If not injured as reported then we have to assume something has happened, wife/girlfriend giving birth, parent dying, Covid, woke up with trots etc... which could see him left out completely. I'm sure there is no conspiracy here.
He wasn't in the team for the first 2 games of the season so maybe Munoz doesn't really rate him as much as we think?
I can understand that as he was away in South America over the summer, but for him to not be picked again now after featuring in the previous 3 games in league and cup, is strange
If Xisco has dropped him from the squad entirely after the own goal then it's horrendous man management. I'm assuming it's just a knock or illness.
Xisco's line is Sierralta "needs to work harder in training". If he plays Cathcart after that debacle then I think Xisco needs to work harder at packing his bags.
Bit of weird one, not saying Rose doesn’t work hard in training, but he’s clearly not his ideal weight yet naturally he starts because he’s a quality player better than what we have in that position either way. Cathcart is done for, yet he plays ahead of someone more talented but apparently not working as hard in training. I don’t really see the difference.
It probably doesn't help that Xisco can understand everything he says in Spanish. I'd be annoyed if I were Sierralta - he earned his place ahead of Cathcart and Kabasele a long time ago.
I strongly agree with this. He was brilliant in the Champo and more than earned his step up to the next level. Who would you rather have at RB when Sterling comes bearing down on goal? Yes he made a good block against Newcastle and wasn't the worst player, but it's clear to most of us that Sierralta is the most optimal person for that role. If it really is an attitude and commitment issue, then Xisco needs to sit him down and talk about it. Cathcart is fine as a back up in that position, but that is all he should be. We are stuck with this issue till January at the earliest.
I don't necessarily agree but perhaps the issue is that Xisco feels he needs a centre back with Premier league experience rather than 2 rookies? Still find it thoroughly bizarre we didn't play Sierralta at the start of the season then appeared to do so for one game just to stick our fingers up at the Chilean FA
Doesn’t sound good - he is our best defender and younger than the others so we don’t want him getting unsettled and disgruntled.
Shambolic state of affairs, both marginalising our best centre back and compounding that by playing Cathcart who is miles below the required standard.
I really don’t understand the chronic lack of investment at centre back throughout the entire Pozzo reign. We’ve never spent money in this area. We still have a player who was playing in 2011 in the Championship as a regular starter. For all the years in the EPL, we should have built something solid as Brighton, Burnley and Palace have. We are comparable to those clubs, but they’ve always had solid CB’s during the same time period. This has always been Watford’s Achilles in the Prem. Far too easy to score against. Now we’re seeing regular big errors from everyone in the back line, apart from Rose and Kiko. Everyone else, including all three keepers, have made mistakes that gave directly led to goals or big chances. It’s just not good enough, and the blame really has to go to the board for failing to address this issue.
I would imagine that at least some of the quite pointed meaning in the line 'needs to work harder in training', that we as fans instinctively take from it, isn't actually intentionally there; it's just a consequence of Xisco's abysmal level of English. As I said recently, the fact that he can't really say anything of note creates something of a distance between fans and team when it comes to understanding the vision/intention, and similarly, whilst we take 'needs to work harder in training' as a clear implication that he is somehow lacking, and not making enough effort in training (nobody tell Davy or we'll need to send an ambulance), he is really just uttering a buzz-sentence platitude to deflect the question, which to him just means 'I have a reason I preferred to pick other players, but I don't want to say it'.
Yeah, I think it's more likely to be a slight mistranslation from the cliche of 'keep working hard and wait for your opportunity' that managers love to spout, rather than an accusation of lack of effort from FS. That was my interpretation anyway.
Or he downed tools/started sulking over the international incident, hasn't been putting in any effort, and they don't really want to air all that dirty laundry in public. Could be anything, really. We have no idea what's going on behind the scenes.
It’s their money ball approach, it’s no different to betting, they feel the best ROI is on attacking midfielders, so they always look to deploy their cash in that area as much as possible and neglect other positions. The problem is that also like gambling/investing if you go for the highest ROI but put all your eggs in one basket, then you’re totally ****ed if it doesn’t work. If failing to invest in our defence relegates us then it is a complete false economy, which is the risk they’re constantly running, and it will completely undermine any extra ROI they might get just focusing on attacking midfielders. Defenders might not yield as much on average, but they’re necessary to protect your investment elsewhere in the squad. I believe Gray burnt them as far as attackers are concerned as well, so now they just stick to attacking midfielders as it’s what they know.
Doesn't fit the narrative of Xisco being clueless. I watched the match vs Stoke and Sierrralta was very poor. Maybe he does have an attitude problem but as you say we all guessing
How much can you take from league cup performances? I think I can remember one good once since Gino took over which was against Spurs, and we still lost that on penalties. Irrespective of manager, during the Pozzo era being picked in the league cup is generally a back handed compliment and says you’re a fringe player not a first team player. Some players will take that as a challenge others will take it as an insult and not play well. You can of course question the attitude of a player who doesn't play well due to being picked to play in the league cup, but can you honestly make any basis for judging actual ability? Especially when the same player performed so well agains the exact same opposition last season.
I guess it's easy to look good against the shyt strikers in the lower leagues. Couldn't cut it in serie a and now cant cut it in the Premier league. What a damn shame. Either that, or munoz is utterly clueless, out of his depth and tubby. Take your pick, either way it will see us relegated. A massive part of our chances of staying up depended on Sierralta starring this season.
Not much else to base it on but maybe you could use it to get a little more match fit. Ability is fine but attitude is also very important. Always seemed strange to me that last season was his first proper spell of playing on a regular basis. Maybe there was more to his lack of playing time that meets the eye. I also actually thought some of the fringe players like Cucho, Tufan and Ngakia made a very decent effort of trying to be noticed even if it didn't always work We're all guessing but hoping it all comes out in the wash and he returns to the team playing like he did last season
I didn't go to the Stoke game, but I'm struggling to believe that he could have played worse than Cathcart against Norwich, or in the first half against Newcastle. Sierralta is hardly an automatic first choice for Chile is he? I don't think for an instant he'd chuck it in given his place in the national team doesn't seem secure, personally I think it's far more likely that there's been a falling out for non-footballing reasons
He was poor and it was against Stoke reserves. What non footballing reasons could stop you from playing?
The Chile stuff makes sense tbf. I struggle to believe an own goal which arguably wasn't his fault, and a poor game against Stoke is really keeping him out of the team when Cathcart has looked very shaky of late
I reckon (with absolutely no insight at all), that Sierralta has been tapped up by one of the big Spanish clubs. He has said he wants to go in January, and now he is on probation, with him needing to get game time, he has been put on the Chalobah pathway. PS reading the first two pages of the thread, last season is spookily like this. Rated for his performance in international games, poor for us, especially in Caraboa cup game. Let’s hope he becomes good again for us as season progresses.