Agree with a lot of that but Dier (is appallingweek in week out), Dele, Sanchez Toby (legs have gone), Davies (due to injuries), Sissoko (was never great) , Lloris (still ok) and winks have all deteriorated in the past 3 years. Aurier ain't but that's cos he was always dross. Ndombele should be sold as a matter of urgency imho...not at all suited to the Premier League. Could go on tbh...Lo Celso, Doherty etc
Pochettino and Mourinho, two of the best managers in the world at the moment, both with extremely different styles and managerial qualities couldn’t get a tune out of this squad since the beginning of 2019. The inexperienced Mason has also failed to do so too in his short stint, only picking up wins in what we’d call “bankers”. If Poch or Jose can’t get more than one or two firing at any given time, I honestly don’t see how another manager can come in and improve us by 10 or so points without a significant overhaul of the squad. We have some horrifically bad footballers at this club. 4 years ago I called out Winks as a major weak link, now we have about a solid 10-12 who are on a par with him.
Some players have certainly declined. Some were never up to it. But you’re right that the intensity and concentration isn’t there and I think that’s a group dynamic as well as poor management.
There was some interesting research done by StatDNA about ten years ago on passing skill in the Brazilian top division although I can't find the actual paper now. There was no statistical difference at all between the passing skill levels of any of the teams once the difficulty of the attempted pass was corrected for. The best teams and players simply executed easier passes. I was reminded of that watching Dele, Kane and Son tonight. They were all too impatient and tried too hard to hit worldie passes.
Poch seemed very good at keeping the team together early on but certainly lost something in early 2018 and after that we only played well in the CL knockout stages. I don't think Mourinho was right for us but I think we would have got 10 more points under him and gone further in the cups if we hadn't thrown away the three goal lead against West Ham. Everything changed after that and we've looked scared ever since.
The difference between the top 25% and the top 5% of players is partly elite technical ability but is mostly in the mind. Concentration, consistency, decision making and clarity of mind in the heat of the moment. I think there’s also something to be said for the training of players at the top teams where the movement and positioning of players means that easy passes (but still progressive ones) are more available. Look at Pep’s teams over the years with their passing triangles and patterns, and compare that to us over the last few years. So many times there isn’t someone coming deep enough quickly enough for the ball, or a lack of options in the final third.
If I was failing to do my job I'd be fired. Players are simply failing to do their jobs with no consequences. Seriously, how does Dier get games while playing so poorly. Reguilón has done one good the (the assist last Sunday for the Hoejberg goal) but has been awful for weeks. I could go on. If I was making massive errors in Judgements I'd be in deep **** yet Levy has done 4 monumental screw ups in 18 months...JM being made manager, attempted furlough, the ESL, Mason managing the Cup final and not sorting out a new manager when we could all see it was going pear shaped back in February. he has made poor management choices before but doesn't learn from it. I have no issue with mistakes, losing and taking risks. But I have a huge issue with not learning from mistakes, blaming others for your mistakes, not trying and incompetence. I see a mixture of these things on and off the pitch. I have seen plenty of crap spurs teams but rarely seen a good spurs team not put the effort in on a regular basis and that is what I have seen so many times over the past two years. obviously just an opinion mind, but it's how it looks to me It ain't about losing for me. It is about not doing your best . There is no way any player can say that they played anywhere near their best or gave it everything tonight. And that has been the case for two seasons at least. 4 wins against the other 9 sides in the current top 10 says everything there is about the complete lack of giving their best. No matter how difficult things get, I go to work and give it my all. I support colleagues having a difficult time and work bloody hard. I learn from my mistakes and do not repeat them. I ain't nothing special cos most people do this every day. But I have seen insipid performance after insipid performance. The same mistakes week in week out.
In at least three cases the problem tonight was trying too hard instead of doing the simple thing. I've had quite senior jobs in big organisations and they are a lot harder to do than they look from below. Mistakes are more visible and when you try to learn from them and change things half your team sees that as a weakness.
