rubble-rouser

This report basically sums up my feelings. I’m glad someone else has called out Konate because he’s been dogshit since ha came back and we’ve been worse as a team with him in it. The last 3 weeks have felt like the end of the 1996-1997 season. People look back now and take the piss out of the likes of Harkness, Babb, Ruddock and Scales, but at the start of April 1997 they looked like they might be league champions. I have a horrible feeling that people might look back on Szobo, Endo, Elliott & Nunez in the same way. Obviously I hope I’m wrong, and they got our belief up, but FFS. (For the avoidance of doubt, I am still traumatised by 96/97)

Downward spiral though. We beat them in the cup, we don’t fuck up in the league; we don’t draw there in the league, we don’t lose to palace (and probably go through in Europe too)

Spurs, City and Arsenal. Awful. Boil it down to the city pen and we’re way clear of everyone. But we still blew it.

Only against City

I knew he hadn’t been the chippy. FFS

It’s a lack of leadership on the pitch. I’m not absolving Virgil but he has led on the pitch at time this year. Since Trent got injured and Mo went to Afcon/got injured we’ve been without that real start quality, the thing that makes you believe and gets you over the line. For a couple of months the collective spirit allied with Virgil willing things to happen (league cup, Forest away etc) made up for it, then Macca carried us for a few weeks. Since then, and despite having several international captains on the pitch, Virgil and Macca have dipped (having played almost every game) and talismanic players like Mo and Trent are feeling their way back to form. 2017-2022 we had 3 or 4 players you could utterly bank on in big moments to drag us out of the fire. We have a really able squad, but Mane > Diaz, Bobby > Nunez and only Jota beats his direct competitor (Divock). Diaz and Nunez are really good players in a team that’s playing with confidence, but neither of them looks remotely like ever being the main man. They thrive off Mo being a constant threat and play in the space he makes available. If he can’t do that anymore because he doesn’t trust his body or his legs have totally gone, they’re just not going to step up consistently. They’ll do it occasionally, but 4 years ago if Mo didn’t score Bobby did, if Bobby didn’t score, Mane did - etc etc. Being philosophical, it shows how hard it is to win things consistently, unless you’re an oil state who has hired a renowned drug cheat to mange you and paid for all the refs. Just dispiriting to be riding high in March and knocked down in April, as Sinatra didn’t say.

But only since we stopped winning all our games and that trophy.

For the third game in a row we’ve been outfought physically in midfield by a hardworking but limited side. Poor Macca is totally fucked. Dom has been shite for weeks. Jones was better tonight than some others but that’s not saying much. Macca just isn’t a six in a team that wants to win trophies. Nullifies him. Fuck football

Their manager seems sound

We’ve had an effort on target

No yellow for dissent there?

Have we played through their press once in 2 games? Why try?

Remember our high line?

Konate has turned into Phil Babb

Clear deliberate foul on the edge if their box. Fuck off

Macca is having a mare and needs a redt

This ref is on the taje

From a corner

2 minutes added on ? pen must have taken more than that

Absolute cunt ref

Whether or not there has been a drop off in intensity from the manager (which certainly didn't look to be the case at OT last week when he was going mental) we've lost a lot of on-pitch leadership over the last couple of years and over the course of the season. Only Virgil looks like a leader now. Mo used to be someone who would try to win games single-handedly at times and really step up when the pressure was on. Earlier this year Dom did, and a few weeks ago Macca seemed to be the main man, but for whatever reason, none of them have looked capable of carrying the team. The slow start thing is just weird. In all of our last 4 league matches we've given up at least one massive chance in the first couple of minutes (Brighton goal, Sheff Utd save, United offside goal, Alli save yesterday) - all seem to come down our right. There's a specific issue there that needs sorting.

I’d have the wide players (Darwin /Jota and Diaz?) getting in behind and Gakpo or Elliott just behind, just letting Mo take up spaces where he can stick the ball in the net

I’d like us to see Mo central. He has got the pace to play off the right just now. You could have 3 of Darwin, Diaz, Gakpo and Elliot behind him. Fuck it, we need to go for it

Nah, it was home Sorry - that was 96/7

What, where he turns with his back to goal, spins the defender, hits it first time with massive power and it hits the keeper?