I'm as disappointed as anyone after our showing yesterday but the writing off, by some, of our players and coaches seems an overreaction. Yesterday many of us looked at that team and were happy with it; felt we had enough to deliver.
I don't think the team has looked particularly well balanced recently with the moving of players to different positions (Forrest and Christie are probably the most obvious).
Whether we like it or not Sevco are a different (filthy) animal this season. We need to adjust. Lenny's recent comments regarding Rodgers i.e. they keep in touch every week and he's only building on what was laid down by BR are very worrying for me. It's almost like he's still the caretaker manager if he thinks that or he's thinking it's not broken so no need to fix it.
To stay successful you need to stay ahead of the curve. The cup final seemed to illustrate that Eddy was the missing link, don't think too many would argue with that. Seems our management thought the same. Now they know that is not the only issue. Winning the fight first is required.
Guys like El Hamed, El Younoussi and possibly Ntcham and even Bauer can help with this.
We need a forward that can harass the opposition defence. Eddy is a top player but can't do it on his own.
Even with no additions the squad we have has the capability to play in different formations.
We already know they can play the 4-2-3-1. Good countering system but requires us to play through midfield spaces. If they are not there...
...A 3-5-2 with Hamed, Julien and Thor can work. Taylor included here can change it to 4-4-2
Midfield five can be christie, broony, mcgregor, ntcham, mikey for the four, we can leave Mikey out. I'm not ignoring Frimpong here, he definitely can play a role in either system as can Forrest.
With the possible exception of European knock out we can benefit from two up top for sure, I would take every opportunity to play 2 from our main front three whenever possible ( I know injuries) but even Jamesy and El Younoussi can play the role off Eddy.
We have become predictable, not just on the basis of yesterday but also noticeable in other recent league games. There are solutions available within the squad but would also be good to see some reinforcements.
All told this loss is disappointing but recoverable and the league cup is in the cabinet.
HH and KTF for the quadreble!