What Poch lost was players’ ability. His biggest fault was being too loyal to those on the decline that had previously served him well, he also allowed some to have a free pass despite their performances. By the time he finally started realising this it became too late. He then compounded matters by adding further dross to the team. I don’t know whether Jose was or wasn’t right and that an alternative would’ve done any better. This squad is dead, it’s been carried by Kane and to a much lesser degree Son, who in recent months has also been extremely poor. Outside of that, there is a severe lack of quality in this team and squad. We’re not even a shadow of the team we had in 16/17, in fact not even a shadow of the team we had in 2018 and that began to have some weaknesses.
But I think you also have to take into account that the league is harder then the last few years. Leicester, West Ham, Everton, Leeds, Aston Villa have all improved their squads and management. This was not the season to go off the boil because we also lost the support of real fans and WHL as a fortress.
The moment we start fearing those teams is the moment you realise how far we’ve fallen. Though you’re right, they’ve improved their squads, we haven’t and that’s now why we’re mixing it with them or being surpassed. Only two of our players would make Leicester’s XI right now and that’s based on quality, not just form. They legitimately have a much better XI than us and it isn’t just through tactics or management.
This is finishing like the "Leicester season" where,in the last match,we played relegated Newcastle where we got hammered 5-1 and went from a second finish to 3rd. Remember? I'll never forget that one. Today we had Aston Villa on the menu .......at home.......and screwed that up! Letting teams leapfrog over us! YE GODS!!!!
They have all improved and we haven't just stood still, we have regressed. DL has admitted they took their eye off the ball and this has been evident for 2 seasons at least - well before the CL run. That is inexcusable in the business model of any large organisation and heads would generally roll at the top. Problem is, we are now trying to play catch up in a depressed market, where the only real assets we have to sell (Kane and possibly Son) would both be irreplaceable.
£60 quid to watch us lose and Burnley charged £0 for the same privilege 3 goals in both games too Daniel Trotter does it again
There were chants of Levy Out yesterday and during Mason’s post match interview, fans can be heard singing “£60, you’re having a laugh!” That could be heard with only 10,000 too. Levy and these **** players are lucky it was only that, because a full 60,000 (well, minus away fans) would be deafening.
cannot wait however, unfortunately if the protests outside the stadiums are anything to go by then the majority will just crack on and enjoy the beer and self refill thingamibobs will keep their attention away from how ****in **** we are
Apparently Rafa van der Vaart has said: The problem is they [the players] think they’re better than what they are. Unfortunately so does Levy and it’s why we’ve been stuck with a number of them for years now.
This squad needs the biggest rebuild in the history of our club. Starting from the back these players all need to go in my opinion - Aurier Doherty Dier Sanchez N'Dombele Lo Celso Winks Sissoko Dele These are all players that dont care about the club or just aren't good enough. I think Son will stay Reguilon and Bergwijn I just dont know yet, maybe 1 more season, still think they are big talents with the right coaching. Lamela who does care seems to be going back to Italy. Vinicius I like but seems to be going back to Portugal. Bale seems to be here just for the money and an easy life. Flashes of brilliance now and again isn't enough. That leaves us with - Lloris Hart Alderweireld Rodon Tanganga Reguilon Davies Hojbjerg Lucas Bergwijn Kane Son . Skipp and Sessegnon to return from successful loans And hopefully Devine and Scarlett will get chances from now on. Without European football next season we will be fine with a smaller more compact squad. I know we haven't got a cat in hells chance of off loading all of the players I have mentioned straight away but they all need to go eventually and be replaced by - 2 RB's 2 CB's 2 CM 1 AW 1 CF
Assuming Sess does return to the team and isn’t loaned out again, we can also shift Davies if need be. I actually like Ben, he doesn’t make **** ups like Reguilon does but he just offers no outlet going forward, though with 3 LBs at the club one has to go and he’d be most people’s choice. I’m also not sure Bale’s here just for money or an easy life, when he’s had runs in the team he’s generally been good but he’s been out of favour for the most part under Jose and it looks like he’s Lamela-esque in that starting two games in quick succession is a no-go. So there’s pros and cons too him but I’d say he’s worth bringing back for a second year as we won’t sign a player with his quality to take that RW berth. Him, Bergwijn and Lucas, with Son as well, are a decent quartet of wide attackers to have. Agree with the rest of your assessment
