The last 20 minutes

[wallya]

Amongst the myriad of problems we face this season, our approach to the last 20 minutes of games has become, in my eyes, the most concerning. Recently we have been unable to raise our game or intensity to get ourselves back into games that were there for the taking. Palace, Brighton, Brentford and even 10 man Bournemouth.
I can't remember a rousing end to a game. We didn't muster one chance at the end of those games, in fact we couldn't even get the ball.
At some point in the remaining games we are going to face the same challenge, does the team or management have the answer?

 

[Irish Red]

This is the biggest worry for me. They just don't seem to have the mentality to fight for their lives. Nuno included.

We had them on the rack, then turned the engine off as soon as they got their second. Way too deep and way too half-arsed.

 

[Alf-engelos Mindminackers]

I'm guessing that a combination of having a large squad to manage, and thus making it harder to put training sessions on for everyone, alongside fielding our strongest players in the cup, is effecting our fitness now; some of the lads looked a bit spent yesterday.

Nuno's obviously got a smaller squad now than what started the season, but pre-season counts for a fair bit, and there's still been a lot for him to get to grips with despite it's reduction.

How much of that affects our mentality is anyone's guess, but tired legs often equals tired heads.

If that is the case, again we go back to squad & recruitment strategy. This myth that wasting our time with players like Scarpa on the books for a small profit needs to end. Yes a few extra mil is nice, but the managers need space to operate properly if we're to be at our best. Make that money by being placed higher in the table, and save it by avoiding dross like Vlach & Sangare. Cycling players through the club should be kept to an absolute minimal.