East Level 2
Well-Known Member
There are lots of things wrong and they impact in different ways but essentially we aren't a team.
We are a collection of extremely gifted and skilful footballers and often rely on moments of sheer brilliance to win games - see the League Cup final when our opponents had bugger all ability but lots of huff and puff. They offered the same limited ability last night but we couldn't conjure up sufficient magic after the first goal.
We rarely break with pace as a unit, we don't have the muscle of Liverpool or Chelsea but the huge amount of skill means that on our day we are unstoppable. We miss Tevez's ability to run at defenders without falling over (Dzeko) or losing the ball (Negrado), and unlike Jovetic he can stay fit for more than half an hour. Navas showed on Sunday that he isn't the answer even though he's an improvement on Sinclair and AJ.
And there's plenty wrong with our much-vaunted academy - Is Micah the last regular to graduate? Or possible Sturridge?
And the fans certainly don't get behind the team as much as I'd like at home games but some of that could be the ground layout - ie the gap between the two tiers at the ends and the silent corporate bits on the sides.
But, and this is a big BUT, we are watching the most talented bunch of players who have ever represented the club. We had scored an absolute bucketful of Goal of the Season contenders in the first quarter of the season and continue to score crackers. Just as we did in the last two seasons.
We don't appear mentally strong and the manager can be an arse (same mistake of under-estimating opponents against Watford and Wigan), but we only need a few players to improve matters; we've just got to get them before Chelsea or Liverpool do.
We are a collection of extremely gifted and skilful footballers and often rely on moments of sheer brilliance to win games - see the League Cup final when our opponents had bugger all ability but lots of huff and puff. They offered the same limited ability last night but we couldn't conjure up sufficient magic after the first goal.
We rarely break with pace as a unit, we don't have the muscle of Liverpool or Chelsea but the huge amount of skill means that on our day we are unstoppable. We miss Tevez's ability to run at defenders without falling over (Dzeko) or losing the ball (Negrado), and unlike Jovetic he can stay fit for more than half an hour. Navas showed on Sunday that he isn't the answer even though he's an improvement on Sinclair and AJ.
And there's plenty wrong with our much-vaunted academy - Is Micah the last regular to graduate? Or possible Sturridge?
And the fans certainly don't get behind the team as much as I'd like at home games but some of that could be the ground layout - ie the gap between the two tiers at the ends and the silent corporate bits on the sides.
But, and this is a big BUT, we are watching the most talented bunch of players who have ever represented the club. We had scored an absolute bucketful of Goal of the Season contenders in the first quarter of the season and continue to score crackers. Just as we did in the last two seasons.
We don't appear mentally strong and the manager can be an arse (same mistake of under-estimating opponents against Watford and Wigan), but we only need a few players to improve matters; we've just got to get them before Chelsea or Liverpool do.