My concern is next season will be similar to most of our managers second full seasons. Results don't breed more results.
I agree, our best XI can be good, but I don't agree with tearing it down when it isn't available and I don't believe we needed to keep it so defensive for so long. The problem with not continuously trying to play how we started the season is we now can't do it. When we try (Burnley) we end up a mess.
I think Carlo is a great manager and I'm also not sure he's the right manager for us right now. If we're waiting for great players it probably isn't going to happen. We need another winger, at least two CMs, a RB, a keeper and maybe a CB too. Allan and James are 30 so by the time we find those pieces we probably end up needing those spots again. It's likely a repeating cycle unless we get very specific with how we're planning to develop and recruit. We have to have a great pipeline and we don't.
I've said it for awhile, the performances aren't good even if the results still largely are. I personally think there are questions to ask of players and management. I may only think we've got 5 good players but Fulham, Newcastle and Burnley have like 2 combined maybe (don't ask me who I didn't think about it) so we can be better in those games than we have done.
We dont need better players to beat Fulham, Newcastle and Burnley.
Thats just football sadly, good teams get beat by bad teams every week, Spurs have just been beaten by actual farmers.
Of course when it happens once its a concern, when it happens 3 times, well, I don't know.
So no, we dont need better players to beat the teams I mentioned, but we have done pretty well against the better teams.
We weren't even unlucky in the games we have lost, we were just very, very bad, as a unit, I have no solutions, I honestly put it down to just footy innit and hope that with fans next season we can get Fortress Goodison back, of course the flip side is that our away record possibly wont be as good.
Maybe we need those players you mentioned, if we want a top, top team, but you don't need a top, top team to fight for 4th, Leicester have like 3 good players and they have competed for 2 seasons now. We just need to fill in our glaring holes at RB, RW and in CM, plus another attacking option somewhere, somebody creative.
No, none of that is easy and yes, you will no doubt notice I omitted Englands number 1, hes still an issue, but I personally don't consider him a major hindrance to our goals, I'm sure you will see it differently.
I consider myself a glass half full kinda guy, I always try and see a positive future, but deep down im a realist and I do realise how far away we truly are, but if we could sign 3 or 4 players of real quality this summer, well, who knows? Great players carry teams on their backs solo, roll the dice and see what we get.
Each and every moment of your life you enjoy and each and every moment of your life is worthy.
You guys, you can do it. You can be the best that you can be, and we can do it together. It’s gonna take effort, and it’s going to take patience, it’s going to take a lot a lot a lot of work.
But if we don’t try then what the hell is stopping us from just throwing ourselves off a bridge, and giving up, and saying “Yeah the planet is dying. The government hates us. The animals are leaving. The aliens aren’t contacting us. We might be alone. It just might be you and me.” But that’s okay. Because do you really need anyone else!?