stats and comparisons can be very misleading. in fact we are doing quite well considering the amount of injuriers we had this season. even now one of our most important players is missing and we are no city that has a perfect squad, as we had no plan for ages doing transfers. thats not all on eth and i think he will florish with a professional setting that will come with ineos. just wait and see where we are in two years. i think we will be back on top
They aren't deceiving. Those teams also had injuries.
For a comparison with other managers we've had over the last ten years who actually operated with Woodward:
Moyes: 13-14 - +21 goal difference, 64 goals, averaged 53% possession, took 13.8 shots per game but conceded 11.9 shots.
Van Gaal 14-15 - + 25 goal difference, 62 goals, averaged 58.8% possession, took 13.5 shots per game but conceded only 10.1 shots.
Mourinho 16-17 - + 25 goal difference, 54 goals, averaged 55% possession, took 15.6 shots per game but conceded 9.5 shots
Mourinho 17-18 - +40 goal difference (81 points), 68 goals, averaged 54% possession, took 13.8 shots but conceded 11.5 shots.
Ole 19-20 - +30 goal difference, 66 goals, averaged 55% possession, took 14.3 shots per game but conceded 10.3 shots
Ole 20-21 - + 29 goal difference, 73 goals, averaged 54% possession, took 13.8 shots per game but conceded 11.3 shots
Ten Haag 22 -23 - +15 goal difference, 58 goals, averaged 54% possession, took 15.6 shots per game but conceded 12.7 shots.
These seasons show that other managers working with the Glazers and the structure managed to achieve more than he has done, with worse squads ( including himself in 22-23). The structure can't be an excuse when managers who are considered worse have put up way better performances with less talent.
Fans don't truly appreciate how bad a job he's done this season. He's on pace to do a worse job than Moyes did in 13-14 which is universally considered a shambolic appointment. Yet they are treated differently. Our goal difference last season is far worse than Ole and Mourinho's seasons, yet they are considered to have played regressive football. My point here is that the defence of Ten Haag is hypocritical, and the stats prove it. The only argument for him is that we played better last season, controlling games better and getting in more shots. However, the stats also show that he hasn't been able to build a system that can get us goals, even to a lesser degree than all of his predecessors. So it should not have been a surprise going into this season that goalscoring would have been an issue, and would not be a surprise if we kept him that it would be the same next season. The stats I showed prior regarding Liverpool and Man City show teams that were progressing towards title contention and had far better stats than that.
The only comparison that can actually be made statistically is with Mikel Arteta. However, over the years, we spent far more than Arsenal, and had far more to work with than Arteta had at Arsenal. Arsenal didn't have the ability to lure or afford the likes of Casemiro or Varane.
Arteta despite this has still not won the league or a cup since Arsenal's turnaround last season.
However, the stats also tell us that outside of goals scored, there was a system in place last system that could have acheived success if built upon. What ETH has done tactically in making the switch in tactics has actually been criminal. We've had managers perform better than his best, so this idea that he's special based off last season is a lie.