BBC 'It was a bad afternoon' - Le Bris


The man who has the youngest squad in the league, 4th in the table, isn’t up to the job.

You couldn’t make it up.
Don't necessarily disagree but don't think it's as black and white as that either.

Think it's hard to gauge how good this team is. We finished 6th under Mowbray but had Amad and Clarke, but at the same time played without a striker for about 2/3rds of the season and probably would have pushed on further if not for injuries. We lost Amad and had a complete disaster of a season last year, finishing 16th, but played without a striker all season. We've now addressed the striker situation and have two good ones and the young players like Jobe, Rigg and Mundle have naturally improved with experience. So are we over/under performing? Are we par for the course? I don't know.

I'd be inclined to say Le Bris has done a really good job overall but there's still some major concerns. His lack of substitutions and squad rotation is genuinely terrible and is arguably costing us right now and at other points in the season. The players have looked exhausted for a while, and although the squad is fairly small and hasn't been helped by injuries, he's still frozen out players who could have been useful and played the same 13-14 over and over. His record at Lorient was basically a brilliant start in his first 10 games then relatively poor throughout the rest of the season followed by relegation in his second season. It's hard to look past that. And we look very predictable and flat in so many of those games against the middle of the road teams.

On the flip side, he's clearly an excellent coach as it was obvious from pretty much day one how well drilled the team were. A lot of our early play and success was clearly straight from the training pitch with the pressing triggers and patterns of play. But I think we saw a combination of teams figuring us out and Le Bris becoming a lot more cautious around October time after the Plymouth and Watford losses and we've kind of plodded on since without ever really convincing too much. We're miles better when we can play on the break against the top teams but look a bit clueless when we've got to break teams down.

Feel a bit like Southgate's England where you have to commend the job he's done overall but also feel there's another gear to go up to and not sure if he's got it in him to deliver the ultimate aim. Kind of agree with others that he won't be here this time next year - either we go up and they pull the trigger early on and go for a more experienced manager or we don't go up and pressure starts to build if we're not in the running for the automatics, rightly or wrongly.
 
I am a bit worried that he's been 'sussed' if I'm honest. We essentially played our team from the start of the season so there aren't any injury excuses. losing 3 nil is pretty unacceptable

I'm not calling for his head, but my faith in him turning it round is waning.
 
I’m no expert on tactics, but I reckon even I could set a team up to beat us. Pin the fullbacks back and block the line pass, get tight to the wingers, force it into midfield and win the scrap, then counter straight through the middle.

Everyone seems to have it sussed now. We have to find new ways of getting out of our half and onto the front foot because at the moment we’re struggling to get attacks started.
 
Le Bris was a strange appointment. His cv didn’t suggest success. I said at the time of his appointment it didn’t inspire.
It still doesn’t, he doesn’t. I bet no one else was after him.
Why was he appointed ?
IMO because he was a bloke who wouldn’t cause problems and was prepared to do as he was told. Grateful to get the job he is doing just that.
Lampard has the cheats inspired and up for it, let’s hope our mundane, mostly boring Frenchman can do the same for us.
I doubt it.
 
We arnt playing anywhere near the same level of intensity or pass and move that we were at the start of the season. It could be fitness, motivation, poor management, heads turned by interest, or a combination of these and more. Or none of them.

We have been on the downward trend since new years day for me
 
Unfortunately it looks like history is repeating itself for RLB. Started brightly but looks like he’s bereft of ideas.

If we don’t finish the season strongly then I’d advocate for a change, but I have no idea who that would be.
 
I’m no expert on tactics, but I reckon even I could set a team up to beat us. Pin the fullbacks back and block the line pass, get tight to the wingers, force it into midfield and win the scrap, then counter straight through the middle.

Everyone seems to have it sussed now. We have to find new ways of getting out of our half and onto the front foot because at the moment we’re struggling to get attacks started.
Launching balls into our six yard box…
 
And we've got another gone down injured, if you play tried players this will happen...
Tired players - like 23 other teams have in the league? They've all played the same number of games.
Liverpool once won the league (42 games) & European Cup and used 14 players all season!🤣
No complaints about being knackered then, unlike the current day lads...

Funny isn't it how nobody on a good run of form says they are tired? 🤔
 
Tired players - like 23 other teams have in the league? They've all played the same number of games.
Liverpool once won the league (42 games) & European Cup and used 14 players all season!🤣
No complaints about being knackered then, unlike the current day lads...

Funny isn't it how nobody on a good run of form says they are tired? 🤔

Yeah not buying this tired argument like. Our average age is what, 23? Professional athletes man. Ok i can understand 17/18 year olds struggling.

Today wasnt tiredness, was a straight up lack of effort. It was blatant.
 
Do you think we are as good as early season suggested? Five points clear and now 11 points adrift of top and 9 points adrift of second. I'm pleased with our position but not confident of our play-off chances
It’s an odd season really. Before a ball was kicked I think there was concern about going backwards again, then the season starts and nobody expected the start we have looking like title contenders, and then a mixed bag since and more recently mid to low end of the division form. All of that is now irrelevant as we approach the final part to the season and as well all know the play offs are a lottery.
 
The current tactic of launching over their defence and hoping we'll get on the end of it is dreadful.
We start the same way every time. Luke passes it to the left or long. The ball needs to go into the midfield for our players on the half turn.
We've stopped running off the ball, we've stopped closing down.
These are all things that have happened since we've decided to be "cleverer" and not waste energy.
This team needs to high press, it needs to constantly be snapping at peoples heels, it needs to play at a high intensity.
The defence needs to push up about 20 yards and grow some balls.
You cant build your team around a solid defence and quick counter attack if you don't have a solid defence. 3 of our back 4 are pretty attacking defenders. So let's play attacking, lets stop the easy passes, let them lump it long.
Currently Jobe and Rigg are in no mans land. The whole team is far to far apart and is built around the winger doing everything or lumping it through to the strikers.
We play with 2 8's when was the last time they passed the ball to our striker.
The intensity has to be increased across the board, and sitting back doesn't help us in any way.
 

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