I hate the suggestion that our players don't try, for one.
I don't think it's that they don't try. I think it's that when things aren't going well, their heads go down. If these stories are to be believed that'll be because they know that their proscribed tactics aren't working, and they'll get torn to shreds if they try something different.
What I think has been missing from our team in the last few seasons is adaptability. LVG is a proponent that there's some 'perfect' form of football that's basically unplayable, and if his team gets it right they're almost guaranteed to win. But in reality any team with stamina and pressing ability can counter it. Sure, we'll have a lot of possession but it's really easy to prevent us from making chances, and then it only takes a mistake to concede a goal. What we
used to be good at was reacting to a situation by making changes, leaving the opposition unprepared. Part of this requires having good leadership both off and on the field; off the field it's all about the analysis of the situation and making those tactical changes. On the field it's about motivation, and that's also been lacking.
No manager is going to be able to come in and put all this right, and even if they do, we'll still have off-days. The hope is that those are the exception rather than the norm.