Who needs a coach when every player on the field knows who is going to replace whom and at what stage of the game as well.
Mateo Kovacic starts, so he will be replaced by Ross Barkley with 15-20 minutes left of the game, or vice versa. The same goes for Pedro and Willian. Jorginho could be having a nightmare, or David Luiz – which seems to be happening more and more often, and they know they are not going to be taken off. Tactics don’t change, just a like for like swap.
Surely games are different, week in and week out and the coach needs to adjust his tactics based on what he is seeing right there and then in front of him.
Maurizio Sarri does not seem to have the tactical acumen to adjust, to change the style of play, to change things up. Take the defeat to Manchester United for example – 2-0 down at home and he goes with the same two substitution patterns, then he takes off Cesar Azpilicueta for Davide Zappacosta when we desperately need to get back in the game.
How about going three at the back? Why not take off your defensive midfielder and put on Hudson-Odoi? Go for it. Try and get something from the game, rather than meekly surrendering our trophy to the team we truly dislike.
Jose Mourinho, for all his faults, would haul off players before half-time if things were not going the way he liked them or indeed substitute his substitute, and this would often have the desired effect.
I don’t think Sarri has the knowledge or understanding that coaches need to sometimes throw the playbook out of the window, and see what’s in front of him and go and try and win the game. It is so hard as a fan to watch what’s going on the field of play and even though I am not a qualified coach, I can make the same changes as Sarri.
Football is a simple game when played well and a coach needs to have a plan A, B and even C during any particular match. I could have watched this game from my armchair and phoned in the substitutions. This is simply not good enough – unless Sarri and his stubbornness changes, we will win nothing this season and end up in the Europa again and he will be on the first plane back to Italy.
Substitutions to order…come on, this is a professional game, played by professionals, not retired bankers who fancy a career change.
