A solitary win since September 17th. Manager looking less than a great fit, personality wise, and making a lot of off the cuff comments. A team now looking like it's lost the plot.
I look across the first team and bench and see cause for concern: a GK who knows he's under scrutiny; a captain who looks like he's lost discipline on and off the pitch; the ongoing festering boil that is the McCarthy situation; Lukaku making it known he's relieved on international duty to be playing with players up and around him; Mirallas and Deulofeu looking like they are bit part players and heading for the door; Barkley finding himself the unwanted centre of attention and target for the media.
The team have been questioned again this week about their intensity by Koeman - who also let slip midweek he hoped for four replacements for them in January. Next up is a tough grudge match away to S'ton whose players will be fired up and then 5 tough games on the spin after that culminating on Boxing Day away to Leicester. I cant see the type of fight here with this team that we could envisage picking up more than 5 points. The lack of reaction after the Chelsea mauling was shocking, and that's the best chance we'll have of nailed on three points out the window for some time to come. I hope in private they're sorting this out and that the manager is accepting that he too needs to up his game, because that dressing room can be pretty volatile. Once its lost it's lost for good. They dont do it in public, they make the anodyne comments - all the right noises about doing their 'level best' and 'dont know where it's going wrong' etc, but they know how to 'work to rule' and slip into a crisis mode very quickly.
This upcoming Southampton game will be enormous IMO.
I'd like to find much to pull you up on - but I can't.
Jagielka has been carrying a physical spare tyre for a year or more, he now seems to have a mental one, not just in the wedding planner dept. - as soon as that ball started bouncing about getting into the area with only the Icelander (not even going to attempt to spell that) having any sort of control of it (now there's the Swansea player you could've signed Ron) there was only one conclusion.
McCarthy and Cleverly have the legs for the modern game - but not a brain between them
Barkley has neither - just a super instinctive talent.
Barry; pity we can't wind back the clock 5yrs
Good luck with getting Lukaku 'pressing' for more than 10 mins per half - without goals, yes he needs feeding, but true strikers get goals in poor teams as well - so without goals, is he only a very expensive version of the Big Vic of 5yrs ago who was by all accounts 'unplayable' yesterday.
On a Tangent-ish
Moyes was Inflexible
Martinez was too
Is Koeman?
If he is then Moshiri needs to remind him about maybe revisiting this stance...especially Re. younger players - If you don't buy a ticket, you won't win the raffle...the prize might be a booby prize, but sometimes you have to buy the ticket on the off chance just to see.
Though how long he remains so is another matter. Then again how often has our man been unplayable recently.
edit; on another tangent, how was the crowd? quiet? my feed provider seemed to have the 'sound' turned down - and I also noticed more than the normal amount of empty seats
