05 Feb 2019 00:30:43
Our problem is and has been (for a few seasons) that we are predictable.
Any pace running at our defence and we crumble.
A long ball hoisted in high and we panic.
We cannot defend. We haven't got a goal scorer. We haven't got any creativity in midfield.

We sold our best players.
We never replaced them wirh adequate quality.
We let out best prospects leave the club without having a crack and then we persevere with kids who are never going to make it at this level.
I think brands will get it right but I don't have any faith in Silva.
I'm hoping brands will eventually bring van bommel over and they can work together again and solve this mess.

Brands rates him as the best up and coming coach in Europe. If he didn't choose Silva but agreed to work with him then i'm sure he has a name already in mind.

1.) 05 Feb 2019
05 Feb 2019 07:49:20
All looking good then Pauly? . I think things are slightly different to how you see it mate. I think we have defended rubbish this season. As simple as that. Lots of games have been ok. We played well at Chelsea, Liverpool, Burnley and a few others. In other games we appeared to crumble. We did that also under Koeman, Martinez and to some degree under Allardyce. Moyes left us a decent but ageing squad. Martinez brought in older or inferior players with the exception of one or two. ie Lukaku, McCarthy and Barry. When Pienaar, Osman, Jags, Baines, Howard, Distin, Hibbert, Oviedo, Stones, Barkley, Naismith, Heitinga, Jelavic, Neville, Cahill, Fellani, Rodwell, Anichebe and others were all allowed to leave or retire without being suitably replaced. Lukakus goals covered up the inadequacies of the squad developing. Koeman then had that dreadful transfer window whereby we had no left sided players and Baimes' age started to show. Colemans is too now, Moyes had a continual line of players of quality coming in and going out. When he took over, our Walter Smith assembled squad was poor. Moyes reduced the age in his 1st 2 seasons. I am not saying I want Moyes back. But I am saying Silva is doing the same. But Silva seems to insist on Zonal marking and seems to have the team set up that leaks goals. Oh for a solid defence. That is where we are missing something. Less goals conceded would help immediately.

2.) 05 Feb 2019
05 Feb 2019 10:53:14
I’m not sure how we replace someone like Lukaku adequately. We sell him to possibly the biggest club in the world playing CL football almost year in year out. If there was a like for like replacement why would he come to us if he’s at Lukakus level?

Basically when we sell our best players it’s going to be very similar to the Lukaku situation. When city took lescott we replaced him with Distan who was almost 10 years older. When arsenal took Arteta we got Drenthe. It’s just the way it is for us. We play in the league below the top six and therefore replacing players who move to these top six clubs is going to very difficult if we are looking to go like for like.

3.) 05 Feb 2019
05 Feb 2019 12:53:47
Ricky will get 15-20 this season, siggy 10-15 If we can get a striker who can get 15 and a r/ w that can get 5-15 then scoring goals wise we will be ok.
Like Degsy says we need a resolution to the leaking goals, that's where the confidence comes from.
Now I'm not sure how we do that, whether we change the players, tactics or manager.

4.) 05 Feb 2019
05 Feb 2019 16:24:40
Isn't this basically what I've said in my post?

5.) 06 Feb 2019
06 Feb 2019 12:35:30
Regarding adequately replacing Lukaku, I actually don't think he is a top striker despite the number of goals he got for us. The team had been set up to play to his strengths with balls in behind he could run on to and bully defenders who couldn't cope with his strength and speed. We then had that ridiculous summer where we sold him and replaced him with half a dozen bang average number 10s.

My point is that it was the effectiveness of the system from a goal-scoring perspective in a way that played to the players' strengths. We haven't adequalty replaced that because Silva has come in dead set on a way of playing but doesn't have the players to do it.

Either he caves and starts playing in a way that suits the players at his disposal (balls into the opposition box and out of our box would be a start) , or he sticks with it in the hope that an overhaul of players that can't adapt being replaced with ones who have experience of playing that way in the summer will turn things around.

I'm sick of watching us make the same mistakes every week and am really not sure Silva is the long term answer, but I don't see any benefit in changing him now and adding him to the growing list of highly paid former employees while bringing in someone new to inherit the same problems.