Is Mou still 'The Special One' for you all?

[sammsky1]

Kanchelskis, Sharpe, Cantona, Giggs, Hughes
vs
Beckham, Cole, Yorke, Giggs, Blomqvist
vs
Giggs, Tevez, Berbatov, Rooney, Ronaldo,
vs
Martial, Rashford, Mata, Ibrahimović, Mkhitaryan (I've even left out Rooney and Lingard to be kind)

Care to spot the odd group? Our attacking resources are no-where close to being good enough.

People need to get real about what it takes to be world class. We need very talented players, able to play to the maximum of their capacity, on a regular weekly basis. Maybe some of the current lot will dramatically improve but until we get genuine, reliable world class players, dont expect reliable world class results.

I sympathise with Mourinho. Until he has the genuine tools required, we can whinge as much as we want, but it isn't 'his fault'

 

[Adebesi]

We're the new Invincibles.

The Invincibles 0.2.

 

[ferguson2]

I don't think the cup we won is a progress to last season, it's the way United play. We know that we are creating a lot of chances that should be converted. So it looks like a problem that's pretty easy to solve (adding quality through buying or through training).

Last season we created very few chances but had clearly the better conversion rate. If you ask me, I rather watch us creating a lot of chances like this season than the slowmotion vertical passing we played last season.

One more year without Champions League will hurt but isn't the end of the world. I still see excitiing times ahead us with Mourinho as our manager.

 

[GM K]

The Europa league always takes it out of English clubs at the end of the season and has done for last 5 years

The players are knackered but keep battiing but we needed a striker in the January window to see us over next few months in the league, it's obvious now Rooney is kaput. he never makes the goalkeeper make a save never mind score

Jose had same problem in his first season back at Chelsea, they just couldnt score in some games and he sorted that out by signing Costa.

I reckon if Jose could sign any striker in the world right now he would pick Costa if they ever became friends again.

The defence is looking good, ogranized, De Gea worries me a bit Jose don't look happy at him always using his feet and not his hands and being brave to dive for the ball.

People keep saying Jose record is worse than LVG but forget he had no European football to contend with , like Conte just now it's easier to play only have one game a week

We are not as good as we were and other clubs have loads of money too so it will take time but i'm confident we will win a title under Jose's Management

I like your post. It looks at the big picture.

I really wonder how some people don't see the progress being made.

 

[red forever]

He hasn't been special since he left Milan since then he has been living of past glories, going around doing his best to try and soil the game in every country he has been in. He is a completely different man to the one that first came to this country and pronounced himself the special one.

 

[GM K]

I don't know about being special but one thing is clear, the team is improving under Jose's management despite the mistakes he's making.


Here's a relevant quote:


"In their 2016/17 Premier League campaign, United have averaged more shots on target per game (6.2) than any other club. They put in more crosses per game (25) than any other club. And they have – by a significant margin – missed more of what Premier League statisticians officially term “big chances” than any other club (40 versus the 36 and 28 of second and third-placed Manchester City and Arsenal).

United are behind only Tottenham Hotspur in total shots per game (17.1 versus 17.2), and surpassed only by possession-obsessive Pep Guardiola's Manchester City for passing accuracy (84.7% against 84.8%). United's figure of 32% of the match spent in the opposition third of the pitch leads the Premier League.


Also informative is where Chelsea stand in the rankings for these six measures of attacking intent. Antonio Conte's team – unencumbered by the travails of European competition, it should be remembered – currently rank seventh on shots on target per game, fourth on shots per game, 12th on crosses per game, eighth on big chances missed, third on passing accuracy (83.8%), and eighth on time spent near the opponent's goal.

Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool, often presented as the poster boys of attacking play, currently place second and third on shots, fifth for crosses, fourth on big chances and and sixth on passing. Only on the territorial statistic does Liverpool's 32% match United's." - Daily Record.


This Manchester United side, has simply had an unfortunate season. Simple.

The stats don't lie and in properly considering them, we must go beyond merely looking at the league table.

 

[rocks13]

I don't know about being special but one thing is clear, the team is improving under Jose's management despite the mistakes he's making.


Here's a relevant quote:


"In their 2016/17 Premier League campaign, United have averaged more shots on target per game (6.2) than any other club. They put in more crosses per game (25) than any other club. And they have – by a significant margin – missed more of what Premier League statisticians officially term “big chances” than any other club (40 versus the 36 and 28 of second and third-placed Manchester City and Arsenal).

