Players coming into the PL absolutely need time to settle, totally agreed.
No Kudus was not available.
I think Tel has probably been a bit better under Frank, but he’s barely played! And under Ange he was playing in a team tanking the league, and mostly as a loan striker. I don’t think it’s saying much one way or the other.
With respect, I think the bar is not only on the floor, it’s in the basement, except that it’s gone through the basement and is on its way down to the earth’s core, if we’re using ‘if X player scored that goal in the early minutes the team would have been galvanized and had balance and confidence’. It’s West Ham at home! Relegation threatened West Ham! To be clear, I’m not saying I want 09 Barca. I just want the players to look like they have any idea whatsoever about how to play together, that doesn’t involve slinging in crosses. We’re six months in.
And that’s my point. I can readily accept that players coming into the league need time to settle. But in six months if the intention was to have them play anything that isn’t just crosses, we would see it. Wirtz is settling in at Liverpool, but no one is saying that Liverpool’s in possession game is as rancid as ours. He is within a system where the intention is there, and he just isn’t executing yet. We are not so far off looking like we have any idea in possession.