Take mane and salah out of liverpool
Take son and kane out of spurs....
Same with a few others. They become pretty toothless.
We all knew it. Lose our key players and we're in trouble.
Some of the comments now are unreal. But predictable. I read on here someone saying other managers have improved players when went in. Calvert lewin is the leagues top scorer. Whats that then? But he has clearly improved with our strongest line up supplying him.
The only real battering ram some are using for yesterday is Gordon. Yeah id like to see him involved more but he is not the difference between losing 4 key players right now. The poor quality back up is.
It will take time to sort that. Best thing for us is we get those missing back and pray we get lucky until we can start bringing in more reliable players.
Ancelotti said it last year; we need three new positions (players) to make us competitive. After 7 games we're third in the league. That's competitive.
In a recent interview he said our next step, next season, is to be winners. Being competitive is not the same as winning. He knows well what's needed. It's 'evolution, not revolution.'
At the end of last season everybody's head was falling off. Despite us being so crap, he was right, we only needed a three key signings to take us up a level. Give him time, patience and resources and he'll get us exactly where he said he would.
In the meantime, yes, it'll be painful to watch the usual suspects tog out for us on occassion. Unfortunately it's a necessary step to where we're going.
His management style is to give as much loyalty and support as is humanly possible. That will involve giving certain senior pros as much rope as he can to either pull themselves ashore, or hang themselves. The big picture of course is what that support does for the players who make it.