United are behind only Tottenham Hotspur in total shots per game (17.1 versus 17.2), and surpassed only by possession-obsessive Pep Guardiola's Manchester City for passing accuracy (84.7% against 84.8%). United's figure of 32% of the match spent in the opposition third of the pitch leads the Premier League.


Also informative is where Chelsea stand in the rankings for these six measures of attacking intent. Antonio Conte's team – unencumbered by the travails of European competition, it should be remembered – currently rank seventh on shots on target per game, fourth on shots per game, 12th on crosses per game, eighth on big chances missed, third on passing accuracy (83.8%), and eighth on time spent near the opponent's goal.

Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool, often presented as the poster boys of attacking play, currently place second and third on shots, fifth for crosses, fourth on big chances and and sixth on passing. Only on the territorial statistic does Liverpool's 32% match United's." - Daily Record.


This Manchester United side, has simply had an unfortunate season. Simple.

The stats don't lie and in properly considering them, we must go beyond merely looking at the league table.

This is not a relevant quote. It's a load of pro-Jose propaganda being peddled by his number one ass licker Duncan Castles.

 

[Adebesi]

I was thinking about that Castles article at one point during the game last night, wondering whether he had the self-awareness to be cringing about it.

 

[CS@SG]

Yes, it has everything to do with our recent history as Mourinho inherited 3 of our 4 forwards who are unreliable for various reasons.

LVG got rid of Van Persie, Hernandez and Welbeck and thought he'd get by on Rooney, Martial and a newly discovered Rashford. Results show he couldn't.

Mourinho added Ibrahimovic but found Rooney as a dead duck and Martial and Rashford baby ducks not yet ready as reliable goal scorers. Mourinho has been reliant on an Ibra on his last legs + 3 lame forwards.

Its not brilliance, its simple logic. Try it sometime.

Yeah right, why don't you explain why Martial and Rashford played like pheonix under LVG but both became little duck now? How many goals RVP scored in the mighty turkish leageu this season? How many games has Welbeck played after joining arsenal? And Hernandez? He is short, he can't hold on the ball, he can't play 2nd forward or no 10, he will not even have a chance in Mourinh's team.

 

[The_Order]

Isn't that what we all have been telling ourselves since SAF retired?? We are turning more and more into Liverpool with our eternal hope for the better next season that never seems to come.

Youre right.. why hope at all, knock down Old Trafford and replace it with a Waitrose.

Sometimes, you have to take stock of your short-comings and mistakes and plan for a better tomorrow. Thats what 99.99% of teams on the planet do - It doesn't mean we are becoming Liverpool.

Anyone who thought Mourinho would fix us in one transfer window is delusional, there I guess the Liverpool comparison would be apropos.

 

[sammsky1]

Yeah right, why don't you explain why Martial and Rashford played like pheonix under LVG but both became little duck now? How many goals RVP scored in the mighty turkish leageu this season? How many games has Welbeck played after joining arsenal? And Hernandez? He is short, he can't hold on the ball, he can't play 2nd forward or no 10, he will not even have a chance in Mourinh's team.

Not sure if you know how ridiculous this post sounds. Anyways, its pointless debating if you're going to be so dogmatic in your blinkered opinion.

All the best.

 

[CS@SG]

Does Watford have any world class player? Surprised they beaten WBA at home. Does Bournemouth have any world class player? Surprised they beaten Everton at home early in the season. Like someone said

 

[GM K]

This is not a relevant quote. It's a load of pro-Jose propaganda being peddled by his number one ass licker Duncan Castles.

How is it not relevant? How do you then assess 'progress' or otherwise? By just looking at the league table?

The stats show if a team is attacking more or less; if it is creating more chances or not; if it's spending more time in the opposition half or not; how well it is passing or shooting etc. You can't pass judgement based on mere emotions or on the basis of liking or not liking a manager. What are the facts?

Like I said, I don't know about being special, but there are indicators that the team has made some progress. It's just about 10 months since Mourinho took over. Let's see how we fare by the end of the season and in the coming season. How is this 'ass licking'?

 

[Adebesi]

Youre right.. why hope at all, knock down Old Trafford and replace it with a Waitrose.

Sometimes, you have to take stock of your short-comings and mistakes and plan for a better tomorrow. Thats what 99.99% of teams on the planet do - It doesn't mean we are becoming Liverpool.

