i do agree, and i know you aren't expecting spain, but take swansea as the prime example of what can be achieved, they still aren't much further down the road than we are in terms of what they can actually achieve and they've had a decade perfecting their style and to be quite honest, i find them no less boring to watch than ourselves. you can play a technical game of football more than one way. in fact, swansea can't even beat us! and they've noticed this and have added wilfred bony - this guy is NOT a 'carrabuh' type player. his control and technique is not the best but he offers them a different dimension and i bet he makes them a much better side. the issue i have with your way of thinking is that to play that way you have to be very patient and give license for errors. you also cannot build a team like that in one, two or even three transfer windows - it takes years and years to perfect that style, so how can you possibly know that we aren't trying to do that with a long term plan under a long term manager? remember, we started from a very unusual base. we were a league one side who got two promotions having been a lower end championship team for four years prior. we've had little money during that time, and never had a chance to concentrate on a focused style of play. it's almost been a case of 'firefighting' in each window. i'd argue this summer is the first time we've had a solid base to build upon and look at what is being achieved (and still might be). some very good continental players are being introduced, something you and i like, yet you seem somehow despondent. i don't get that at all. it all depends what floats your boat. controlled, possession football is easy on the eye but it's not always enjoyable. more direct,powerful drives from midfield and wing play, watching players use a trick or a bit of pace gets bums off seats, so there's obviously plenty of people who like that, i know i do.