Well, a very successful failure for me. Set my alarm for 1.30, woke up at 3.15. Forgot to turn the alarm on after setting the time. At least I was greeted with the good news of impending victory, but I had missed the pleasure of watching the match. OTBC.
I'm here in the UK but I still remember tuning in to the first Stoke game to discover it was half time and I had missed our two goals. My sympathies to you guys who have to get up at odd times to see the games.
If you're looking for a tw@t of the decade award, I used to try and get to away games on boxing day. I had a ticket for Charlton at the Valley (parents lived in Essex so trains dead easy) got ready to leave ready for a 3 p.m. kick off...only to find it was a lunchtime start and half time was already imminent!!
Great result and a resolute defence. But now that we seem to be more and more confident about the outcome of the season, my concerns for next year grow. We are defending well, we have some good pacey players and some.good creative midfielders. But (i know i know) we aren't taking chances up front. I think we need to put serious thought into buying a striker who is able to put away the opportunities more efficiently , as pukki cant be the one we rely on to do that. And that means probably spending some money (20m plus money tbh)
I'm not so worried about Teemu, happy to have him as first choice next season with an appropriate successor in the building. It's the attacking midfield which worries me. Emi and Pukki have 20 goal involvements each this season (Goals and assists), Vrancic is next on 8, with Cantwell (6), McLean (5), Hugill (4) really the only other contributors. Shut Emi down and there's not a lot to worry about. In comparison Brentford have Toney with a mammoth 34 goal involvements, but also have 3 more players in double figures and another 3 with better numbers than Todd.
Oh i think pukki is still up to it, but he needs a sparring partner, as currently hes carrying way to much of the team. Particular disappointments for me (in a season of excellent games and happiness i should add) have been placheta and onel. What use is the pace when the product at the end is so poor? I know - grumbling about being 10 clear. But chances in the prem are at a premium. We need to make sure our team on the day can be relied on to take them.
It could well be 3-1 again, but remember we're at home this time. I think Onel is still trying to get his rhythm back after injury. He does pick up injuries though and that could be a worry. Todd has played well this season without a large output in goals and assists. Strangely, I wonder whether he is better suited to the PL, where he gets more space and time to develop a rhythm. Placheta seems to have everything but the finish that would make him a great player. He's young yet and still adjusting to football here, so let's allow a bit more time. We've also got Sinani out on loan and he does seem to be able to score and assist for both club and country.
I'm relaxed. Provided we get promoted I am not convinced Buendia will leave this summer, as I think the sort of clubs he should go to (Arsenal and above) will struggle to justify what we want them to pay and he is likely to be happy simply playing in the Premier League. I think he will leave in Jan 2022 if that is the case, hopefully having had a blistering half season! And if he does go this summer we will still have a big bucket of cash to spend on a new AM, as well as the potential development of other players like Josh Martin and possibly even Kieran Dowell - or we may switch slightly to a wider winger than Buendia. He will be missed... Can't see Max with us much longer though, sadly - again we should get a big bucket of cash though.
Just look at that pass from Buendia just before half time. The vision, the execution. He is simply head and shoulders above anyone else in this league.