We have hit a period of games now where we are actually in a spot of bother. Of course, there is absolutely no need to panic or over react at this stage, and we should all still be able to see the many positives from the first half of the season, as well as the fact that we are still dominating most games and creating many chances.
But the signs are starting to creep in, and some of them I do not like at all. It’s time for Maresca to start being brave.
He does take risks, we have seen it with trusting in Josh Achaeampong. But he needs to now take these risks in-game too.
Reece James: “If you don’t take chances, sometimes that can come back to bite you in the arse.”
Our captain said this after the Bournemouth draw, but it can have so many more meanings as well.
Maresca, it’s time to take chances.
Since our last league win on December the 15th, one month to this day, we have taken just 3 points from a possible 15. I had a horrible feeling we would struggle through this ‘easy’ period that so many predicted us to have. And we have struggled, a lot.
Not winning a league game in 6 is terrible really. But, we ARE still very much in the top four race and we can still get Champions League football this season, which was the target. It’s easy to forget that many of us didn’t even think we would get top 7 this season let alone top 4. So we are on track and on course to do that still and if we do, that would be a success in my eyes with this squad.
I don’t think anyone needs to be turning on Maresca at this stage.
But I don’t want his in-game management to be his downfall. The changes he made against Bournemouth were good. Bringing on two attackers in the shape of Joao Felix and Pedro Neto and taking off a midfielder was brave. So why am I not complimenting that? Because he did it too late. Felix I think actually helped change the game for us and put us on the front foot and made us much more of an attacking threat. Our equaliser came from his threat. If Maresca had made these changes sooner then I truly believe we would have nicked it.
I know we shouldn’t have even been in that position in the first place because we should have been 3-0 up at half time. But we were in that position, and the subs should have come sooner.
And it’s not just one game, it’s my biggest gripe with Maresca, his in-game management. He makes the changes too late, and more often than not he just makes like for like subs, no game changing moves. That is what he needs to get braver with. Does he have an plan B? He needs to get one if he doesn’t. He needs to move players, change positions, add more attackers, switch up the formation maybe? Any manager should be able to do that to win a game, and at the moment we are not seeing that from him. And he needs to be brave enough to make those calls earlier in games and at the right moments, not when it’s too late.
That is my only real gripe with him right now and something I think needs to change.
But overall, we are good. We are there, we are creating chances, we are 4th in the league, and although we are in a tough moment, we should still be able to come through it.
