Steady, sensible, moderate football is not what supporters want to pay money to watch

by Andrew  Dempsey  |   22/08/2024-  3 Comments  [Jump to last]

Stop being so moderate and nuanced and sensitive about these highly paid athletes. Fuck 'em! They’re absolutely fine. Yes, everyone can have the same problems in life, no matter what social class. But, it does make it easier to deal with given privilege, money and free time. 

The moderate posters on ToffeeWeb are just masochistic losers who have stopped dreaming when they go to bed. Flatness, steadiness and the illusion of stability and ‘support’ for the players, won’t get us out of this mess and challenging again, it’ll keep us firmly where the Calvinistic types among us believe we deserve to stay.

It’s a game! Yes, it’s also a community support network etc. But wouldn’t that community benefit from a more adventurous, rigorous and ambitious brand of football?

I don’t see why defensive, bland, soul-destroying football is seen as ‘safe’ when pacy, off-your-seat, man-to-man marking, get-stuck- in, attack, "harness the atmosphere of a great old stadium" football is seen as ‘risky’?  

Article continues below video content


You can win, lose or draw either way, there are no guarantees. Playing the Dyche way eventually erodes the confidence of supporters and players, leading to nothing but hatred and boredom. All the ire will be directed at Dyche, and rightly so. It’s all about his ego, his way of playing, it’s all about his methods.

It’s backward, old-school management and it doesn’t work. It seems to be good for getting players so fit they vomit, and that’s about it. Did anyone see any evidence on the pitch of any kind of attacking move that might have been drilled in pre-season? Do they even do that at Finch Farm?

It’s beyond grim. It’s somnambulant at times. Dross. I fell asleep in the Gwladys Street at the Sheffield United game, end of last season. Best way to watch this Everton side, dreaming of Bielsa or Gasperini.

Play man-to-man football — fuck this zonal, low-block shite. It doesn’t fool us; it’s not clever or sophisticated, it’s just fear-based. Fear of the opposition scoring, fear of losing your job — which is going to happen anyway.

Dyche will be sacked at some point and he’ll be remembered as one of the worst managers in our history during one of our lowest periods. Conversely, this is actually all a positive: It can’t get any worse than this, we will rise again and Dyche will be a forgotten man.

Dyche means well and is a good bloke, I think… but so what? Thank you for the job you’ve done, Sean, at a crucial time, but please let’s get this takeover done and install a decent manager for the modern Premier League. 

back Return to Talking Points index  :  Add your Comments »

Reader Comments (3)

Note: the following content is not moderated or vetted by the site owners at the time of submission. Comments are the responsibility of the poster. Disclaimer ()


Paul Kernot
1 Posted 22/08/2024 at 22:27:16
Right between the eyes, Andrew. No doubt you'll be expecting the barrage from usual suspects but we'll said.

This is why Southgate, with perhaps the best group of England players for decades, didn't win a thing. Way too conservative, safety first football.

It was never going to work in the recent Euros, nor in the previous one vs Italy when we scored first, then predictably parked the bus and hoped to hang on.

Derek Thomas
2 Posted 22/08/2024 at 22:53:49
Well said Andrew and I sympathise - a lot, can you guess at the first word on the next line though?
But...

We apparently have a 'Sows Ear' of a squad and nobody would ever confuse Dyche with a 'Silk Purse' Kompany might qualify but he got Burnley relegated, Luton gung ho'd their way down too.

So if not Dyche, who?

Brighton seemed ( on the evidence of beating us) to have found some unknown genius, but many Augusts and Septembers are regularly littered with 'one hit wonders'

I'd love those days of yore to return, back when there was only 1 Dr Who not feckin17, back when The Lone Ranger was peak TV viewing - Hiyo Silver Awaaaay.

We could do with a magic Silver Bullet to cure our ills.

Paul Kernot
3 Posted 22/08/2024 at 23:08:04
Fair comment there too Derek. We may moan & groan about the negative, defensive play but with the squad we have currently, albeit improving, 'going for it' in the Prem is likely to be dangerous. Who'd by in Dyche's position right now?

Add Your Comments

In order to post a comment, you need to be logged in as a registered user of the site.

» Log in now

Or Sign up as a ToffeeWeb Member — it's free, takes just a few minutes and will allow you to post your comments on articles and Talking Points submissions across the site.


How to get rid of these ads and support TW

© ToffeeWeb