A lot is made of the Sissoko fairytale, and a few years ago, we all hailed the emergence of the average player really stepping up into established top 3 material.
But that was a while ago, and the success stories are few and far between today.
Players that raised their game, and then regressed:
Dier, Trippier, Wanyama, Lamela, Rose, Sanchez, Davies
Players that have simply not developed further:
Aurier, KWP, Moura, Lloris
Players that are hot and cold and lack consistency
Dele, Eriksen
So where have all the success stories gone?
Whats happening to our players?
Whos responsible?
The issue I think is when looking at our first XI in particular and the quality we would have to sign to enhance it, it was not within our financial means.
Are the players you've highlighted as ones who have regressed become comfortable? Are they going through the motions? A fair few have had reasonable spells on the sidelines and/ or no preseason has that burnt them out a little? The players have 2 weeks of being at e club with no football, 3 weeks until their next league match. I'd give them a little time away from the repetition of it all. Give them a 4-5 days away from the club to switch off, reflect whatever they need to do. It hasn't dropped our way over the last month. In the league anything that could go wrong has. I don't want them playing with fear I want them playing with passion and pride not just effort. They have the talent, they just haven't managed the last few league games as well as they could have.
Personally I think the cohesion of the team hasn't been the same since we lost our width along with Dembele's legs going. That along with no home advantage has made the club take a step back unfortunately yet in a weird sense we've also made steps forward even if people don't see that on the surface of it all. We now go into every game bar one or two expecting to win. That from where we were 2-3 seasons ago is remarkable.
Dier was best as a defender, although I honestly don't mind him as a midfielder, Trippier was backup, Wanyama's knees hit the skids, Lamela has always been stop/ start since he put a Spurs shirt on with his best performances being in the Europa League, Rose I like but his mental health issues are well documented and he's also missed 48 games due to injury since 2917. Sanchez has great natural ability but has always needed to use his loaf more, ever since last season he's always had a ricket in him but should develop in time, Davies I see no regression in, he's a steady, realible LB who does what he does with little error in him.
Aurier hasn't shown enough intelligence with his dribbling for me and that's a very big let down, KWP can we ever say he was good enough to say we have seen genuine regression? I don't think we can he hasn't played enough games to say he's regressed. Lucas you can see he has quality but he seems too lightweight to make the most of when he gets past his man, he always lets them back in after doing the hard stuff & Hugo has dropped a few clangers but he isn't as bad as people think compared to what he was before. He's always been a good shot stopper but shits himself with the ball at his feet. Maybe he's aware of his mistakes, which makes him make even more etc.
I think Poch knows exactly the type of player he wants but there isn't a lot out there to choose from. Who really does a similar or better job that Dembele worldwide we could get? The same regarding Walker. As mentioned Rose has missed 48 games with injury since 2017 and shows glimpses of what he's got.
We have good quality in the squad but injuries, a lack of form, key players in positions like RB & CM we haven't been able to replace etc have left us with holes in them team. It really would be a travesty is this squad don't get top 4 after all they have done for the club over recent seasons, I sincerely hope they find it in them to believe in themselves again. If they get the results they should get over the next 8 games they'd have redeemed a sloppy month of football for the club.
All in all I don't think there's been too much regression, I just think the team feels a little flat at the moment & the quality we have signed to replace important cogs has not been of equal quality which has disjointed our style of play. I don't think there is a lot of regression, injust think a little adrenaline is lacking as well as a little quality in one or two departments.
