I think it's fair to say when the current management structure took office they walked into an absolute mess so it was always going to take a while to resolve and for the most part from a recruitment perspective I think they've got it right there are a couple of exceptions but I think you would have to give them a decent grade. Well that is up until the last six months, Rice has been a really good buy, no complaints there. At the moment its hard to grade the Timber one but the early signs looked good so that will have to wait until we have a greater sample size. Unfortunately that's where the good news ends. Havertz really hasn't worked as most feared and the same goes for the Raya move. It's very clear what we need this window a goalscorer whether that's a long term deal or possibly a loan, every man and his dog can see that and yet today there seems to be talk we are now looking at Onana from Everton. On the face of it that wouldn't be a bad move he's a decent player who offers physicality and knows the league plus you could probably get a good deal given Everton's desperation. Taking that all into account you would say it's a decent move but in reality it's not what we need right now. Partey will hopefully be available again soon, we've probably still got Jorginho until the summer who does an ok job when he's come in for the most part and obviously Rice as well. Its really frustrating to see its so clear what we need and it seems to be falling on deaf ears to those in charge of recruitment.
posted on 8/1/24
It's going to be very hard to get a top quality striker in January. We need a big money striker in the summer
posted on 9/1/24
As much as anything it's the tactics that are the problem atm. While of course individual personnel can always be improved on.
The build up is too slow and too much about control of the ball. It worked results wise at the start of the season but our performances and metrics like XG were showing that our points exceeded those performances and now things are balancing out.
Raya is apparently an excellent passer of the ball, it's time to let him show that rather than simply being used to pass patiently around the defense - lets see if he can start a fast counter with a through ball.
We have Saka, Odegaarde and Martinelli with Jesus able to play them in. These guys can all score but they're rarely going to if we keep allowing the opposition time to get back into position and pack the defense.
posted on 9/1/24
You can't rely on Partey for sheet and Jorginho, as experienced as he is, isn't someone you can rely on regularly. He's not super physical either. Add to that Elneny and you're left with pretty much just Rice.
So in the absence of a striker (the kind we'd really love to see), we probably should strengthen in other areas and the ever-absent Saka understudy is one alongside someone like Onana. So I'm not mad at this move under the circumstances.
posted on 10/1/24
Our performances have been good. We should have beaten both West Ham and Liverpool by a wide margin if we had someone who can score the consequential goals (1st goal or a goal when behind) regularly.