[Albion] Roberto De Zerbi: "Now we don't have high motivation"

[Giraffe]

I’ve thought about this a lot today. My initial post (a few pages back) was expressing disappointment that our players couldn’t be bothered.

However having had time to reflect I think some of us are being overly harsh. One of the things I like about RDZ is his honesty. The problem is sometimes that means he is too honest for his own good. They won’t be the first set of players in the history of football to be coasting towards the end of the season. We can’t go down, quite a few who played yesterday are either knackered, or young and inexperienced. The injuries have done for us. We all know that. I hoped for better but overall maybe we should cut the team and manager some slack. They have done so much this season and I still think had we got a better draw in Europa we could have gone very deep in that competition. We may well have been beaten by the winners.

So overall, I’m still Team RDZ.

 

[Zeberdi]

City won the league last season with the fewest amount of players - 19 I think it was

But with an average value of £60m + with half a dozen worth over £100m.

That is a little different when your squad is bloated out with inexperienced 19 year olds from South America for £8-10m or 30 year olds on free transfers.

The problem with depth, isn‘t the number in the squad but the quality - wasteful subbing because kids and oldies can’t manage 90 mins when you would rather use those substitutions to make tactical changes from the touchline or having to play without wingers because instead of backup dedicated wingers or FBs you are bloated out with aging players who are Jack of all trades but masters of none.

There’s 19 players and there’s 19 players. It’s apples and oranges.

 

[Zeberdi]

So overall, I’m still Team RDZ.

Good - that’s one Moderator on board declaring for Team RDZ - any more?

 

[London Irish]

That does intimate the point of continuity of selection (especially back five and CM duo) which we had a lot of last season. We've had the opposite this season, most due to factors beyond our control, others due to decisions made by RDZ. What are we up to now: 130 changes?
Much of this discussion has brought back to me a widely held comment on here justifying the rotation earlier this season which was that this policy would bear fruit in the second half of the season. Well, it hasn't.
In terms of rotation, look at what Arteta (and to a slightly less extreme example, Pep) does: despite playing c60 games a season, you can pretty much predict their starting 11 with just the odd tweak here and there.

We rotated much more earlier in the season when we had our best run of results. I think that’s a bit of a red herring, indeed I think De Zerbi was proved correct back then on the impact of accumulating injuries and flogging players to death like Adingra who now look shadows of their earlier-season selves

 

[Weststander]

We rotated much more earlier in the season when we had our best run of results. I think that’s a bit of a red herring, indeed I think De Zerbi was proved correct back then on the impact of accumulating injuries and flogging players to death like Adingra who now look shadows of their earlier-season selves

Perhaps we lack a cohort of quality players in the age group 24 to 29 who can hack game after game? Whilst other clubs have that in spades.

Adingra, Enciso, Ferguson, Hinshelwood, for example, are young and need protecting.

 

[Pliny the Gull]

De Zerbi now being discussed on TS (again - this time Kelly/Murphy).

paraphrased :

’Best players sold ‘from under him’’
’Huge injury list’
’Extra games in Europe’

But…..

Too predictable to play against
Too much rotation/too many changes, never nailed down a PL team (injuries accepted)
Teams setting out to press high and catch us in possession
De Z not helping with his comments on speculation about his future

Bang on post. Totally agree. Sums up the last 4 months perfectly.

 

[Krafty]

I understand that we have lacked some motivation after being knocked out of Europe, but doesn’t that show a weak mentality? It’s been several weeks since Roma and it seems like we still haven’t recovered.

 

[Pliny the Gull]

That's the buts by the way, not the TS theory's

 

[Weststander]

I understand that we have lacked some motivation after being knocked out of Europe, but doesn’t that show a weak mentality? It’s been several weeks since Roma and it seems like we still haven’t recovered.

I think it’s overplayed as the turning point. We were poor to shocking against Wolves and Fulham just before the trip to Rome.

 

[albionalex]

City won the league last season with the fewest amount of players - 19 I think it was

They had 24 different players make an appearance.

 

[Mont-Colt65]

You're right in that we have made some unfortunate decisions this season with the signings you mention. I think MacAllister going still hurts for a lot of reasons, but in hindsight it was probably getting him to sign that new deal-clause included- that got us to Europe in the first place.

