17 Feb 2025 13:35:30
As expected, with the midfield options we had, we were often overrun. Spense completely Skinned Mazraoui time and again. Despite being largely unprotected our defense conceded only one goal. We also had some periods of dominance and had many good chances. Garnacho should have scored once if not twice, and brought out 2 decent saves. There were a few other decent chances.

It's not the system, it's the personnel. We are generally too slow in midfield and defense. We have a forward line led by a CF who can't shield the ball effectively, is a poor passer, and often makes the wrong runs. When we do have chances we do not convert. We lack pace all over the field. We're simply not incisive and there's a complete lack of confidence. We do not have a leader on the field. For all his faults Maguire would be better than Bruno.

You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.

1.) 17 Feb 2025
17 Feb 2025 16:09:27
But we were never this poor under ten Hag, OGS, LVG and Jose. The league position never lies.

2.) 17 Feb 2025
17 Feb 2025 16:34:43
You can’t win much with clown of a GK
Very slow ponderous CBs
De ligt is poor mazaroui is poor Mc Guire is slow
Midfield even when Mainoo in there got no legs, Ugarte not even good enough all too slow
Garnacho awful finisher and Rasmus is diabolical as a striker as is Zirkee

So with that spine you don’t have cat in hells chance in the EPL

New GK better CBs midfield with legs and striker who can actually hold the ball up win a header once in a while, got a brain make the right run not always on his heels and can hit a barn door would be great start! That’s a hell of a lot required before you get cover for them, so going to be tough 2-3 years if we are lucky!

3.) 17 Feb 2025
17 Feb 2025 21:02:59
Agreed with most but I think De Ligt and Mazraoui are good players. We need another CB for sure but a better CM and a better GK are far higher priorities. We need a better striker and a really incisive no. 10.

4.) 17 Feb 2025
17 Feb 2025 21:54:06
So many of the players just not good enough unfortunately- years of terrible recruitment and awarding silly contracts to “protect player value”.

Really painful at the moment but am optimistic clear out will continue in the summer, as well as bringing in new players, plus a few youth stars as well.

Rumours (completely unfounded! ) of:

Quenda at RWBack (Dalot surely had to go; not suited to new system or intelligent enough to adapt)

Inacio Left CB

Ederson CM

Rigg CM/ AM

Samu (Porto) striker

SURELY need to upgrade GK also - too unpredictable and error-prone.

Just need to avoid being relegated in the meantime….

5.) 18 Feb 2025
18 Feb 2025 06:37:48
Interestingly the McFred and Bruno midfield 3 that we all slated for years was better than the current squad. We’ve slowly downgraded every season over the years, sleeping our way into 1516th, and who knows maybe lower…

Relegation is a reality if one of the clubs below us find some form. Wolves have it in them to fight their way up.

6.) 18 Feb 2025
18 Feb 2025 06:57:46
Yes Don they maybe good, but I’m saying not good enough, Mazaroui can’t pass a ball 10 yards his positioning is not the greatest and he is quite easily beaten man to man, back up player at best, would never get in Liverpool or Arsenal, City team…
Deligt just too slow gone backwards over past few years, slow to react, never on front foot, he is Dutch equivalent to McGuire.
For me necessity is GK not this clown and please god a decent Striker, CB and a decent midfielder that’s just for starters all but the GK need some pace and legs but that new spine is a start and will make us loads better, not world beaters by any means but maybe challenge for top 6, to get back anywhere near top we need miles more.
But looks like with the only signing that made by RA (like to think was his choice) he is going for power and pace, so that bodes well, but the flip side it shows that most of our starting 11 are not suited to RA I’m struggling to think who in our squad actually processes power and pace, we have a very slow ponderous squad.
Garnacho got pace but awful finisher and no power
Rasmus supposedly got pace, but no brain no aerial ability no hold up play and can’t hit a barn door and certainly is as weak as wet paper bag!
Could go on but what’s the point, we all know in reality it’s an awful squad of players….
One caveat and 1 mistake I think RA made is on Sunday, he should have given Obi at least 20 mins, after all getting zilch out of Rasmus, so hardly been any worse!
I always said SJR was a terrible choice, but he here now so that’s end of that, we just have to hope he somehow gets 4 or 5 starters in in the summer and it needs to be early, if it’s only1 or 2 in we are in serious trouble next season.

7.) 18 Feb 2025
18 Feb 2025 09:46:10
Hi German, can I ask you why you think SJR was a terrible choice? Like a lot of people I thought anyone but the glazers got to be positive on the football side and when he talked about the dream team in place at top of the tree with all football men I was cautiously optimistic . what made you sceptical from the start?

8.) 18 Feb 2025
18 Feb 2025 10:59:19
We were no where near good enough for the team we want to be against Spurs, but I agree that it wasn't entirely awful.

We did create some good chances, but just failed to finish them, Spurs were more dominant but didn't overly look dangerous, certainly they didn't have many great chances to score. Considering everything the team had to cope with it wasn't a terrible performance and we can probably say we were unlucky to lose, even if we didn't probably do enough to deserve to win.

It does seem like luck has totally abandoned us right now. We had three half chances in the space of 40 seconds before Spurs scored. There was a pinball situation in the Spurs box but it never quite fell for any of our players. The ball bouncing off of players left right and centre but never falling in a good position for one of our players.

Maybe you'd right that off under normal circumstances, but a minute later the same thing happened at the other end in our box with the ball falling at the feet of Maddison with him 4 yards out and our keeper on the floor with the goal at his mercy. We all know how that ended.

That highlighted that luck was seemingly against us there, unlucky both that the ball never fell for us, yet presented Spurs with a tap in.

A draw on the balance of play would have been a fair result, and there are a few things that can be taken away from the game where we could see some good things starting to take shape. It's just a long process, it needs time.

9.) 18 Feb 2025
18 Feb 2025 13:10:39
Agreed Shappy, but the ball never falls to our players because they always so static and on there heels all the time like Martial was reacts after the event that’s not having a brain, Maddison goal perfect example he gambled on our clown not pushing it out of danger area and bang goal, you hardly ever see our players gamble so when it’s pin ball they stand static, proper players take a gamble!
Burden, reason I think SJR was a terrible fit and all the claptrap about being his club, months before Chelsea was his club, but more than that look at ineos the Grenadier being prime example, it’s done on a shoestring, bought a factory in France of all places to build them because it was cheap, paid no attention to terrible work force and rules regulations, built a vehicle for the commercial trade that did not even meet HMRC standards for commercials so had to return huge amounts of deposits, promised something superior that’s turned out to be a lame duck! Then look at Nice! Enough said on them!
Live in Monaco I wonder why! Won’t go into that yes wise maybe but everyone knows why.
Now look at United, everything always done on the cheap. For someone who made a fortune I am flabbergasted how… that’s my personal reasons why I never thought he was good fit, that’s before we even get to 0.1% right hand man!
Glazers must have thought it was Christmas when he rocked up with that deal…… but he here, the crap players are here, so let’s see what happens in the summer, if it’s as bad as January, then we got serious problems.