Baseline81 wrote:Baphomet wrote:He's trying to implement a new style of football having just sold the club's best ever player. There have been ups and downs, which is normal and to be expected. I'm not upset with this season at all, Villa have simply been more consistent than Spurs and deserve a Champions League position. Conceding cheap goals is worrying but that's something they can hopefully iron out going into next season. Most pundits had Spurs finishing 7th-10th without Kane going into this season and while it's a low bar, they look likely to exceed that expectation.
And nobody should ever take anything said on Talksport seriously, least of all Jamie O'Hara. It's bilge.
I would argue those downs aren't of equal value. For instance, injuries caused the club to falter earlier in the season. Lately, it's due to the manager's reluctance to adapt.
Given what you said, expecting to finish 7-10 is fair; however, my issue is once you're actually in the thick of things (Tottenham competing for a CL spot with less than 10 matches remaining), expectations change. I would wager the majority of Spurs' fans would agree Ange has not handled the run-in well enough.
As a Liverpool fan, I'm rather pissed at how both Klopp and the players have performed since winning the Carabao Cup. There was no excuse for the Europa League exit (losing 0-3 at Anfield) and the two results against Manchester United (FA Cup and PL).
EDIT: Yes, Talksport is rubbish, however, when a Tottenham fan such as O'Hara blasts his own club, I tend to take note.
To be clear, I don't think Ange is beyond reproach by any means and has deserved some of the criticism, and the run-in has not been good like you said, Villa result aside. It is frustrating to see the same kinds of goals being conceded week-in week-out and the manager has to accept some responsibility for that. I'd just be cautious about judging him too harshly, all things considered. This is not to say that Ange will go on to become a great or a legend of the club, but I remember Klopp and Arteta facing similar criticisms in their first and second league campaigns and Klopp obviously turned Liverpool into a juggernaut, and Arsenal are now a defensive force to be reckoned with. They just needed time and a few transfer windows to retool the talented but mismatched squads they inherited.
Ultimately I'm trying to be patient about the whole process. With Kane gone, the window for winning has realistically closed, so I'm more interested in improvement next season for the time being, even if it's marginal. There are clear areas of improvement to consider for the next campaign, but I think I've seen some causes for optimism with the quality of football played at times. Even if the season started off far better than it's ending, this season still falls within an acceptable performance threshold for me.
Yeah, it's sad to see Klopp's tenure ending as it currently is. I'm certain you'll find a way to give Spurs one more arse kicking at Anfield for the road, tomorrow, though. Arne Slot seems like an exciting manager, but he has a real job on his hands. Replacing a manager of Klopp's calibre is virtually impossible, but hopefully he will have the time and backing of the fans to get his ideas across.