When I say 15, I include those due back from loan.
Again, folks say this but the facts don't back it up.Only sauces I have are ketchup and sweet chilli mate. I also won't be saying told you so.
I actually think we should be concentrating on sorting the defence and goalkeeper which have basically cost us this year.
Attacking wise we are pretty much sorted
Good luck with that.We ain't getting a new number one keeper
Bravo is here for the foreseeable
That's a very good sign :-)Pep on Sanchez rumours: "Now is not the time to talk about it"
Good luck with that.
Even then, impossible. There aren't 4 of them on loan good enough. Maffeo would be an obvious choice, but if we're going after Sanchez and Mbappé then Unal, Celina, Roberts, Zinchenko - all the forwards are ruled out.
Mooy isn't close to being good enough, Moreno needs at least 1 more year, he's barely got his feet on the ground in Spain.
There is a reason why. It has cost us more than our defending or Goalkeeping. Even though its easier to remember when we give up soft goals. Especially when we concede little or no other chances. But people forget the 5 chances we missed before we scored and then gave up a cheap goal that cost us 2 points. Everyone then focuses on the cheap goal conceded. :(I have no doubt these will be the top priorities, but arguably missed chances cost us the year. They cost us both games against Chelsea, against Spurs, against Boro and Stoke and our first Everton game too.
Meanwhile, we've been much more defensively solid for a while now.
Pep has continually blamed missed chances for our woes, citing even the Steau game, that we won 6-0, as when he first noticed we had issues putting it away.
Getting two, or even one, of Sanchez, Mbappe or Griezmann would be a huge improvement and no doubt come along with a new GK, LB, RB, CB and DM too.
Not even Silva? I think Silva is safe.GK, FB x 2, MF x 2, Attack x 2, so at a minimum that's 7. Then we are looking at some of Roberts, Zinchenko, Celina, Unal, Moreno, Mooy, Manu Garcia and others brought in.
For me only Stones, Delph, Sane, KDB, Sterling, Aleix Garcia, Kolarov, Gundogan, Jesus and Fernandinho are safe from the chop.
We won't recognize the team next year, that's for sure.
Zichenko might be converted to a Leftback. I have my fingers crossed :-)Even then, impossible. There aren't 4 of them on loan good enough. Maffeo would be an obvious choice, but if we're going after Sanchez and Mbappé then Unal, Celina, Roberts, Zinchenko - all the forwards are ruled out.
Mooy isn't close to being good enough, Moreno needs at least 1 more year, he's barely got his feet on the ground in Spain.
Not even Silva? I think Silva is safe.
Again, folks say this but the facts don't back it up.
Our defense gives up fewer chances than anyone other than the Rags. We are on par or better in every defensive category except for saves per goal scored.
However on offense we creates as much as all the others in the top 6 but convert at a lower rate than all but 1.
Defense is not the problem. Sure its the position that has the most players fans don't like or think are dispensible. You have Ota, Kola, Clichy, Sagna, Zab and Kompany. All 6 with legimate claims for why folks want them out. But they have not underperformed relative to the other teams in the top 6. The Goalkeepers though, have.
So if we are being honest and following the stats, improving saves to goals ratio, and figuring out what to do to improve conversion of chances are the 2 biggest problems this season. The 3rd being hustle. As our 3rd weakest stat is percentage of duels won.We are at about 43% while all the others are at 50% or slightly above.
So if we really care about solving actual problems
Simply put if our goalkeeper had made saves at an average of the other 5 we'll be 2 or 3 points behind Chelsea. But if our conversion was on average similar to the others, we will be 5 points clear.
Make of that what you want.
Zichenko might be converted to a Leftback. I have my fingers crossed :-)
there is another way to look at this .
WHEN we have to defend we are shit....we don't have to do it a lot cause of the amount of possession that we have....but when we are called to defend it is atrocious and that is a fact. Pep has said it himself....the opposition only need one chance to score and they do, we need to be better in both boxes...constant comments from the manager.....when are defenders and keeper (and in particular bravo) are called into action they fail....Bravo had one shot to stop vs hull......and failed!
Stats don't always tell you the whole picture.
This is why Pep is so obsessed with possession (and rightly so) as when we have the ball the opposition cant score but as soon as they do we are extremely easy to create chances and to score against. Imagine if that weren't the case and that we actually had a keeper and a back of that when we aren't in possession they could actually do their jobs.
The danger is that against the best teams we wont always have the amount of possession so against some teams (and usually in the most important games) we will give away goals and against the likes of chelski that is a recipe of disaster as they can defend
Our defence is shocking ad the goal keeper situation (although Willy has done ok) needs to be rectified. Bravo needs to go end of.
Hey thats my line ;)What if we don't use fullbacks? Instead, Sterling and Sane as wingbacks?
Purchases
Laporte
Sanchez
Mbappe
Ederson
Problem solved. Maffeo and Zichenko return as backups for when we want to switch formations.
I can't take anyone who actually thinks the defence is shocking seriously. We've conceded 1 more goal than Spurs in the last 10 games, and that includes playing Liverpool and Spurs at home, and Arsenal and Chelsea away, while Spurs have had 1 big game.
Defending is keeping the ball out of the net, and since the halfway point of the season, we've done that better than everyone except United, who are so defensive they can't buy a goal.
If we kept the same backline of Caballero, Clichy, Kolarov, Stones and Navas, playing as they have been for the last 3 months, but our forwards put away their chances, we'd win the league next year. The inevitable improvements in personnel over the summer will just be a bonus.
How giddy will we get if he doesn't though, must mean it's on.You are all getting very giddy. I'm waiting for Big Dave to put a dampener on all this positivity !