Smith making excuses...or just saying it as it is?

[keelansgrandad 6,679]

Just now, nutty nigel said:

We did press as well as we could but this again goes back to what Smith just said. We had players players more suited to  other skills. Other teams had athletes more able to press effectively.

I think we overlook athleticism. Watching De Bruyne, apart from his great football brain and undoubted skill, he is an athlete. And this attitude coupled with all the rest makes him a star. Of course we can't match that although Emi was in that mould. But we do look like plodders when we retreat.

[Capt. Pants 4,198]

Finally the penny's dropped with Smith and he's saying some of the players aren't good enough. I think most of us twigged that weeks ago. 

This seems a thinly veiled criticism of Webber's recruitment. Might I suggest the two won't be working together for much longer?

I fear without significant change and investment we might still get promoted, but then be back exactly where we are now, i.e nowhere near good enough for the Premier League. 

[canarybubbles 1,915]

5 hours ago, king canary said:

 

Farke couldn't make that work, so Smith got a shot. He hasn't been able to change them either- whether this down to the fact Webber recruited the wrong players for it, or the fact that Smith is struggling to overturn the mentality installed with 5 years of Farkeball I don't know. But if you compare how we play vs most teams to how Brentford do you'll see that off the ball it is night and day. That has to change.

There is a third option. Smith is crap.

[glory.win or die. 270]

I think the biggest issue is that we built a side to be good with the ball ( which they aren't really) but needed one to be good without it

[king canary 7,580]

2 hours ago, keelansgrandad said:

I disagree we didn't press under DF. We couldn't sometimes but he did try where possible. Remember the 3-2 against ManC? We scored because we pressed.

The stats don't back that up though. We ranked very low both in that season and this season for pressures in the attacking and mid 3rds, but very high for pressures in the defensive 3rd, because we were largely happy to let teams have the ball unopposed until they reached our half. 

[Nora's Ghost 157]

Delia/Webber/Farke have filled the club with pretty show ponies and when we needed the cart pulled none of them were up to it.