They're better than the bottom half. We finished 12th a season ago with a change in manager mid season and that was the worst it got. The previous times have been 7th, 8th, 10th. It's a top 10 squad in the hands of a competent manager.
Benitez isn't a competent manager anymore.
It needs a overhaul in areas of course. But the inability to get a tune out of the players is the managers fault.
I don’t think they are. The quality of players has declined and the ones that have stayed are getting worse and worse.
The 7th under Koeman we had Lukaku Barkley Gueye
Even under Silva we still had Gueye and then Zouma
These players have all gone and the only real replacement for any of them is DCL for Lukaku (and as much as I like DCL he’s not as good as Lukaku was then)
To add to this Coleman continues to fall off a cliff, Keane has got worse, Davies has got much worse, Gomes has got worse, arguably even Richarlison who is still pretty good is not the player he was in Silva’s first season.
The squad has declined. Apart from Richarlison we’ve not really added anyone since the sales of Stones Lukaku Barkley Gueye who can play at that level (and at the time fans weren’t really happy with their form either although on hindsight now it would be considered amazing) We’ve developed DCL up pretty close, and sometimes Doucoure has a decent day but that’s it.
I think in the past we’ve always had a few good players who could drag us up out of a mess to get top half. We kind of knew if you got Jags Baines Coleman sorted at the back, Gueye in holding mid, a decent striker upfront we’d probably do ok. Even Allardyce managed that. Now I just don’t see these solutions in the squad.
I see one premier league standard centre back in Mina. I can’t see a competent full abck (this doesn’t include Mykolenko and Patterson which is too early to judge)
I can’t see a holding midfielder in the squad. I can’t see a creative midfielder in the squad.
Basically we’ve got an ok keeper, some decent wingers, and two strikers. It’s not enough for top half, nowhere close. We have to rebuild again in the summer.