TLDR; We need both to improve our top level, and our squad depth.
(TLICBATRATG = too long, I can't be arsed to read all that garbage)
A few things about yesterdays disaster.
It is quite understandable to be upset and angry about the result, the performance, and everything.
There has been screams of agony on this board every time Dier and Davies' names have been mentioned in the first team, with calls for D.S and J.R to play instead. Can this now please stop, untill Conte decides they are ready, or sold?
There is no other viable alternative untill january, so zip it! Davinson Sanchez had a really poor game yesterday, Rodon was slightly better, but together they were a disaster waiting to happen. Tanganga had most of his game ruined by having to shift to the left back after the red card.
As for the midfield, I think we can clearly state that a Skipp/Ndombele-combination didn't work as well as expected in the first half. Across the midfield 4 and the back 3 the passing were slow, turgid and it looked as if they were playing with one of those half-inflated plastic balls we used at the playground when we were kids. No matter how hard you kicked it, it would never gain any speed at all. But when they suddenly tried to play penetrating balls through Muras midfield, the ball turned into the most bouncy, untrappable object of all times, since none of the front three ever managed to trap it properly.
Gil is not ready. If he played like that against a Premier League-side he would have been eaten alive, chewed up, spit out and eaten again.
Dele Alli has lost all explosivity. Look back at one of his first run against the Mura right back. The Mura-player hardly breaks a sweat beating Dele to the ball. Dele appears to run full pelt, but looks like he is stationary. I fear for Dele, and I struggle to see how he can regain any form of career from this. I would hate it if he were to become the next Danny Rose, sitting in the player restaurant asking "heard anything from Milan? Anyting from PSG?", while the only teams willing to play him would be Charlton, Hull or Vålerenga, but neither would be able to pay his current wages.
Kane looks wooden, which he always do in august. His touch is off, his decisions are off, he turns into players instead of away from them, he doesn't shoot where he used to, and he does not seem to trust anyone anymore. Whats worse, Sonny doesn't appear to trust Harry anymore either.
This would not worry me, if we still were in august or september, but we're now approaching december, and it worries me. Please lock Sonny & Kane together into a room, and don't let them out untill they've worked it out and regained their relationship and trust. If neccessary, give them a bottle of whiskey and a karaoke-machine, whatever it takes! Just do it!
Ryan Sessegnion was diabolical yesterday. To his excuse, the ref was rather difficult to read, but once you get that early first yellow card, you can't do what he did! He has got to learn. But we were in trouble before he got sent off.
And Gollini didn't impress or project any confidence. I'll leave it at that.
The main problem for me first 32 minutes was the lack of pace and determination on the ball, and the poor choices we made on the ball. If you look at the "this is how conte plays"-videos on youtube, the "hit the reset-switch"-video, etc, and compare it with how we played before the red card, you'll see that we were miles off. Instead of resetting, going back, changing angle of attack, etc, Ndombele or Skipp, or someone else, tried to play a direct ball through the middle, or a poor cross was attempted from Doherty or whoever, even though it was clear that we were not in the right positions. Should have gone back, reset, pulled Mura out, created new imbalance, and tried again. Instead, we lost the ball, or created a poor chance.
Main problem from 32 minutes to half time, is of course the red card. That chucks every bit of gameplan out the window.
So is it all doom and gloom?
We could very well throw out the baby with the bathwater if we stopped there.
Because things improved during the game, most notably after the four first substitutions. Dier and Davies rebalanced the back three, and moved Tanganga back to the right side. Moura gave us a better focal-point for the passes and Sonny gave us much better movement. I have no doubt at all that if we had started with those four, and kept 11vs11, we would and should have hammered this team.
What comes out of this?
Our depth in the squad is not very good. Nor is it tailored to the demands of Contes style. We knew this already, but is was made blatantly obvious yesterday. We can coach our first 11 into do a passable/decent version of it, as the second half vs. Leeds shows. But reinforcements are needed. Once again, we knew that! What might come as a surprise to some, is that it may not be those we think who get shipped out and replaced.. Let's wait and see.
Meanwhile, we have the players we have, and we go again away to Burnley on sunday.
