B/R Football Ranks: The 10 Most Disappointing Teams and How to Fix Them
Sometimes things just go wrong.
Despite great planning, seemingly great execution and lofty hopes, projects can fall flat on their faces—and football clubs provide a yearly reminder of this.
The cycle is well-rehearsed: make waves during the summer, build hype via high-profile transfer work, enter the season fresh with optimism...and come hurtling back down to earth pretty swiftly.
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Already we've seen numerous big-name teams tumble down the table, performing well below expectations, and some heads have rolled as a result. More, surely, will follow in the coming months.
Here, Bleacher Report has picked out the 10 most disappointing teams in Europe's top-five leagues, assessed their issues and suggested a remedy or two.
10. Atletico Madrid
Pipping Southampton to 10th place on the list is Atletico Madrid, whose big summer moves created a stir among fans of the beautiful game—the problem is, "a beautiful game" is the last thing you would say Diego Simeone's men are playing right now.
In terms of league position and Champions League group qualification, they're chugging along OK. It's the performances that are concerning people. In particular, there is one clear issue: They can't score.
With just 16 La Liga goals from 14 games, questions are rightly being asked of the club's strikeforce. Diego Costa is enduring a difficult time, Alvaro Morata makes great strides then sets himself back with horror misses, and the number of forward combinations Simeone has tried, seeking a solution, is approaching double figures.
Atletico teams of the past may have been able to cope with this lack of output, but even the 2014 title winners, famed for their rock-solid defence, averaged just over two goals per game (77 in 38), giving themselves more breathing room at the back.
The 2019 version of Atleti's defence is a far cry from the one we saw dominate five years ago; this one struggles with simple balls into the box and any kind of set piece.
Odds are, the goal output improves now newly crowned Golden Boy Joao Felix has returned from injury, and Simeone will gauge this accordingly. There is a chance, though, a January dip into the market for a more reliable No. 9 is required.
9. Borussia Dortmund
Dortmund are five points off top in the Bundesliga and second in arguably the most difficult Champions League group of them all. At a glance, things appear to be going OK, but delve a little deeper and you'll find frustration aplenty.
These last two weeks have been especially bad; the 4-0 loss to Bayern Munich was humiliating, as was Friday's 3-3 home draw with bottom-of-the-league Paderborn (a game they were 3-0 down in at half-time!), and key players like Jadon Sancho are reportedly unsettled, per The Athletic's David Ornstein.
It seems that no matter how manager Lucien Favre sets his team up, he leaves himself open for criticism.
It's either too conservative and negative in midfield (example: Thomas Delaney and Axel Witsel holding together) or defensively porous (example: Mats Hummels and Julian Weigl forming the slowest centre-back tandem at the top level).
Against Paderborn, there was little pressure against the ball, yet the defensive line still played on the halfway line, leaving huge swathes of space in behind. Weigl, who is both slow and not a centre-back, was targeted liberally and with success.
It felt a bit late-era Peter Bosz—the manager Dortmund sacked in 2017 for similar crimes.
Marco Reus' level has dropped severely from last season to this, amplifying midfield and defensive issues as he's unable to paper over the cracks. Sancho has slowed up a little recently, too, though his record of four goals and six assists in 10 league games is still excellent.
Favre is under pressure, with many believing a change in manager could be the catalyst for enhanced success. To avoid the sack, he'd do well to open up in midfield and field an actual defensive line, rather than overcomplicate or do just one or the other.
8. Napoli
Napoli began the campaign with four Serie A wins from five and a 4-3 loss to Juventus, a game in which they pushed the defending champions all the way. They also began their Champions League campaign with a win over reigning champions Liverpool, and this week bagged a draw in the return fixture at Anfield.
The foundations seemed in place for another strong season, where a second-place finish beckoned and potential cup success was on the horizon.
But things have deteriorated in Naples. The squad refused to go on a training retreat organised by the president, they're winless in seven and, according to the Daily Mail's Nathan Salt, have been collectively fined €2.5 million in wages.
How do you suggest a remedy to this situation from the outside looking in? Best to just let this one play out.
7. AC Milan
AC Milan's hiring and firing of Marco Giampaolo within seven games set what should have been a genuinely progressive season back pretty far.
Now, Stefano Pioli is picking up the pieces and fixing them on the fly.
