This is a myth that has somehow persisted since the 16/17 season and it simply isn't true anymore. Using City and Pool as the barometer of standard needed to challenge for the title, the following regular starters simply aren't anywhere near that standard and won't ever get there either: Trippier Aurier Rose Davies Sissoko Winks Dier That's a bunch of top 6-8 players right there, no more.
I wouldn't include Sissoko and Winks in that list, and probably not Dier. Aurier does well in Europe, I think he is just taking time to adjust too the Prem.
As I said in the Real Life Football Manager thread, right back is a real issue for us: Trippier is the exact sort of player you need as a rotation option but absolutely should not be the first-choice, while Aurier simply fails to justify his starting spot or a reason for Trippier to stay on the bench so makes Trippier first choice by default - which in turn begs the question of, if we do move on Aurier and sign a right back worthy of being first-choice, would Trippier be content to drop back down the pecking order or would KWP be getting a sudden promotion into first team contention? What makes it worse is that we initially tried to sign Ricardo Pereira to replace Walker but bungled our approach, and he would've worked so much better as Trippier would have likely been first choice last season as Pereira got settled, but the roles would've reversed this season and we'd have the right back options we need.
So in your view Dier, Sissoko and Winks are of the requisite standard to challenge for major trophies? They're decent players but wouldn't get within a country mile of the City and Pool squads let alone first teams. We have been decimated down the flanks and CM due to injury and lack of investment and it is finally showing.
He isn't a regular starter. Nor should any of the players I mentioned be. All squad players at best. The fact that they all play 40+ games a season is precisely the problem.
Davies is a backup that's just played regularly due to Rose's injuries and as backups go, he's a very good one. If Rose's fitness can't be assured I wouldn't be against selling him. Trippier and Aurier can both go, wouldn't lose any sleep. Although a top RB is needed to then have KWP as understudy/ competition. Wan-Bissaka would be the dream signing. Sissoko's had an immense season and likely to win POTY but we need creativity at CM. Dier is a fantastic DM when fully fit, there really aren't many better DMs than him in the league. Winks is a great lad but everyone knows my views. Happy for him to remain a squad player but I wouldn't want to see him play too many league games.
Agree completely, our results earlier in the season papered over the cracks. We’ve not been anywhere near as entertaining this season as we have over the previous 3 or so. And now that the results aren’t going our way either. I said literally the same thing on another match thread recently. We’ve got no shock factor. No players that give managers something new to think about tactically. No unknowns. Our opposition can simply learn from what went wrong last time, and not make the same mistakes next time around.
That’s actually a good point. Gone from being well ahead of schedule to falling behind. I don’t blame Poch though. The financial constraints are why we’ve run out of steam.
Dier, Sissoko and Winks are good squad players for any decent side, including us. But we’re not trophy contenders because we’re missing the established top players as well. We don’t currently have a new modric, or a new Dembele.
Redmond a twat? 99 percent of players would have gone down holding their face to get that clown Sissoko sent off.....he did you a favour. Shame you couldn't make the most of having 12 players today.
I remember remarking a while ago that I wouldn't see a PL championship during my lifetime and some of yours. This is why. Our team can do some wonderful results sometimes,but when it comes down to the crunch,they manage to,sorry! **** up!!!!! Pretty much every season we are contending,something stupid happens. Is there a curse hanging over the club? We need to sign on a curse killer as soon as possible...….!
Really not trying to wum here but, this could be the result of your manager telling your players (and the world) that there are only two competitions worth playing for (the PL and CL) the other cups don't matter. Since then you have lost the chance of PL and look like you are not bothered to play in it any more, you are doing well in the CL and look to be trying in that. Is the attitude of the manager rubbing off on the players, once you can't win it drop it?
Yet somehow a team that has almost always had at least four of those starting has acquired more points than all other clubs than Man City over the past 3 seasons. Either the other seven are all massively better than the other top four players or you are talking bollocks. It also shows that the claimed solution of spending money doesn't work. Seven clubs have spent more on their squads than us. Five are currently below us.
One thing that would be great to know is where exactly we are in "The Project". Poch initially joined and signed a 5 year deal and often spoke of a project. As years went by, he's regularly mentioned we're ahead of schedule. I'm intrigued to know just what the schedule is. Is it from a playing perspective, a commercial one or both or <an other>? If we finish outside of top four this season, does that mean we're behind schedule or is there a longer term aim in which despite this blip, we're still on course/ still ahead?
Breaks your heart, doesn't it Smithy. Still, there's always next season in our super duper new ground, assuming we live that long! (1961 seems such a long time ago) Actually it WAS a long time ago! Glad we were there though, happy days...
Same old Spurs sadly, always the nearly men and probably always will be under these owners. We`ve done well to get to where we are, but now is the time to have a proper go. Fingers crossed Enic`s "project" is reaching the end game and we see some serious investment in the squad this summer. If that`s not going to happen, I`d thank them for the stadium, training ground etc, and ask them to sell up to somebody with real ambition, I can`t face many more years of falling just short.
It’s tough to say. I’d presume it was to reach the CL, which we done in season two. Did we then alter the plan from there or has the first five years been purely focused on just getting into the CL? There’s no doubting that long term wise the club naturally wants to win titles and trophies but how far are we away from that in their eyes? 1,2,5 years? It’d just be nice to know, not that we ever will but I’m a curious ****er.
