Sid Lowe

So the likelihood won't be there.

And it's very interesting what you say, you know, Alexis, about the idea of what do they do without Duke Bellingham?

And I think there is a broader question, which is just what do they do?

Full stop.

So you've got this two weeks now in which Arvalo has to work on the team.

I think we all know that he's had 18, 19 days where essentially what he's been trying to do has been focusing, if you like, on the happiness of the player, if you like, the kind of the environment around the team, the group dynamics.

But now he's got two weeks to do actual work.

and the actual work on the team structure.

So in terms of things like the fitness levels, which the club had been briefing against Xavi Alonso, it must be said that the team wasn't physically fit, but there also needs to be some sort of structure put in place.

And there was something that Arbeloa said today.

Now, I don't know if this will get picked up on in the next few days.

I certainly hope so, but I thought it was really, really significant.

He was asked about putting Gonzalo García on the pitch and putting him on the right wing.

And his answer, and I don't have the exact text in front of me now, but his answer was essentially to say, well, yeah, he's better through the middle.

We want him in the area.

And that didn't happen.

And we need to think about where the players are best.

And we talked about it in the dressing room afterwards that people weren't in the right place.

So you're in this situation.

Now, I know it's a crazy situation where you're chasing the victory and you end up effectively with five men up front.