Huntley & Palmer Arch Trying their best and playing their best are two very different things. I think some players are overtrying, getting over anxious and making silly mistakes. I never get the feeling players aren't trying (not like I often did with Seol, for example). We need to get back the free-flowing instinctive football of two seasons ago. That team looked as though they didn't need to try.
We aren't being given the chance to play that football by the opposition like we did last season. Other teams have cottoned on to our tactics and methods, we don't seem to have adapted and refreshed our play with any new options. I think that is where we are going wrong
I think it's simpler than that. I think we just took our foot off the gas after staying up early last season, and just lowered our standards and got a bit slack.
We play basic 4-4-2 that English teams have been playing for 40 years or so - there's not exactly anything to work out about us tactically.
I think we've also lacked the enthusiasm of last season. Last year playing Aston Villa was great. This year they are just another team.
But a large chunk of it is that we lost half of our midfield - and our best half of it as well. We have enough about us at home, even when not playing well, to pick up points against teams who are poor or not up for it, but we haven't met many of those lately.
We have to get back to performances like the Newcastle one I think it was, the Coppell referred to as being like seeing an old friend again.