we may have finished 10th last season, but at least we had some "dirty wins" at this rate and the way we are playing we will still finish 10th and are not looking like winning anything - despite the stronger squad and playing the football we should be playing.
Ha ha , I think Moyes is having the same problem.
Moyes hasn't exactly been trying to play the beautiful game, and his squad is sub-par and unbalanced if compared to his major rivals. If we want this we should hire the joker from Adelaide. I don't think our problem has been dirty wins, but not hanging on to advantages or being able to put anything away. I'm also not convinced yet that the squad this year is significantly better than last year. I do like Merrick's tactics, but for one reason or another
1) not having decent fullbacks if they are a key part of the attack. That said I really like the Fenton experiment and Caira has been ok, but they shouldn't have to carry such a large part of the attacking load on their young shoulders. Fenton does look like an attacking threat, as did Manny when he was out wide.
2) no genuine striker or the current options putting their hands up. I can see it working, but Brockie is low on goal scoring form and Huysegems hasn't been prolific. And nothing yet from Hernandez and Cunningham fairly much. We need more from this quartet.
3) not taking chances
4) not being mentally tough enough
5) related to point 4- not having good depth in terms of players in the midfield. IE Arsenal without Flamini or Wilshere, or Man U without Carrick. Huysegems and Hernandez don't make enough tackles to be considered. All in all we are missing a hard working player with a bit of versatility like Brown. Not much flash, but often the scorer of late goals, not the one blamed for conceding it. Someone who can run, pass and hold their shape would be nice. Scoring a few goals would be an absolute bonus.
say once more: major differences to Arsenal this year- Ramsey who can now tackle and be a brilliant attacker, and Flamini, as well as more of uninjured Wilshere. 3 players who can tackle and pass, and two of them are really capable of contributing on attack too.