The problem is we look stale.
We need new bodies in, and we also need to start using some of the more recent additions more often (if we are that screwed by PSR then why did we spunk so much on Malen only to seem to be allergic to using him other than the odd cameo?).
This season reminds me of summer 2010.
Obviously no manager flouncing out during season (yet) but we only signed Ireland that summer who turned out to be a disaster signing. And losing Milner left a huge void centrally.
Still had likes of Friedel, Young, Downing, Gabby and Carew starting regularly but you could tell a couple of those were past their best and we look a far weaker sums of our parts 11 than previous years when most would've described us as effective counter attack team.
In 10/11 we couldn't counter much and wanted to play a far more slow paced control game and the results suffered and the same is happening again.
We played some magnificent football for the whole of 2023 and perhaps it's never going to be as good as that again under Unai but now it is sad to see us set up so often just to get to 0-0 at half time. That is something Bruce or Pulis would do and we still have quality on the pitch to impose ourselves on the opposition.
Hard to see us doing much in the league given how little we've created from open play so we either pull out two amazing signings in last week of the window which seems optimistic or we give more chances to existing players.
They'll be more of a buzz around VP at kick off next weekend if people see Malen AND Guessand both starting the game as it will be something different to how we've approached in the last few months. It might even work, imagine that.
