Yeah but you were thinking Solari would discuss in front of the press. He won’t and neither will any manager.
It highlights the stupidity of his decision because he allowed the media to run with a non-story that could have been avoided if he just kept him on the bench and not used him. But he invited the press to make a story out of it and now looks like an idiot because anything he says escalates the situation. Silly man management.
Solari: "This is a year with many young players, and many other veterans. We must find the mix to compete and win points, while also allowing in those youngsters who are the future - Llorente, Odriozola, Ceballos, Reguilon, Vinicius, Valverde."— Dermot Corrigan (@dermotmcorrigan) December 1, 2018 I truly hope that this is more than just lip service. The kids deserve to play, they have earned a run in this team. Ceballos is definitely one of the best 3 midfielders on this team, Reguillon right now is offering more to the team than Marcelo. I can't take out Casemiro because he's done nothing to lose his job, but Llorente has to get more time on the pitch as part of rotations. Up front, with Bale playing like utter shit, find a lot more minutes for Vinicius.
Difference between this guy and Lopetegui is under Lope we either missed sitters or hit the woodwork while the opposition scored. Under Solari opposition has been missing sitters while we convert whatever chance we create. We have been lucky to even beat teams like Roma/Huesca.
You realize that people used to say the same about Zidane for being "lucky"? Anyway, it seems like Solari has inherited the black magic from him back in the days. Coach Solari in @RealMadrid✅4-0✅2-0✅5-0✅4-2❌0-3✅2-0✅2-0✅6-1✅1-08 Wins / 9 = 89% (Lopetegui was 43%)— Twitugal (@Twitugal) December 9, 2018
I have zero doubt that if Lope would not collapse mentally and at least made good basic decisions he would still be coach. On the other hand you have Solari who has less knowledge than Lope but is emotionally stronger and smart enough to pull out "basic strategy". Basically you make your own luck. Lope`s moronic decisions drastically affected the latter.
I like Solari (maybe I'm a bit biased because I loved him as a player), he's getting the necessary results after one of the worst starts in (recent?) history. We looked clueless at times with JL and while we aren't a dominant force at the moment, we at least keep the W's coming (which was seriously needed...). We also must not forget that we were in a terrible mental spot as well. It is what it is, Solari is working with the limited quality he has, something JL (who also had this problem) simply couldn't. Also, just dropping it out there: I absolutely love the fact that Solari is giving Llorente and Valverde big minutes. These are really good prospects. He just need to cut Lucas and play any other player in his place and I'm happy. Didn't expect fireworks this season anyway...
But if you give him crappy forwards what do you expect. Perez needs more investment or we wait for the current transition.
To his credit, he is playing the young guys, which is very positive for me. I think this is a year where we should find out what we have in Fede, Ceballos, Llorente, the FBs, and VJ. On the other hand, the football being played is atrocious, and if you put aside the win and loss column (I know, it sounds silly) and look into how we're achieving the results, it's not sustainable, and won't hold vs. quality opponents. The lack of basic tactical adjustments (another narrow pitch, another horrible performance), the mind blowing dumb subs, the continuity to play an abysmal front 3, all of these don't bode well for Solari.
Yeah, I get where you're coming from and largely agree as I'm also bored to death by our games. We need to do (much) better, but I'm just saying we need to give Solari some time, even though some of his decisions are not necessarily 'time-related'. If he keeps playing that front three and keeps boring us to death (not to mention the subs), then I agree he needs to get his share of criticism going forward.
I expect that when the cup games come in the new year he will have to get his rotations right. That should show his tactical and man management skills. If he doesn't pass that test or if we get knocked out early/embarrassingly, then him finishing the season could become an issue.
What options does he have ? We have seen for years now Benz will play no matter what , and with CR7 leaving , Perez will force any coach to play Bale. That leaves only one position left - that is of LV, that is the only position which he can change. I do hope to see VJ getting more minutes, but I really don't see how anyone else will take up Benz or Bale's position.
Is Solari friggin high as a kite? Why in the world would u bench Isco and Asensio and potentially open the door for them to leave in the summer by starting the scrub Lucas V.? That dude can barely score. Why?!!!
I strongly believe that playing Isco and Asensio more is better for us in the long run. LV is nothing but a short term solution and while Isco and Asensio don't deserve to start (neither does he btw) at least we have something to gain from them. The talent is there, we need to give them space to work it out. LV should keep playing as a sub for 30 minutes and a start here and there, but him being a regular starter? ******** that.