We know Dobbin, Beto and Patterson probably aren't the answer. They might be good hard working lads, model pro's or whatever, but the bottom line is they offer very little in terms of quality, over and above what we already have in the starting line up. If they were that much better they'd be starting. Yes he does put square pegs in round holes sometimes, all managers do, so given the size and quality of the squad, that's nothing new. It's not like he's left Maldini on the bench.
We all want to see us play more attractive football, but we are a slim squad lacking in quality and depth. There are question marks over finance and ownership, the rules mean we will have to sell our best player/s, yet again. We probably aren't going to be buying loads of boss players so it's highly unlikely, barring a massive fluke, that we are going to regularly see sexy playing styles.
Having done the negativity bit, what we do have is a manager who has done a very decent job in terms of points gained, certainly compared with previous years. We have a group of players who, up until now, have shown they will fight to the end. And despite the turmoil off the pitch, things on the pitch have been pretty solid, albeit not great to watch at times.
It's not wrong to ask for more, especially those who pay 40+ snots a week to watch. However, given the imbalance in football currently, given our skinny squad, turmoil off the pitch, points deduction, not to mention the resources wasted this last 7 years, I honestly think some of us need to get past the 'he plays crap football' line and take a cold, hard, reality check. All things considered, he's actually done quite well.
