I can see us being in the bottom 3 in a month or so. These are the next few fixtures:
SAT 27 SEP Man City H
SAT 4 OCT Crystal Palace H
SAT 18 OCT Arsenal A
SAT 25 OCT Liverpool A
SAT 1 NOV Southampton H
Three out of five against top teams, and we lost both to Palace 0-1 last year. This season we clearly have a problem at the back.I think there is a serious danger we get no points from these 5 games, meaning 8 teams, including Man u and Liverpool need 3 points or less from 5 games to pass us and leave us in the drop zone.
Last season the squad was smaller, therefore naturally much more tightly knitted together, and in a first season in the prem mentality. In addition the vast majority were British. Now we have two more foreign (Hernandez, Ben Arfa) players who I guess will play every game when fit. As others have said there are players who were at least semi regular last season who will scarecly feature unless we get the plague, yet when you look at them individually I doubt they have the guts for a dogfight.
We never know one game to the next what formation we will be playing, perhaps that has put doubt and uncertainty into the players too. Huddlestone was the lynch pin when it went well last year, but seems a shadow of his former self. Livermore much the same. We need to decide which way we are going to play if the players are to form a well oiled unit. I don't pretend to know the answer to this, I'm not sure Dawson is all we hope, or possibly not suited to 3 at the back.
The FA cup run and survival in the league seems to have convinced everyone now that we are, in Prem league terms, a Middle sized club, not a little one, but just looked at our league form, W D L D D and remember our form at the end of last season. We could and should have had W D L W W and been four points better off by now
There are some plus signs, Jelavic is scoring, Hernadez has opened his account. Robertson may well go on to great things (wish he is English!) Our goals for total, 7 is better than 7 other teams and the same as 2 others to date, leaving us 10th= but if we can't close up games we are winning with 15-20 minutes to go against average teams we will end up scrapping for draws.
I could be wrong, it all could drop into place, but I have to mention the elephant in the room. Leaving aside my own opinion the name change thing just has to go away, whichever way, so Bruce and the team can concentrate on our league position, consolidate and finish higher than last year without having to look down the league table in the last quarter of the season.
Please convince me I am worried needlessly !
SAT 27 SEP Man City H
SAT 4 OCT Crystal Palace H
SAT 18 OCT Arsenal A
SAT 25 OCT Liverpool A
SAT 1 NOV Southampton H
Three out of five against top teams, and we lost both to Palace 0-1 last year. This season we clearly have a problem at the back.I think there is a serious danger we get no points from these 5 games, meaning 8 teams, including Man u and Liverpool need 3 points or less from 5 games to pass us and leave us in the drop zone.
Last season the squad was smaller, therefore naturally much more tightly knitted together, and in a first season in the prem mentality. In addition the vast majority were British. Now we have two more foreign (Hernandez, Ben Arfa) players who I guess will play every game when fit. As others have said there are players who were at least semi regular last season who will scarecly feature unless we get the plague, yet when you look at them individually I doubt they have the guts for a dogfight.
We never know one game to the next what formation we will be playing, perhaps that has put doubt and uncertainty into the players too. Huddlestone was the lynch pin when it went well last year, but seems a shadow of his former self. Livermore much the same. We need to decide which way we are going to play if the players are to form a well oiled unit. I don't pretend to know the answer to this, I'm not sure Dawson is all we hope, or possibly not suited to 3 at the back.
The FA cup run and survival in the league seems to have convinced everyone now that we are, in Prem league terms, a Middle sized club, not a little one, but just looked at our league form, W D L D D and remember our form at the end of last season. We could and should have had W D L W W and been four points better off by now
There are some plus signs, Jelavic is scoring, Hernadez has opened his account. Robertson may well go on to great things (wish he is English!) Our goals for total, 7 is better than 7 other teams and the same as 2 others to date, leaving us 10th= but if we can't close up games we are winning with 15-20 minutes to go against average teams we will end up scrapping for draws.
I could be wrong, it all could drop into place, but I have to mention the elephant in the room. Leaving aside my own opinion the name change thing just has to go away, whichever way, so Bruce and the team can concentrate on our league position, consolidate and finish higher than last year without having to look down the league table in the last quarter of the season.
Please convince me I am worried needlessly !
