I've been trying to put my finger on what our problem(s) are for a few weeks, and while I definitely haven't identified the root cause and solution to our woes, there are a number of things that seem to be contributing factors. Here are a few of the things I've noticed over the past couple of months.
Defense: Many people have been quick to point to the fact that we've lost our 2 starting CB's -- the partnership that was the foundation for our title win last season. While I'm sure this has had an impact, I think it has been more of a knock on effect in that we miss Hendo and/or Fabinho in midfield. If you throw out the game against Villa (which both VVD and Gomez were involved in) we have conceded 18 goals in 21 games. City have the best defensive record in the league with 13 goals conceded in 21 games, but it's not a massive difference. We have still been fairly resiliant and stubborn in defense for most of the season. The recent run of losses and draws is more down to our inability to pose a threat up the other end of the pitch.
Midfield: There appear to be a combination of issues impacting our midfield. First off, Fab and Hendo are among the best CM's in the league (maybe the world) and they are playing out of position to cover our injuries at CB. Gini and Thiago are also top quality CM's so on paper we shouldn't be lacking too much in the way of quality in the center of the pitch, but it isn't working out that way. As much as I hate to admit it, Thiago just isn't clicking with the rest of the team. He is arguably our most talented player, but he plays on a different wavelength to the rest of his teammates. The tactics that we have used in recent seasons -- high pressing tactics that won us the CL and Prem -- are breaking down because we aren't able to press with the same sort of high defensive line and energy in midfield that we used to. I love Thiago and I want us to find a way to make it work with him in the team, but that may mean making a change to our formation, tactics, and personnel to get other players playing a more elegant style rather than the direct footie we have become accustomed to.
Attack: Where to begin? Mo is scoring goals, but that is about it. A few seasons ago he was making selfless, lung busting runs, chasing down everything in the channels, and just making a nuisance of himself in general. Much of that selfless play has disappeared from his game which I think is having a detrimental impact on the other forwards, as well as our midfielders because the movement is poor and they lack passing options. Moving onto Bobby -- he has gone completely off the boil. His movement off the ball has been poor, as well as his touch, passing, and vision to link with his fellow attackers. Pair this with the fact that most teams are sitting deep and playing long ball against us and that pretty much eliminates the other key part of his game as the first man in our high press -- teams are just bypassing our press and playing over the top or around the sides. Mane has been off form, but for me he is at least still doing the hard work that our team relies on to create space and opportunities to score. He is making runs, running at defenders with the ball, pressing and closing the ball down, tracking back on defense, etc. It isn't happening in front of goal for him at the moment, but his luck will turn at some point. Jota was the star of the show in the first couple of months, and we've really been missing his movement and energy across the front line. Need him back asap!
I think it's safe to say that City look to have 1 hand on the title already. They have rattled off 13 straight wins, and don't look like anyone is going to catch them.
The big question is -- where do we go from here?
Does one of Kabak or Davies help solve our CB problem so that Hendo can move back into midfield?
Do we stick or twist on Thiago?
Do we switch from 4-3-3 to a 4-2-3-1? Personally, I think if we play Thiago in the Alonso role with a proper #10 playing behind our front 3, that would give teams who try to sit deep a completely different task as we would have genuine creativity and threat coming through the middle.
What happens with fringe players like Shaq, Origi, Ox, and Keita? Personally, I think we need to try to move on from all 4 of these over the summer and get in 2 replacements who are capable of genuinely challenging for a spot in the starting 11. Jota aside, there is too big of a drop in quality between our regular starting 11 and the backups we have to call on. Unfortunatley, this season we have been unlucky with injuries and are being punished for not having the same sort of quality in reserve as the likes of City and United.
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