Mick McCarthy had a much better squad than Paul Lambert has now. That 2012/13 team was pretty average and stuffed with several mercenaries, but there were good players in that side and we had proven goalscorers. Aaron Cresswell, DJ Campbell, Daryl Murphy, and Carlos Edwards, I'd even throw in a younger Luke Chambers and David McGoldrick (even Michael Chopra, who bagged several goals and had a proven goalscoring record at this level).
In this squad, who are the stars? An out-of-form Bart? A fading Edwards? An in-form Sears? And then you're just banking on potential from the youngsters. It's a mess. The squad is an absolute mess. We've got plodders like Chambers, Spence, and Knudsen at the back (who have been absolutely terrible the last few games and, in an ideal world with an ideal squad, would be dropped). Our goals are coming from Freddie Sears, who was fourth choice striker last season. Granted, he's hit a purple patch, but for how long?
Agree - it was a much better squad in relation to the league in 2012/13.