The fact that he's managed to turn around loads of mediocre first half performances in to much improved second half wins just goes to show what a great manager he is. He see's whats going on and tweaks it second half, Huddersfield Middlesbrough and Bournemouth but to name a few. Seems to be a trend going on here and long may it continue. Well done that man, hope we can hang on to him.
I'm struggling to think of a game under Val where we played better in the first half than the second.
On the flip side, some of the half time subs have been a case of the original team selection going wrong (styles for Williams at Bournemouth) or bringing forward a change that he would’ve made on 55-60 mins (Morris on a number of occasions). But he sees the changes needed, and makes them. Plus he’s not hauled anyone off after 30 mins, so gives a fair chance.
The fact that we we're 2 goals to the good and they threw the kitchen sink at us second half left us defending what we had. I wonder how many goals we've scored second half compared to first half under Val.
I would go as far to say he’s the most influential manager we have had - the impact his decisions / half time team talks have on games is not something I have really witnessed before to this degree. Best manager we have ever had in my lifetime ? Probably.