Yet Another Ex-Manager Watch: Cristian Stellini

[Trix]

Whilst I agree with what we are getting told about the system, you have to remember that Jose and Conte are happy to pull the trigger on players that keep making mistakes. Our midfielders take no risks, our attackers rarely take risks, and all the risk is taken on by defenders to try and get the ball up the pitch.

If players knew they could do their job without risk of being benched or criticised then they will take more risks. Our attack is blunt right now, but we have some very good attackers. These same players were superb end of last season when they were taking risks. Something happened over the summer where Conte managed to get a full pre season. We just became more rigid

I agree with what you are saying but when you talk about Conte and Jose throwing players under the bus, seems to have rubbed off onto the fan base. Again I'm not trying to lay the blame on any one sector. From the chairman to sections of the fan base it's all fucked up. Levy, the board, various managers and coaches, the players, the fans, all have to take various amounts of blame for where we are right now. It's all ultimately one man's fault, but all of those mentioned need to change their thinking if we are ever going to achieve anything.

 

[C1w8]

Whilst I agree with what we are getting told about the system, you have to remember that Jose and Conte are happy to pull the trigger on players that keep making mistakes. Our midfielders take no risks, our attackers rarely take risks, and all the risk is taken on by defenders to try and get the ball up the pitch.

If players knew they could do their job without risk of being benched or criticised then they will take more risks. Our attack is blunt right now, but we have some very good attackers. These same players were superb end of last season when they were taking risks. Something happened over the summer where Conte managed to get a full pre season. We just became more rigid

Exactly my thoughts...give them whatever talking to they need behind closed doors, but a united front to those outside.

Stellini is maybe not in the position to do it being a temp but fans need to be called out on bs like saturday also, if managers made clear its not helping and not the way to go it would have an effect. Hopefully Hugos words resonate with the match doing fanbase.

 

[fishhhandaricecake]

Wish Mason & Redknapp had been put in charge for the final 10 games not this wet lettuce poor man’s conte.

 

[parj]

I agree with what you are saying but when you talk about Conte and Jose throwing players under the bus, seems to have rubbed off onto the fan base. Again I'm not trying to lay the blame on any one sector. From the chairman to sections of the fan base it's all fucked up. Levy, the board, various managers and coaches, the players, the fans, all have to take various amounts of blame for where we are right now. It's all ultimately one man's fault, but all of those mentioned need to change their thinking if we are ever going to achieve anything.

I agree, the fan base is slowly becoming more negative, but a lot of it is driven by short term memories. If we go back to the likes of Jol, Redknapp and Poch, they all inherited teams that needed coaching. A lot seem to think that Poch inherited a world class Kane, Dembele, Eriksen, Walker, Rose, Alli etc. A lot of coaching went into it, but also a lot more freedom to express themselves (until the last season when he tried to be more like Jose/Conte).

Jose and Conte are not prepared to coach for 2 years and see the results, they want players now and will openly criticise the squad for not being good enough. And I think that drives a lot of the negativity from fans. This is a massive reason why I do want Poch back because we need someone to unite everyone again. So much of what Jol, Redknapp and Poch did was unite the squad, the management and the fans, and create a feel good factor. We really need that right now. Levy is going nowhere so we need someone who gets that, gets him, and can work with that.

 

[UncleBuck]

I don't think he should have stayed. He is ingrained in Contes style of play, has a chance to assert his own thoughts, but it transpires that his thoughts are Contes in terms of tactics and style.

However, the players continuing to shell when in front is not on him. The players show no character or resilience at all. Rather than looking to kill the game off, they retreat to try and protect that they have. That is not an instruction from the manager. Dier is a liability, Lloris is a liability and Hojbjerg is not a leader on the pitch. The fact we qre trying to tie Dier up for 3 more years just makes no sense.

What is on the manager is not recognising that our midfield is limited and gets outnumbered every week. Why Sarr does not get a game alongside the other 2 I do not know. A midfielder sitting in front of a defence allows the other 2 to press a bit higher rather than retreat to the penalty area. It allows the 2 midfielders to feel that they can go wider to support the full backs.

This team has no character but I think it is partly down to the fact that the players don't have the ability to play in the formation that they are being fudged into. A tweak to a 4-3-3 would be interesting to see or even a genuine 3-5-2

We know what the team looks like for the next game and the formation. Nothing will change. This isn't just on Stellini. Levy for some reason thought this was a good idea probably to save money on sacking him rather than what is best for the football club.

