Jurgen the German
Erik Thorstvedt
With some luck or some better decisions here and there then sure we could have won a cup. But we failed ultimately because the team often performed at its maximum and any slight deviation from that form and committment was massively detrimental because we didn't have much headroom in terms of capability.
I say it all the time but you have to remember the side relied solely on Eriksen as it's creative heartbeat. You'll be hard pressed to find any other side that has won major competitions with just a single creative player in the starting 11 and pretty much in the entire squad. If Eriksen wasn't on song we were stuffed, in the big games the opposition managers who cottoned on just pressed Eriksen and stifiled our attacking plans.
That's why last season the introduction of Lo Celso and Ndombele was so necessary. The side needed more creativity back in Poch's heyday and that's why we often came up short, in both those games against low block defenses and high pressure high profile matches versus our peers in the big 6.
Point taken re Eriksen and the creativity. I just feel there were too many occasions in big games where we didn’t turn up individually and collectively. Fergie once said if 8 players turn up you probably win the match. We had experienced, seasoned internationals who had played plenty of big games, no one got hold of things and arrested a decline. And Poch often sat on his hands and was reluctant to make subs (we all know his views on subs from his book).