Leroy: “Sam these are your problems alone”
We deserved more yesterday but the simple fact is the players are losing belief when victory is in sight and that is an issue this manager – or whoever comes next – has to solve.
Sam Allardyce has claimed various reasons for likely victories becoming draws but having watched all our games to me the answer is clear – the players are falling back 20 – 25 yards when the other team starts to have a real go.
The manager is making defensive substitutions as a result but the truth is he has to convince the team they are now a very decent time who can mix it and beat the best.
The players instead are getting nervous and conceding. At the end of the day that’s a managerial problem, Sam has to convince them they are good enough to beat these teams and until he does that this situation will keep repeating itself.
The tragedy yesterday was that we had played so well for so long and Nolan’s absence for Cheik Kouyate had an awful lot to do with that.
Most of the supporters have been saying for a long time that the captain is slowing everything down and they are right.
We were excellent and the football on display for a long time was excellent. It was a shame that Mark Noble had to go off for his own security from a red card because he was utterly outstanding and we lost our grip in part when he disappeared.
But the lads lost their conviction that they could win and however much Sam tries to explain it away, this is his or the next manager’s problem.
I don’t take sides but who do you blame when a team loses it’s belief? The manager! He has to address it, I had the same problems at times as a boss and had to accept it was my dilemma. No one else’s.
There’s been much talk about an imminent departure for Sam and if that happens then it will mean things have come to a natural end.
But he has to stop this draw rot and convince this team it is the top six side I believe it to be before he does.