agree Aussie, 10 would be better, 12 a blessing but the Beanstalk for Stoke is going to be a nightmare i think
To be honest, it's a long season and I was under no illusion it was going to be a really tough one... regardless of what you say there are 4 teams below us and we are only goal difference away from 13th... 6 games in and played 3 teams away which are renowned as top European teams - I'd say we are doing great! I'd be lying if I said I am not nervous too, but reality check - we all knew it was going to be a relegation battle this season, although we still hope we'd be comfortable mid table all the way through.. Lets all keep positive, we are all in this together....
This Vangelis character at 6ft 5" would help a lot at set pieces so long as we can drag him away from his keyboards. The Hungarian guy is also usefully built at just an inch shorter so either player would be an asset. Obviously they have to be able to play a bit as well but both seem to have the sort of pedigree that we are seeking. I wouldn't mind both of them in the team to help counteract Crouch and the other Stoke beasties but what would we do with Ash? Just joking!! As for the points, I would say 6 MINIMUM but, as Musty says, 8 would give us a big injection of confidence and self- belief.
I'd be happy with two wins and a draw. Beating Bolton is a must, would like to say Stoke, but this will be a tough game so a point here will be OK. I do feel we need to get an away win under our belt, Wolves had a great start and I can see getting something there, Norwich much of the same. So 7 points min, 8 would be happy, 9 happy days, 10 over the moon & 12 I'll buy you all a pint!!!
I don't give credit where it isn't due either. We didn't 'all know' that Monk wasn't going to be good enough. I've also watched the replays and at most Monk is at partial at fault for 2 goals. The first, he came up high to put pressure on the player with the ball, as there was no one else there, then didn't get back in line in time to pick up Torres. To counter that, Ash should have picked up Torres when he saw monk going out...And Torres would have been offside if Rangel had been in line with Ash and Taylor (whilst monk was coming back) Then the second goal - I don't think he should ever have been in that position, almost right back, on the half way line. He came right up, didn't get the ball....But there was still 3 players there who could have made some cover and tackles. third goal, went through Ashes legs.... 4th goal Monk wasn't invovled. He was other side of CB from where the goal came from
The last few years he`s been quite ill, although he is better now. I heard somewhere recently that Wolves had 7 points after their first 10 games last season, and they managed to stay up. Blackpool started off like a rocket, and they got relegated. That means nothing, just a bit of meandering. Stoke, I think, are going to be the hardest of the next 4 games, Tony Pulis has got them playing well and getting results, is`nt he from Newport? Having said that, none of them are going to be easy, there`s 32 hard games left!!! I`d be content with 6 points, very happy with 8, unbelievable with 12. We can only do the best that we can and hope that the results will follow. We`ve got to start winning away from home, now that three of the top teams are out of the way.
Yes thats a good point RE Wolves last season, even if we are in touch/doing ok around xmas i still expect the club to shop in the january window for what we need , loan signings or permenant . By then we will know if our front players are up to it or not , what we need is for Borini to have a shocker at Roma and have him back on Loan that would be a nice boost For us to compete we will have to stay clear of injury ,we ve seen how tough it is already with Caulker and Kemy getting injured after 4 games ,if we can hold together and pick up decent results then a boost in January with a couple of players should be enough to help us reach our target of survival. The next 4 games i would love us to pick up 7 pts, a very tall order but these are the type of fixtures that we should be competitive in.
I think if we're using these games as further "litmus tests" for the season, and are going to be using them to assess how we'll do for the rest of the year, then you'd hope for an absolute minimum of 6 points. If we're serious about staying in this league we should beat at least two, if not three of those teams.
12 - highly unlikely 10 - unlikely 9 - plausible 8 - possible 7 - good chance 6 -very good chance 5 - need to change something 4 - poor and don't look good 3 -OMG 2 - roll on January 1 - start praying for January 0 - relegation is the more than likely outcome and the bookies were right... Come on you swans....
Dai- i think Brenden has that same table pinned up on his office wall !! A very accurate assesment i think .
Spot on Dai, anything below 5 and it`s please log in to view this image If we get 12 then it`s please log in to view this image
I stated before the Chelsea game on a few threads, that to play Monk, would be a big mistake, since he is not fit, and hadn't had any games for the reserves even, and it seemed to me the obvious choice, should have been Jazz Richards, at least he has pace, and can do a job at the back and has age on his side, I also stated that if Rodgers went with Monk, then in my view it would be bad judgement by him, but then to pull Britton off at half time for Routlidge, was another bad call, then taking Dyer off, was the final straw of a day of Managerial blunders. Whether our signings are poor, will become clear very soon in my view, and by the end of October, the picture will be pretty clear, but one thing is for sure, the 'Striker' issue is back to haunt us with a vengeance since Borini has gone!......................... please log in to view this image PS: Regarding Stoke, I think we will be lucky to get a draw, and the only other outcome I could see would be a Stoke win, but let's hope that Rodgers gets the boys to bounce back, and he doesn't have any silly moments again with substitutions on Saturday!............. please log in to view this image
