For those saying he doesn't have a distinct style of play, he actually does. Just take a look at our U-18s matches since last season, and you'll see what it looks like when it works. It's not far off from what he attempts with the first team—while defensively not that solid, it's aggressive, high-pressing football.
His downfall was his inability to consistently implement his ideas and get the players to fully buy in. There were games where we executed the plan well but failed to score, leading to increased pressure on him which led to him revert to a more pragmatic style of football.
Regarding the players he brought in, most of them are decent signings who shouldn't be immediate deadweights for the next manager.
- Hojlund: A young striker with potential. While not the most technically refined, he's arguably our best finisher at the moment and has shown glimpses of effective hold-up play.
- Zirkzee: Lacks the intensity required for the league but is a well-rounded player with good link-up ability. If the next manager can help him raise his intensity, he'll be fine.
- Mount: Unfortunately, he's been plagued by injuries. While ETH takes the blame for targeting him, the £55m fee and his ongoing fitness issues aren't entirely on him. Unless Mount miraculously overcomes his injury issues, he's a failed signing at this point.
- Antony: It's clear he hasn't worked out, and ETH should be accountable for targeting him. The £80m transfer fee was excessive, especially when he was reportedly available for around £40m earlier in the same window which the old structure should take the blame. With the new structure in place, we hopefully avoid this kind of overspending in the future. If he was bought for that £40m we would have just said that he didn't work out and moved on.
- Malacia: A cheap backup left-back who did his job when fit. It's hard to blame ETH for a botched surgery that has kept Malacia sidelined for 18 months.
- Eriksen: A free signing meant to add creativity to the midfield. He’s been more than adequate and was always likely to be phased out in a couple of years due to his age.
- Casemiro: While not necessarily a terrible player, the transfer fee was excessive, and it always felt like a panic buy after missing out on FDJ and funnily enough the only player I think was not an ETH signing as he was a completely different profile of midfielder to FDJ. We barely got one good season out of him before he was done.
- De Ligt: A solid signing at a good age who has performed well so far.
- Martinez: Despite criticism for his height( I was guilty of this too when he was signed) and not fitting some people's ideal profile for a center-back, he's been generally reliable. He had a rough start this season but has improved in recent games.
- Mazraoui: An improvement over AWB in my view. If he stays fit, he's a valuable player for any manager.
- Onana: Struggled in the first half of last season, especially in the Champions League, where he made costly mistakes in nearly every game. For me, he takes the most blame for that CL exit. However, he recovered and has arguably been our best player this season.
- Bayindir: A cheap backup goalkeeper who, like most backup GKs, rarely sees playing time unless the first-choice keeper is injured.
- Ugarte: A very ball-winner probably even world class at it, though not a playmaker, which may have led to some unrealistic expectations from him.
- Yoro: Hasn’t played a game for us yet, so it's too early to judge his success or failure.
Overall, the signings have generally been decent in my view. No club has a 100% success rate with transfers anyways.
His downfall was his inability to consistently implement his ideas and get the players to fully buy in. There were games where we executed the plan well but failed to score, leading to increased pressure on him which led to him revert to a more pragmatic style of football.
Regarding the players he brought in, most of them are decent signings who shouldn't be immediate deadweights for the next manager.
- Hojlund: A young striker with potential. While not the most technically refined, he's arguably our best finisher at the moment and has shown glimpses of effective hold-up play.
- Zirkzee: Lacks the intensity required for the league but is a well-rounded player with good link-up ability. If the next manager can help him raise his intensity, he'll be fine.
- Mount: Unfortunately, he's been plagued by injuries. While ETH takes the blame for targeting him, the £55m fee and his ongoing fitness issues aren't entirely on him. Unless Mount miraculously overcomes his injury issues, he's a failed signing at this point.
- Antony: It's clear he hasn't worked out, and ETH should be accountable for targeting him. The £80m transfer fee was excessive, especially when he was reportedly available for around £40m earlier in the same window which the old structure should take the blame. With the new structure in place, we hopefully avoid this kind of overspending in the future. If he was bought for that £40m we would have just said that he didn't work out and moved on.
- Malacia: A cheap backup left-back who did his job when fit. It's hard to blame ETH for a botched surgery that has kept Malacia sidelined for 18 months.
- Eriksen: A free signing meant to add creativity to the midfield. He’s been more than adequate and was always likely to be phased out in a couple of years due to his age.
- Casemiro: While not necessarily a terrible player, the transfer fee was excessive, and it always felt like a panic buy after missing out on FDJ and funnily enough the only player I think was not an ETH signing as he was a completely different profile of midfielder to FDJ. We barely got one good season out of him before he was done.
- De Ligt: A solid signing at a good age who has performed well so far.
- Martinez: Despite criticism for his height( I was guilty of this too when he was signed) and not fitting some people's ideal profile for a center-back, he's been generally reliable. He had a rough start this season but has improved in recent games.
- Mazraoui: An improvement over AWB in my view. If he stays fit, he's a valuable player for any manager.
- Onana: Struggled in the first half of last season, especially in the Champions League, where he made costly mistakes in nearly every game. For me, he takes the most blame for that CL exit. However, he recovered and has arguably been our best player this season.
- Bayindir: A cheap backup goalkeeper who, like most backup GKs, rarely sees playing time unless the first-choice keeper is injured.
- Ugarte: A very ball-winner probably even world class at it, though not a playmaker, which may have led to some unrealistic expectations from him.
- Yoro: Hasn’t played a game for us yet, so it's too early to judge his success or failure.
Overall, the signings have generally been decent in my view. No club has a 100% success rate with transfers anyways.
