nogs

The performances from Coleman, Keane, Gana and Sigurdssen were all well below what any kid could offer for chunks of last season. I'd much rather give a kid the minutes than freeze them out to play seniors who aren't playing well enough to justify their place in the team. Kenny, Holgate and Davies all should have had more minutes last year, both have put in performances at this level better than what the seniors were providing. I'd have kept Vlasic too over Sig who is just not involved enough. Similarly Besic was good enough too. 
We had options, the manager just chose not to. Barmy when you think we barely won a game were the opposition turned up. 

Again, underlines the Sigurdsson problem. Praet and Tielemans are forward thinking midfielders, but they get back when not in possession like you say. I just don't think Sigurdsson can/wants to play like that. 
I don't think it's just a Pep influence. Klopp plays a very flat midfield 3. Sheff Utd, who deserved a point against the shite yesterday, play their best ball player (Norwood) deepest of a very well drilled 3. I reckon more than half of Prem teams now play with a genuine three man midfield. We're getting found out because we feel we have to play Sigurdsson. 

My frustration with Sigurdsson - and Schneiderlin for that matter - is we're seeing exactly the same problems in midfield we saw two years ago under Koeman. It was crap then and its crap now. How have we not moved on, tactically and in terms of personnel, two managers later? 

I'm with all the posts questioning why Silva keeps getting it in the neck for players underperforming in a blue shirt. I completely agree Silva has a lot to prove still and a bad month ahead will put him in a very difficult position, but come on - how long do we have to suffer £50m Sigurdsson being fucking useless  before we start questioning his commitment and desire? I cringe every time I see Schneiderlin on the team sheet, same with Tosun - just not good enough. People on here defend Keane to the hilt but he's a mistake waiting to happen. 
Yeah Silva has to take responsibility for picking underperforming players, and yeah part of a coach's job is to make players better. But instead of believing we can wave a magic wand, bring a new manager in and suddenly find ourselves in the top 4, I think we have to face facts - we still have a lot of players on our books who are either not good enough for where we want to be or who are apparently not that arsed. 

Why? What's so bad about getting players to practice more and improve on what they've clearly been shit at?
Players asked to improve and cut out mistakes that are costing the team, manager gets it in the ear. Crazy logic, but in the modern footballing world the player is coddled to shit. Fuck that. Work hard, end of story.

Agree with some of this, disagree with some of it. Wanting your wide forwards to score plenty doesn't mean you have to play like Liverpool with Firmino as a false 9. Look at City, their front 3 all bang them in. I do agree about adjusting to the players you have, though. Which brings me to a point about DCL - if Silva wanted to play the withdrawn 9 card and get Richarlison/Bernard scoring, why the hell did we spend all of Saturday launching high crosses into the box against three big, rugged CBs without our best target man on the pitch? It was embarrassingly naive, even worse when he brought Tosun on (who just isn't remotely good enough, I'm afraid). 
I am with you, though. I'd like to see him at least try a 4-4-2, I think it's the only way we'll get a tune out of Sigurdsson. I worry about centre mid especially without Gomes and Digne and Coleman would have to play as traditional full backs, but it's worth a go. 

DCL must be loving this as a Blade - making a point for not getting a kick against his boyhood club on Saturday? 

Shit thay DCL, should have started Tosun. 

Mourinho... Remind me how he 'inspired' a bunch of underperforming wannabes at Man Utd? Would be utterly the wrong direction for us to go in, more throwing big money around hoping to buy quick success. We need a hungry manager who understands the way the game is being played nowadays. Mourinho is 10 years out of date. 

Howe has made some excellent signings at Bournemouth. 

