I don't want him to go, but he's certainly not doing himself any favours with the awful performances and strange tactics he's employing.
I've said for years that EH isn't really a top class manager in the tactical sense; but he is (by many accounts) an excellent coach and motivator of players. He can get miracle performances out of players and has them running through walls for him.
However, when this is no longer the case, the other side of management gets exposed kind of brutally. I haven't agreed with a starting lineup for months now, I can't understand the thought process behind half of his starting lineups, and I don't understand what we as a club are even trying to do anymore. We have five fit central players available, and our midfield is constantly overrun, yet we stick with two. We have no fit LB available, so instead of opting for 3 at the back, with Smith and Fraser as wingbacks, we shunt Ake out wide- even though he's just returned from a hamstring injury. We have three central midfielders on the bench and a youth striker, not the players needed to make any significant tactical changes, yet we have bigged-up youths like the creative Kilkenny and Dobre nowhere to be found. We have senior players like Francis throwing young Travers under the bus and taking no responsibility for their mistakes; instead we have Ake being thrown in front of the media to justify the performance, even though he's just come back from injury and is playing in a different role. Where's the captain??
Callum Wilson hasn't had a shot on target since the f***ing 6th October! I've given him some stick, and he definitely deserves some stick, but that is such an obvious indicator that we aren't creating nearly enough chances, and yet we persist with the same tired approach to every game. Are we missing King? Yes; but even when he was playing, he was left on his own to charge up the pitch and create chances for himself. Remember when we used to play the ball down the channels, and players like Wilson, Pugh and Ritchie (two of which are sloooow) would latch onto it and score? You don't need confidence to play hit and hopes and run around, surely?? Then there's Solanke; is Solanke good enough? No, at the moment he's not. But he's not exactly being given a good platform to show what he can do, is he? The attackers and the midfielders are like strangers; there's no movement from any of the strikers, and there's not one ounce of creativity from any of the midfielders. H. Wilson is lightweight, weak, slow and poor at beating his man- but he's a goal threat, and he can pick out a pass. Try him behind the strikers for f***s sake! Hell, try Kilkenny there! What have we got to lose?!
I don't want EH gone, I just want him to be better, but failing that I want him to at the very least learn from his f***ing mistakes, and not come out with same old, tired, post-match nonsense about focusing on the next game. All the problems are happening right now, not tomorrow, and not next Saturday!
! ) and a general malaise sets in. Effort becomes optional and the players thoughts move away from being focused 100% on football and to "other matters" which seem more appealing.
