I think had we had Klose at the start of the season we would have not only stayed up but perhaps thrived a little. Alex Neil started the season knowing how he wanted us to play. It was at times naive but it was entertaining and serving us well but for the individual errors. With Klose we'd have had less of those errors, hopefully maintained some sort of attacking threat and been OK. The Newcastle game is credited with being the straw that broke the camels back where our naivity was fully and cruelly exposed. But what if Tim had been playing? Maybe instead of 3-2 at halftime it might have been 2-1 to us, we could have gone on to win? we may then have continued to believe. Trouble is we didn't have Tim and he lost faith in the only system he knew. What we have seen is a number of attempts to find another way, but none particularly successful. On the plus side I genuinely think he has learnt how to make us tougher to beat. Now he needs to ally that to carrying a threat.
My hope is that Neil can return to the football that he believed in with players more able to perform it. Of course most of the lads are championship quality so that should be possible even if we lose the stars, but we must build and be more ready for the PL next time. I hope more than believe that that can happen so he should get a bit of time. That said he has to hit the ground running, because lower half and 12 points off the pace won't cut it.
Bah!
My hope is that Neil can return to the football that he believed in with players more able to perform it. Of course most of the lads are championship quality so that should be possible even if we lose the stars, but we must build and be more ready for the PL next time. I hope more than believe that that can happen so he should get a bit of time. That said he has to hit the ground running, because lower half and 12 points off the pace won't cut it.
Bah!
