Well that’s a difference of opinion. I think certainly if you look at games like Palace and West Ham at the beginning of that run, even big wins like that it was about opening the scoring from set pieces and trying to exploit teams pushing up to try and get back into the game.Originally Posted by KSE Comedy Club
I think ultimately the difference is most teams have started to wise up to it and we don’t have another trick up our sleeves
Second half of last season was also about riding the crest of a wave. Odegaard was in the form of his life, Havertz made it look like he was the number 9 we needed, Trossard stepped up and so did many others. The defence was also imperious and not making the mistakes we’ve seen this season.
But football isn’t linear and just because something happened before doesn’t mean it’s going to happen again. It’s all gone very stale and you can’t help but feel the window of opportunity we had is about to close if it hasn’t already.
Oh i have no expectation of that happening again, that’s why I’ve conceded the title.
No, sorry, I was referring to our style and general play - it is nauseating this season and inexplicably so.
Well, there are two strikers with release clauses that could be had - Gyokores & Osimhen
Then there is Nico Williams - 48m release clause.
If we have any aspirations of being a big club then these are the types of signing that we need to make to push on and win the top prizes.
We have money, the Kroenke's spent more money on a new stadium for the Rams than they have in the last 5 years with us.
We always though, seem to be looking for loans or bargain basement, average journeymen to fill in the gaps - and wonder why we are always 'nearly men'
If we want to be big, we have to move big. Simple as that.
We need a star, we need that match winner when the chips are down - we don't have that and it's been missing for years.
Doesn't FFP limit what we can do?
So last night...
The saddest thing for me is that I'm not sure anyone was really surprised either by the result or by the way the game played out. If we look at our recent games, even the likes of Brentford and Brighton have better strikers than us. Newcastle have 2!
They pretty much swatted us aside, and its almost embarrassing how straightforward it was for them to do so.
As HZC points out in this thread, however, while our Xg might suggest that pretty much any of the top strikers for the other teams in the top half of the league would have scored in yesterday's game, much of the time even Henry in his prime would struggle given our ponderous build up play. I have mentioned our deficiency in transitions, and this is killing us. Going forwards we invite the opposition to get set in defence and constantly then have to try to thread the ball through the eye of a needle. Most of the time, there is no point whatsoever shooting from outside their box because it it too congested with players to have a chance of scoring. The inevitabe result is that we give up possession.
Having done so, we then invite the opposition to transition to spring a counter attack - with all of our players up the pitch and acres of space for them to run into. So all the possesison and delay is for what? Controlling the game is pointless when we not only cede control but leave ourselves vulnerable when we have to try do the improtant thing - score goals.
Does Arteta even study games where the opposition has been made vulnerable? Brentford and Villa in the league had no problem scoring against Newcastle recently, and I guarantee that this was not down to patient, slow build up play.
The irony is that Raya was bought because of his ability with the ball at his feet. He passes long very well - but what's the point when we then pass sideways if we win the ball up the pitch. When there are no runners into the space that has become available. When we do not have players who can convert clear chances.
Depressing.
Putting the laughter back into manslaughter
FSR ? Yes to a degree
The reason we are trying to bring players in from abroad on loan. Isn’t that we can’t afford the transfer fee…it’s because we are concerned about adding to the wage bill without reducing it elsewhere. We really for instance cannot afford to be indulging a player like Gabriel Jesus any longer, he is on ridiculous wages….and would need to get him off the wage bill before signing a player at the level of Isaak. Not because we’d be in immediate trouble with FSR, but two three years down the line if you haven’t brought in the money to offset the money you’re losing every month it can cause problems.
This is why Liverpool are in the same boat and why they did almost nothing in the transfer market last summer, the difference is they had an attacking player already who was already better than anyone we had and has reached levels he hasn’t in the past five years.
But in truth, although I like Calafiori the money we spent on him and Merino would have been much better spent on bringing in a forward. I don’t think the money is there like it has been in previous seasons, but the money then as I’ve said wasn’t spent wisely
I’m sure the giant man baby will find a way of twisting this into saying im subconsciously defending Arteta
Last edited by HCZ_Reborn; 08-01-2025 at 11:15 AM.
Tbh I'd missed the memo about that replacing FFP. But yes, that.
But the point is Kroenke's wealth isn't that relevant, is it? We can't "do a Man City". Not sure I'd want us to tbh.
I don’t think Man City can do a Man City anymore
My understanding is FFP is the pan European rules, and FSR is how it’s governed in English football
What an outrageous thing to say.
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