I am in despair!

[geoxf]

I am in despair at the crucial errors RAFA has made since last season:

1. selling Arbelola + getting Johnson. One could defend, the other is rubbish at it (what a crap buy Johnson has been!)
2. not getting a decent left back. Insua has been exposed so many times this season, and has probably been the worst left back in the Prem, which is saying something
3. not replacing Sammy. The 'free' Greek just isn't in same class
4. selling Alonzo + getting Aquillani. Too much has been said about this already, but one was setetled + firing, the other just has potential
5. not getting decent backup strikers. To have been relying on Ngog for all times without Torres is just a joke. Even EFC have better backup strikers than us!
6. Simply not producing a good + workable team selection all season - maybe a result of just too much changing of players, or maybe just poor management of players! It's sad to see Clubs with lesser squads produce more cohesive teams than us. Also, why Rierra was put on ice until sold, rather than using until end of season is ridiculous.....how we could have benefited from him yesterday, rather than relying on Elzar etc
7. No slur on Sammy + others....but the training + backup staff seem very mediocre

Whilst I accept that the club management has been a farce...I don't accept this as an excuse for the above major slips from last season.....worst bit is....I can't see any way forward, as RAFA doesn't seem capable of either recognising where he went wrong, or how to put it right.
After all this pain this year...........I now reluctantly conclude that we again need a change of manager........with all the lost time associated with trying to build another challengable team with another manager.
I'm cancelling Sky today!

 

[gene hughes]

Chin up, lad.

 

[ankreds]

Johnson is not a crap buy

 

[Wilko7]

[quote author=geoxf link=topic=40022.msg1096714#msg1096714 date=1272619377]
3. not replacing Sammy. The 'free' Greek just isn't in same class
em very mediocre

[/quote]

Utter shite, lad. The Greek has been a great signing as cover for central defence. It was his introduction half way through the season that shored up the defence at a time when we appeared to be in freefall.

 

[darkstarexodus]

[quote author=Wilko7 link=topic=40022.msg1097045#msg1097045 date=1272679060]
[quote author=geoxf link=topic=40022.msg1096714#msg1096714 date=1272619377]
3. not replacing Sammy. The 'free' Greek just isn't in same class
em very mediocre

[/quote]

Utter shite, lad. The Greek has been a great signing as cover for central defence. It was his introduction half way through the season that shored up the defence at a time when we appeared to be in freefall.
[/quote]

Probably our best signing this year in terms of impact this season.

 

[gareth_thomas]

[quote author=geoxf link=topic=40022.msg1096714#msg1096714 date=1272619377]
I am in despair at the crucial errors RAFA has made since last season:

1. selling Arbelola + getting Johnson. One could defend, the other is rubbish at it (what a crap buy Johnson has been!)
Arbeloa wanted to leave- His dream is to play for Real Madrid. Not a lot we could do.
2. not getting a decent left back. Insua has been exposed so many times this season, and has probably been the worst left back in the Prem, which is saying something. Worst left back in the premiership? Bullshit
3. not replacing Sammy. The 'free' Greek just isn't in same class Sami wanted to leave to get regular first team football - we made little to no money from his sale so the greek has been a great find for the price.
4. selling Alonzo + getting Aquillani. Too much has been said about this already, but one was setetled + firing, the other just has potential. i agree that the signing of an injured Aquillani was a shite decision. however, to not sell Alonso who wanted to leave for 30+ million would have been silly5. not getting decent backup strikers. To have been relying on Ngog for all times without Torres is just a joke. Even EFC have better backup strikers than us! agreed.. this was a complete joke.
6. Simply not producing a good + workable team selection all season - maybe a result of just too much changing of players, or maybe just poor management of players! It's sad to see Clubs with lesser squads produce more cohesive teams than us. Also, why Rierra was put on ice until sold, rather than using until end of season is ridiculous.....how we could have benefited from him yesterday, rather than relying on Elzar etc - this year we really got fucked over by injuries. It showed how weak our squad is but i think a lot of the decisions were simply last choice situations that Rafa actually wanting to play people out of position. Riera is a cock and shouldnt be playing. Punching a young kid half his size is pathetic.7. No slur on Sammy + others....but the training + backup staff seem very mediocre - Do you work at melwood?
Whilst I accept that the club management has been a farce...I don't accept this as an excuse for the above major slips from last season.....worst bit is....I can't see any way forward, as RAFA doesn't seem capable of either recognising where he went wrong, or how to put it right.
After all this pain this year...........I now reluctantly conclude that we again need a change of manager........with all the lost time associated with trying to build another challengable team with another manager.
I'm cancelling Sky today!
[/quote]

 

[SummerOnions]

Arbeloa wasn't actually a great defender.

 

[doctor_mac]

[quote author=SummerOnions link=topic=40022.msg1097387#msg1097387 date=1272755371]
Arbeloa wasn't actually a great defender.
[/quote]

He was much. much better than some have give him credit for. I thought he was a great player for us.

 

[vantage]

[quote author=doctor_mac link=topic=40022.msg1097389#msg1097389 date=1272755515]
[quote author=SummerOnions link=topic=40022.msg1097387#msg1097387 date=1272755371]
Arbeloa wasn't actually a great defender.
[/quote]

He was much. much better than some have give him credit for. I thought he was a great player for us.
[/quote]
I always liked him. Full backs tend to either be defensive, a la Arbeloa or attacking a la Johnson. Very rarely do they do both well.

Given we have / had very little flair in front of RB, Johnson seems like a good, if very expensive buy.

 

[SummerOnions]

[quote author=doctor_mac link=topic=40022.msg1097389#msg1097389 date=1272755515]
[quote author=SummerOnions link=topic=40022.msg1097387#msg1097387 date=1272755371]
Arbeloa wasn't actually a great defender.
[/quote]

He was much. much better than some have give him credit for. I thought he was a great player for us.
[/quote]

He was good, don't gte me wrong but he had an annoying habit of being out of position when he went up to attack, and giving away stupid free kicks constantly.

He was good, but never great.