mike channon´s windmill said:
Agree - some of our players are just not good enough - the question has to be begged with so much cash at our disposal - WHY aren´t they good enough? Mancini or Marwood?
I don't think its the players. Don't get me wrong, they are not all Messi that's for sure. And we paid over the odds for most of them because of the situation we are in - i.e. we were not a particularly appealing club for an outsider to want to join. So we have overpaid and we have also attracted - by and large players motivate by cash.
But still, it's not the players. They are good enough and for the most part are trying their hardest. I am sure its the way we are set up and what we are asking our players to do. Take Milner for example. Not the most skillful of players for sure, but works his socks off and will run up and down all day. A player who would get into most if not all Premiership squads in my view. A box to box midfielder who can run and tackle and pass and shoot a bit. But his lack of skill and pace means he can hardly ever beat a man. So where do we play him? On the bloody wing where he can't get past any left back in the league and he manages 0.01 crosses per game. Does my bloody head in.
I am no tactical genious, but there are countless other bizarre choices. I mean, Dzeko needs service, right? One of the best headers of the ball, right? So why on earth is Johnson on the bench? And when we do bring him on, why isn't he on the left? I know Mancini likes wingers swapped over, but surely not when you want crosses played in to a 6 foot 4 front man, handy in the air. Get Johnson sprinting down the wing, banging crosses in at speed WITH HIS LEFT FOOT. Surely? Has Mancini never seen Bale playing at Spurs?
I could go on.