I am pretty sure it is in the top six and based on previous performance @Dier Hard is right about being third best. But how much is due to the players and how much to Poch?
Well judging by the fees levy wants for his players and the valuations placed on them in cies as well as their standings in the national teams, then it would suggest the players are indeed 3rd best in the league
All we know is that we are in the top six for the squad. Injuries are essentially a random element which will sometimes hurt us and sometimes not. My theme is that I am less certain of anything than you are.
How can you categorically say you are in the top 6 for squad but be unsure whether its in the top 4 or the 3rd best squad?
Because the evidence says we are the third best but the data has uncertainties which means it could be two or three out either way.
A lot has been down to Poch. No one is discrediting what he’s done in the past but it’s about where we’re heading - and at present it isn’t looking good with little sign to suggest it’s set to change. It’s the same as when Jol was here. He got us back to back 5th place finishes but then seemed to lose his mojo and was sacked (right to sack, wrong how we done it). No one can take anything away from Jol/ Poch but ultimately managers tend to reach a stage where it becomes stale at a club, they run out of ideas and even perhaps the players no longer believe in them. I think this is happening with Poch.
It's what set SAF apart. The ability to keep rebuilding and recreating great teams. Anticipating when to buy/sell players or bring young players in. He was helped, of course, by having funds available and a supportive board who backed his judgement. Poch hasn't perhaps been backed by Levy as much as he should have been. But he does seem to be struggling to work out how to move on from his gripes about the lack of transfer activity when he wanted it.
I disagree with the constant selections of Eriksen, Rose and Aurier. I also disagree with Pochettino saying he was thinkkng of leaving before the CL final. I disagree with some of his substitutions (often waits too late and the introduction of Sessegnon on Sunday bordered on bizarre). I disagree with not starting Davies, Sessegnon and Lo Celso for not being match fit...imho onr or two could start and be subbed off when they run out of steam as they would gain match fitness quicker. However, we expect loyalty from him and our players and imo we owe some the other way...even if the football is poor. Imo I think Pochettino will get to grips with this and take us forward again... unfortunately it may take until after xmas for things to properly turn around
Which begs the question why Wanyama didn't want to take a pay cut to join the team that finished second in their league last season True, it was the Belgian league, but still...
Ah! Those where the days! When United could steal any player they wanted, and buy their way to glory! Halcyon days for you, Little Luke. Fergie wouldn’t get very far in today’s game. I think the old ****er worked that one out just before he retired, mate.
Some of our fans are entrenched in mediocrity. It’s a sad state of affairs. I mean all the whataboutery does not change what we see and have been seeing for the last year. Some of the riddles I’m reading in order to explain away what we see every week is what I imagine a DMT trip to feel like.
As I've said before we've been mediocre for 50 years with no ambition to get beyond the occasional UEFA cup place. We've finally got a chairman who is trying to build us into a top club and he gets nothing but grief.
Now you have expanded the time frame even more to give things an even shinier look You’re good at this PS
Levy gets a lot of praise and he's got a lot of things right. The stadium, training facilities and our general progress under his time as chairman are all big positives. There's room for criticism in there, though. He's made some mistakes and they should be pointed out, so they're not repeated.
Everyone makes mistakes. And they are good for learning. I think Levy and Poch have both made fewer than anyone else in their roles. I have no difficulty with people pointing out mistakes. It's those who claim we lack ambition or that Poch should go that I argue with.
Lo Celso and NDombele looked good last night (admittedly against a poor team on the night). This conversation could change very quickly if they can keep fit and provide a turn around in our fortunes. Not sure whether the good form of Chelsea (very young) and Leicester (very Brenda) will last beyond Xmas.
In terms of Chelsea, there's one thing I'm wondering: if they get their transfer ban overturned, which they're expecting to happen, will they sack off some of the players that have had a good start to the season in favour of the latest mercenaries? If so, that could have a ripple effect that derails their season
Their form is moot. In order to get back in the top 4 race, Pochettino is going to have to get a run together equivalent to the W10 sequence that Arry did in 2011-12. Starting now.