Quote Originally Posted by Özim View Post
It doesn't explain the collapses every single season though? What has that got to do with finances, it seems to have more to do with mentality, tactics, team selection, preparation and motivation to me.

We've had teams that were well placed, all they lacked was motivation and desire, you can't buy that.
No, not fully. There's a psychological weakness there for sure. And something up with the whole fitness/ medical thing. But not being able to buy three world class players for every position does explain some things in terms of direct comparison with clubs like the chavs and gypos. It's a curse having international players in the squad, but not enough top quality internationals to account for the terrible attrition rate we seem to suffer from poxy friendlies and non-event fixtures. Recall how Fergie found every way to stick two fingers up at the national teams, we should do that.

Team selection and tactics seems to be dictated by this fear of a lack of resources. I don't like that either. I'd rather have 20 players out and be playing with adventure and being beaten than see the conservative shit we see now. On the other hand, everyone screamed for a tighter defence, less goals conceded. We have that now but there has been a cost. We haven't found a middle ground and it may not be possible to find one without further investment in the team. Which brings us back to the point. Following the unwinding of this hellish 8 year stadium thing, we should now be in a position to properly invest in the team. In terms of going for the top. If we don't then of course there is a big problem.