Should be rather than has to be

We should be winning all of these and i dont just mean at half time .

I think responsibility has to lay at the door of those signing players. We really, really needed to strengthen our squad in specific areas in the summer. We didn't strengthen in those areas, and instead spent £20 MILLION on a keeper who is worse than Guaita (who had another year's contract but we allowed to leave for free), £20 odd million on a Brazilian reserve arriving with a stress fracture (?!) who can't get in our team, and £4m on a centre back we didn't need. How on earth can the people involved in transfers still be in jobs? The team needed full backs, wingers and a striker, and got none of the above, and what's worse, those in charge of transfers didn't utilise any loans to fill gaps. We can't use the excuse we didn't have any money, because £44m was spent on people that don't get in our team. How difficult is it to try and sign three or four of the best players from the Championship in positions we need for £5-10m each rather than frittering money in positions we didn't need people? If there is anyone in the recruitment/scouting/transfers team that reads these boards, please just consider actually strengthening the areas we clearly need to strengthen. We only have two strikers. We are desperately short on wingers (hence having to play non wingers on the wing). We have been desperately short on full backs for several years. Please stop signing players we don't need in positions we are covered with money that could be spent on strengthening the team where it desperately needs help.
If we don't have any money, fine, let's sign the best players we can possibly get on loan, free, or being opportunistic picking players up cheaply where contracts are running out.
Please stop signing players like Henderson for £20m odd and on £100k a week. It is brainless. ANY manager would struggle with the recruitment that Freedman et al are providing. I am THRILLED we aren't in the relegation zone and frankly Roy deserves incredible plaudits for the fact that we aren't. Come on Freedman et al. Wake up and do your job rather than waiting until transfer deadline day and wasting money on people we just don't need.

Edited by Peter de Lisle (22 Dec 2023 11.45am)

I accept the greater part of your argument but where I differ is in what positions we need to find.

It is obvious for many seasons that we don't have a creative midfielder Our mode of playing the ball forward is quick passes to a marked forward. Nobody has the ability to hold the ball to allow time for forwards to find space. Contrast this with Brighton where they frequently found space. I have banged on about this since the days of Cabaye, Michael Hughes, Barry Bannon, Watson, etc.
We have never replaced them, maybe the feeling is that a holding mid-fielder is a luxury? If so please explain to me our dearth of goals. Not a great fan of Edouard or Mateta but if they got decent service they would score.
Protecting a 1-0 lead is a very negative method and one we are not very good at!

Clearly he didn't watch the same game as you and me as IMO Clyne actually had one of his better games. The problems we had second half were not being able to stop their midfield strolling through to our defenders. Their half-time subs made all the difference (hats off to De Zerbi). Ours, unfortunately didn't.

As Roy said, Ozoh will be a good player but he found last night tough - a good learning lesson for the lad.

IMO, it was a bad move to bring Eze on (I think Roy basically acknowledged that in the post match presser). IMO Franca would have been the better option.

Disappointing that we couldn't hang on but looking back if I had been offered 2 points from those last 3 games I would have bit ya hand off.

I was expecting zero.