Anyone expecting a change of style once safety is guaranteed is likely to be disappointed. Le Bris will be laser-focused on results and finishing as high in the table as possible.
I travelled to the game against Crystal Palace by train and had plenty of opportunity to read the responses to the team announcement. I have to confess I was bewildered by the reaction to “5 at the back”, with so many people questioning Régis Le Bris’ set-up.
It was clearly going to be the flexible formation that the French coach has opted for previously, with Trai Hume dropping into defence out of possession and stepping into midfield when we had the ball, allowing Nordi Mukiele to operate as a traditional overlapping full-back.
The benefit was that this allowed Enzo Le Fée the freedom to play as a number 10, and get closer to Brian Brobbey. The big, burly Dutchman is perfectly capable of holding the ball up and occupying several defenders but he has looked isolated in recent games, and he needs someone around him to make the best of that attribute. It was precisely that set-up that brought the equaliser, with Hume moving infield and laying the ball off to Xhaka, with the skipper setting Mukiele racing down the wing to deliver a dangerous cross. Brobbey had the awareness to let the ball run and, just behind him, Enzo struck a perfect first-time finish beyond the despairing Henderson.
I was also rather bemused by some of the comments afterwards that Le Bris should have “cut loose”, “taken the shackles off” and “gone for it” once we were ahead.
Firstly, it was only some excellent shot-stopping from Dean Henderson that prevented the Lads adding a third – he got fingertips to Hume’s powerful strike then made two excellent close-range saves to deny Mayenda and Ballard.
Secondly, that isn’t the way Le Bris chooses to operate. And it is this latter point that worries me, as far as the expectations of our fans are concerned.
Régis Le Bris has set out a very clear model of playing, based on defensive solidarity and a commitment throughout the team to defend our goal. It is an approach that has turned us into the best-performing newly-promoted team in years, currently sitting in 9th place in the Premier League at time of writing, unbeaten at home, with only Arsenal and Manchester City conceding fewer goals, and just 2 points off a European spot.
Le Bris has the strength of character to go his own way, whatever the views of others. That was evident when he chose to sacrifice the results of the meaningless Championship games at the end of last season, in order to go into the play-offs in the best possible condition. While others were concerned about “momentum” and “form”, he chose his path and stuck to it. It was also clearly expressed in his comments after promotion was achieved – “we won’t play like Guardiola or De Zerbi because we are Sunderland and I am Régis Le Bris”.
Anyone expecting a change of style once safety is guaranteed is likely to be disappointed. Le Bris will be laser-focused on results and finishing as high in the table as possible.
And this is where I have concerns about the expectations of our fanbase. I have seen the same comments about “letting the shackles off” and “cutting loose” about how the approach may change as the season progresses, and our Premier League status is secure. If you have a hankering for the days of Allan Johnston flying down the wing and Kevin Phillips banging in goals for fun, I suspect you won’t get that. Le Bris will still be setting up against teams who have two or three players who jointly cost more than our entire squad. There is no rational case to be made for a change in tactics.
And we, as fans, need to stay behind Le Bris and his methods. The dangers of not doing so are obvious when you look down the table at West Ham. It pains me to write in defence of David Moyes but he achieved far more than he should have in his time there. He delivered 16th, 6th, 7th, 14th, and 9th-placed finishes in the Premier League, and won the Europa Conference League, their first major trophy in over 40 years.
Like Le Bris, Moyes favoured substance over style, function over form and that, ultimately, was his undoing. West Ham are steeped in a culture of swashbuckling expansive football under managers like John Lyall and Harry Redknapp. They had grown accustomed to being entertained by midfield maestros like Trevor Brooking, Frank Lampard Sr and Joe Cole, flying wingers such as Alan Devonshire and Trevor Sinclair and lethal strikers – Tony Cottee, Paulo Di Canio and Jermain Defoe spring to mind.
And some of their managers struggled with the weight of expectation to entertain – they became the archetypal example of a team playing expansive football that was “too good to be relegated”. History proved differently.
And so it was with Moyes. There was an element of entitlement within their fanbase – “we want to win a trophy but we don’t want to do it THAT way!” His approach was considered uninspiring and dull, and despite a trophy and a European semi-final place the following season, the “Moyes Out” banners appeared and the boos began, and his contract was not renewed.
Since Moyes, Julien Lopetegui and Graham Potter have struggled to live up to the fans’ aspirations, and Nuno Espírito Santo will do well to keep West Ham in the Premier League when the season ends.
It is an example that Sunderland fans would do well to heed. Régis Le Bris is finding a way to succeed in the Premier League that has eluded newly-promoted teams in recent years. If you think he is keeping the shackles on our team, it is worth remembering that his approach has also shackled established Premier League sides – West Ham, Crystal Palace (twice), Nottingham Forest, Aston Villa, Wolves, Chelsea, Everton, Arsenal, Bournemouth, Liverpool, Newcastle, Brighton, Manchester City and Tottenham.
I think Southampton fans would willingly have exchanged Russell Martin’s attempt to play open, flowing football for the commitment, determination, drive and discipline that we are witnessing, week after week, from this squad. And this team are giving us moments to savour – the opening day thumping of West Ham, the 10-man performance at Villa, Talbi’s winner against Chelsea, Brobbey’s equaliser against Arsenal, the comeback victories against Bournemouth and Palace and, of course, a victory in the derby.
It would be nice to walk away after a match having watched the Lads dominate the opposition with free-flowing football – but this is the Premier League, and it’s unlikely that any opponent will allow us to do that.
Instead, with our AFCON contingent returning and the never-say-die attitude that Le Bris has embedded in the squad, we can continue to look forward to walking away after a match with another point or three on the board, as the season heads towards a conclusion. Whether or not “the shackles come off” or the team “cuts loose”, if the approach Le Bris favours continues to deliver the results it has done this far, he deserves nothing less than our unwavering support. The social media coaches can play out their favoured formations on Football Manager.
This is the Premier League – the “what” is far more important than the “how”.
Category: General Sports
