When we set up a team to defend, we are actually quite good. Chelsea werent blistering last night but we kept them quite for the most part. City a few years ago, united when we beat them 3 nil in the second half. It seems when we are given the task of defending we can do it, but transitioning from attack to defence is far more difficult for us, and because we rarely take early leads in games we are constantly forced to transition between attack and defence, taking huge gambles and exposing our weaknesses.
It makes sense really, we dont have bad defenders, but with the pressure of constant retreat we see them exposed, this is quite normal. Anyone who's played at even the lowest level of football knows it is a nightmare to be defending while retreating, getting pulled out wide in 1on1s and getting into foot races. This is where mistakes happen.
Far too often are we drawn into these slugfest games. Going blow for blow with the opposition, but we havent got the jaw for it. Hence why random bums with a right hand always have a chance against us. (Watford)