Re: Manager Merry-Go-Round
Posted: Sun Jun 08, 2025 10:57 am
English teams winning the Europa League is going to be quite common in the years to come.
Not in itself, no. It's been suggested that the constant manager churn itself and the change in direction is a significant contributing factor as players never get used to one set of methods.
When we had one of the worst injury runs in recent times, the second highest incidence of injury in the league in 21/22 (second only to Leeds), this was evidenced as Benitez had us playing one style with new medical staff (after many years under Donachie), new fitness staff, and different ways of working, then for Lampard to come in with almost polar opposite style and way of training and playing. Carlo's style before Benitez was very different again. The contrasts in load management, ways of training etc. Then there was the limited ability to change the squad to adapt.
It's apparently as much about what was happening before the change as what happened after it,and what your squad consists of. Chalk and cheese.
Obviously Postecoglou's style requires a highly physically athletic player type, but you also can't overhaul a squad in just a couple of transfer windows to accommodate it. And some owners simply won't allow the time or budget to do so, even if the latter is well within their means.
A players' level of adaptability to a new style is also important: regarding Celtic under Ange, "...as the players adapted to the demands of the system, the game fluctuation changed rather than that constant 'basketball' up and down the pitch, the team was able to control one half of the pitch more. So that stopped the centre-backs having to run in behind as often." Scotland is different to England obviously, but there'd still be a differential between Spurs and the smaller teams, and there'd still be capacity to control a match, or large parts of it, with adaptable players, and the longer the new style is played.
"It's pretty common for players to struggle with injury when adjusting to managerial changes (it's not just Postecoglou). According to Newcastle United's former head of sports science Callum Walsh, "there is some research that shows clubs who change managers see a slight increase in injury." Speaking to The Athletic, he explained: "as a player, your physiology is adapted to the way you train and play, so if for instance you play for an Antonio Conte team and it's slightly more structured and you don't look to press so heavily all around the pitch, you might find you do less high-speed running. Then, suddenly, you're playing in a different system with different physiological demands."
"Boards need to understand that this sort of thing can take a while — look at Liverpool with Klopp," says Walsh. "You have to sign players aligned with what you need. And you'll have some, and sign some, who just won't be durable enough."
For this reason, Levy has faced valid criticism for his lack of support of Postecoglou's first team, his failure ensure the squad had the depth required to deal with regular injuries.
The claim that Postecoglou’s training methods themselves are poor requires fleshing out. Sounds to me that this doesn't have much evidence to support that specifically, beyond a few reports of some unnamed players not liking the intensity, which is to be expected.