People have different standards. Having witnessed a side that was English and European champions a few short years ago, many of us are aware of what is required to get to that status again.
With people like Jones, Gakpo, Diaz many of us simply do not see players there that are even close to the quality that the likes of Gini, Mane, Bobby, Fabinho et al provided. On that basis, we're not close to that standard - not by a long way.
I dare say, neither Jones, Gakpo or Diaz are of CL quality. Heck, I'd struggle to make a case for Gakpo being top half Premier League quality.
I think it's unfair to compare Jones, Gakpo and Diaz's current form to prime Gini, Mane and Bobby. Every squad will have some good players and some superstars. In the league winning season Origi made 28 appearances, Naby 18, Minamino 10 and Neco Williams 6. I think that Jones, Diaz and Gakpo are better than or similar to Naby, Origi, Minamino.
A top club in England needs a big squad to compete for all the trophies available. I think we have a very good squad, the current league position confirms this view. Obviously, we all want the team to have many world class players and I think the club has been good at bringing in top players fairly cheaply.
I don't think we should get rid of a big group of players and bring in lots of new players, we can't afford it and Chelsea have shown the risks of trying to do that. Yes, we need to improve the squad but I think CB and DM are the priority positions for the summer. Thiago and Matip are leaving so they need to be replaced, I don't think the new manager should start selling lots of players but a few who don't fit his style of play will probably go. I think Jones, Gakpo and Diaz can be valuable squad players. I agree that they will probably never be world class.
We probably do need to find a few quality players to replace Mane, Mo and Virgil (I think Mo and Virgil are clearly not the same players they were in their prime)
« Last Edit: Apr 20, 2024 03:59:43 pm by gazred »
Logged