While we certainly have no divine right to beat the likes of Swansea at home, and less still Huddersfield away, we do very much need to run up the score in the first couple months, before the absolute meatgrinder that is our November/December schedule. Realistically, to end the year in the top ten, we probably need to exit the Burnley match on November 4th in the vicinity of the CL places.
He doesn't seem as agile as he used to be, but he is a massive wall....pretty sure that he has had a hormone problem....too much GH judging by his heavy jaw. So he has assets and problems....but he does a job for us. Do fans really think that a truly top class all-round keeper would join us? I think he will have a better season than he did in 2016/17.....if people give him a chance and stop looking for errors.
I can't disagree with th second half of this, but I really don't agree with the first part, unless you have been watching Huddersfield every game last season, their build up in the summer and have a technical football knowledge of all their players. It's game three and I couldn't tell you whether we are better on paper or not than Huddersfield. I just feel you made a flippant, throw away remark, which epitomises the views of so many fans. *dont take this as aggressive, I'm just being honest as I found that statement unfounded and nothing to date to support it.
I completely agree with your point and don't take it as aggressive whatsoever. It's early days and we've made a good start, all things considering. Let's see what happens when the window shuts (thank god for that) and have any new players completely settled for when we return. I'll get a decent thread ready for Watford that has all the bells and whistles too.
Well said. All players make errors and I guess it will always be a keepers error over a strikers that get remembered. I feel comfortable knowing he is in goal. Maybe it's his fault we didn't score. He should be going up the pitch in injury time for a thunderbolt.
I would happily sell VD for 60m and then spend every single penny of that getting in someone in the 10 position with vision and some goals in them. I know it's nowhere near that simple, but I'm just saying I'd splash all that money, we need that player *so* much.
On my way home from Newcastle match as I couldnt get a ticket for Huddersfield. Newcastle were excellent for a team certain to go down with a team of championship players. They did better than us against a full team. Point is that every team can have a good patch. Would have taken a draw before the game. Lack of goals is worrying.
haven't read the rest of the thread as I am lazy Anyone else wonder what MP2 was doing with the subs, but they actually made us play better? Long a menace, JWP tricky and accurate with his passing and McQueen solid. We looked a lot better going forward. I'l read the rest of the thread now...my unread stretch back to page 14....
I'l read the rest of the thread now...my unread stretch back to page 14.. ------------------------- I'd like to go back in time & not read it.
Completely agree. The subs seemed, no, WERE crazy, but they did somehow work. Leaving on Redmond was just criminal! Long and JWP were great.
I guess it would be to (a) have a better squad than the previous season - to fill the missing holes, and try and make that persuasive to our top players that they do have good teammates to play with, and (b) either to play exciting football, or winning football. I'm more than happy to lose a game 3-2, if I've been entertained for 90 minutes. Equally I am more than happy to take a diabolical 1-0 win. League position isn't really my focus. We're not getting relegated, and we're not going to win the league. So my focus is on having on a good Saturday (whether that is a win, or an exciting game), and trying our best to keep our top players; getting out of this constant cycle of losing and replacing them. And for me, a big way of doing this is to give them fellow quality players to play with. I'd have thought that was fairly obvious myself. But no, apparently some people still don't have much of an issue of Davis playing - for example. And of course upgrading the likes of Davis (I still refuse to put Tadic in that category yet, but he is beginning to test me) also helps with the second part, about exciting and/or winning football. Against Swansea we were constantly being told that the performance was good (and it was), so the result was something of a side issue. Now today we're being told that the result was decent (and yeah, I think I do agree - this was never going to be a walk in the park), with the performance being something of side issue. I can't accept that; constantly flipping things around to fit the narrative. In both games, it has been blindingly obvious that Gabbi is somewhat attached from the team, because we don't have that player to link him with the guys behind. That is my focus, that is my annoyance on this thread. Not failing to beat Huddersfield. We ended last season on a goal draught, we've started this season with three blanks in four games and just one goal from open play. I'm not just going to ignore these things, and wait and see. I spent last season waiting. (And not that it matters, but you used the word patience first). We have five days to try and fix it, otherwise it has been yet another bad transfer window in my view. Which would be a crying shame, because so much good has been done - we have, hopefully, retained our main players and recruited a couple of excellent additions. But you need to score goals. That is the absolute number one. Not solving that doesn't just affect us this season (on top of last season), but no doubt also leads to players again wanting to leave us next summer. As discussed earlier, why would Gabbi want to waste some of the best years of his career at a club where he gets little service? I am a traditional "middle man" on this site, alongside Qwerty, Schad and others. I see the good and the bad, and try not to swing too far one way. I don't see myself as a happy clapper. I don't see myself as Mr Negative. And you absolutely do not need to be Mr Negative to put a huge amount of focus on this problem of ours, given our horrendous scoring record and the number of runs of Gabbi's that don't get picked out. There is an enormous amount of good in this team, but I firmly believe that we have to try and solve this issue over the next five days. And yes trying to solve the issue is something I expect of the club, going back to your question (apologies if I've slightly gone off-piste) about my expectations.
Yes, absolutely but it's too late in this window and i'd hate to see him playing for someone else while we have the money burning a hole.
Saying that though, if we've made enquiries and had a nod for a 20m player, and just need to get the finance in, maybe it's not too late.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/41061307 Mauricio talking about the game. He doesn't look down, so he is more accepting than some fans. Asked about the possibility of Bertrand scoring at the end, he said, 'It is not about what you deserve, it is about efficiency.'
Yes, yes, yes, and yes. Of course I'd love to keep Virgil, but this has been my view all summer. Get it right (and as you say, it's not that simple), and selling Virgil could do a whole lot more good for us than keeping him. However, I do think that option is now too late. The prices we would be quoted at this stage of the window, if clubs know that we have Virgil money burning in our pockets and little time to spend it, would no doubt be horrendous.
