Vietnam, you have NEVER heard CH tell his players they are "crap". You have NEVER heard him say all the players they play against are so much much better than them. You have NEVER heard him tell his players that they can't win against team X or team Y. Do you think for a moment he told them that they couldn't beat Man U, or Arsenal, or Tottenham before they went out and did just that? Or Everton a fortnight ago? I suppose Holty missed the penalty because CH had told him beforehand that he couldn't convert a penalty if he tried?
Too many players today had poor games, that's all. Fortunately Bunn and the back four didn't.
These are the same players (bar Kamara and Becchio) who have played for us all season. This is the same manager who has managed us all season. The formation and tactics have been pretty much constant all season (except in the odd game, like yesterday, when the they were set up 4:4:2 rather than 4:2:3:1). Before Christmas these players, playing this way, under this manager went on a 10-match unbeaten run during which they recorded 5 wins including 2 against top-six opposition. Since that run ended we have drawn with one and beaten another top-six team. It's not an "attitude" problem, it's a drop in the performance levels of the midfield and forward players. Holty failing to convert the penalty yesterday is an example. I don't see CH in his technical area gesturing the midfield back all the time; on the contrary I see him urging them to play higher up the park. But when they misplace so many passes, as they did yesterday, there's not much to be done, except to point out that it is the players who make the passes, not the manager.
