I couldn’t celebrate Sergio’s second because I had no confidence that we’d be able to withstand the pressure that Palace would put on us even for just a few minutes. At no point in the game did I believe that we’d win.
When I reflect on the season so far, I can really only put significant blame on the management hierarchy. Allowing Kompany to leave without replacement was a crippling blow to our chances, even before the season had begun.
The issues cannot be put down to underinvestment either. Whist we failed yet again to strengthen after a positive season, we have spent a staggering amount of money on defenders over the last decade. The problem is that, Laporte aside, the last decent defender was signed under the Hughes era. This is simply just not good enough a return on investment.
Scouting and player acquisition is to blame. It has become abundantly clear that we lack the ability to identify good defenders. Laporte aside, we need to rip out that entire back line and start again. Stones, Otamendi, Zinchenko, Mendy and Walker all need to go. All of these players have serious deficiencies. We shouldn’t be handing over the task of rebuilding the defence to the same people that have repeatedly failed in this area for much of the past decade.
I said after the Wolves game that I expect more disappointing games this season. The same is still true. Nothing will change until the defensive personnel change. Pep can’t coach these problems away. The task of the rebuilding over the next few seasons is enormous. To wait for the Summer would be another catastrophic error.
