Quote Originally Posted by A Quiet Monkfish View Post
I'd say that when you have an 'average' squad - which we do - the only things a manager can do is things like workrate, eliminating errors, and getting players to stick to a plan and follow instructions. Do we all watch the Sky Championship highlights on a Saturday evening/Sunday morning ? If like me you do, you'll see the gulf in pace, movement,passing, between us and even those a few places above. In the end it's all about players - better players make a better side, providing the manager gets the best out of them. We're doing well, competing against all and sundry, but over 46 games starting next season we'll need 4, maybe 5 players who are better that we've got now. [IMHO !]
The difference in pace, movement and passing you refer to seems to be there every week, but maybe we’re preconditioned to a degree by instinctively seizing upon the examples of this during games and thinking it is typical? I can’t say whether that is true of you, but I think it is of me to a degree. Clearly we’re not as bad as we can look when those big gulfs are most evident and I’d also say that in those highlights shows you tend to see what a side does best or worst and little of the mundane stuff in between which I think, at this level in particular, is how things tend to be most of the time.

In saying all of that, I hope steps are taken in the summer to try to address those aspects you highlight because this season, especially the way it started, should be seen as a warning sign that things couldn’t continue with more of the Warnock/McCarthy way of playing the game.