worried?

Slightly.

We are at the same stage of the season again where we are making excuses and saying we SHOULD have won such a game week after week. Its been the same pattern for 3 seasons and it is happening again. That isn’t coincidence. Soon the excuses spiral into March and we are in the danger zone. Something has to change.

I really do believe that Martinez knows he can put his best side out and get performances/results but because it is early in the season he fiddles things about to make it look like we have strength in depth. Which we don’t as some of the starting 11 aren’t good enough never mind the reserves.

Boselli must start.

Not worried yet no coz it is far too early but I do have some concerns:
1) That the midfield is weaker (in depth) that it was last season. Diame wouldn’t be missed from a fully fit starting XI point of view but he is being missed when we have an injury to either McCarthy or McArthur or when the midfield needs freshening up a bit mid match. Having Watson & Jones as back up doesn’t offer anything when changing things other than making teh XI out on the pitch weaker
2) Losing Moses. As well as his plus point he had many, many faults but he was vital to Bobby’s system in terms of being able to stretch the opposition & get in behind them. Having Franco/Kone there puts people out of position & putting Gomez there just slows everything down by about 3 paces. I’d like to see the Japanese lad whose name I still can’t remember how to spell or McManaman given a go sooner rather than later but I’ll bow to Bobby’s judgement on that coz if he doesn;t fell they’re ready then they mustn’t be ready
3) The defence looks a lot shakier than it did from feb onwards & have slipped back to allowing the opposition to score without them really having to work hard to do so

That said, I’m still of the belief that the team is capable of surviving relatively comfortably

Concerned yes,the team lacks pace,in moses he had pace & a trick or two,now we look very pedestrian and seem to be regressing to the pass it sideways style again

Chill.

regressing…!

interesting.

Why do we not revert to the same 11 (bar Moses) that got us our best run of form? I would bench Ramis and Kone (too lazy to play up front on his own) and go back to the players and formation that finished the season in style. The Japanese lad may be best to replace Moses but other than that position the rest pick themselves. Boselli may look decent against reserve teams in the League cup but has looked woeful in the premier league at times and you can’t look past Di Santo as the number one forward surely.

goodpost

Agreed

Particularly in defence (‘clean sheet /difficult to beat’) .Start from there … currently shipping 2 goals a game.

Even the best would struggle to score 3