I'll tell you what our deficiency is - mental weakness. There are too many players in our team that switch off or shrug their shoulders and give up when things get a bit tough. I've said this before and it showed again today. The worst culprits in my view are two of our finest ever players - Silva & Aguero - and I fear both will be in danger of going this summer if they don't toughen up. Neither are much less talented than players like Messi or Suarez but neither has that will to win that marks those two out. Players like Tevez, Keane, Vieira, even Andy Morrison, who took games and their teams by the scruff of the neck. Silva in particular is a complete powder-puff of a player - great when he's got time and space but fuck all use when he needs to dig a bit deeper.
When I look at the great sides in my lifetime, the 60's team and that of the late '70's, I see players like Book, Doyle, Pardoe, Oakes, Summerbee, Bell, Lee, Tueart, Hartford, Watson, Kidd, Royle, Donachie. There were enough players to carry the one or two, like Peter Barnes & Neil Young, who may have been a bit more mentally fragile. Today we maybe had 3 or 4 who had that mental toughness - the desire and will to win, the strength not to make mistakes and to take responsibility when things get a bit tough. I just don't see enough of those players in my team and that's Pep's biggest problem.
This all day.As posted before, the thing that peed me off most, is flipping boro again, how many time have they robbed us. This should have been a 2-0 home win, score the second they are sunk. Never mind these things happen. Fans blaming the manager, he did not miss the chances. :-)
Less of the silver hair remarks Ezra, it's white lol ))This^ And I think I've just sussed it
(I'm slow, I know.) Maybe it's us silver haired blues who don't seem to flap? We've seen soooo much tripe over the years it's actually hard to wake from lala land where everything is blissful, including a 1-1 with 'biro. Thought we were sublime in patches x
We are playing well but as i say we are not closing the home games,beautiful football still needs the end result,our home games have been against teams we should be able to finish off,plenty of chances created but not taking them,not scoring has nothing to do with pep's way of playing as the chances are there for them but we are not putting them away at home,if you can't see a pattern is forming at then there is no point continuing thisWhat did we play West Brom in, the fucking Charity Shield?
If we weren't playing well then I'd completely understand the flapping but we're doing everything right other than putting the finishing touch on it on the brilliant build up play to kill games off. Two of those games have come directly after very difficult Champions League games. We're not a team of robots so inconsistency is bound to happen especially when the team is still learning a completely new style of play, a style of play that is very difficult to get right physically, mentally and technically. Give them a fucking break.
I wouldn't say pure luck, reflexes are important. Good comparison but If I remember right that goal was directly over Joe's head which is harder to get a hand to than the one far enough to the side of Bravo's head that he just needed to raise an arm quicker too. I'm not being awkward there though it might sound it.Well Joe didn't save the one straight at him in the FA Cup Final against Wigan did he?
Frankly if Bravo had saved it, it would have been just pure luck with a header coming at pace at such a sort distance away.
We are playing well but as i say we are not closing the home games,beautiful football still needs the end result,our home games have been against teams we should be able to finish off,plenty of chances created but not taking them,not scoring has nothing to do with pep's way of playing as the chances are there for them but we are not putting them away at home,if you can't see a pattern is forming at then there is no point continuing this
You look at the teams and players you are quoting, I watched those players, how many titles? How many bad away defeats? One year with those players, we had best home record, and, the same away record as wolves who were relegated so please, do not compare past with present without the facts. I unfortunately used to go away at that time, some of the defeats were humiliating, enjoy now, the past has gone forever :-)I'll tell you what our deficiency is - mental weakness. There are too many players in our team that switch off or shrug their shoulders and give up when things get a bit tough. I've said this before and it showed again today. The worst culprits in my view are two of our finest ever players - Silva & Aguero - and I fear both will be in danger of going this summer if they don't toughen up. Neither are much less talented than players like Messi or Suarez but neither has that will to win that marks those two out. Players like Tevez, Keane, Vieira, even Andy Morrison, who took games and their teams by the scruff of the neck. Silva in particular is a complete powder-puff of a player - great when he's got time and space but fuck all use when he needs to dig a bit deeper.
When I look at the great sides in my lifetime, the 60's team and that of the late '70's, I see players like Book, Doyle, Pardoe, Oakes, Summerbee, Bell, Lee, Tueart, Hartford, Watson, Kidd, Royle, Donachie. There were enough players to carry the one or two, like Peter Barnes & Neil Young, who may have been a bit more mentally fragile. Today we maybe had 3 or 4 who had that mental toughness - the desire and will to win, the strength not to make mistakes and to take responsibility when things get a bit tough. I just don't see enough of those players in my team and that's Pep's biggest problem.
Haha. Poor you. Think 'salt n pepper' is all the rage now! :0)Less of the silver hair remarks Ezra, it's white lol ))