Reasons why our defence is bad:

- we want the opposition to have the ball so that they make mistakes & we can counter on them.
- when we try to counter, opposition teams have worked out that they need to smother the ‘out’ ball as that snuffs out our counter... (1/3)

- ... leading to our defence having more pressure & more prolonged pressure on it.
- we have limited deep possession structures so our back four’s passing options are limited (as per the Joelinton goal).
- we’ve not had a settled back line.
(2/3)

- we’re asking our defenders to do a lot (of passive defensive actions) - we’ve made the 2nd highest number of clearances per 90 in the PL (after Fulham).
- many other reasons.
- some other reasons.
- a few more reasons.
...
- ‘our players are bad’.
- ‘not enough leaders’. (3/3)