Calling the players out is a bit of a double edged sword though.
Back when I played if it was going tits up you called it out on the pitch and didn’t wait to be told
By the manager.
As much as managers are to blame there’s nothing stopping the players from getting a bit more creative on the pitch

 

[fridgemagnet]

Indeed we are now at a point where he almost has to play due to injuries, and he knows when does he faces getting booed by his own fans.

And I keep getting told the fans aren't part of the problem.

Spurs fans....."Son and Kulu aren't playing well because of the coaching. Royal and Sanchez though have no excuse, BOOOOOOO!"

This is where those who booed Sanchez really show up their lack of either intelligence or plain old attention span.

So the team already drop deep because they don't trust the backline; now obviously they want to protect their teammates (or they should) so if the situation is that Sanchez has to play because of injuries then how much more and how much sooner do you think the team will drop back to try and help out Sanchez if we go ahead in any of these remaining games?

Totally counter intuitive not to mention the total opposite of being a supporter (RE: Those that booed)

I'm totally with those who hold the opinion DS induces total panic and should have been moved on where it's become clear he still has the same weaknesses as he did when we bought him (granted there's blame to also be put at those who scouted him but also those who've taken training sessions the last doG knows how many years he's been here and what have they been coaching him or why haven't they been?)

However I have never booed our own players during a match and nor do I agree with it; have supporters never noticed that the team plays quicker tempo, crisper passes, better movement when the crowd actually gets behind them? Yes I realise it's a two street that the crowd needs something to feed off as well, as soon as the crowd drops or goes jittery our players very quickly follow, that whole mentality filters through the club, same with as soon as a decision goes against us we think everyone's against us and the sky's going to fall in and then you see the players shoulders drop.

I keep banging this drum but I wish someone could do stats better than me; we've been conceding an average of 2 goals a game going back to at least Mourinho (possible second half of Poch's last season) and it's not been biting us on the arse as hard as it should because of our forward line; this season's probably the first time it's been highlighted what happens when that has bad days; it wouldn't surprise me if there's a Statto out there that shows that really we've been on relegation form for I'd say 3 seasons we've been very fortunate how bad other teams have been plus we had on form Kane and Son, this season should have the club absolutely shitting themselves (forget top four and being worthy of challenging for things)

You can't challenge for anything if you've got a team with top five quality attackers, mid table midfielders and a bottom five defence.

Christ look at our results and knock off Kane's contribution, straight away we drop to tenth in the league for goals scored, I'm almost too scared to know how many points get knocked off for games where Harry's is the winning goal! It's why anyone wanting to sell him or Son for next season I think they're on glue!

Apologies this was supposed to be two separate posts.

 

[chas vs dave]

I think the most damning thing about stellini was from his press conference, where he talks about being braver in possession, yet seems to become more and more irate when questioned about the formation and how the team is set up.

It's this inability to accept that it isn't working that reiterates why diet conte should have been let go as well.

 

[Wheeler Dealer]

I think the most damning thing about stellini was from his press conference, where he talks about being braver in possession, yet seems to become more and more irate when questioned about the formation and how the team is set up.

It's this inability to accept that it isn't working that reiterates why diet conte should have been let go as well.

The whole situation is shambolic. It’s like sacking Keith Harris as manager to then appoint Orville as his replacement.

 

[chas vs dave]

The whole situation is shambolic. It’s like sacking Keith Harris as manager to then appoint Orville as his replacement.

And now I am picturing Stellini saying "I wish I could manage" in an Orville voice

 

[ultimateloner]

I think the most damning thing about stellini was from his press conference, where he talks about being braver in possession, yet seems to become more and more irate when questioned about the formation and how the team is set up.

It's this inability to accept that it isn't working that reiterates why diet conte should have been let go as well.

He does accept it. He has done what he could to get the team on the front foot but the players wouldn't apply it consistently for their own reasons.

People who keep questioning about formation/tactics/player selection etc are the ones who are refusing to listen. They don't want to accept that the aformentioned factors aren't the reason.

This problem has tripped up all our recent managers. It's ingrained and is unlikely to resolve over a handful of games because it has defined our season. Earlier this season we wouldn't play until after we concede; now we stop playing after we lead. It's in the player's heads.

The fan base needs to appreciate that like all deep-seated mental issues, they are hard to fix. Some are not fixable.

