We were full strength Niall. We did turn up for the game but then switched off for the entire second half once again.
I'm not expecting Rome, nobody's expecting that tbf. What we need to see is progression & i'm afraid to say we've not seen much of that in recent weeks.
We won well at Villa, took our chances & really took the battle to them. Can anybody hand on heart say we did that against Fulham? We were awful, lazy even. We surrendered the game without as much as a fight.
For me to change my tune Ange & his players are going to have to haul ass & prove they're willing to fight for the cause, cos i'm just not seeing it at the moment.
Hi SP
I totally take and agree with your point re 'The Fulham' game as, I said 'no excuses', and that our midfield didn't turn up.
However, what I won't accept is the generalised criticism levelled at us when actually we're playing pretty decent football.
We're in the top 6 for goals scored, and actually higher in goals, scored from open play.
Our possession stats are right up among the best.
Yup a DODGEY goal by Man C put us out of the FA Cup, and we were poor in that game.
We lost the Carabo Cup on pens playing a weakened team.
I don't accept that we played great football under either Conte or Mourinho, but there were flashes of what we could be.
We're still currently in the midst of a rebuild, with many on these very pages putting us at best 8th.
But we're within reach of top 4.
Given where we've come from, and where we need to go, I think we're doing OK, yup still work to be done.
I don't think it is, as you've said on many Occasions SP 'Kamikaze' football, for me it's, attacking, front foot, possession based football, with goals, spread throughout the team.
Yes there are time when I say, bring on such and such or take so and so off, or we need to cram the midfield now to close the game off, I do think we're guilty of losing the first goal, at times which makes us chase the game.
In short I (among many) wanted football in a 'swashbuckling way' win, lose, or draw, and bar the FA Cup game and last Saturday, we've largely got it...
I've said we won't see improvement until mid April, let's, see where, we end up, I still say 4/5th.