dholliday
deconstructed rep
In my view, yes. Because:
a) Martinez lost some of his aura and authority with his players and with the fans when he claimed "we'll definitely be stronger at the end of the window". We loaned a crock, got a Championship-winger on a freebie, lost a squad striker and lost a versatile squad defender/def-midfielder.
b) the players' confidence has been affected by this seemingly 'small-time' window. News outlets are now reporting our two hot-property loanees are looking forward to a run at their main clubs next season, further giving players within the club the impression of 'small-time', which impacts on their confidence.
c) the simple fact our squad is undoubtedly weaker now is making us play out-of-form players with no decent back-up to offer competition. We're losing form, Martinez's options are now uninspired and we're losing key games. We're even getting thrashed now (0-4 and 1-4 to speak of two recent losses in very important games).
We're thus out of the FA Cup, and with Man Utd invariably picking up points we're gonna finish 7th at best. With no Europe next season, we lessen our attractiveness of bringing in top loanees to replace the ones leaving us. We're also not in the hunt for the exciting permanent signings, and may lose one or two of our big-name players if a bid is high enough.
The debate might not be if the poor January window ruined our season, it might be if the poor window has adversely affected the potential of the Martinez-era.
I'm gonna vote for the first option, as I have faith we will dramatically improve the squad in the summer and push on next season.
In relative terms, and remembering how we felt last summer: a top 8 finish and quarter-final cup run is what most of us were expecting. But we haven't had decent momentum since before Christmas, and I'm not sure if we can pick it up again with this current crop.
a) Martinez lost some of his aura and authority with his players and with the fans when he claimed "we'll definitely be stronger at the end of the window". We loaned a crock, got a Championship-winger on a freebie, lost a squad striker and lost a versatile squad defender/def-midfielder.
b) the players' confidence has been affected by this seemingly 'small-time' window. News outlets are now reporting our two hot-property loanees are looking forward to a run at their main clubs next season, further giving players within the club the impression of 'small-time', which impacts on their confidence.
c) the simple fact our squad is undoubtedly weaker now is making us play out-of-form players with no decent back-up to offer competition. We're losing form, Martinez's options are now uninspired and we're losing key games. We're even getting thrashed now (0-4 and 1-4 to speak of two recent losses in very important games).
We're thus out of the FA Cup, and with Man Utd invariably picking up points we're gonna finish 7th at best. With no Europe next season, we lessen our attractiveness of bringing in top loanees to replace the ones leaving us. We're also not in the hunt for the exciting permanent signings, and may lose one or two of our big-name players if a bid is high enough.
The debate might not be if the poor January window ruined our season, it might be if the poor window has adversely affected the potential of the Martinez-era.
I'm gonna vote for the first option, as I have faith we will dramatically improve the squad in the summer and push on next season.
In relative terms, and remembering how we felt last summer: a top 8 finish and quarter-final cup run is what most of us were expecting. But we haven't had decent momentum since before Christmas, and I'm not sure if we can pick it up again with this current crop.
