There are so many problems but the biggest is that the Manager isn't managing.
If he's to stay (an imminent decision for the new owners and essentially one of protecting their investment) Hodgson has 2 options; (i) impress the current first team squad with some tactical game-changing insight or game plan that has them thinking he has something to offer, or (ii) get some youth (who he may be able to manage) in there to shake things up put the seniors on the back foot and see who had some pride/fight.
To watch whole sections of games were the player in possession has no, or limited, or poor passing options is a massive failing of both the positioning of the players and the tactics of the coaching team. We don't drive forward because the players' movement is poor, limiting the outlet ball. So it's sideways until there's sufficient pressure from the opposition to push us back to the DMs and defenders. The players aren't working hard enough FOR EACH OTHER and the manager isn't fixing the bleeding obvious.
Poor passing options leads to poor passes, pressure on the midfield/defensive line, loss of possession, dull ineptitude.
Lord save us cannot a bit of new blood supported by the best of the seniors not provide some cause for optimism, some spark of invention and un-jaded passion to succeed. Too many players are just clocking in. They need to be reminded of what joy it was when they were on a measly £10k per week rather than a bloated £80k.
With Reina, Agger, Carragher, Johnson, Wilson, Soto, Kelly, Shelvey, Gerrard, Pacheco, Meireles, Cole, Torres, N'Gog, Amoo there's enough to be strong and creative. It isn't enough to win many trophies but it's not a bad start point for building a team we want to watch and can see progress from, rather than a dead-team walking.
We need a midfielder capable of picking passes, changing angles of attack and generally being a go-to man. We're desperate for a live wire winger who's going to put the fear of bejaysus into defenders.
And finally, and possibly even sadly, we need a manager who can explain to players what PRECISELY is the minimum standards required for them to play for this club. Balancing ambition and expectation; managing resources and creating something better than the sum of it's parts - Sorry Roy but that's not you.
