1961 good post, valid points made! Hammer, nail ,head ,hit!
For me right now i believe we are in a similar position as Chelsea and Man City were in when they practically brought a new team, whilst I welcome our new signings and have high hopes I feel the sheer volume of new skillful players who as individuals are utter class being all brought in at the same time, means we are starting from scratch.
In my opinion AVB does not yet know what his strongest and prefered 11 is, which combination of players work best together complimenting each others skill sets and he has not given the team time to gel.
Lets face it our second string in the Europa are having more success, agreed against weaker opposition but they are performing.
My biggest fear is due to AVB being so scared to loose matches he is in reflection losing the players respect and belief in him by employing tactics that do not suit many, Dembele has already spoken out. Is AVB loosing the dressing room if he is or has its a downward slide.
I hope a huge lesson as been learnt and if AVB is the manager I think and hope he is we should see a very different approach vs Man U.