Taking time away from the tactics and management discussion in other threads the thing I am worried about at the present moment in time is our teamwork, work ethic, comradeship etc etc.
I just don't see the players really playing for each other. I still see individuals doing their own thing especially up front. It's pretty much the Tevez show in terms of our goal scoring threat with cameo's from Johnson and Yaya.
Silva and Tevez have shown glimpses of working well together but they have been all too fleeting this season. The way Tevez plays does not lend itself to teamwork. I guess he's a bit of a paradox - he works so hard for the team in a defensive capacity by running all over the pitch but attacking wise he's as selfish as they come.
Yaya Toure just seems to go on solo runs against the opposition, Balotelli stands on the left and doesn't get involved too often, Johnson likes to do his own thing and cut inside to shoot. Milner works hard but never seems to be on the same wavelength of any of our attacking players.
There seems to be very little in the way of players working together in tight situations to come out with the ball. We pass it around but do not move to receive a return pass. We get players being crowded out down the flanks by the opposition with no support a few yards behind the player with the ball so they lose possession.
It's not all bad though - I do see some positive teamwork in our squad.
Kompany, Lescott, De Jong and Zabaleta seem to have built a strong triangle in the defensive third and work hard for each other. Despite Barry getting a lot of critisism for not being very dynamic he is a great team player and his teammates will be delighted to play alongside him as he is great positionally and sees danger early when a teammate is out of position.
Kompany and De Jong are the shining lights in working hard for other teammates. Even down to silly things like when one of our players get's a nasty challenge or is being bullied by the opposition. You'll only see Kompany, De Jong and Zabaleta coming to that player's aid. I would like to see all our players fighting for each other and looking like a bunch of mates who will fight for each other.
It's quite right to say that our players need more than one season together to gel. It's no surprise our best performing players are the one's we signed two years ago. Kompany, De Jong, Lescott, Zabaleta and Tevez are the players who have shown the most promise.
But we are nearly into April (9 months on) and I don't see any green shoots of teamwork developing in our team from our new recruits whereas you could see that from the above named players last season even though they had not yet gelled.
For me, this is the missing piece of the jigsaw and if we can get our players playing for each other, defending each other, working in partnerships across the pitch, taking responsibility rather than passing it to Tevez and standing still then we have all the tools to win games against the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea, United and Spurs and the rewards that come with getting those extra 10 points or so.
Turned into a bit of a ramble that in the end after rereading it - thought I had more of a point to make. I'll blame the fact its 11.30pm :-}
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