Are there any of our players that you actually like? And to further that question, is it possible for you to like a player for attributes other than whether they are unstoppable on the pitch? I mean is it in you to like a player even though they are up and down from time to time (Joe Allen) or even though they aren't scoring a goal every game?
Joe Allen isn't "up and down from time to time." He's been terrible for 90% of his career. He's almost always down. He had a very solid 60 minutes away at Besiktas. But he had about 20 terrible games before that and he'll have another 20 likely after that.
By players I "like" I assume you mean players I rate. Among the ones I have no doubts about are:
--Coutinho
--Sterling
--Sakho
--Ibe
--Can
--Sturridge
In fact I wouldn't mind if we literally got rid of everyone else this summer and built the squad around these players, using them as the backbone for the next 10 years. They are the ones I really rate without a doubt.
The rest fall on a spectrum from absolutely useless to moderately overrated to good but not great.
But I am of course willing to change my mind. Mignolet for example was one of the worst keepers in the league for the last year or so but in the last month or so he's come back and has looked a completely different player. Fair play to him for addressing whatever made him terrible.
But yea. Our squad just isn't good enough. Overrated players in my mind (i.e., not terrible but nothing special) are the likes of Henderson, Lallana, etc; useless players are the likes of Borini, Allen, Lovren, Johnson, Lambert etc. What you call "up and down" players I would apply to players like Lucas, Mignolet, Enrique, and Skrtel---players who at least at some points have shown that they are capable of playing well and do so in stretches but not consistently. The jury is still out for me on players like Moreno, Balotelli, and Manquillo.
I'm just tired of mediocre players. Is that allowed?
And please don't talk to me about City and Chelsea and blah blah blah. We're not exactly paupers. We've spent more than £200m on transfer fees alone in the last few years. And when you spend £25m, £20m on a player, you would expect that player to at least be halfway decent.
So yea. I am tired of mediocrity.
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