Colback had another stinker IMHO. He reminds me of a crab a lot of the time. Time to move him on methinks. He simply aint good enough for the PL.
He made one decent tackle near the east stand touchline at one point but apart from that I can't remember anything else of note. When he gets the ball he just passes it to the nearest player (not always one of ours), provided they aren't in front of him.
Do you lads not realise how long it takes for " Mackem contamination " to completely leave the body. Give him another 6 years and he'll be right up there with best.
It's not just Colback who passes the ball mostly sideways though. Clark Lascelles and Dummett all do it most of the time. I'm getting so frustrated with our inability to run with the ball. Even 5 yards. I wasn't at the game last night, so I'm not sure how much difference Atsu made to that style. Maybe I'm comparing KK's style of lightening fast breaks, but our midfield's pace, and defence splitting passes is nowhere near as quick as teams like Sheff Wed and Brighton. I so hope that Rafa has been quietly working to address this deficit, as this threatens to derail our present campaign, and would be completely inadequate if we do go up.
I think the players mentioned are just limited players that is all. Colback is terrible. He really is. If we do get promoted then we do need some new midfielders. I think Gayle and mitro should be ok up front with Armstrong. Goalkeeper is covered. We need some better defenders as I'm unsure lascelles is really as good as we think he is. His positional sense is bad. Clarke should be ok I think. I'm sure mbemba must have upset Rafa cause I don't get why he is not playing.
McClarens no mug. He'll be here forever because nobody else will want him, and he'll miraculously get another contract. 0 footballing ability
