Drop Larsson he's fast becoming the weak link in the team. He hasn't had a decent game or contributed anything all season. Every game seems to just pass him by.
I wouldn't go as far as saying he hasn't had a decent game this season but nevertheless I'd start him from the bench next up even it is Chelsea. The thing is with Larsson, once he's given a rest it will effectively signal the beginning of the end for his stay with SAFC.
Sess ISN'T the problem. Just like Fletcher, he is suffering from very, very poor service. Put Fletch, Sess & Johnson in with good creative midfielders and you'd see different players, totally different players. Larsson was worse than useless yesterday, McClean was slightly better than usual but still far away from what we need if we are to progress, he at least a season away from being anything like a Premiership player. Gardner tried and did a decent enough job against a team that will always be mid table at best, no disrespect intended. decent isn't what we need right now, we need creativity and we just don't have it, even when Catts plays. I love Catts but he's not a creative player, he's the steel in our team, he's a motivator and a ball winner but creative he isn't. Players like Johnson and Sess will come alive if they are surrounded by similar quality players, at the minute they are not. Fletcher, well, he'll score goals for fun if he gets quality service, at the minute he's feeding off scraps and doing a good enough job as well by the way, but, give him quality service and he'll be immense. Sorry but i just don't see Sess as the problem, the manager needs to get his finger out in January and get at least a couple of midfielders in.
Another interesting observation... I recall when Bruce had us firing toward the top 4 in the 10th place season, Bruce brought in Sessegnon and Muntari. Bruce dropped Malbranque and Zenden and what happened? The team lost about 7 games off the belt... Interesting bearing in mind that we are asking if Sessegnon is the problem. What could have happened that season if Bruce had left things alone and continued to play Malbranque and Zenden, giving time for Sessegnon and Muntari to settle in with a few sub appearances here and there? Ever since, we have continued to accomodate Sessegnon... Muntari is long gone.
For a little guy he doesn't get muscled off the ball easily. He also isn't afraid to put himself about, seen him quite a few times rattle the oppos cages. If he loses the ball he at least busts a gut to chase back and get it back. Wish the same could be said of Larsson he is more likely to wave the oppo onto another player.
But that's precisely why he IS the problem. We don't have 5 or 6 other top quality players for him to swim with and he cant play as a 2nd striker in this current team; he isn't good enough, nor does he have the credentials to be a forward. We simply do not have the £60m/£70m required to bring in those players and to just persevere in the vain hope it works every 4 or 5 games is costing us dearly. We have to go much more orthodox up front and give Wickham a role alongside Fletcher in a conventional striking partnership and Sess will either have to be used on the wings or sold to help fund other purchases. There is no doubt he is a talented player but in this formation, with our squad we will never see the best of him and indeed IMO, as said, he is actually the problem as we are still making him the focal point but with absolutely no chance of pulling it all off. Unless there is a master plan that sees 3 or 4 similar standard players coming in next month and a huge expenditure, then this isn't going to work currently.
First move is Colback left back and Rose down the left wing. Put Johnson down the right. FFS change things around Mon you stubborn xxat. Forget his reputation he's dated and clueless!
No No No. We have waited for years to get a proper left back and within 4 months you'd sacrifice him. Colback is not and never will be a LB. If he cant hack it in the middle then he has to be dropped. Simple as mate and not shuffle the pack to accommodate players in odd positions. By all means get another proper LB in next month to allow Rose to move wide but not to put Colback there. Disaster IMO.
Rose on the left wing would probably work well in the mould of Mickey and Julio. A bit risky but could work. Colback has looked decent at LB when he played there as far as I could see. Short-term fix for this season. £9.5-12 million for Sessegnon to Arsenal. Rebuilding continues.
Understand where you are coming from and sort of agree, although i don't agree he is THE problem, but you have a point, he isn't playing in the correct role with the current crop of players. I was thinking more long term than present. MON has already hinted that he will be dipping into the market for more creativity, none of us know to what extent although it won't be a massive spend for sure. However you don't need to be Einstien to see where we need strengthening and i'm sure we'll see a couple of additions. In the meantime i would like to see Wickham given more game time, i'd also like to see Meyler given a a recall and Vaughan given a chance, he's not the best but he couldn't do any worse than a hapless Larsson right now. At least he puts a foot in and has a little bit of enthusiasm about him. At the minute we're **** in the middle of the park and until that changes we will always struggle. In the interim put Wickham up front with Fletch, swap McClean for Sess and stick either Vaughan or a recalled Meyler in the middle with Gardner until Catts gets back or the January window opens.
