Square one was the 'post-2017 final decline' square one. Everyone here wanted him out for that
Only short-sighted people wanted him out. Do you blame him for the post-17 decline, and if so, which coach do you think could have done a better job than Max did?
The only year we got eliminated in the CL against an inferior team in his 5 years was against Ajax, and in that double tie a lot went their way from injuries, to us hitting the post in Amsterdam, and not getting a penalty + a blatant red card for Ajax. We would be a double tie away against Tottenham from 3 CL finals in 5 years. I can't think of any other manager that would be able to deliver what Max did with a clearly broken, over-the-hill and constantly declining squad since 2015. He was never given a complete squad post-2015 yet he delivered time and time again.
And don't tell me that it was time to move from his "pragmatic" approach. I think the last 1.5 years clearly prove that our deficiencies get exposed if we try to play in any other way.