Mister Appointment said:
Could prove to be a very testing time for those who have their hearts and minds firmly set on him leaving.
Must admit that my view has mellowed since Saturday. There's some things which I think will be important if he does stay this summer, probably the most important being to ensure that we don't add to the squad in such a manner that we continue to buy players solely to play in a 442 system. The root of that is the 4 strikers in the squad thing which we've had since Mancini was in charge. I'd like to see Jovetic leave, and for us to replace him with a 'crack' winger - thus leaving us with Dzeko, Kun, and Bony as the three forwards. The other thing we need to look at desperately is a genuine ball playing midfield player (like Gundogan or Verrati). Again this type of player may not be suited to playing in a 442 but is a kind of player we absolutely need in the squad.
The key will be the turnover of players this summer. It certainly seems like all the noises are that after three years of limited spending due to FFP we can go out and add real first XI players to the squad. I personally expect that we'll see three/four new faces in the best XI next season. Could make all the difference.
Anyway onwards and upwards for tonight and the rest of the season.
I said after the game and after some initial concerns have always maintained, the man isn't a bad manager. You don't become a bad manager in the space of 10 games and last season he shown his ability to inspire this team to greatness as well as his tactical nous which is somehow questioned nowadays as it always is when things go badly, whether they are tactical geeks like AvB or charlatans like 'Arry.
He has one year left on his deal with probably not an extension forthcoming. Despite what happens tonight if he can manage to keep us second or third for the rest of the year then I see no reason for him to not see out the remainder of his deal. He isn't going to bring through young players and I accept that that isn't who he is as a manager so getting continuously upset by it is probably not the smartest thing in the world.
Have to disagree with one point though; I don't think Txiki is buying players to fit a 4-4-2. I think he buys players who improves the squad and leaves the rest for the manager to work out. It is how he worked at Barcelona and when you think about the purchases of people like Jovetic and Fernando who don't really fit that system then I think there's some merit to thinking that here too.
4 strikers gives you more options than 3 strikers. You can play any system then that relies on a 2 striker setup and do so knowing that you aren't having problems with rotation. Even if you never use your fourth striker, it is better to have the option available than not to have it. We have gaps in the squad already and removing potential options, which bear in mind that the next manager might want to use, seems to be self-defeating.
