well this summer we left ourselves with a thin squad as so much was splurged on isak and Wirtz we didn't add another midfielder ,who Slot would be willing to play, nor proper cover for Salah
Ah got you….in that case, I agree with you, we certainly didn’t strengthen everywhere we needed to. Even more obvious with hindsight. I’m was referring to the ones that actually joined.
We can only know what's already happened, not what will happen, so no we don't know what will happen in future games. In amongst all the dross we put on a masterclass versus Real Madrid; same players, tweaks in tactics. Your last sentence is the most pertinent and I think where most of us currently are.
Just playing devil's advocate here... Would you have predicted such a poor run of results after the first five league games this season?
form is the best indicator of future results. Ability to adapt is the key to changing form……if Slot does not adapt, you can absolutely predict future form. That goes for any sport, anywhere, ever. So with respect, I still stand by my comments and disagree with the ‘we cannot predict what will happen’ thinking. We might get the odd right result but the direction of travel will be the same. Can Slot adapt is the most pertinent question - that much we are all asking I believe
I predicted problems ahead ;all was not right and many on here could see it, but no, I don’t think that anyone could foresee the calamity that has unfolded mate. Anyone who says they did would be lying imo. I was more of a ‘imagine when it all clicks kind of guy’……I’m still waiting
Yeah, it was best best-case scenario, tbf. I'm not expecting us to finish in the top 5 this season, but I was saying that after the false dawns of Villa and Real. That midfield doesn't function unless Szobbo is doing his stuff - he takes pressure off Gravy and allows Macca freedom to do his thing. Shoe-horning him into RB because he can play there is comparable to when Klopp persisted with taking our best midfielder and playing him at CB, thus destroying our midfield, instead of adapting formations to two slower CBs in Williams and Phillips. But, primarily, I'm basing my hopefulness on getting Guehi and Semenyo: ironic that I, who castigated FSG for years for not spending money, is perplexed at how much they've spent this last window, but wants them to spend more in the next window buying the players that were actually more essential than the likes of Isak, Wirtz, and Frimpong.
Look at how United still attracted players this summer. We're one of the biggest three names (from England) in the world. That doesn't change with 8 defeats in 4 months
4-4-2 would work as well - he plays very like Alan Kennedy, as any of the old farts on here like me can tell you.
Hmm. We actually went £200m net spend for the three windows combined back to the summer of 2024, less than Arsenal, City, and United. And that was after a year of austerity in the market. We had amazing revenue for 2024/25, apparently, and the pre-season merchandising is rumoured to be eye-watering, and that isn't accounted for until next summer. We still have £200m worth of wiggle room, and that's without selling Mo this January to the Saudis. All that said, if I was Edwards and Hughes I'd be asking Slot to get more out of £250m we've spent on Isak and Wirtz before adding forwards such as Semenyo, but if we're going to meet his release clause and he wants to come to us, as rumoured, it makes sense to do it now rather than later, especially if we can get £100m for MO (even £50m would be great). As for Guehi, no point waiting for him to become free (and possibly miss out) when Leoni is out for at least another year, and Konate is playing like a 2nd rate version of Titus Bramble.
Just being pedantic here but I didn't say can't predict what will happen - you can certainly do that - I said can't know what will happen. There's a big difference.
Rumour Van Bronkhorst (sp?) is going to a national coaching team... Maybe we will get an assistant in that can slap slot sporadically
Kind of my point though mate; you wouldn't have predicted such a down turn based on those first five games. So why would a sudden upturn be out of the question? Obviously, I don't think anyone thinks we're going suddenly go on a five game winning streak, but, I would say recent form suggests we'll get better; we can't do any worse so things can only improve from this point.
I think everyone could see after the first five games we weren't playing well and scraping wins.I was never confident after those games.
I would say there were problems since the Carabou cup final where we were badly exposed. After that, once the title was confirmed, we just gave up and it set the tone for what has happened since
It’s a fair point - no, I wouldn’t have predicted such a capitulation. It was clear, however, that we were not right and that form would not continue but I expected learning and improvement - we have seen the exact opposite to that. So if we are not improving and worse, not learning, I fear that we have some depths to plunge to yet. I obviously hope that I’m wrong, especially as I have tickets to the West Ham game this weekend!
