We keep hearing that we’ve got the strongest squad in the country. If that’s true, then truth is we under-delivered on the pitch when it really mattered. This isn’t a handy excuse to point fingers at everyone else — it’s a call for accountability where it belongs: with the players and the footballing staff.

Responsibility starts on the pitch

Players decide games. Training matters, attitude matters, and when application slips so does performance. You can argue all you like about fixtures, travel or off-field noise, but the eleven who walk out and the coaches preparing them have the biggest influence on results. We were in it until we lost focus. That cost us.

Management aren’t above criticism

To be fair, the management team got us back into contention and you can see why some would give them credit for that. But getting us there and seeing it through are different tests. If the club’s coaching and preparation aren’t enough to maintain standards when pressure ramps up, then they share the blame. Simple as that.

Distractions, timing and who calls the shots

People will point at Tavs' announcement or the Spain trip as distractions and wonder who signed them off. Maybe the board spotted a chance, maybe the footballing side did too. Either way, if the footballing side didn’t want those distractions, they could surely have pushed back. That suggests the problem runs deeper than one news item or one trip.

At the end of the day this is about standards. Application, focus and putting thirty or forty good minutes together over a season win leagues. We’ve been gifted a bit of leeway all year because of squad talk, but talk doesn’t win titles — performances do. Fans can moan, and rightly so, but the people most responsible should look at themselves first and be honest about why standards slipped.

There’s work to do, and it needs to start with those closest to the day-to-day football. Get that right and the rest will follow.

Written by J-zer: 29 June 2026

Tags: match-review transfers rumours