Quote Originally Posted by jackal2 View Post
IB's post-match interview worried me just a little bit in that he fell back - again - on words to the effect of 'the players didn't implement Plan A well enough'. After the Chesterfield game the words were that they weren't brave enough on the ball and clinical in front of goal. After the Stockport game he basically said that half the team was ill. And yesterday he effectively said they turned up with the wrong attitude.

I'm not saying there isn't a considerable degree of truth in all of these observations, but is IB also looking at himself in the mirror in the same way?

After three heavy defeats against decent teams who play a certain way, is he recognising that Plan A itself has not worked for these games, with the intricate passing game effectively falling apart when we're put under intense pressure? This is no longer a one-off occurrence but a repeated flaw in games away from home, and I don't think it's good enough for IB simply to say the reason we lost is that the players didn't implement the plan well enough. That has just a whiff of arrogance, stubbornness or delusion about it.

To be fair, not everything managers say in post match interviews reveal what they really think. I can see why you wouldn't admit to an audience of thousands, probably including your next opponents, that there may be a significant tactical flaw in your game. These are discussions that need to take place in the dressing room and on the training pitch. I hope however that behind the scenes and in his own mind, IB realises that the way he has us playing does leave us vulnerable to collapse away from home, and that he does have some culpability for this. At the very least he needs to tweak our approach away from home to ensure we don't bring unnecessary pressure upon yourselves in hostile opposition stadia. It's not good enough just to conclude that the players weren't at it and the result would have been different if they were. There is a more fundamental problem that needs addressing, especially if we make the play-offs where we will face this situation again.
I agree with all of that, but as far tweaking the approach away from home you may as well be talking to a brick wall..