It's a massive, massive problem.
I do agree, but what passion/commitment that is there in the players has been eroded and nullified. The lack of ambition from the top down has washed away a culture which can sustain professional pride, I can't see how it couldn't tbh.
I'm not as convinced our first XI is as poor, ability wise, as they've been showing lately. Cabaye is a fucking huge loss though, and our balance has been thrown the fuck off without him. Still, our first XI is only a few players short of being a pretty decent outfit that can compete well with most teams. Well, in theory anyway if not with Pardew. Beneath that, we're a long, long way off a top four squad.
I'm beginning to think Cabaye was the only one knitting the side together, he was our outstanding player by a country mile and our form and results has basically been linked to if he was playing and how well he was playing. Without him the entire team is lost and we've lost any and all creativity in the centre of midfield, Tiote's good at what he does but it ain't anything that will be in anyway positive in the final third (we've also missed him badly in the last 2 games) Anita-what the hell does he actually do? He doesn't win the ball he has fuck all ability to create something what is the point of him? Sissoko is what he is, a player with tremendous physical attributes not so many technical attributes. Throw in a lack of natural width full backs who can't defend to save their lives and the strikers the club actually owns being worth the square root of fuck all its not in anyway surprising when you take out the outstanding player in the side and refuse to even bother to replace him that our form nosedives.
