The reason we are in this situation is because our players don't do basic stuff well enough. Simple passes are a thing of the past.( all our coaches expressed this same sentiment, keep it simple) We try to do Hollywood balls, flicks and tricks.Unless a winger doesn't dribble past 5 defenders he is not good enough. Becks didn't do fancy stuff , he kept things extremely simple he did his runs and put in crosses, so according to you Becks is not an elite enough [not putting words in your mouth, am just using your analogy to compare a player of the past].
Not really. But would you compare Beckham to Messi? Would you laugh off Messi and his supposed dribbling skills in favour of the simpler Beckham, or is one clearly much better at football? We need to do the basics right. But we also need exceptional talents. If, and you can correct me if I'm wrong, our aim is to challenge for top honours, we need players with exceptional qualities. If that's not the aim, then sure. Basics will do.
And that's not why we've struggled. It's because we've been poorly managed/run. And there's a difference between a player like Memphis who wasn't good enough doing pointless flashy things and hazard doing effective and useful things.
we don't need all of our attacking players to be world class for the team to function, and therein lies the issue with the fandom today, they want every player to do everything. Take Leceister for example, how many 'elite' players do they have? how are they competing at the highest level.
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Leicester are not competing at the highest level and shouldn't be the standard we aim to reach. They're a decent team that are now very well managed but have rarely finished in the top 4 and may do so one season. We should emulate them in how well we are manager/run but our sights should be set higher. As a club with our resources it would be criminal not to. Naturally as things stand I'd be delighted if we were as good as them (primarily because of their manager not the players).
I agree that you don't need absolute top players in every position but I do believe that Sancho (at least of 18/19) was the outrageously gifted wide player (especially RW) that we've sorely lacked for a long time. And to be honest while I really like James I'm not yet sure he's someone who starts for a team of lofty ambitions. And hence I'd like him to ideally be part of 5 strong options for a front 3 as opposed to a 'must play every single match' footballer.
Don't get me wrong, I'd love Sancho to be part of our team, it only makes us stronger. But just because we got James from a championship side doesn't make him less of a player.
No, being from the championship doesn't make him a less or a player. Being a less of a player makes him a less of a player.
As I've said before, I really like James. He's been a very good find. But I'm not sure how you guys have been watching him an seeing and elite talent - one you'd forgo other quality RWs for. There's nothing wrong with having multiple options in wide areas. Last season City had Sterling, Sane, Silva and Mahrez. That's how you build a strong squad.