I realist that as a fellow SC poster I run the risk of abuse but here goes. “ Converts “ it seems are not too welcome. I kind of like the COYS tradition when new posters are welcomed on specific introduction posts by scores of existing members.
BC as usual you talk a lot of sense in your own lucid style. As usual some of your points are over harsh. I’m not sure it’s lack of courage by Poch in not blooding the likes of Skipp during our injury crisis. I’d like to see him coming off the bench from time to time but throwing him in to start a tough game at West Ham or any of our upcoming schedule is not realistic.
I Agee that we are not flying on all cylinders and frankly when we enter the really tough period coming up I am worried that we are going to get found out.
The loss of Vertonghen in particular is huge. Alderweireld is doing a great job defensively but his distribution from the left side is limited.
But being without Eriksen and Dele have also been big blows. We don’t have the same Wanyama as before , Dembele is fading though still useful plus Vorm was a liability. Kane and especially Son are knackered. As you know Eriksen’ s influence is huge.
Inecxcusable that we didn’t bring in any new players. Hopefully January though I’m not holding my breath.
But whatever you say, our results outside of the CL have been great. 6 away games out of 9 , winning 5 of them. That shows guts.
The next run of games is tough and crucial. As I have said before let’s assess where we are after that.
One thing I’ve never questioned is the spirit or bollocks of this team, I think it’s the fumes we are running on to be honest.
Its some of the coaching, tactics and team selections that I’m struggling with. It’s hard to see a coherent ethos anymore.
Poch’s tenure was kick started by the introduction of some youthful energetic hunger.
I think he’s missed a trick not tapping into some of that again. Yes, you get a bit of inexperienced naivety but you get in instant injection of run-through-brick-wall exuberance, and in some cases (cough Sissoko) an upgrade in technical competency.