Personally think losing Mitoma wouldn't be a total disaster on the same scale as what we experienced last summer- although don't confuse that with me saying I would want to lose him. Just think he is more replaceable that some of those we've lost more recently.

Fingers crossed we keep hold of everyone we would want to and can all go into the new season with some optimism

I agree. We have already got a replacement who is much more expensive than Mitoma. We've also linked with a number of AM/classic wingers, including Nicolas Gonzalez who could be a solid addition if we decide to go for him again this summer, although I'd prefer Barco to be developed into a specialist on the wide left.

 

[One Teddy Maybank]

De Zerbi now being discussed on TS (again - this time Kelly/Murphy).

paraphrased :

’Best players sold ‘from under him’’
’Huge injury list’
’Extra games in Europe’

But…..

Too predictable to play against
Too much rotation/too many changes, never nailed down a PL team (injuries accepted)
Teams setting out to press high and catch us in possession
De Z not helping with his comments on speculation about his future

All of the above.

Probably context, but not sure about “sold from under him”, it’s not like he wasn’t aware, just ‘sold’ is more accurate.

Note you are quoting

 

[Justice]

I agree. We have already got a replacement who is much more expensive than Mitoma. We've also linked with a number of AM/classic wingers, including Nicolas Gonzalez who could be a solid addition if we decide to go for him again this summer, although I'd prefer Barco to be developed into a specialist on the wide left.

Mitoma is a magnificent player It’s not only his skills he opens up the defence dragging three players towards him. No surprise we looked like a team again when he last played.
If we lose him IMO we will struggle. The young winger Osman doesn’t look anywhere near PL level just yet.

 

[Kalimantan Gull]

Yes, but our form is L,D,L,D,L,L that is relegation form, admittedly we maybe safe and heads have dropped, what I am concerned about is, we carry this negativity into the start of next season, who is to say injuries persist etc, etc, it maybe alarmist, but a distinct possibility.

We see mid-table teams do this all the time at the end of seasons, and because of these runs of form they get installed as relegation favourites the next season, but it rarely if ever seems to have a bearing on what actually happens the next season.

Also, that run of 6 games only had 2 at home, and they were City and Arsenal. Sometimes fixtures are annoying. Anyway, lower mid-table is who we are this year. We refresh, retool, get the injured players back and go again. Any negativity will sweep away when Mitoma, March, Enciso, Hinshelwood, Ferguson and some new signings are all back on the training pitch.

 

[Kalimantan Gull]

I understand that we have lacked some motivation after being knocked out of Europe, but doesn’t that show a weak mentality? It’s been several weeks since Roma and it seems like we still haven’t recovered.

Yeah, but would have been nice to come up against some other teams in a similar boat to us, rather than facing the three title contenders in a row with a couple of relegation contenders away from home thrown in. Hard to recover when the fixture list puts us up against teams with a lot to fight for.

 

[Sarisbury Seagull]

All of the above.

Probably context, but not sure about “sold from under him”, it’s not like he wasn’t aware, just ‘sold’ is more accurate.

Note you are quoting

Also, he did a good job of selling those players every time he spoke about them last season so he was definitely aware!

 

[Springal]

Also, he did a good job of selling those players every time he spoke about them last season so he was definitely aware!

Agreed it was 3 or 4 games out from the end of last season and he was talking about Moises & Mac being sold

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Stinker of a run-in couldn't have come at a worse time. Villa. Newcastle. Chelsea. ManU. Sake! If things haven't quite gone toxic yet, they almost certainly will have done after that little lot

 

[Bish Bosh]

Yeah, but would have been nice to come up against some other teams in a similar boat to us, rather than facing the three title contenders in a row with a couple of relegation contenders away from home thrown in. Hard to recover when the fixture list puts us up against teams with a lot to fight for.

Agree, the remaining fixtures look similar unfortunately

 

[BLOCK F]

My failure to announce I haven't shagged Sara Keith-Lucas doesn't mean that I have, though

I’ve always rather fancied SKL, but if you have done the dirty deed, I may see her in a different light!
Please deny it Harry!