I agree with this

and think JHT will be given the summer and a run of games next season. Any change should be before Christmas. But it's entirely possible he does turn this around.

My "concerns" are similar to yours. Authority in the dressing room and the role of senior players is a key one. The keeper situation - Angus should be number two if he stays or at the very least have a teammate challening him for that number one shirt, honestly I wouldn't at all be against getting two new keepers at this point. We have looked genuinely excellent going forward at times this term but we've always looked dodgy at the back, other than against the Baggies. That's part personnel but also part system. I wonder if we'll ever see a proper breaking-up-play, screening-the-centrebacks style of defensive midfielder (I'm a big fan of Wright but he's not one of them). I simply don't buy 4-3-3, even in the Champs, it needs players better than we have to pul off well. But with the players we do have with a bit more luck and better organisation we'd still have been top six this season, transition or no. So why not play a style better suited to what we have/are likely to get? I've always liked 4-2-3-1 but there's loads of other options. And we'd get slaughtered trying it 4-3-3 the Prem, though we'd probably get slaughtered anyway, so...

Rest of this season we need to be giving the likes of Ruari starts and Myles some decent minutes out in the middle. Those who know they're off need to know there's something to play for. I think Duffy had quite the redemption arc after last summer but at this point I'd not be upset if he never started again.

I agree it's time Kenny moved on, Onel always had That One Thing which was pace to run at tired legs with on 60' or 75' but in recent appearances we've not seen that and love him right off though I do it's hard to see a role for him going forward. The problems at the back are only partly down to our CBs, what's in front of them is a critical part of it.

There are some bright points: we have looked excellent in flashes through the season, we have some good players for the future; I think Crnac will surprise a few next season and we've not seen Mahovo for so long it's easy to forget him. Fisher has done really well though still has some developing to do. And so on. It's not all doom and gloom by any means.

The alternative would be to change at the end of the season - please God not Wilshere, whoever described him as a poor man's Chris Martin was right and that style Will Not Work Here. I don't want us to turn into Watford.

On balance, I'd - just about - be for keeping JHT over summer but reassessing in November and making a change then unless we see significant improvement on the pitch. This has been a learning season, let's see what we've all learned.

Posted By: Old Man on April 19th 2025 at 13:37:39

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