SENTINELCELTS

Morning,all.

It was an enjoyable read yesterday as we compared notes first on Dan Majstorovic and then the respective merits of our current manager and his predecessor. The latter subject came about because of a rather amusing little pastiche of Ange appearing on Masterchef and refusing to serve up what was requested. His way or the highway, just as has always been the case with him. 

We all saw that during his brief two years with us. Quite frankly, it was a total waste of time to question his methods. We all saw how he dealt with the SMSM when he struggled to get results at the start of his tenure-mainly because the players were struggling to adjust to “the system”-and we roundly applauded him for it. Mainly because even though the results certainly weren’t falling our way at the time-and ten points from our first seven league games is all the proof you need for that-we could see what was slowly starting to take shape. 

I think the first time I criticised him in an article was after the away defeat in Leverkusen. While the trip itself was memorable and the game itself will live long in the memory, Ange saw fit to take off our three forwards that night when we were leading 2-1. Not that he wanted to play with one up front while shoring up the midfield and defence, oh no. He replaced them with three other forwards, none of whom was in form at the time or even particularly match fit. Naturally enough,the ball didn’t stick up front, and the German side scored two very late goals to eke out a 3-2 victory. 

To say that I was furious really doesn’t do the situation justice, and it was noticeable in the match review I published in the morning. But one dud review in two years isn’t really the kind of thing that’s going to get the big Aussie sticking needles into my wax effigy, and I think I’m safe enough from his wrath. I won’t say that he went with my blessing 18 months ago,but he certainly went with my thanks. And that is still the case. 

As is another thing I said at that time,that the Spurs job was not the type of job to get too attached to. Daniel Levy has never had a reputation for suffering fools gladly, and rarely has he been easy to part from a brass farthing more than he thinks is appropriate in the transfer market. On top of that, he was rapidly gaining a reputation for intolerance and impatience towards his many managerial appointments, firing them out the door before the ink was even dry on their contracts. Which is why I said that I hoped that he wouldn’t  take out a four-year lease on a property, and that the compensation figures agreed in his contract were absolutely watertight. 

Brendan Rodgers arrived shortly afterwards on a three year contract, and the press were quick with the needle, asking him how long he intended to hang around. He sent them off with a flea in their ear, and not only do I expect him to see out those three years, I fully expect him to extend it between now and the summer. Ange gave us five trophies out of the six he competed for, and BR is well on the way to matching that in his own first two years. Again, some of the players took some time to adjust to a new system, but adjust they did. There are few within the squad who haven’t already improved during his time here, and those that either cannot or will not are quite simply no longer with us-or no longer under consideration for a shot at glory. And REBUS67 gave us some good news too, that Idah’s stats are much better than his bare returns would indicate.

But then we turn to a player whose form is a genuine concern for many of us. Our Japanese talisman, Kyogo. Thirty goals in the season before Brendan arrived, and a bloody nightmare for defences to deal with. A will-o-the-wisp, he is so difficult to track when he is on his game. Whether it be the flashing run to the near post for a finish, the angled run to get on the end of a through ball, or even finding space in a crowded box for a free header, he was dynamite. Now though? Not so much. And that is as much a puzzle as it is a worry. 

Watching from the stands or our armchairs,we fans so often see him still making the runs, still finding space, but the final ball in his direction is so often either lacking or non-existent. And if we are honest, he has missed a few very good chances already this season that he would previously have put away with his eyes shut. I’ve not given up on him yet, far from it, and this isn’t really a critique of him as much as a simple sense of bewilderment as I search for the reasons behind his current form. He is still getting into position for the chances, so we have to think that he will suddenly click again. Few great players lose it overnight, after all. 

The good news is that he is back in the squad for his national team,and it may well be that his continued omission was weighing him down. Or maybe he’s just been missing the occasional fix of his Mum’s home cooking, and the Japanese equivalent of a roll ‘n’ skwerr is all that is needed to get him back on the straight and narrow! God knows that is first on my list when I head home next month,I can tell you. 

Players lose form for all sorts of reasons,and top players can adjust to any system. There is no way that BR was going to adjust his own system,tried and tested and tweaked over the years, to suit one player, so the wee fella will have to get used to it. In fairness to him, his recent poor returns have been down to uncharacteristically bad finishes rather than not being in the right place at the right time, which suggests that he is adapting fine in most respects. Still a worry of course, but  we should always remember that form is temporary, class is permanent. 

So yes,I do have my concerns. I would have to be both blind and stupid not to. But I am far from the panic stage yet, and I’m confident he will be our talisman again soon, terrorising defences as only he can. A couple of goals in his next few games will set him up nicely for the League Cup Final against his favourite team, and wouldn’t it knock the smirks off a few coupons for him to absolutely crucify them again as usual? It would certainly silence the idiots who are telling us that Dessers is better than him!

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Above article by BMCUWP