Pessimists will gesture to the points tally he's accrued since taking the reins on October 9 (five), suggesting he's not pulling his weight, but optimists will point to the list of teams he's had to play in that short span (Roma, Lazio, Juventus and Napoli) and pray for better days ahead.
At the least, Pioli has installed some form of attacking identity. Theo Hernandez's raids down the left are complemented by an inverted winger, and when Milan build down that flank, they can be extremely dangerous.
Slowly, very slowly, Pioli has installed Milan's better players to the XI—Theo is one, Andrea Conti and Ismael Bennacer are others—and they're improving the performance levels.
There is one, glaring issue still to be solved, though: the form of Krzysztof Piatek. He looks a shadow of the player they bought. His seems to have been thrashed out, and too many attacks are breaking down around him. If some motivational magic is worked, restoring his powers, Milan could be some force again.
6. Arsenal
Winless in six, snatching last-gasp draws at home to 19th-placed Southampton, eight points off the top four already. Arsenal are in crisis and then some.
If there's a positive spin on all this, it's that they are building for the future. When William Saliba (18) comes back from his loan, joining Nicolas Pepe (24), Matteo Guendouzi (20), Kieran Tierney (22) and a seemingly endless list of talented academy graduates, whoever is in charge will be set.
The question is whether Unai Emery is the man to take that group onward and upward.
The fans are borderline unanimous in their assessment: No. Eighteen months of confused tactics, incessant in-game formation tweaks and broken-English press conferences have jaded the supporters. They're looking at a list of free-agent managers that includes Luciano Spalletti, Marcelino and Max Allegri and, understandably, getting itchy feet.
Be it under Emery or someone else, this team needs to become far more difficult to play through in midfield and far less error-prone in defence. Goals are conceded in all manner right now, and as naturally calamitous as the defenders are, they're being put under a lot of pressure, which exacerbates the issues.
Buying a holding midfielder and a new centre-back is just the start of a to-do list that isn't entirely under Arsenal's own control. They need other stars to align for them, too, such as Hector Bellerin rediscovering his sharpness.
At the least, playing Mesut Ozil and Pepe together from the start may ensure Arsenal outscore opponents and alleviate their defensive issues in the short term.
5. Lyon
There are quite a lot of similarities between Lyon and AC Milan this season. Both hired new coaches in the hope of taking that next step, but both were forced to fire them after fewer than 10 league games of the campaign.
In Lyon's case, it was Sylvinho, a genuine rookie of a manager, who got the chop after a horrid run of results. The weird thing was, he actually won his first two games by an aggregate score of 9-0.
There was a suggestion that the more Sylvinho imprinted on the team, the worse and more defensive they became; in turn, the initial surge of results was put down to momentum carrying over from the previous regime.
As things got worse, Sylvinho's wooden personality and inability to speak French were used as sticks to beat him with—the former being something Giampaolo suffered from with Milan—and a change was sought.
Experienced manager Rudi Garcia captains the ship now, and things have got better, gradually. Three wins from four in Ligue 1 have seen them shoot up the table, and while they only sit ninth, the close nature of the table means they're just six points off second place.
The cohesiveness of the team, the improved form of Memphis Depay and the uplift in OL's ability to get results all point to a brighter second half of the season.
4. Tottenham Hotspur
No fan would have believed you had you said in June that, just five months on from a Champions League final, Spurs would find themselves languishing in 10th in the Premier League.
But a quite unbelievable chain of events has led us here: Mauricio Pochettino fired, Jose Mourinho hired, the sun rising on a day Tottenham fans never, ever, ever thought possible.
Dean Jones gave some great insight into the reasons it fell apart for Poch and Spurs on the B/R Football Ranks podcast, citing a conversation the Argentinian had with Sir Alex Ferguson on the difficulties of motivating the same group of players after four-year cycle.
That Pochettino was struggling to extract the best levels from his squad was clear to see, and that led to a muddied style, some disjointed performances and a lot of losses over the course of 2019.
In that sense, then, Mourinho already finds himself in a strong position short-term—courtesy of the fact he is a fresh face, provides a new voice and offers a different energy.
He started with wins against West Ham United in the Premier League and Olympiacos in the Champions League, with the performances showcasing both a different buildup shape and a more direct style than Pochettino preached. Those changes are key to creating the short-term boost expected under Mourinho, but long-term, there are many, many questions to answer.
Contractual decisions on Christian Eriksen, Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld loom; full-back, centre-back, goalkeeping and midfield positions may need refreshing; and an underlying fragility in this squad—which leaps to the fore any time a goal is conceded—must be eradicated.