Anyone who thought Mourinho would fix us in one transfer window is delusional, there I guess the Liverpool comparison would be apropos.

I agree we need to be patient. But he's actually had two transfer windows.

 

[lococol]

We're the new Invincibles.

The Invincibles 0.2.

We are the 'In sixth ables'. Its our destiny this season. As I see it - Mourinho moans to much and blames the players and refs, The players miss complete sitters and consistently hit the woodwork/keeper, The fear factor is gone so teams that used to crumble when playing us actually have a go at defending which is something that we can't cope with due to a lack of creativity. On a positive note, when we get the first goal we seem to play a lot better, a lot less nervy. I believe Mourinho will come good next season. I dont even think we will win Europa League to be honest.

 

[GM K]

Does Watford have any world class player? Surprised they beaten WBA at home. Does Bournemouth have any world class player? Surprised they beaten Everton at home early in the season. Like someone said

Football is not that straightforward.

Deportivo La Coruna beat FC Barcelona. Valencia beat Deportivo La Coruna. Barcelona beat Valencia. Meanwhile, Deportivo La Coruna drew with Alaves which beat Barcelona.

Any team can beat any team with time.

 

[VP89]

This might have already been brought up but:

Home Premier League win rate:

SAF: 75%
LVG: 68%
Moyes: 44%
Mourinho 38%

(skysports)

 

[Sammyjunn]

Youre right.. why hope at all, knock down Old Trafford and replace it with a Waitrose.

Sometimes, you have to take stock of your short-comings and mistakes and plan for a better tomorrow. Thats what 99.99% of teams on the planet do - It doesn't mean we are becoming Liverpool.

Anyone who thought Mourinho would fix us in one transfer window is delusional, there I guess the Liverpool comparison would be apropos.

Did you think/expect we'd finish 5th/6th with probably a low goalscoring/high draw rate after we signed Pogba, Zlatan, Bailly, Miki and beaten Bournemoth 0-3 with ease?;

 

[KingMinger22]

Kanchelskis, Sharpe, Cantona, Giggs, Hughes
vs
Beckham, Cole, Yorke, Giggs, Blomqvist
vs
Giggs, Tevez, Berbatov, Rooney, Ronaldo,
vs
Martial, Rashford, Mata, Ibrahimović, Mkhitaryan (I've even left out Rooney and Lingard to be kind)

Care to spot the odd group? Our attacking resources are no-where close to being good enough.

People need to get real about what it takes to be world class. We need very talented players, able to play to the maximum of their capacity, on a regular weekly basis. Maybe some of the current lot will dramatically improve but until we get genuine, reliable world class players, dont expect reliable world class results.

I sympathise with Mourinho. Until he has the genuine tools required, we can whinge as much as we want, but it isn't 'his fault'

This.

We need to add at least two top draw attackers of the level that Chelsea, Barca, Real and Bayern have.

Griezmann and Sanchez would do it.

Bale would be perfect but seems unlikely.

Not one. Two minimum.

 

[GM K]

In some areas yes, the team has undoubtedly improved, we definitely don't seem as helpless as we did at times under the previous regime. But having said that I don't think we have improved our style of play very much. Under LVG it was possession just for the sake of it, but here we try to do the opposite too hurriedly. We go long far too quickly far too often, and as far as I can tell Mourinho seems to encourage it, he is always egging on the players from the sidelines to get the ball from back to front quickly. This is very concerning for me because we are not going to win titles playing like this. The number of games we draw at home is a direct consequence of this, look at the 2nd half yesterday, we were going for the long ball from the half way line, or trying to get it wide to put in a high cross despite their being other options available for the man on the ball.

During the broadcast last night, Phil Neville commented that some fan sitting close to him at half time said we need a Ryan Giggs tonight. I completely agree with this that we need a player who will draw opposing defenders and hence create space for the other players. Martial seems to be the obvious choice for this but he has not progressed to the levels expected. Rashford from time to time attempts to do it but fails far too often. Our attack especially when we start getting desperate is too focused on simply getting the ball in the box as quickly as possible, no attempt is made to draw players towards you and this quality is a requisite in any top side I feel.

So yes as much as the team has improved in defense and developing a mental edge when it comes to not losing, there are major issues in attack despite Mourinho buying 3 players to help with the attacking side of play. Most concerning for me is Mourinho seems to encourage this style of play and I fear this will not be good enough if it continues like this.

