15 Apr 2026 13:36:47
Our recent form is worrying but it has been decreasing ever since our 2 big wins early on against City and Arsenal. Excuses Monday, players rusty, no game in 3 weeks, total rubbish. If they play more, they say they're tired/burnt out. It's very simple, down to attitude for me. Big games they work hard, put teams under some pressure and capitalise on mistakes. The high tempo works, but this slow lazy tempo is not working.
So for me it's players on the pitch setting standards. If a plyers needs a bollocking, he gets it on the pitch from other players. Monday night at home v Leeds, big chance to really cement top 3. 3 weeks rest. We should have been firing from the first second, high tempo, high work rate, get the home crowd up too. This season could end in disaster yet.
15 Apr 2026 15:57:03
We've seen this for years. The team can get up for the big games, but slip back. Personally I would, as a club, bin anyone who has been here since Ole. The dressing room needs a cultural reset. For his flaws, Amorim was clearing players out. A new culture is hard to build when your leaders are ingrained in, and responsible for, the previous culture. Nothing will really change until Shaw, Dalot, Maguire, even, dare I say, Bruno, are gone, as they set the levels as the seniors in the dressing room.
This squad is crying out for two or three massive personalities who will come into the dressing room, take it by the scruff of the neck, set the standards, and lead it.
Probably a central defender and a central midfielder. Players like Mbeumo, Cunha, and Sesko come from teams and systems where they were expected to work really hard and run. We need players like that, but leaders who can be the manager's voice in the dressing room and on the pitch.
I remember, years ago, Sir Alex saying the club should buy John McGinn. I think it was around 2018. At the time I thought it a bit odd, as he was never a player that stood out technically. However, in hindsight, Sir Alex could obviously see McGinn's qualities as a leader and fighter.
15 Apr 2026 16:02:40
Be careful lest you be accused of overreacting.
15 Apr 2026 18:28:14
Redcon
I don’t accept it is the players on this. It was clear there was no plan to move the ball with any pace, angles, or patterns to create opportunities, or to move Leeds players out of position with pass & move with any pace at all. It looked like keep ball across the back, waiting for an error. It’s very Southgate, and I point the finger at Steve Holland being too strong an influence. Ugarte set the message alongside Cas, but no one wanted to move.
I can’t understand why there is no method, no energy, or intent. There is no excuse for the lack of intent. That comes from a set method and motivation. There were no obvious patterns or push to get behind their midfield. It is numbing that Mbeumo wasn’t selected, and that Ugarte stayed on at the back when he had Heaven on the bench.
Shambles, utter shambles.
It should have been coached. The 'get at them' intent should have been there from the first minute, yet they get on the pitch and look like they have been told to stay in certain areas and keep moving the ball from side to side.
Watch the players. They don’t move well off the ball. Carrick had to see it all, but did absolutely nothing, seemingly happy with what he was seeing.
Lastly, I talked today to a Leeds fan who couldn’t understand why Carrick made no change at half time. They expected it, and thought they would lose when we threw the kitchen sink at them. It was more of the same, terrible, and only Carrick to blame.
15 Apr 2026 18:53:28
I love Bruno, but they all rely on him to create something. They need others to step up creativity.
16 Apr 2026 09:53:27
Surely the players don't need to be coached to run more, have some energy and urgency, show some effort? I'm not excusing Carrick, but the players were all dreadful in that first half.
16 Apr 2026 19:02:52
I think they need to, AJH. It is the coach that motivates the players, he is the one who gets that extra 10-20% out of players, and if they love him and buy into his philosophy, they run through walls for him. Most importantly, he is the one who sets the tone about training, and if the reports about days off and less training are true, then that's the problem.
To be fair, the gap between the games is a big problem for match sharpness, of course.