The stats that count.. !!!!! Team P W D L F A W D L F A GD PTS 1 Arsenal 6 2 0 1 5 4 3 0 0 8 3 6 15 2 Liverpool 6 2 0 1 2 1 2 1 0 6 3 4 13 3 Tottenham 6 2 1 0 4 1 2 0 1 2 1 4 13 4 Everton 6 2 1 0 4 2 1 2 0 5 4 3 12 5 Chelsea 6 3 0 0 6 1 0 2 1 1 2 4 11 6 Soto. 6 1 2 0 3 1 2 0 1 2 1 3 11 7 Man City 6 3 0 0 10 1 0 1 2 4 6 7 10 8 Hull City 6 2 1 0 3 1 1 0 2 3 6 -1 10 9 Aston Villa 6 1 0 2 4 5 2 0 1 5 3 1 9 10 West Br 6 1 0 2 3 3 1 2 0 3 2 1 8 11 Cardiff 6 1 1 1 3 3 1 1 1 3 4 -1 8 12 Man Utd 6 1 1 1 3 2 1 0 2 5 6 0 7 13 Swansea 6 0 1 2 4 8 2 0 1 4 1 -1 7 14 Norwich 6 1 1 1 3 3 1 0 2 1 3 -2 7 15 Stoke 6 1 1 1 2 2 1 0 2 2 4 -2 7 16 Newcastle 6 1 1 1 3 3 1 0 2 4 8 -4 7 17 West Ham 6 1 0 2 4 4 0 2 1 0 1 -1 5 18 Fulham 6 0 1 2 3 6 1 0 2 1 3 -5 4 19 C.Palace 6 1 0 2 3 4 0 0 3 1 6 -6 3 20 SAFC. 6 0 0 3 2 7 0 1 2 2 7 -10 1
Jozy Altidore is one of the problems - unfortunately. I rate him as a footballer but as an out and out striker he will not score 10 goals a season - he simpoly isn't the type of player to do that. Good link up man, good at winning the ball and holding it up, but not great when it comes to finishing from what I've seen of him. (PLEASE prove me wrong Jozy)
Though he is struggling at the moment with goals, I have a hard time seeing how he cant get 10 goals a season when he look at his record in Holland and in international games. I wouldnt demand 20 goals a season form him but 10 goals is reasonable.
I take heart from it, shows are performances are good we just need to team to click. some good refereeing would be nice as well mind you - how much better would the mood be now if we had got a point for arsenal and liverpool?
Only thing I take heart from mate is points on the board and wins. The refs cost us against Arsenal yes but not against Liverpool, our own players didn't even appeal for the handball and the ref just didn't see it. As for JOS I could stand around all game pointing and shouting which if you watch him is all he does. Still reckon if we are playing well then we should be getting points from games, mind you the Fulham game blew that out the water.
Exactly this, If brown had actually have been fit I think we would have more points. O'Shea is looking awful again but he seems to go through runs like that. If we could only get a lead.
I hope you're right Dan - I like the lad as a footballer and he has some lovely touches and vision - I just haven't seen a "goalscorer" in him from my 32 years watching football. He may get a feww but I will be surprised if he gets 10 on what I've seen so far. Records in Holland are nothing to write home about really - it's another 2 or 3 team league where players don;t often make it here when they've played over there - I know, the goal is the same size and all that but his quality seems to be around the fringe of the area rather than in it - just an opinion like.
Funny how players can be considered good one week, then bad the next. JOS hasnt been brilliant so far this season (being partnered with another slow CD doesnt help him) but last season we were singing his praises. not singling you out for that comment mind, just pointing out a general observation. seems its easy for a player to lose a good rep after a few games, but its damn hard to lose a bad one even if they play well. Points on board is what we need, but as I said we are not far off getting those points imo. A bit of luck and a DM making our spine a bit stronger will pull us out of the rut. mind you, i always try to stay positive, go mental if i didnt
We've been lacking that bit of luck - it would've been interesting to see what would've happened against Arsenal if the Ref had got either the advantage or the red card decision correct. Same with Liverpool if Sturridge's goal hadn't been allowed or if we'd got a penalty and a red card for the foul on Giaccherini a minute before they scored - Luck is one thing but having to rely on referee's simply doing their job is another - saying "no-one saw the handball from the crowd" (which a lot of the press are saying) is another thing - the referee's and Linesmen get paid to watch for these types of things. As for the DM - I think Cattermole will come in and make that his own now - he will also captain the side (maybe without the armband but he is certainly the captain on the pitch from what I saw on Sunday) - As I said - I like Jozy - I think he has shown some real quality touches and vision just in front of goal he only seems capable of hitting the target from more than 20 yards!! A long way to go still but this weekend is a "freebie" - No-one expects to win so there's a lot less pressure on the players - as long as we don't "lose without putting up a fight" most will be happy. I'm eternally optimistic and I know we're only a short shrift away from getting that elusive win on the board but I hope it's not too late by the time it actually happens
Thing is mate I've never rated JOS from day one he has had a few decent games but we need better from the so called experienced pros at the club. Had a chat with another lad about him last year and with or without him we gained the same number of points (it's probably worse with now mind). Defence is where we have struggled for the last 3 seasons mate, yes you can point to the clean sheets but we were still **** as a team barring the odd good result. Big job for the new man when he eventually gets here that is.
The pattern I'm seeing is that JoS plays his best football during a managers honeymoon period. I think he's capable of much more than we usually get, but it seems that when he's decided to not play for a manager then his mind is made up and he's back to playing like a League One defender.
