Snowball The biggest thing for me is we lack drive, power, pace, strength
We miss rough-house strike partnerships like Long-Hunt. We miss raw speed. Kebe for example. Our only truly fast winger is out on loan and basically finished.
Strikers and fast wingers are not just about the goals they score, but about chasing and harrying defenders, especially centre backs so in the last 15 minutes, those defender are tiring, have lumps on their legs.
I remember the CB for Everton saying of Hunt & Long, "They never gave us a second's rest for the whole game."
How often did Hunt get knocked out, or Long, blasting through get chopped? Where is the rough-housing, the aggression?
Most of the time we sort of get the ball, wander up field "waiting for something to happen". We're SOFT, have little character.
Morrison will run through walls, Rhino some, but in general the malaise started when we began to go for more technical players and keep-ball so if/when we went up we might stay there.
It wasn't about skill-levels when Coppell managed, it was attitude, high-tempo, lots of pressure. Games were f---- EXCITING.
When McDermott did so well, it was far more about guts, work-rate and power than airy-fairy skills
This 100% well said sir.....