So, ten games in and pretty much a quarter of the season done makes it time for my usual drivel. Nobody expected the club to do this well, especially with so many new faces yet most of them have already made themselves favourites and play as if they were already a squad. RLB, we wondered if he could do the job ok but he has shown he has the tactical nous to keep this club in the premier with his constant 'subtle changes' mid game and now we also see his use of subs, mainly because he has the choice of a good squad now that he trusts. Anyway, still plenty of games to go yet and I am pleased to see that our supporters are not leaping around social media claiming that we are going to finish top/cl place/above (insert club name here)...we are simply enjoying the ride right now and waiting for that 40 points mark. Roefs, Nordi and Omar have joined Big Dan in making the defense pretty sound, Granit and Noah are the 'engine room we wanted' Wilson has shown he can still hit the net...people tend to miss Hume and Reinaldo but the roles they have are very important to RLB's style but even when a player has to miss a few games there is another to step in and there are others improving and getting used to the squad Talbi and Adingra for instance. It really is strange to think that this club (despite all those claiming different) had the sense to do business slowly, no big spends to try and get promoted too early and actually getting decent money from sales to make sure they could get what was needed and leave enough in the pot if they need to change things in January...and there are still players to come in and prove themselves, Le Fee had to work his way into the weekly squad, Traore and Brobbey are showing they can do the job, I certainly do not think we will be fighting relegation but, to me, the interesting part is seeing how far we can go. As ever, feel free to add your own thoughts and yes, I know I have missed some players out but as far as I am concerned there is not a single player that I would not want to see in the team.
It's been unreal. Totally unexpected and hope it continues. We've signed well and the players have fit right in from the off.
Fever dream, one massive collective fever dream. would like to start games a bit more postively and make changes quicker ( take last night, make those changes early, whilst we were on top and everton were on the ropes, could have walked away with a win) but so far so good
I never thought we would have a positive goal difference after 10 games nevermind the points we have accrued. The ability to change things mid-game is also a form of witch craft not seen in these parts for many a year.
Absolutely outstanding way ahead of anyone's expectations. A group of very talented players all working hard for each other, the fans, the club, the management. Playing some cracking football to boot.
I didn’t think we had much chance with the players that got us promoted and I didn’t think we had much more of a chance when we had 14 new players to fit in. so what’s happened is nothing short of a miracle.
Good summary Sam, as usual. The great thing is that the players and team will only get better, not worse. We have so little PL experience it’s incredible we've done this well so far. Players like Hume, Ballard, etc don’t even have any European experience so their progress is remarkable. Once we have Diarra, Mundle, Cirkin to add in there’ll be real competition for places. Players like Traoré and Brobbey will show their class and get up to speed in my opinion, just imagine if the second half of the season is better than the first.
Still worry a bit about AFCON but Reg has got us a decent amount of breathing space, it's difficult to see the bottom 3 catching us as long as we pick up points like we did last night...would have been even better if Le Fee had sent Pickford the wrong way from the spot kick we never got.
I just said in the match thread, every game we are learning. Yesterday the players were hyped up balls of energy, which led to a frantic start from them and mistakes. RKB from the touchline and Xhaka squashed it eventually (and mentioned it in the post game comment) The way the players have learnt every game (and rlb as well) is nothing short of amazing. Next 5 games will really provide a benchmark, but it's fantastic what we've achieved so far
Buzzing. Match days have been so much better, PL is better than the Championship in every department.
I’m loving every minute of it. Just hope that we can maintain the current momentum but from what I’ve seen so far I’m sure that we can. Roll on Saturday
Far exceeded my expectations. Just the way they move and pass the ball around looks like they’ve been playing together for years. Everything about the club seems light years ahead of where I thought we would be.
I was told last night by someone who has contacts within the club that we don't have to worry about AFCON, there won't be as many players going as we expect
