Art: do try and read my post. In additions, your examples are trite. Whilst Villa away and yesterday were not great performances but we are missing 5 first choice players. And Villa were right on it.
I was at Brentford away, that was a proper smash and grab. West Ham was gritty but they really should have been 2-0 up and had a goal mysteriously disallowed.
So: I don't have a vendetta against Dyche. The debate I’m prompting is the timing of the change. He did do a really good job from a truly low point and I was pleased when Ange went and he joined. He was a breath of fresh air and didn’t bang on about his ex-girlfirend the whole time. Burt, it was also clear after 4 months/25 games that it wasn't working any more and we were in danger of heading one way. He had (quite viciously) alienated half the squad and lost credibility with the other half. He also took no accountability.
I do agree with Shady that Vitor is much happier to switch to plan B/C and always talks of “solutions” off the bench and has energised players. Bt is it just the first flush of romance and does Vitor have a similar half-life to Dyche? Or does he have a footballing “philosophy” and can he continue to build a squad? Or is he mainly a problem-solver who is well suited to the situation we found ourselves in?
Can take the positive either way. Spurs win and a good chance we finish above Leeds, Leeds or draw and the chance of a Spurs relegation (still my preferred outcome) goes up significantly.
I really wanted West Ham to draw yesterday. Even I would have believed that they would not overturn a GD of 18 in tow game. But they would slightly dent Arsenasl’s chances and keep the pressure on Spurs.
Oh come on guru, you cant now narrow your feelings about Dyche down to just being about the timings. You have posted loads expressing a clear dislike about him which was not referencing timings. And as for my examples being trite, I could say you are just being contrary. A good away win is dismissed as 'smash and grab' (lots of last season was smash and grab and we all lauded it), whilst West Ham is re purposed as a moral victory for west ham. We went there in a true 6 pointer and showed mental and physical toughness to get 3 points. I dont see whats trite about those examples except they dont scan for your arguments.
Look I get it, you have a preference for Vitor and his bonhomie. I am enjoying it as well. I just dont think the gap is the night and day that people are recasting things.
West Ham will almost certainly struggle again next season. They are where they are despite not having European football or a significant cup run and there's no sign of their owners getting a clue on how to run a modern football club.
For me it's all about Spuds getting relegated. I am all in with Leeds tonight.
And re Dyche, was it 52 crosses vs Everton, clearly out tacticed and not a clue how to change it. Players looking like they wanted to be anywhere but there. A slow death. I have no doubt that we would have been relegated under Dyche. Viva Vitor!!!
I was actually pretty supportive of Dyche at the beginning (cannot be bothered to trawl through posts). My doubts began to surface in Dec/Jan with bad results and poor performances vs Fulham, Everton, Villa, Braga, Wrexham. [Admittedly gritty vs West Ham, Arsenal, Man City]. It was his tactical inflexibility, refusal to take accountability and blaming of players that did it for me. Even then, appointing a 4th manager seemed like a risky idea and obviously led to widespread ridicule of the club.I wasn’t overly enamoured with the idea of Vitor but was persuaded by his short-term statitsitcs. Which, in fairness, he has largely reproduced here. I am pleasantly surprised by his tactical approach, his ability to bring a few players back into the fold and the fact that he seems like a nice guy.