While the post you responded to was not a critic of OGS in particular, as in "football the right way" is subjective, but a post critiquing the notion that Pochettino will never win you trophies.
To answer your questions I think some context is needed on how I view OGS as a manager and his approach to football:
While I have never been a particular fan of how unsystematically we have played under OGS and how dependent we have been on the players to be able to create chances (As in how we attack seems to be completely up to the players and while having the "freedom to express themselves" is good, there should also be some elements within the squad as a fundament from where the players can express themselves. This might be a factor as for why we look so helpless when some of the backups are playing.), I think OGS is a great man manager.
He has changed the, based on how it looked from the outside, bad culture within the squad and club into a positive environment where players are able to feel good and thus perform better on the pitch. This is similar to how SAF operated and he had assistants and coaches that helped him with the tactical aspect and game management. This seems to not be the case under OGS and unless we get in someone to help in this area, we are unlikely to improve without resorting to buying better players that knows how to play a certain way and can create and dictate play without depending on a coached passing pattern/movement and system on how to progress the ball and break down compact defences. (Like we did with Bruno).
Given that OGS has improved the culture within the squad, we look less panicked when we concede a goal and are not giving up as soon as we struggle in a match. Changing the culture is one of the most important steps in a rebuild and this seems to have been fixed in large thanks to OGS and his ability to speak and manage some of the players. The next step is to improve our ability to dominate and break down weaker teams that are compact, press a certain way etc. We have somewhat done this since the restart, but again, this is more on the players than any game tactic or passing pattern... So unless OGS did what SAF did and gets some help from someone more competent in the tactical and "how to play" side of things, I think OGS has taken us as far (3rd) as he is going to get. We will not be able to compete with Liverpool and City in the league purely based on having good attacking players that are given freedom and are happy. The team needs to improve its ability to pass, break down compact teams systematically and look less disjointed in both the pressing and attacking phases-->
- More players able to and contributing in attack and create/score (as exemplified by Bayern against Barca)
- Better at keeping possession and progress the ball into the final third without making high-risk dribbles or passes against weaker teams (most top teams are able to do this)
- In general have players with the ability to function in different roles in the attack, as in fullbacks can go central to pass, wide to cross and stretch the opposition and make runs to disrupt the opposition's backline. Especially the fullback positions.
As already stated, OGS has done one of the most important things right: Fixing the culture/mentality within the squad. If he can get someone competent in to handle/help with how we should play then the tactical/approach to the football element of this equation might not be a problem. Still, I doubt we will be able to play even somewhat similar to the way Bayern does (which I think is the best/most dominant we have seen for the last 20 years, or at least since peak Barca under Pep) based on the current players in the squad and some of the players OGS has signed. And based on the players bought and the amount spent on them, our squad is not that much better or suited to play the way, I subjectively think, we should aim to play and is most likely able to make us competitive at the highest level again.
AWB really struggles on the ball and is unlikely to improve much in this area without completely changing the way he controls it, which again is unlikely to happen soon as this would take a serious amount of drilling to change. Maguire lack of mobility makes it extremely risky to have a high backline with the fullbacks pushing forwards since he will struggle in any 1v1 situation against an agile attacker with space unlike Boateng (not Messi) or Alaba. It is not that he is a bad defender, only that he got that major weakness that can be exploited in certain situations. Daniel James is a pace merchant and completely dependent on space to be effective.
Bruno is a good player that suits most approaches on how to play football.
TL;DR: What OGS has done right: Fixed the culture/mentality within the squad, which he should get a lot of credit for and is fundamental for the future. If he can get someone in that helps with the tactical side and help us play a more cohesive and possession-oriented approach (Bayern) then we might be able to challenge City/Liverpool in the future. If not, then I think we have reached our peak with OGS as the manager. Not impressed with the transfers made last summer.