Nice post. You make some really good points.

However, I keep wondering if we can conclude that Mourinho's tactics are not working just like Van Gaal's were not (For the records, I like both managers so this is not an attempt to join the Van Gaal vs Jose war that is going on all over).

The reason why I think we can't criticize Jose's tactics (yet) is because of the incredible number of chances missed this season. I belong to the school of thought that argues that tactics have very little to do with how a top class pro footballer performs when one on one with the opposing goalkeeper. We have seen Zlatan, Miki, Mata, Rashford, Martial and Pogba bungle great chances this season. We have also seen sheer bad luck many times with the ball hitting the post or with opposing goalkeepers simply putting up extra terrestrial performances. Something tells me that in another season, things would be different. I have seen that a lot in sports. When you have a bad patch, it's often like being cursed. Very few things go right.

The opposite of the bad luck this season was the EFL Cup final. Very few people will argue that United was not outplayed yet it was the day the team took its chances and won.

If United had merely won just 5 of those games drawn at home, that would be an extra 10 points. Add that to their current points haul and very few of us will be discussing Mourinho's tactics.

 

[The_Order]

Did you think/expect we'd finish 5th/6th with probably a low goalscoring/high draw rate after we signed Pogba, Zlatan, Bailly, Miki and beaten Bournemoth 0-3 with ease?;

No, I didn't expect it. I didn't expect that Leicester City would be Premier League champions or that in a few weeks time they would be playing in the Quarter FINALS of the bloody Champions League. Football is funny that way.

But funnily enough, all those players you mentioned are Mou's players, and rightfully so have been the best performers (RB notwithstanding) in their respective positions - which brings into sharp focus the deficiencies of our current squad.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

Not disputing that. I'm just saying it lacks perspective.

Arsenal 2003-04 (Invincibles - 90 points) had 26 wins and 12 draws.
Chelsea 2004-05 (most points - 95) had 29 wins and 8 draws.

An unbeaten run has no meaning if as you say it is not a foundation for win. An unbeaten run has meaning if we are playing against our peers. Against Everton, West Brom, Rostov, Bournemouth, Hull, Stoke etc is not something to be proud of. We need to feckin win these game. All I see is a bunch of 2 points dropped, not the unbeaten streak.

Well that's good because over the course of those 20 league games we've played Liverpool (twice) Spurs and Arsenal (as well as two games against Everton). That's 7 out of 20 games against teams either above us or one place behind us in the league. Do unbeaten runs only have meaning if we play all our peers? Because that seems a little unreasonable tbh.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

This.

We need to add at least two top draw attackers of the level that Chelsea, Barca, Real and Bayern have.

Griezmann and Sanchez would do it.

Bale would be perfect but seems unlikely.

Not one. Two minimum.

That would be great but who are the top drawer players/attackers at Liverpool and Spurs? And why are Mkhitarian, Ibra and Pogba not enough for us in the PL?

 

[amolbhatia50k]

No, I didn't expect it. I didn't expect that Leicester City would be Premier League champions or that in a few weeks time they would be playing in the Quarter FINALS of the bloody Champions League. Football is funny that way.

But funnily enough, all those players you mentioned are Mou's players, and rightfully so have been the best performers (RB notwithstanding) in their respective positions - which brings into sharp focus the deficiencies of our current squad.

Herrera has been better than Pogba. Rojo has probably been our best CB.

 

[KingMinger22]

All this bollocks about tactics is frustrating.

It's quite simple what our problem is. We lack quality in attack.

We have a number of "good" players but no world class ones. That's how Fergie won games: utilising top draw individual talents.

Mourinho needs another summer to try and make this squad his own.

There is not a manager in the world better suited to fixing our mediocrity.

Have some patience. Mourinho has had nothing to do with the shite squad he inherited.

 

[KingMinger22]

That would be great but who are the top drawer players/attackers at Liverpool and Spurs? And why are Mkhitarian, Ibra and Pogba not enough for us in the PL?

Coutinho, Kane and Alli are superb.

Secondly, I do not think United should be benchmarking our attackers against those of Liverpool and Spurs.

We are within a few points of them as we have similar quality teams. That shouldn't and won't be the case in the future with Mourinho and our resources.

Next season is when I expect us to really kick on.

 

[Crossie]

Mikhi was average in Borrussia Dortmund in his first season before he exploded in the second season. You'll see the real Mikhi once he has fully settled in.