The Silva debate will rage on, but one constant is, that big name players make school boy errors on a regular basis, Pickford, Keane, etc you can not train or legislate for that.
Blame tactics or player selection whatever its players who are fucking up on the pitch..
Also we listen to the crap  on sky top 6 team great buys etc, we are no more than a mid table side maybe a bit higher maybe a bit lower, not top 6 and not relegation fodder.
We kid ourselves we have stole a great kid from Italy from under there noses, or a lad from Turkey who would cost a lot more if people new about him, all bollocks.
We got them because we paid over the odds for average players no one else wanted.
I have watched the blues over a very long time and it saddens me to see them in this state, what the answer is i dont know, change the manager we have done that 
a lot the last few years, nothing changed, change the players we have also done that a lot over the last few years so i dont know the answer nor does anyone else it appears.
I hope someone can make a difference soon i dont want us becoming the laughing stock of the premier league, but loosing at home to sheff utd, loosing to Bournmouth
Without a fight, the only league game we won was very unconvincing 
Just the ramblings of a sad old Blue. 

There is a lot of good British managers that get overlooked that probably know a lot more about our club and where we should be. U only have to look at our prediction league to see how cocky we are. Jags in his interview was very magnanimous but you could tell he thought it was an easy win 

Mourinho... Remind me how he 'inspired' a bunch of underperforming wannabes at Man Utd? Would be utterly the wrong direction for us to go in, more throwing big money around hoping to buy quick success. We need a hungry manager who understands the way the game is being played nowadays. Mourinho is 10 years out of date. 

Mourinho... Remind me how he 'inspired' a bunch of underperforming wannabes at Man Utd? Would be utterly the wrong direction for us to go in, more throwing big money around hoping to buy quick success. We need a hungry manager who understands the way the game is being played nowadays. Mourinho is 10 years out of date. 

Mourinho... Remind me how he 'inspired' a bunch of underperforming wannabes at Man Utd? Would be utterly the wrong direction for us to go in, more throwing big money around hoping to buy quick success. We need a hungry manager who understands the way the game is being played nowadays. Mourinho is 10 years out of date. 

We don't have to be a relegation risk for fans to question wtf is going on. We've spent half a billion on players since Moshiri came in. Mid table is outrageous failure on those terms alone. 

Mourinho... Remind me how he 'inspired' a bunch of underperforming wannabes at Man Utd? Would be utterly the wrong direction for us to go in, more throwing big money around hoping to buy quick success. We need a hungry manager who understands the way the game is being played nowadays. Mourinho is 10 years out of date. 

We don't have to be a relegation risk for fans to question wtf is going on. We've spent half a billion on players since Moshiri came in. Mid table is outrageous failure on those terms alone. 

I'm taking credit for his two goals yesterday. Hooked him from my fantasy team, guaranteed way to get one of ours scoring! 

I'm taking credit for his two goals yesterday. Hooked him from my fantasy team, guaranteed way to get one of ours scoring! 

Only Digne but he's doing pretty decent anyway! 

I'm taking credit for his two goals yesterday. Hooked him from my fantasy team, guaranteed way to get one of ours scoring! 

I don't really care. I don't think Kean will be the 20+ a season goal machine everyone thinks he'll be, at 19 the pace and physicality of the Prem will take some getting use to. And even if he'll never be prolific, DCL has that side of the game sewn up. What I'm just as interested in is Richarlison, Sigurdsson, and Iwobi scoring, Bernard has made a start so keep it up. We'll rotate in all four forward positions, let's have goals from them all

I don't really care. I don't think Kean will be the 20+ a season goal machine everyone thinks he'll be, at 19 the pace and physicality of the Prem will take some getting use to. And even if he'll never be prolific, DCL has that side of the game sewn up. What I'm just as interested in is Richarlison, Sigurdsson, and Iwobi scoring, Bernard has made a start so keep it up. We'll rotate in all four forward positions, let's have goals from them all

I don't really care. I don't think Kean will be the 20+ a season goal machine everyone thinks he'll be, at 19 the pace and physicality of the Prem will take some getting use to. And even if he'll never be prolific, DCL has that side of the game sewn up. What I'm just as interested in is Richarlison, Sigurdsson, and Iwobi scoring, Bernard has made a start so keep it up. We'll rotate in all four forward positions, let's have goals from them all