
Originally Posted by
Tipsychubbs
I don't think its just about gelling new players, although that is true to a certain extent. There's something about our style play that is just so boring, laboured, uninventive and one-dimensional. It pretty much changed when AW replaced a box to box monster like Viera for Cesc, and then dismantled the Invincibles and filled the team with small, technical players. We don't REALLY play beautiful football anymore, but a Barca-lite version with less intelligent movement and little of the cohesive teamwork off the ball.
We've been sussed out season after season. Everyone knows how to play against Arsenal, 10 men behind the ball, cigars in mouths watching the passing, break quickly and score on the counter or setpiece, cigars back in.
When it comes off it can be decent, but a lot of the times in recent years this pass-pass-pass thing is dull and easy to defend against. We need more fluidity and variation in our play, more imagination, the ability to mix it up, play possession to keep the ball when necessary, switch when necessary.