Sorry to nitpick, dispell this myth and provide some context.

Mkhitaryan had an okayish first season.

In his second season, however, he had a mare of a first half. He wasn't alone in that, many others in the team had, too. Klopp, although he loved him as a player and tried everything to boost his confidence, began to bench him. The second half of his second season had okay and good games.

It was in his third season with us - when Thomas Tuchel had taken over and built the team around him to suit his strengths - that Mkhi has been outstanding.

 

[The_Order]

Herrera has been better than Pogba. Rojo has probably been our best CB.

I respectfully disagree.

 

[rocks13]

Herrera has been better than Pogba. Rojo has probably been our best CB.

Mata has been better than Mkhitaryan

 

[King7Eric]

Nice post. You make some really good points.

However, I keep wondering if we can conclude that Mourinho's tactics are not working just like Van Gaal's were not (For the records, I like both managers so this is not an attempt to join the Van Gaal vs Jose war that is going on all over).

The reason why I think we can't criticize Jose's tactics (yet) is because of the incredible number of chances missed this season. I belong to the school of thought that argues that tactics have very little to do with how a top class pro footballer performs when one on one with the opposing goalkeeper. We have seen Zlatan, Miki, Mata, Rashford, Martial and Pogba bungle great chances this season. We have also seen sheer bad luck many times with the ball hitting the post or with opposing goalkeepers simply putting up extra terrestrial performances. Something tells me that in another season, things would be different. I have seen that a lot in sports. When you have a bad patch, it's often like being cursed. Very few things go right.

The opposite of the bad luck this season was the EFL Cup final. Very few people will argue that United was not outplayed yet it was the day the team took its chances and won.

If United had merely won just 5 of those games drawn at home, that would be an extra 10 points. Add that to their current points haul and very few of us will be discussing Mourinho's tactics.

No doubt about the bolded part. Completely agree with you there and also that finishing has nothing to do tactics when you are one on one. But the fact is we didn't win those 5 games and I believe that there is a reason behind every misfortune. We can't blame luck if it keeps happening again and again. Our finishing is poor and to remedy that we need to create more clear cut chances per game, to balance out the poor finishing ability of the forwards, which we are currently struggling to do. We create more half chances than clear cut chances and that would be fine if we had a deadly finisher. If we had a RVN type player who had put in those chances, no one would question the tactics. The 09/10 season in particular comes to mind as we were not playing scintillating football that season, especially compared to the previous 3 seasons, but the fact that Rooney was constantly banging them in that season meant no one questioned the tactics.

Ultimately the tactics are an extension of the abilities of the players we possess. The best tactic is one that hides the obvious weaknesses of the time. Since our biggest weakness is finishing accuracy, we need a style of play that foregoes these long balls which result in awkward headers and hitting second balls towards goal and instead replaces them with a more patient approach that results in creating more clear cut chances, even if the amount of total chances created is a bit less.

 

[mu4c_20le]

All this bollocks about tactics is frustrating.

It's quite simple what our problem is. We lack quality in attack.

We have a number of "good" players but no world class ones. That's how Fergie won games: utilising top draw individual talents.

Mourinho needs another summer to try and make this squad his own.

There is not a manager in the world better suited to fixing our mediocrity.

Have some patience. Mourinho has had nothing to do with the shite squad he inherited.

This might fly for the WBA game. But he chose the team last night and he chose to play the likes of Lingard and Fellaini over Pogba, Mhki and Martial. So it's on him to get those players firing. Also Fergie worked wonders with his squad players, and even LVG got the best out of Rashford and Martial. Hey, i've no doubt Jose will further strengthen the squad this summer, but still he should be doing much better with what he's got right now.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

This might fly for the WBA game. But he chose the team last night and he chose to play the likes of Lingard and Fellaini over Pogba, Mhki and Martial. So it's on him to get those players firing. Also Fergie worked wonders with his squad players, and even LVG got the best out of Rashford and Martial. Hey, i've no doubt Jose will further strengthen the squad this summer, but still he should be doing much better with what he's got right now.

Who both started the even more underwhelming performance against WBA.

 

[1974_Fergie_Time]

This.

We need to add at least two top draw attackers of the level that Chelsea, Barca, Real and Bayern have.

Griezmann and Sanchez would do it.

Bale would be perfect but seems unlikely.

Not one. Two minimum.

