It wasn't really a "very weakened side". We just have a very weak squad. There's a difference. We've gone back to having purple players, which means on our day we can win matches with a full strength XI, but once you're dipping into the subs bench the drop in quality is dramatic. It's a model that's failed Ashley twice. But obviously twice isn't enough of a lesson. What he clearly thinks is his purple's needed to be pricier; something very anti-Rafa. Rafa would rather have 2 x £20m players than Joelinton and Carroll. Not defending Rafa, mind, he really did buy some crap.
