I can't decide if Ismael is an absolutely brilliant manager

Although they push a similar style with the pressing game, their philosophies seem quite contrasting. Struber seemed to me to be a purist and an excellent coach. At the core of his belief was the aim of developing young talent into accomplished and technically sound footballers. I think that this philosophy over-rode the compulsion to win at all costs. He did well with that philosophy and you can see that we are still reaping the benefits of what he put in the foundations of this young team. I have no doubt that Ismael is also keen to develop young talent, but he seems to me to rely more on his coaching staff for that and that his philosophy is much more about winning games, rather than playing pure football. Well, you can only argue and reason that it is working, but at the cost at the moment of some of the higher possession, short-passing, quick-moving style of Struber. From glimpses, especially from last night, I would think that the technical quality of the team will come through again and we could then become a real force to be reckoned with again under Ismael. Struber seemed to like gifted players, rather than physical ones, so we saw the likes of Thomas, Simoes, Styles etc develop under his coaching, but we could get bullied by physical teams. Ismael has inherited a more physical team and we are not getting bullied out of it as not long ago. My only hope is that the physical and dark arts aspect of developments under Ismael does not go too far and that we start to see a balance of creativity and physicality with players like Kane, Styles, Brittain etc all starting to make the midfield a joy to watch again. It's coming and I have no complaints about Ismael's amazing achievements so far. We are a strong team now and I hope that Ismael's new acquisitions will confirm this, whilst also adding plenty of creativity and skill over time. Looking good at the moment and some big tests coming up this month. COYR