24-05-2018, 21:17
(This post was last modified: 24-05-2018, 21:20 by Slick_Footwork.)
McAuley was fully fit for most of the season, was just out of favour. To be honest, on the occasions he did play, such as Chelsea at home, he didn't cover himself with glory. The reality is, at 38, his timing just wasn't up to it at Premier League level anymore.
It pains me to say that, because for me he's the best out and out defender I've seen in the club in my lifetime.
The problem is that he wasn't replaced with sufficient quality. With McAuley in the side, we rarely looked like conceding anything in the air as he was probably the best aerial defender in the division. Hegazi was brought in as his replacement and is good in the air, but not at McAuley's level. When you look at some of the points lost from winning positions - Newcastle and Watford at home, 2 games where we went from 2-0 to 2-2 - both equalisers were headed goals from set plays. Big Gaz in his prime would've made a huge difference, but unfortunately at his age, he was no longer the answer.
Failure to replace him also cost us goals scored too, as he was great in the air in both boxes.
Chadli, likewise, was fit for a lot of the first half of the season just out of favour with Pulis probably due to the Austria debacle. On the one occasion I remember him starting, Leicester away, he scored a free kick in a 2-2 draw but was dropped in the subsequent game. Ironically, after Pulis got the boot he then got injured when he probably would've played. He was a miss because he is without a shadow of a doubt our best footballer. But you have to blame the TP for not playing him when he was fit.
Mozza was a huge miss IMO. That said, he's never been a world beater and considering the amount of time that we have been in the Premier League and spent big on midfielders, the fact we're still reliant on him shows how poor the investment has been. He was a big miss, but wouldn't have been if we had invested better.
It pains me to say that, because for me he's the best out and out defender I've seen in the club in my lifetime.
The problem is that he wasn't replaced with sufficient quality. With McAuley in the side, we rarely looked like conceding anything in the air as he was probably the best aerial defender in the division. Hegazi was brought in as his replacement and is good in the air, but not at McAuley's level. When you look at some of the points lost from winning positions - Newcastle and Watford at home, 2 games where we went from 2-0 to 2-2 - both equalisers were headed goals from set plays. Big Gaz in his prime would've made a huge difference, but unfortunately at his age, he was no longer the answer.
Failure to replace him also cost us goals scored too, as he was great in the air in both boxes.
Chadli, likewise, was fit for a lot of the first half of the season just out of favour with Pulis probably due to the Austria debacle. On the one occasion I remember him starting, Leicester away, he scored a free kick in a 2-2 draw but was dropped in the subsequent game. Ironically, after Pulis got the boot he then got injured when he probably would've played. He was a miss because he is without a shadow of a doubt our best footballer. But you have to blame the TP for not playing him when he was fit.
Mozza was a huge miss IMO. That said, he's never been a world beater and considering the amount of time that we have been in the Premier League and spent big on midfielders, the fact we're still reliant on him shows how poor the investment has been. He was a big miss, but wouldn't have been if we had invested better.