It was João Pedro’s turn to apologize to the fans after yet another horrendous result, our sixth league defeat in a row. At least we did finally score a goal, thanks to JP’s spectacular bicycle kick in stoppage time to provide (scant) consolation in our 3-1 defeat. The wait was almost worth it for our first Premier League goal in nearly ten hours. Almost.
Interim head coach Calum McFarlane spoke after the game of his disappointment in our inability to manage the first 15 minutes, conceding on a play
that we had specifically talked about in preparation for the match, and then — as we’ve seen so many times this season — failing to respond to a setback. Barely ten minutes later we were two behind, and given our rotten luck in other phases, a comeback was never really on the cards.
“Really disappointed with the performance, disappointed with the result. Irrelevant of that, I don’t think we ever got to our level today that we know we’re capable of [especially in] the first 15 minutes, we were nowhere near the level we needed to be.
“I thought the early goal was a bit of a sucker punch and we didn’t seem to really recover from that moment. It was a 3-v-1 at the back post. We know that they like to cross to the back post. We know that the No.9 likes to peel to the back post and we should defend that moment better. It’s really disappointing. I thought we defended that moment really well vs Leeds at Wembley and I just don’t think we recovered from that moment well enough. When we did recover and we had moments, Enzo hits the post, Cole misses a penalty, João’s offside goal. When you start that badly, you need those moments to go your way, to give you a chance to fight back into the game. But ultimately, the first 15 minutes was not acceptable.”
-Calum McFarlane; source: Football.London
We can certainly blame the ownership, the sporting directors, and the multitude of coaches who have stopped by in recent months for this malaise, but on some level, responsibility must also fall on the players.
Perhaps they don’t owe us anything — playing for the badge is a rather romantic, maybe even outdated notion in modern football, as Mauricio Pochettino recently claimed — but they certainly owe themselves more than what they’re currently giving. They may not be satisfied with the way the club’s run (who is?), but they absolutely cannot be satisfied by what they’re giving back in return either. There’s a level of personal and professional pride that is badly missing right now; that won’t ever be restored unless they themselves want it restored as well.
Football (and any other professional sport) as a career isn’t like most other professions in other walks of life. Your performance, your level of impact at your own dayjob depends far less on your own internal motivation than it does for professional athletes. It’s what separates the best from the merely talented, the ones who talk a good game from those who actually play a good game, the ones who go through the motions from those who make an impact.
The latter are in very short supply at the moment. João Pedro’s a rare exception; and he wants the others to be more like him.
“From the beginning, we concede too early and against Nottingham, it is difficult to change the game. We should do better. We need to find a way to undo these mistakes every game, and start to win games because this is the Premier League. If you concede too early it is very difficult to come back.”
“I think everyone needs to look to themselves, me also included. We need to find a way to do better. I feel sorry for the fans, and we need to see where we can improve. I don’t think it is about the coach. It is about us players to improve. Everyone needs to step up. Me included. It is difficult to say something in this moment.”
“The motivation is always there. If we won, we would have been able to be in the Champions League. Now it is more difficult. But we still need to fight for every point and every game.”
-João Pedro; source: Sky Sports via The Standard
JP’s not the first to speak in such terms, nor the first player to acknowledge that the players must take responsibility as well. We always hear such quotes in such situations — the vocabularies and narratives of football are very limited. Without a response, they will always ring hollow. JP’s at least trying; can’t say I see the same in too many others.
