We may well play like that, but I repeat, this isn’t my biggest issue. And it isn’t that I expect Dier and Sissoko to suddenly become good footballers who don’t hide and can play incisive passes. I just expect them to hide less and when they have simple and easy opportunities to turn forwards and at least look, even for a simple pass, they do that, instead of just bunting the ball back to a defender and dragging the press onto us even more.
And if they can’t do that, then I want Mourinho to stop picking them or I want him gone, the same way I did with Poch for making the same mistakes.
A lot though is still having other players available for selection. Poch was hampered with player availability and so to Jose (although not as much). He has already acknowledged that he doesn't see Sissoko as a CM/DM, that's the best thing he's said since he's been here, yet he's playing him in that slot TWICE because he sees it as his best compromise.
There is such a thing as context and nuance in team selections, it's never black and white.
With Dier he can play a simple forward pass, he's performed this function couple of seasons back (please do not see that as an invitation for me saying he's world-class, he's not) but he's only just got back from nearly 18 months out he needs games to get him to match fit and get back up to speed, the only way of doing this is to play him and go through some pain whilst he's building both his physical and mental states. He's already much improved from his first showings where he couldn't trap a ball and the game past him by. And yes, I'm sure his manager has given him a little pep talk about keeping everything simple, so that is exactly what he's doing.
The hope is that Jose has the bollox to play Ndombele now he's fit for selection and this topic will be less thorny but as we've all seen he too is miles off the pace right now, whilst looking good on the ball for 60mins and not so good off it, when the clock chimes on the hour mark Cindrella needs to head to the bench and an oxygen tent. Or maybe he opts for Winks for one of them.
As it stands I think one of them has to start, my choice would be Dier and have him as the deeper of the two pivot roles. Then have a better ball player ahead be that Winks, Ndombele or even Skipp.
But whatever happens, going forward we still do not have a midfield that can compete and win the midfield battleground no matter what the combination is fielded. This will dictate our tactics for a game, if we can't play through the oppo midfield don't lose your shit when we choose to adopt another way of getting the ball up the pitch, right now (oppo specific) it's down to Toby being one of our most creative players.
