Maybe March, Hinshelwood, Enciso and Mitoma would've improved us greatly if they had been fit all season however the rest have been bang out of form for most of the season and it doesn't compensate for the glaring gaps in midfield.
You never know - trip to his dentist in Italy again might be in order
FHS, why start deconstructing what was the best season on record the Club has ever had?
Makes me wonder if his trophy to the dentist took in another clubYou never know - trip to his dentist in Italy again might be in order
My point was/is that when his football works it is spectacular but those games did show a floor in his tactical set-up that now is happening EVERY GAME! I certainly did not forsee this situation. There are a lot on here pretending the on-field issues are down to injuries or recruitment. In my view it's down to RDZs unwillingness to be pragmatic or to have a plan b. Yes some injuries have effected things but the players in the squad today are more than capable of going toe to toe with Bournemouth.
Up to January/February we were creating so many chances per game, at least 15-20 with 8ish on target. Now it seems it looks like 6-8 chances with 2-3 on target. Something is wrong somewhere. Losing to Roma, it seems to knock our confidence badly. It needed our mind-set resetting but maybe RDZ couldn't manage this, with all the noise about moving to other clubs took his attention away slightly. Adding to this our injury problems and its a downhill slippery slope. I was hoping that we could finish above chelsea, cp and wh this season but it looks a daunting task right now. Top 10 finish would be a pretty good finish though.
It's never good when a manager is openly uncertain about his future AND publicy questions the players ability. That bizarre Lallana interview was maybe the pinch point that belief had gone.
Does strike me as rather concerning that a 19 year old kid has been the best person on the pitch in both his very first and second starts for the Club. He is excellent and full of raw talent but has none of the experienced decision making and positional awareness that we should expect from his older teammates. Most of players are looking burnt-out and struggling with motivation - That Barco, who should by rights be barely managing 65-70 minutes for his age and experience , has looked the most energetic and forwardly aggressive player on the pitch in the past two matches is a sad reflection on where the rest of the squad are lacking it seems.
The Lallana interview was certainly bizarre and probably the strangest utterances I’ve ever heard from a player. It was plain weird.
So you are suggesting only managers with £1bn squads are able to evolve their tactics. Funny how De Zerbi was actually able to get this poundland squad playing his way in the first place!
Yeah. Is it only two clean sheets all season? Not good enough really if we are aiming for a top 6-8 finish.
We play in a way that can make good defenders look crap. Fine when the goals are flowing. I suspect eventually they get fed up with being the fall guys and that probably isn’t healthy. We could either be brilliant again next season or lose all confidence and become a Sunderland-style defensive shambles. My money’s on the former… just about.
Which is also why he had to evolve but didnt
