What I like about AVB is that he is not a defeatist or negative Nancy. A manager admitting there is a crisis may as well state he expects us to finish out of the European spots or worse relegation.
What does concern me however is that there is a huge ever apparent dark cloud over the team. We have bought players that are show stoppers, capable of winning games, but yet a naive manager feels it's best not to play them in their natural position or not play to their strengths.
Numerous papers have spoken about how stubborn AVB is and how that cost him his job at Chelsea. We all thought after last season that this had changed, however now it has seems more like he is a simple creature of habit.
In any interview I do not expect to hear him admit to any issues within the team or between players and staff etc, again it would be the death of him, but I appreciate that he states his mood and how the players should feel.
At the moment not only does AVB stand at a crossroads in his career, but the club stands at it's own. It is here when he should say let’s try it a different way. The same way may have worked in a closed league in Portugal, which then fuelled their success in the Europa league, but AVB is not a one trick pony (surely not).
A manager can learn from his mistakes, but it seems more that AVB simply accepts that he has made mistakes and then ignore's them.
Formation seems to be the hot topic. 4-5-1 supposedly does not work? I disagree, it works for the top teams in Europe. You can say that it does not suit our players, but it is a load of rubbish. We have some of the best players in the world in our team. We have one of Spain's top strikers (correct me if I am wrong but they are both World and European Champions), we have a goalkeeper that everyone was shocked that we managed to recruit, one of the most promising South American prospects (who has already proved himself in Italy), one of the best defenders in the game that can play left or centre back and that is to name a small few. To say that our team is not capable of playing this formation shows your naivety as a fan. The real issue is confidence, which affects our positioning and lack of creativity.
If Soldado does not start and score a ton of goals tonight we need to drop him for his own sake. Not as he is worthless (as some blind football fans/ pundits state), but because he needs that hunger back and to work on his positioning and link up play.
Townsend and Lamela should be played on the correct wings, Dawson must be dropped and young blood with great potential brought through and we need to get the old Dembele back.
The lack of confidence in the team in attack has affected the team so much that we are not being creative, we are not stretching the game, we are playing the ball backward and side ways (as they are the safer options) and forgive me for saying it but I can't stand to watch it much longer.
A manager must lead his team, inspire the team and make sure that they get the most out of his players and at the moment there is no trust it seems between the manager and players or the amongst the players themselves.
The reason for this is due to the large influx of players that came in over the summer. AVB is yet to field the same players for two straight games and I feel this is his downfall. I expect this from a smaller club that has to change it's style and players dependent on each opposition. We should have a set starting 11 that we would change formation or style for each game.
I used to trust AVB, but like the players my trust is fading and fast, as well as it has in the players. In the summer I would not have imagined that Soldado would have to be dropped due to poor form, I would not have found it difficult in knowing who I would pick to start.
So we are where we are, everyone's head has dropped and our manager seems to be struggling to pull them out of this rut. My advice to them all is simple.
You know who the best players are “on paper" so put them together. Play them week in week out and the team will show signs of gelling and it is then when we will see the change. If a player does not change and fit in then change that one player, not several.
Maybe we need to get back to basics, maybe we need a confidence lift and for me a win tonight against the Tromso is the ideal opportunity. Whether some of the team are rested or not it makes no difference. We need to see a BIG win tonight, a clean sheet and some creativity. That would be the building blocks for our season to get back on track and importantly get some confidence back.
Realising that Utd are up next in the league, but we beat them and drew last season and they have struggled like us this season (so it's a good chance that we could pull off that shock result).
For the time being though concentrate on tonight, give SOME youngsters a try, but for our own sanity we need a big win tonight 4 goals plus and that important clean sheet. Lloris must play for certain just to get his head back in the game.
We have no right to sit there are boo, we have to put our trust back in the team. It may not make the difference but as fans we have a job to do too. As someone speaking publicly to other fans I have a responsibility and it is not to install fear and anger.
If we see another game of square balls, narrow play, no build up or creativity against the likes of the small teams then we have no chance against the big teams, but its all about baby steps from here until the end of the year.
Come on people forget how bad the games have looked, how poor the players have been or how naive and shaken we look as a team, look at each game as they come and let's help them build on something.
COYS!!!!
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