 

[chas vs dave]

He does accept it. He has done what he could to get the team on the front foot but the players wouldn't apply it consistently for their own reasons.

People who keep questioning about formation/tactics/player selection etc are the ones who are refusing to listen. They don't want to accept that the aformentioned factors aren't the reason.

This problem has tripped up all our recent managers. It's ingrained and is unlikely to resolve over a handful of games because it has defined our season. Earlier this season we wouldn't play until after we concede; now we stop playing after we lead. It's in the player's heads.

The fan base needs to appreciate that like all deep-seated mental issues, they are hard to fix. Some are not fixable.

Deep seated mental issues? Is that why kane is essentially 35 yards from the back 5 within the first 10 minutes of the game.

I'm sorry, but we surrender the impetus from the beginning of every match and rarely start on the front foot.

 

[Thenewcat]

He does accept it. He has done what he could to get the team on the front foot but the players wouldn't apply it consistently for their own reasons.

People who keep questioning about formation/tactics/player selection etc are the ones who are refusing to listen. They don't want to accept that the aformentioned factors aren't the reason.

This problem has tripped up all our recent managers. It's ingrained and is unlikely to resolve over a handful of games because it has defined our season. Earlier this season we wouldn't play until after we concede; now we stop playing after we lead. It's in the player's heads.

The fan base needs to appreciate that like all deep-seated mental issues, they are hard to fix. Some are not fixable.

I’m so bored of this line of argument. I’m not saying player mentality isn’t a factor, but it’s the job of managers to do something about it and ours have repeatedly failed. This is despite the fact that only 5 players remain from the Poch team, so the vast majority of our first team squad have been brought in under the last 3 managers. Those managers have failed. The club has other problems, but this whole ‘it’s all the players, managers aren’t responsible for anything’ line is utter bullshit. Good managers put players in a position to succeed. Conte and Stellini have completely failed to do that this season

 

[Harrier]

I genuinely don't believe the system is the issue it's made out to be. I think the mental state of the players right now it's completely irrelevant to be honest.

Full reset to factory settings is required now.

I’d agree confidence on a whole is extremely fragile, but surely the system is contributing to our midfield being outnumbered, exposing the back line and also making it difficult to link with our forwards?

 

[$hoguN]

From what we can see so far I think we might need to step in and replace the manager sooner rather than later

 

[THE SPURSBOY]

From what we can see so far I think we might need to step in and replace the manager sooner rather than later

what manager in his right mind would take us on now ?

 

[ultimateloner]

I’m so bored of this line of argument. I’m not saying player mentality isn’t a factor, but it’s the job of managers to do something about it and ours have repeatedly failed. This is despite the fact that only 5 players remain from the Poch team, so the vast majority of our first team squad have been brought in under the last 3 managers. Those managers have failed. The club has other problems, but this whole ‘it’s all the players, managers aren’t responsible for anything’ line is utter bullshit. Good managers put players in a position to succeed. Conte and Stellini have completely failed to do that this season

Yes the managers have failed. The question is to what extent you can place this blame on them.

Good managers can get this lot motivated for a while, but it doesn't last. Thats the story since the end of the Poch era.

 

[13VanDerBale13]

I can see us losing the next 3 games, hopefully he departs after that & Atleast Mason will change the formation for the remaining games.

 

[THE SPURSBOY]

I can see us losing the next 3 games, hopefully he departs after that & Atleast Mason will change the formation for the remaining games.

I keep seeing people saying give it to Mason etc what has he done to suggest his coaching is any good or warrants coaching on his own? has it come from players or someone inside the club, confused why people think he will achieve anything diff from what we are currently getting ?

 

[InOffMeLeftShin]

I keep seeing people saying give it to Mason etc what has he done to suggest his coaching is any good or warrants coaching on his own? has it come from players or someone inside the club, confused why people think he will achieve anything diff from what we are currently getting ?

I think it’s more down to the options we had in house, he is less tied to the Conte system. Assuming we are waiting to appoint someone new in the summer so anyone would be a stop gap he’d be more likely to shake things up a bit that Stellini.

Not sure there is a great solution right now but given Stellini definitely won’t be here next year there is no incentive to try some of the younger players and see how they do, while Mason may well be here as a coach or assistant to a new boss so might have more motivation to take a look at more of the options.

 

[Gilzeanking]

what manager in his right mind would take us on now ?

We see this comment too much imo.

Short answer is a manager who wants to make a few mill per year.