The fact that since last season, his substitutions have never improved us. In fact, we get worse generally.
I also dont think we have any width.
We discarded all our tough ball winners.
We dont move the ball forward quickly enough in enough games.
We burn out our players.
Remember last season when I was saying we need to rotate for 6 months?
Well 2 games in, and Poch has admitted Kane is knackered...great
Okay
Re: subs-
Well many times last season we won late on, or came from behind to win 2-1 so sometimes his subs did work.
Also consider that he didn't have many options on the bench, whether right or wrong many squad players were not involved so we realistically had a thin squad. There usually was no one to bring on who could make a difference, not much different to now unless Levy does some work.
Re: width-
We do have width and it comes from the fullbacks. We don't play with traditional wingers for a reason. We use inverted wingers because it suits our possession-based football (which is the way we
have to play). We want the pitch open to the dominant foot of the widemen, allowing them to pass more easily or cut in and support the CF. Ideally a good WF can go on the outside too, at the moment our wide options lack pace though (Eriksen, Lamela, Chadli). Our FBs do get into very good crossing positions (Rose v QPR, Walker v Leicester, Rose v Stoke, Davies v Burnley all good assists for example) but unfortunately often the delivery is poor or they cut back. This is something I'm sure is being worked on. I remember Bentaleb screaming at Walker for not crossing and instead cutting back in one Europa game. We also signed Trippier who is renown for high volume crossing, showing that we do indeed want that wide option- just from FBs.
So basically our FBs give us width effectively, but often the final ball is lacking.
Re: tough balls winngers-
Sandro was one my favourite players I assure you. I was gutted when we sold him. I'm sure he was assessed and then let go. It's been proven to be a good decision, how often has he played? Does he look the same player when he does play? He would have been our Diaby. It's sad but had to be done. Capoue and Stambouli weren't dynamic enough, Poch has his system and they require certain types of players. There are many managers who work this way. High pressing requires a certain type of player physically and mentally, if these guys aren't up for it they had to go.
Re: moving ball forward quicker-
I agree with this. This takes time though mate. Playing through teams is the hardest thing to coach. The easy way to do things is to rely on wingers beating their man and lobbing in crosses, this isn't always successful but it is very low risk because minimal players have to move out of defensive position, allowing rapid recovery of shape if the ball is lost. This is why it's the chosen tactic for smaller teams nearly always. Playing through teams with passing and movement is very difficult, players have to be on the same wavelength, aware of their teammates, the ball and their opponents alongside having the technique to control and pass properly. It takes high standard players to do this in a team with our goals. The main players responsible for this are central midfielders, it's the most important position in a team (other than striker). We're using kids to play there, we need quality added there. We have had spells and games where we've moved the ball quick, but it's not consistent due to the inexperience. You can't hold Bentaleb/Mason to same standards as Silva/Yaya Toure/Ozil/Cazorla/Mata/Modric etc.
Re: burnout-
Like I said small team because of who we actually used. I know you will think "well why not make use of the frozen out players to deal with fatigue?". Well Friedel shed some light on this in a Q & A, he said Poch often fielded weak teams with young players to give them experience as he knew he'd be using them in the future. For me that means he sees the bigger picture, why waste time with Ade, Kaboul and Capoue when we can help the development of players who will be here for many years? The best way to learn things for a player is to drill it, over and over and over, valuable experience was gained by the youngsters.
Re: tired Kane-
That quote was out of context tbh. Poch was trying to say Kane was tired due to being unfit as he his pre-season was incomplete due to U21 Euros. He wasn't saying that he was actually tired out like at the end of a season.
I don't agree with everything Poch does for the record. I thought Fazio could have played more (though when he did come back from his absence his back was taped up, makes me think he was injured) and I think Dembele should have had more games. I can see why others were picked though.
