them rather than improve them. He is there to get out of them that which they have to give.

Hodgson, just like Pulis and Alardyce before him, has achieved that by playing a fairly dour brand of football which can be tedious from game to game but effective in the long term. That's three experienced managers looking at what we've got and coming to the same conclusion tactically.

Given that, for long spells, Hodgson hasn't had the same backing as some of his predecessors I think his results deserve respect, even if you're only comparing the financial outlay with the actual league positions.

Still, quite a few people on here obviously know better.

Nobody said he was unable to manage again but Bournemouth went down because they couldn’t stop shipping goals despite having spent heavily. He looked almost clueless in the run in.

His “style” would be unlikely to suit our ageing group IMO and they were absolute rubbish in the two games against us last season.

Just trying to demonstrate that any change represents a risk as West Brom found when they sacked Pulis and appointed Pardew.

Well Mane does have Salah and Firmino alongside and two of the best attacking fullbacks plus several excellent ball passers to help him. Jota hit the ground running in that set-up without any Klopp development, so sorry, I don't buy that one. I'm not saying Klopp isn't a great manager, he is, just that a lot of Mane's improvement has come from being in a team that performs (almost) week-in and week-out.

Edited by doombear (28 Dec 2020 11.53pm)

Edited by doombear (28 Dec 2020 11.53pm)

My only problem with Eddie howe really is my mate sat next to muzza on a plane when the seaweed were on preseason training and just blits him with questions about everything and glenn thought howe was up himself and arrogant

I think you must be new to football, or at least how it works.

Players don’t get sacked for poor performances, managers do.

In any form of people management and there is underperformance by a team member that’s on them. If it’s consistent under performance and not address by the manager that’s on them. Basic stuff. Some players are passed it but he plays them. Yes players must take some ownership.

Also it’s just a message board with differing opinions. Why are you always so dramatic.

Edited by MonsterMunch (29 Dec 2020 8.25am)

Totally agree. The art of being a good manager is taking a group of individuals and turning them into a team.

I would say we are under performing as a team and that is the manager’s responsibility, no-one else’s.

Some will argue you can only work with what you have which is of course true, however Roy’s selections of the same players week in week out regardless of performance, tells me he has only one plan and that is to force players into his model of play rather than adapt the play to suit the squad he has.

This is also why he ignores youth, because he will not rely on them to adhere to his strict instructions. His management style didn’t work with England once the pressure was on, it didn’t work in Italy, nor at Liverpool and it’s stopped working with us.

Doesn’t make sense that if he chooses to play Benteke that he does not play to his strengths. Looks to me he is prepared to play Benteke for his superior hold up play, winning headers but is not prepared to set the team up to play to his ultimate quality of balls into the box.

I’m of the same opinion, I’d be happy to suffer Roy’s football this season if there was any hint of succession planning. I respect Roy for everything he has achieved in his career as an elder statesman of the game. I’d like him to depart palace of his own accord. However I don’t think he’s ready for that yet. Which I can understand, giving up something you’ve done your entire life and still enjoy and believe you can still contribute. I’m just of the opinion palace can do better than Roy now.

I agree regarding the crosses. However, if we wind back to the West Ham game Benteke missed a relatively easy chance with his head prior to his excellent goal (I believe he scored because he wasn't expected to). He was nowhere to be seen when Eze whipped a lovely early ball across the six yard. I don't believe he could do much with Townsends pass which was just behind him.

You're right about the midfield and that is a contributory factor but in terms of quality in the final third I think that Eze, Bats, Ayew, Townsend and PVA (including him as he can't be in the team for his defending) are very inconsistent.