We started strongly but faded ever so quickly towards the end of the first half and then totally disappeared in the second. I fear we’re mentally naive and weak. Perhaps a symptom of the Premier League academies? When we are given the space and time to express ourselves, we play some fantastic, beautiful football. BUT, as soon as we are closed down, pressed, and harried, we fall to pieces. We struggle to cope with the ugly elements of men’s football. The physicality often just isn’t there. We get bullied off the ball and we struggle come up with a reply. The number of times we hold off the opposing man, refusing to put a foot in or tackle, perhaps through fear of being booked or fouling the player, it’s infuriating. Likewise, in attack our players seem frightened to take a risk and actually shoot. There is so much fear in the squad at the moment.
We lack a mental fortitude that would allow us to see out more difficult periods of play. As soon as we perceive the tide to have turned, we buckle under the pressure. Ironically, it’s some of the least experienced players in our squad who seem least susceptible to this, namely Baptiste.
Hard lessons need to be learned, and fast. We need to be nasty at times. The defence in particular often seem to shy away from putting a foot in and instead just back off and back off. We can’t always do things the pretty way, sometimes we need to be ruthless and take risks.
