Clearly the lack of a proper sporting structure has been a huge part of us wasting £1.5BN over the last decade or so.
We can blame some of our managers, EtH in particular had an appalling grasp of what was required in this league, but the reality is, guardrails and support teams should have been in-place to prevent him / them doing as much damage as they did.
In addition, some fear giving Amorim time will lead to similar issues, i.e. a big turnover of players if/when the next chap comes in...but that shouldn't be the case IF we target profiles and not players.
The emphasis should be on "what are the fundamental tools players need to survive and thrive in this league?" and any red flags in those areas should lead to an immediate, categorical, non-negotiable veto from the executives / scouting team.
So where did we go wrong (short version) under EtH and OGS, in terms of profiling players. Note, not a comprehensive list, and is only focused on the "red flags".
Casemiro - too slow, not mobile enough, can't cover ground
Eriksen - too slow, too weak, not mobile enough, can't cover ground
Anthony - too weak, too slow, not a powerful enough ball carrier / runner.
Martinez - far too small, too brittle, too slow
Bayindir - weak under the high ball, huge problem in the Premier League
Ugarte - too slow, can't cover enough ground, not dynamic enough, not a good enough ball carrier
Sancho - too slow, not a powerful ball carrier / runner, too weak, attitude problems, lack of fight and aggression
Ronaldo - too slow, not a strong presser, unwilling / unable to cover ground.
Maguire - prefers a back three, too slow for a progressive 4-2-3-1, ironically would have been probably quite good at his peak under Amorim, but misprofiled at the time.
The problem is, even a world-class coach can't teach a fish to climb a tree. We can bang on about coaching and systems all we like, but if our players are fundamentally too slow, too weak, too brittle, too small etc...for elite level football, then each coach is doomed to fail.
So, that in-mind, what qualities should we be saying are an absolute non-negotiable for new signings now, to ensure that we're not lumbered with totally useless busts and horrendous physical limitations?
For example, CBs....must be physically imposing, must be fast, must be strong, absolute minimum 6ft, ideally 6ft 2"+
CF - must be physically imposing, strong, minimum 6ft, ideally 6ft 2"+, good first touch, good aerially, aggressive
#10s / AMs / wide forwards - strong, fast, powerful runners, powerful ball carriers, aggressive, high-energy
Interested to hear other opinions...and note, I think I have only actually mentioned one or two 'technical' must haves there, focus for me should be on athleticism, in terms of core profile.
We can blame some of our managers, EtH in particular had an appalling grasp of what was required in this league, but the reality is, guardrails and support teams should have been in-place to prevent him / them doing as much damage as they did.
In addition, some fear giving Amorim time will lead to similar issues, i.e. a big turnover of players if/when the next chap comes in...but that shouldn't be the case IF we target profiles and not players.
The emphasis should be on "what are the fundamental tools players need to survive and thrive in this league?" and any red flags in those areas should lead to an immediate, categorical, non-negotiable veto from the executives / scouting team.
So where did we go wrong (short version) under EtH and OGS, in terms of profiling players. Note, not a comprehensive list, and is only focused on the "red flags".
Casemiro - too slow, not mobile enough, can't cover ground
Eriksen - too slow, too weak, not mobile enough, can't cover ground
Anthony - too weak, too slow, not a powerful enough ball carrier / runner.
Martinez - far too small, too brittle, too slow
Bayindir - weak under the high ball, huge problem in the Premier League
Ugarte - too slow, can't cover enough ground, not dynamic enough, not a good enough ball carrier
Sancho - too slow, not a powerful ball carrier / runner, too weak, attitude problems, lack of fight and aggression
Ronaldo - too slow, not a strong presser, unwilling / unable to cover ground.
Maguire - prefers a back three, too slow for a progressive 4-2-3-1, ironically would have been probably quite good at his peak under Amorim, but misprofiled at the time.
The problem is, even a world-class coach can't teach a fish to climb a tree. We can bang on about coaching and systems all we like, but if our players are fundamentally too slow, too weak, too brittle, too small etc...for elite level football, then each coach is doomed to fail.
So, that in-mind, what qualities should we be saying are an absolute non-negotiable for new signings now, to ensure that we're not lumbered with totally useless busts and horrendous physical limitations?
For example, CBs....must be physically imposing, must be fast, must be strong, absolute minimum 6ft, ideally 6ft 2"+
CF - must be physically imposing, strong, minimum 6ft, ideally 6ft 2"+, good first touch, good aerially, aggressive
#10s / AMs / wide forwards - strong, fast, powerful runners, powerful ball carriers, aggressive, high-energy
Interested to hear other opinions...and note, I think I have only actually mentioned one or two 'technical' must haves there, focus for me should be on athleticism, in terms of core profile.