festa5
Well-known member
Monk was more or less handed it on a plate looking back. What was key to our success in the Championship under Karanka was having that solid spine......Ayala/Gibson.....Clayton/Leadbitter. In Ayala and Gibson we had arguably the best CB pairing in the division, and in Clayton and Leadbitter we had arguably the best midfield pairing in the division. All Monk had to do was stick with that spine and build his team around it. He already had the makings of a great side if he'd have gone with Friend at left-back, Traore wide right and Bamford up front, then he just needed to spend the money on a GK, RB, no10 and maybe another winger.
Instead, he completely dismantled the team which had previously taken us up, and wasted the majority of the transfer budget on 3 strikers when we already had Bamford.
I think some fans and Gibson have to take some responsibility for us not doing that. Lots of moaning about our style of football and Gibson seemed to want to change it because of that. Along comes Monk and he probably promised and was given a remit of not just getting us up, but doing it in style. Oops.