Hereâs why I think weâll be ok, based on my analysis of the major issues weâve had over the summer (that I can recall and in no particular order): Sess leaves There is no doubting his talent, but heâs the kind of guy that needs an attack built around him so that he can dribble to his heartâs content. We did that for the last couple of seasons and the results were mediocre on all fronts (not all his fault, but still). Heâs not a very good striker or passer and heâs not very good at linking the midfield to the attack (but boy could he hold the ball up well for his size and dribble â but often to nowhere productive). That heâs been our best player over the last 2 years says more about how poor weâve been rather than how exceptional he is. I can live with him moving on as I think we have better balance in our attack now with Altidore, Fletch, Giaccherini, AJ and Ki. Oh yeah, and drink driving is bad. We all know and agree that it needlessly risks lives and there is no excuse for it. If he got caught three times while he was with us, then it was right to get rid for that reason alone. What would the reaction be if he had killed someone while drink driving? In my view, if something liek that happened, then it would be something that the rest of the team would not be able to shut out on the pitch. If you have a known drink driver as a first team regular, itâs a time bomb waiting to tick and an unacceptable organisational risk. Mig leaves Heâs a very good keeper. I wouldnât go so far as to say the best in the EPL though (but close). For 9 million and given the fact that he justified a bigger club, there was no choice but to let him leave. As far as Iâm concerned, Westwood is at least 90% as good as Mig which is more than good enough for us. Giaccherini arrives This guy is loaded with class. Itâs an insult to compare him to McLean or any other winger not named Johnson we had playing last season. Despite his diminutiveness, I reckon he would also hold his own in CM if he played in the right company (Cattermole or Cabral perhaps). A full Italian international and a steal at 7 million or thereabouts. Altidore arrives His strength and link up play are very good indeed. Iâm a little worried about his finishing ability â but all his Dutch and international goals over the last 2 years indicate that he should put away a lot more than Sess did while offering more in other areas (except of course, dribbling). Our CM and the Cabral and Cattermole situations Iâm just as confused as everyone else is about Cabral. Heâs looked nothing but decent and should be getting an extended run in the first team. I can only assume that heâs still being integrated into the squad and will get more time in the coming weeks. Cattermole is also a bit of a mystery and weâll have to wait and see. Iâm also confused as to why Seb, Vaughan and Gardner (all relegation team pickups for us, hmmmmm, letâs ponder that...) keep getting starts in our CM when itâs painfully clear that they do not cut the mustard there. Seb tries and has improved marginally of late, but heâs no more than a backup RW, Gardner is no more than a backup RB and Vaughan should be no more than backup garden gnome in my yard. All that said, we still have some potential here as we now have Ki, Cabral and hopefully, one day soon, Cattermole available. The tools are there and all PDC has to do is use them, which Iâm sure heâll do â in my view, someone like PDC will never sit on his hands for long and watch Seb, Vaughan and Gardner screw everything up like they have to date. The Johnson situation Itâs time to accept that heâll never match our expectations (or should I say hopes). Yes, even he has admitted that heâs not performed up to scratch and I think we can all agree on that â but heâs been far from a disaster. I think we also have to remember that wingers not named Giggs or Messi (in his earlier days) donât really dominate games, particularly those who have to play in the same midfield with Seb and Vaughan. So I think some of our expectations on Johnson have been a bit unrealistic. I wish all of our underperforming midfielders chipped in as many goals as he did last season. As for this season, Iâve liked his attitude and I think heâs making some steady progress now that heâs in a system that lets him see more of the ball (kind of important for wingers to be effective). Iâm not giving up on him and reckon his best years are still to come. Those years should be with us. Our performances to date The points tally doesnât lie, weâve done poorly. BUT: I really liked how we bossed things at home against Fulham (just remember how many teams came to SOL last season and bossed us). Weâve had 2 away games and one home EPL game. Despite getting bossed a bit at Soton, we were far from shameful and minutes away from the away win. We should have gone on to beat Palace after the equaliser, but it just wasnât to be. Losing away games isnât the end of the world in a 38 game season. The