Daniel Levy - Former Chairman

[Bishop]

Outside of the very biggest clubs in the world, most of the time you don't get your top targets - the players you mention went to Liverpool and Man Utd who are two such clubs.

This is the problem a club the next rung down in the chain is always going to face - Any coach outside of the true big boys in Europe are going to have to accept you aren't going to get your most most desired. So Poch would have to work with alternatives outside of his first choices, just like 99% of football managers do....

Sure, I do understand the realities and intricacies of making these moves. I will caveat though that in the case of Fernandes, he didn't move to United instead of us. He moved to United because we couldn't close the deal with Sporting, with whom we had a free run at. His move to United came 6 months later.

I only mentioned these names because Ndombele and Lo Celso were brought up when neither were actually the very first choices wanted. Maybe if we had actually been able to get first choices we might have kept the squad and starting 11 quality high because one rule we've never understood is if your squad even stands still, it's actually going backwards and that's what happened to us on 2016-2019.

 

[MartyFunkhouser]

Sure, I do understand the realities and intricacies of making these moves. I will caveat though that in the case of Fernandes, he didn't move to United instead of us. He moved to United because we couldn't close the deal with Sporting, with whom we had a free run at. His move to United came 6 months later.

I only mentioned these names because Ndombele and Lo Celso were brought up when neither were actually the very first choices wanted. Maybe if we had actually been able to get first choices we might have kept the squad and starting 11 quality high because one rule we've never understood is if your squad even stands still, it's actually going backwards and that's what happened to us on 2016-2019.

Equally I think some players have come here and not flourished because of the manager merry go round, thats where I place the major blame on Levy. Ndombele looked at his best under the initial start under Poch, so who knows what could have been, I will say all players have to take responsibility too

 

[Bishop]

Equally I think some players have come here and not flourished because of the manager merry go round, thats where I place the major blame on Levy. Ndombele looked at his best under the initial start under Poch, so who knows what could have been, I will say all players have to take responsibility too

I honestly think Ndombele would have done well under Poch for the same reasons. He started off very well, but then Mourinho came in and Ndombele was never the style of player he would have in his midfield. He was such a poor choice of manager for us given the squad we had at the time. Absolutely crazy decision to go with him at the time.

 

[harr1984]

I honestly think Ndombele would have done well under Poch for the same reasons. He started off very well, but then Mourinho came in and Ndombele was never the style of player he would have in his midfield. He was such a poor choice of manager for us given the squad we had at the time. Absolutely crazy decision to go with him at the time.

Agree, and do think Ndombele would have done well under Poch - I was really excited when he signed him. Must be said, I thought he was decent under Jose too but probably not utilised as well as Poch would have done...

 

[Bishop]

Agree, and do think Ndombele would have done well under Poch - I was really excited when he signed him. Must be said, I thought he was decent under Jose too but probably not utilised as well as Poch would have done...

Jose did the best he could with an particularly unsuited squad for him. He obviously saw the talent but he's just not the type of midfielder he uses. Jose prefers physically workers who pass first and work it out to the wings or his playmaker who drops, Ndombele was a progressor either with the ball at his feet or through the lines. I think he'd admire his talent from afar but would never actually sign a player like hime and never has signed a player in the mould Ndombele or his attributes for a central midfield berth.

Looking back, a coach more along the lines of De Zerbi is what should have followed Poch. Alas we had to get Levy's unrequited first crush out of his system first.