i dont think we were good in the first half, and not because we played badly. Lavery is not a left winger, Virtue is not a full back, neither is Apter (2nd half). we were very unbalanced similar to the start of the promotion season with NC. To me it seems MA is trying to fit players to a system he wants to play, rather than creating a system that suits the players we have. Im going to stick my neck out that we have a squad that is top 6. There is quality and talent through the whole squad, there might not be that recognised superstar that other teams might have paid excessive amounts of money for, but i dont think many teams will have the talent in depth.
Where those teams may have an advantage is the team being built around the abilities of one or two players and systems played accordingly. If i was going to be critical of Critchley i dont think he ever found the ideal team or the ideal way of playing for the players he had last season. Playing Madine and trying to play a high press and having reversed wingers who dont really cross the ball very often is a case in point. I have a back of my mind worry that MA might be having the same issue, or he is simply doing the testing preseason and we come out of the gates with Reading at full tilt.
we do look to have significantly more movement around the midfield and attacking wise, and we are getting more players in and around the box but there still seems to be something missing, and im not convinced its a player(s)