That was the point, you don't necessarily need world class talent in every position. Maybe that's even detrimental, depending on the personalities of said talent. It's the manager's job to make what he has works, and identify and beg the board for replacements in areas that's lacking. But you need a system and a gameplan, if not it's only a spaghetti approach. We as fans can only judge by what we see in matches, we do not have the luxury to see them in training, but we can see when something's not working. As I say, above all get the basics right. As an example, there was a lengthy spell where we couldn't string 3 passes together. If your gameplan depends on accurate passing, you either train for it (if you need to train professionals how to pass a ball), replace players or ditch that aspect of the gameplan. You don't use 2 seasons trying to get passing right or wait 5 seasons for someone to come good. Again, an example. For me, a good manager adapts rather than ride principles or play favourites out of form or that's not suitable for your system.
And by our defensive problems, I've said before that I'd rather have two CBs that has played together since forever - or drill in pairs, than have two fantastic CBs. Or a world class organizer. It doesn't help having 3, 4 or 10 CBs if they don't know what to do or who does what. This is an area where we've actually had some great pairings over the years.