3. Real Betis
Real Betis parted ways with Quique Setien in the summer—a manager who perhaps took Johan Cruyff's possession principles a little too far at times—replacing him with Rubi.
It was a move likely intended to make Los Verdiblancos more direct in attack, stepping away from high possession figures that brought mixed levels of penetration and utilise a mix of vertical attacking play and high pressure.
But Rubi's early attempts to change the playing style haven't taken, and as a result, this Betis side represent one giant tactical question mark. They're not particularly good at anything, don't have a recognisable modus operandi and are squandering a seriously talented group of forwards.
The club spent €28 million on striker Borja Iglesias and around €30 million on World Cup-winner Nabil Fekir, adding them to a corps that already included the excellent Sergio Canales. Yet the attacking returns have been meagre, with the trio combining for just five goals so far, and the tactical implementation of Canales and Fekir has been puzzling.
Both are often featuring too wide or too deep, stifling Betis' width and removing two of their best players from their areas of natural comfort. It's not really clicking in attack, and that's part of the issue.
Rubi has the players to rectify this. Cristian Tello and Diego Lainez can provide the width their game probably needs, and a fit William Carvalho can anchor a midfield of Canales and Fekir. If he doesn't do it, someone else can.
2. West Ham
West Ham's struggles have perplexed many.
With a Premier League-winning manager (Manuel Pellegrini) in place, a squad of talented players available and an excellent summer window of recruitment still visible in the rear-view mirror, how on earth have they found themselves in 17th place in the table?
Director of football Mario Husillos is reportedly under pressure, per the Guardian's Jacob Steinberg, though the suggestion the club are unhappy with his transfer work seems odd. Sebastien Haller and Pablo Fornals haven't shone, but when the team as a whole are playing poorly, new signings aren't exactly in a position to thrive.
Why the team is playing poorly is the thing to investigate, not the transfer work.
The downturn in form can be traced back to the day star goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski got injured taking a goal kick against Bournemouth. Since then, they've picked up one point from a possible 18, conceding 15 in that six-game span.
It's true that the man who has replaced Fabianski between the sticks, Roberto, looks thoroughly out of his depth, but a team that concedes as many chances as West Ham have deeper issues.
It's really easy for opponents to slip runners into West Ham's box, as Pellegrini's peculiar strategy of asking the defensive line not to drop into the box until the ball moves past the 18-yard line is being exploited by teams. Dele Alli became the latest to do so last weekend, slipping Harry Kane in multiple times.
That generates serious pressure on a defence that isn't that good and is one of the reasons the goalkeeper is always so busy. So, yes, things will improve when Fabianski returns, but there are underlying issues attached to Pellegrini that West Ham might rightly decide to move on from anyway.
1. Everton
Everton's talented, highly paid squad has played well beneath itself this season. Pre-season brought whispers of a top-six challenge, but they sit 16th in the Premier League table.
Like with Arsenal, it's almost impossible to escape the conclusion that the manager is to blame—although in this case, it may be an issue of style, not competency, that's causing harm.
There's absolutely no doubt that Marco Silva's position is being assessed, with BBC Sport's chief football writer Phil McNulty suggesting he is "fighting for his job" and will receive what is perhaps a last chance against Leicester City. A swift look at social media will tell you the resounding opinion among fans is that it's time to make a change, and it's easy to see why.
You can question pretty much every element of this Everton side. The defence is unbalanced and porous; the attack is so stagnant despite the luxuries it houses; personnel choices across the lineup can be questioned; and the team seems to wilt whenever the calendar presents an away day.
What's cruel is that we've seen flashes of Alex Iwobi playing the No. 10 role and really levelling up the attack. The ball circulates more quickly and more penetratively when he's given a central berth, but too often he's played on the left to allow Gylfi Sigurdsson into the XI, who simply hasn't been as effective.
Moise Kean has barely featured, Cenk Tosun is currently the starting striker for some reason, they're the joint-worst in the Premier League at defending set pieces (seven conceded this season) and their vaunted on-paper attack delivers just one goal per game on average. Only three sides in the league average fewer.
There are some mitigating factors, like long-term injuries to Jean-Philippe Gbamin and Andre Gomes robbing him of the midfield prototype he craves, but it doesn't explain away everything.
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All statistics via WhoScored.com