Haven't seen anything from Bale this season to say he would improve us, especially after his inury, in fact in last game for Wales he was so frustrated with his pace and his game he made a shocker of a tackle on J O'Shea.

 

[Adebesi]

All this bollocks about tactics is frustrating.

It's quite simple what our problem is. We lack quality in attack.

We have a number of "good" players but no world class ones. That's how Fergie won games: utilising top draw individual talents.

Mourinho needs another summer to try and make this squad his own.

There is not a manager in the world better suited to fixing our mediocrity.

Have some patience. Mourinho has had nothing to do with the shite squad he inherited.

I dont agree with that. In Miki, Mata, Martial and Ibra we have abundant quality. They are better than merely good, they have all demonstrated that in the past.

 

[shield]

He has not done anything special for us yet. On current form we are set to finish 6th and won't even be able to win Europa.

The sad part is, we can't expect performances to improve that much. It is not like we are playing young players who are going through a bad patch. We are playing the most obvious set of average or past it players available to us, like Fellaini, Young and Carrick. What can be expected from them. Can we expect this bunch to suddenly up their game just within a week or two.

And Mourinho's is not doing anything to motivate the underperforming players. Martial plays poorly ... bang .. he is dropped. Mikihi has an off day, does not start the next match. Shaw is coming off from a horrible injury and may be a bit fragile ... gets criticized in the press.

The Mata injury was a huge blow. He was somehow producing the moments of magic which was keeping us going. He was the one holding us together and keeping things ticking. We don't have anyone with his level of game intelligence.

The way I see it, it is now up to Zlatan, Mikhi, Herrera and to some extent, Lingard to get us the results.

I just don't know where the improvement is going to come from. Van Gaal was atleast playing an exciting front line who really picked it up toward the end of last season. I just don't see who is going to save us this season. All our matches till the end of the season will most certainly be slow paced frustrating experiences with a lot of hoofball.

Mourinho has not implemented a style of play, and has not been able to motivate a player to start performing very well. The defence has improved, and he has got couple of average players play OK. Not excellent, but OK. He has done nothing all season to improve our midfield, apart from hoping that Pogba might improve. He has just been relying on the players this season. This is fine, because maybe he feels that he will think about the style part next season when he has better players and just wants to get the results now, but it is hard to think of him as "special" at this point.

 

[sammsky1]

That would be great but who are the top drawer players/attackers at Liverpool and Spurs? And why are Mkhitarian, Ibra and Pogba not enough for us in the PL?

Have not reached world class standards and also been very inconsistent. Plenty of reasons why, but those do not negate this fact.

Pogba also not an attacker and has a whole set of other issues that require improvement.

 

[sammsky1]

I dont agree with that. In Miki, Mata, Martial and Ibra we have abundant quality. They are better than merely good, they have all demonstrated that in the past.

thats your opinion. Explain why we are so short on goals then???

All 4 have demonstrated glaring issues this season.

 

[Adebesi]

thats your opinion. All 4 have demonstrated glaring issues this season.

They have, but couldnt that be down to mismanagement? Bad tactics?

I was responding to @KingMinger22 who was dismissing the possibility of our problems having anything to do with tactics, saying it was down to a lack of quality in attack.

It is my opinion that we have quality in attack - especially in the form of those players - and that there is some other reason they are not firing. Be that tactics, confidence or something else.

If you look at the list of teams that have scored more goals than us this season, and then look at their attacking options, and then compare them to Miki, Martial, Mata and Ibra, in a lot of cases its pretty hard to make the case they are superior in terms of quality, on paper. Martial probably has done least to prove his quality, but last year plenty of posters, including oppo fans, thought he was pretty much our best outfield player. The quality is there, something is preventing it shining through.

 

[rocks13]

thats your opinion. Explain why we are so short on goals then???

All 4 have demonstrated glaring issues this season.

Costa, Hazard and Fabregas all demonstrated glaring issues last season but I don't think that was down to them being bad players.

 

[Sammyjunn]

No, I didn't expect it. I didn't expect that Leicester City would be Premier League champions or that in a few weeks time they would be playing in the Quarter FINALS of the bloody Champions League. Football is funny that way.

But funnily enough, all those players you mentioned are Mou's players, and rightfully so have been the best performers (RB notwithstanding) in their respective positions - which brings into sharp focus the deficiencies of our current squad.

True but he cant buy 20 new players to his liking, he should be doing better with what he has.