cup game showed how potent our attack can be when we get things right (and how poor we can be if we donât get our CM sorted). PDC Heâs not been afraid to say the things that had to be said about our club and players. And I have to say I agree with almost all of what he's said. Weâve been managed in an amateur way for far too long and itâs shown in our results â 6 seasons in the EPL and we still canât say weâre a fixture. Like many others, I think he says a bit too much to the media, but if we do go down at least weâll go down swinging and be better built for the future. Whether PDC can take some of the credit for it or not, Iâm very pleased about the extra investment in youth â seeing Mavrias in the build up to our goal against Palace was pleasing. The fact is weâre a chance at going down (like all the teams around us). That said, we can either go down broke and/or rudderless, like Leeds, Blackburn or Portsmouth, or we can go down built for a decent shot at coming back up and a better chance at sustained future success. Iâm confident weâve chosen the latter. Still, Iâm not afraid of relegation. Iâm confident that we have more than enough quality to comfortably stay up and that weâre far better built for the future regardless. The next 5 or so weeks will be tough, but they will not break our season (just think of how poorly Everton and Arsenal have started some seasons relative to their expectations).
good post, on the money and couldn't agree more. would like to add borrini to that forward line as I think he could be a very useful player for us and feel mavrias will come on leaps and bounds as the season progresses as will ba who I feel will break through at some point !!! p.s feel diakate will be there abouts when player of the year comes around looks a beast of a player and remember he has hardly's played in the last year
Again agree with most of that. Our defence is shaky to say the least and error prone which in my opinion anyway cost us in all 3 PL games so far. Not even attempting to get the ball when Fulham scored and, giving away needless set pieces against Southampton around the box, then there was JOS rush of blood against Palace which was again needless. Apart from that we should be fine this season not top ten fine but maybe 15-12 fine.
Agree mate, nice one. It's worth noting we're packed with internationals and we're in a world cup year. We've got hungry players desperate to impress Paolo and their own international coaches.
Nice one. Once the Sess 'disappointment' dies down, and we gel more as a team i hope many others start getting a bit more positive about their team too.
Thanks for the kind feedback guys. I certainly don't want people to think I come across as a happy clapper - I genuinely believe we have some substance to be positive about. Talc - I agree our defence has been a bit shaky, but on paper it's better than last season and, if we want more of the same, we still have cuellar as backup.
Just when I thought you were being positive you go and mention Cuellar. To be fair mate I was chuffed when we got him but, we got him about 2/3 years too late never mind.
If they get on the bluddy pitch! I`m getting really bugged about him still picking half the old crew.
Good post, the bit about Sess being on his third drink drive charge,I hadn't heard that before so if that is correct then when he gets his day in court and is convicted he should be sent to the big house for at least six months, do you think if the drink drive thing is true (about 3rd time)this may have been the reason the club got rid....just a thought.
Who's not getting game time though? Apart from the obvious Cabral. The two new center backs we're always gonna rotate while JoS is available. He's club captain and the best reader of the game we have(what went on with the sending off god only knows). Our new rb has had plenty of game time. Altodore has too. So has Giacc. Ba and Watmore are development squad. The two new young wingers have been signed for development back up to the first team and by reports one isn't fully fit. They're not going to start ahead of Giacc and AJ anyway. Manone is a back up keeper who is not a patch on Westie. Apart from, the new lads who haven't had a game to play yet. That's all the signings.
Great post, time to support the team and have some faith. Lets go for it. Anything above 4th from bottom will be an improvement on last year. I have a feeling were going to finish near the bottom again because of the fixture list, but that we will do well in one of the cups. Some of the old guard are decent players, Colback and Gardner are both decent squad players and in Gardner we have someone who will always put a pen away and will always score or test the keeper from free kicks. Brown will be back soon and that will be like a new signing. I still also think we have not seen the best of Fletcher he had f all service last season, if he gets a bit more this season he will score 20 goals.
