The Sheff Weds, QPR and Plymouth games. Basically games where the talent we have in the team outperforms the way they are being asked to play
A magic wand? Leeds had a worse defence than us in the PL last season, tell me why we are the ones with the worst defence in the entire EFL after 8 games meanwhile Leeds look solid? Also this is more 'thoughts and prayers' chat, teams dont magically get better through belief you have to set them up correctly in the first instance, do you have no intention of addressing this?
To be fair, we don't have our defence from last year. We have the one we didn't think was very good last year. They have pretty much the same one. We also don't have the same midfield. We are a total rework. We also have very few experienced players. If RM can keep a settled team for a few games and stop with the inverted wingbacks then maybe it will improve. I am beginning to feel like we, the fans, have the most scars. We bring uncertainty with us to games. I was very RM out after the game but I am beginning to feel like nobody will get a leaderless team like this out of the crap. I am sure that if Stephens had not got injured we would all be quite happily along with the project - but he did and it means there is no rudder on this ship. All these are recruitment issues. Yes, we are pushing hard at a system, but we do have the quality to play it. I just think we don't have the confidence and some of the players are really lazy off the ball. We don't have the will to win and I am not sure how RM fixes it. But I don't think anyone could fix these deep problems in a short space of time.
I sort of agree, except we now have the very highly rated England U-21 captain in that defence. Yes, there's deep problems that will take time to fix, but the issues from the last few games have been largely around the tactics and 'automations', not the squad or scar tissue or any of that bollocks. It's setting up a defence with tactics more akin to a playground bundle. Alongside that, making Adam Armstrong captain and ostracising our most talented player aren't issues from last season.
I don't disagree with that either. But we are a clusterfuck of a club. If we all agree these are good players then maybe we need to let them grow into the system and accept that we are aiming for a late push into the playoffs.
We certainly are. But it would help with the buy-in of fans if some of the tactical and selection plots weren’t patently mad.
Are they mad or does he have a hostile changing room? We don't know enough. I am beginning to think 4 managers in a row can't all be collectively mad and we are still not far enough on with the rebuild. We should have brought in an experienced player who would have the manager's back. That is a recruitment issue. There are still some on the free transfer market and honestly I think we would be best grabbing one.
I think people have been way too harsh about Adam Armstrong being captain too. He was our most consistent player until he was made captain and was tearing around the pitch making up for other people's mistakes. We just desperately need to click.
Teams can be ****e for half a season and still get promoted but we probably shouldn't aim to do that. Away from results though, Martin is starting to give off Jones vibes in his interviews and he's creating negativity between himself and the fans. Yeah there probably is 'scar tissue' but stop going on about it and using it as an excuse. He's also complained about fan negativity/booing, which isn't going to sit well when we put time and money into following a team that turns up and immediately throws the towel in. If they showed an ounce of effort and looked marginally like a team with a clue, we'd all be more supportive. I don't think there are many things in his defence, but one thing I will say is that with all four losses, preparation probably wasn't ideal. For Sunderland, the window closed the night before and some players probably wanted out. For Leicester, it was the Friday after an international break, and he'd only have had the whole squad together for about two days. Ipswich was a midweek game, so again not that much prep time, and Boro the same as it was only a few days after Ipswich. That's clutching at straws a bit, but it's the same for all teams, so why can't we deal with it and Leicester for example can? My main point is that ahead of Leeds we have a full week of training, limited injuries and no international break. It's an uninterrupted week of preparation, so if we don't look any better on Saturday, then our problems are worse than we currently think. My bet is we'll lose and things won't have improved.
He’s crap. Like an even worse Shane long. Awful touch, can’t pass, can’t cross, awful shooting. Genuinely think he’s league one at best
That's fair. But you agree he was shocking everyone with his performances up until the moment he got made captain. And of all the players his battling attitude actually offered something in the way of leadership. We can't all re-write history now that everything has gone down the toilet.
