That's a fair assessment, RW&B. For me, the major difference has been our defence and our fitness levels. Poch has to take credit for both of those things, because they've each improved under him. The one thing that continues to concern me, however, is that we still don't seem to be able to counteract teams coming out strong at the start of the second half and really taking the game to us. The really decent sides seem to be able to counter this by keeping possession long enough at the start of the second half, and to always retain control of the game's tempo. We, on the other hand, still have a predilection to go into "headless chicken" mode for the first 10-15 minutes, and more often than not, we've conceded at around that time.
Rather than headless chickens I see Spurs as proud cocks having produced a couple of eggs, start strutting their stuff. It as at this point that I realise my analogy is falling apart as cocks don't produce eggs. But our cock is strutting like it has not strutted for a long time, cock a ****ing doodle do
You're playing well, have a decent squad but your main advantage has been being able to field a settled team as you've had very few injuries.
That's not quite true, Ern. We've had injuries to key players at key points in the season. Our strength is the fact that certain of our players, especially some of our youngsters, have stepped up to the mark when they've been asked to. It has caught all of us by surprise!
We've had a lot of injuries in midfield, actually. Mason and Bentaleb have missed the majority of the season, Chadli's missed a big chunk whilst Eriksen and Dembele have both missed 5 or 6 games too, Son missed about 6 weeks and N'Jie is out for 4 months. It's not noticeable because our "decent" squad is coping better than anyother.
I think it also boils down to a ruthlessness that the top, top teams have and the also-rans lack. I know we go on about Fergie time and pressurising officials but the reality is that so many games were won by sheer willpower and refusal to accept defeat. That's what I'm starting to like about this team. The defeats to Newcastle and Leicester - the former in particular - visibly upset the players. There were no shrugging shoulders or cliches to the media, there was genuine anger and hurt that we'd been so stupid as to have lost. That is the first stage towards becoming cold hearted killers. The second stage is as HIAG says: to recognise that very few teams out there can get the ball off is when we don't want them to, so why give them the luxury of doing so every week at the beginning of the second half? Ultimately, this ruthlessness defines your season. Leicester are ruthless. It's in their DNA. They go into every game knowing that they'll see less of the ball and will only create a handful of chances and that they'd better take those chances or that's that. If we'd shown the same against Stoke, Everton, Leicester themselves (twice) and quite a few more, we'd be comfortably top of the league.
This study, published a few weeks ago on the Beeb, tends to disprove that assumption: Since then, Jan has picked up a pretty bad injury which probably pushes us into the bottom 5. As NKNG has said, the real secret to our success has been the incredible way in which 'fringe' elements of our squad have stepped up to the plate. If anything, Leicester's success is far more down to lack of injuries than our own. Two serious injuries to Vardy and Mahrez and they're a different team.
Exactly. The opposite of the 'soft underbelly' tag that has been attached to us, rightly so. I read Roy Keane's biography, in it he said, when it came to playing Spurs, Fergie would just say something along the lines of 'it's only Spurs, lads'.
We've actually had loads mate, Mason and Bentaleb have missed most of the season so far. Chadli's missed about 50% of games, Dembele missed a handful, Son missed about 10, N'Jie's been out and won't be back until March time and to cap it all off now Vertonghen's set to miss the next 2 months.
"The opposite of the 'soft underbelly' tag that has been attached to us, rightly so." Also a notable change in the on-pitch behaviour. I have noticed that several players are fronting up now when opposition tackles in their mind have gone beyond the call of duty (Alli always, Kane often) . Harks back IMHO to the 'your card is now marked' days of one Dave Mackay.
I've always said that the most successful teams in the history of football have had an enforcer, and that even average teams can survive a good run in the EPL provided they have enough muscle. Think Wimbledon in the days of the Crazy Gang, and Stoke in today's game.
That's partly because Mousers love to bet on their beloved Liverpool. They always end up wasting their, or more likely somebody else's money, every season.
The sentimentality of the average Mouser is what I hate most about their persona. The media, being comprised mostly of camp creative, latch on to it and lap it up, but for the average person it's nauseating. There's a time to cry, sure, I get that; but your average Mouser takes it far too far.
I think Guardiola's got his work cut out for him. He has a solid base with Hart, Kompany, Silva, De Bruyne and Aguero and a couple of youngsters in Sterling and Iheanacho, but the rest of the squad is aging badly, or a complete waste of money (Otamendi and Mangala spring to mind). Not to forget that Kompany, Aguero and even Silva seem to spend a lot of time out injured too. No doubt Pep has money to work with, but I'm not convinced he's going to have a squad ready next season that compares to the one he had at Barca, or inhereted at Bayern either.
Kompany seems to be permanently injured, so that could be a further problem. Sterling is good on his day, but not good enough to carry an ordinary side. Their defense is old, slow, and badly needs an overhaul.
Kompany seems to be permanently injured, so that could be a further problem. Sterling is good on his day, but not good enough to carry an ordinary side. Their defense is old, slow, and badly needs an overhaul. I posted this on the Prem boards, but why would any of them want to come back and play in the EPL? They all earn tens of millions ( or more), play for clubs that are in the the top 3-4 in the world, and have great lifestyles in two of Spain's greatest cities. Why would you want to change all that for freezing your nuts off whilst getting kicked into row Z by the likes of Cattermole?
They'd come back for only these two reasons:- (a) even more money; and (b) to be with Pep Messi, in particular (we are told) is especially fond of Pep. If the bloke has the Messianic touch, in terms of getting in the super stars, £ity fans are going to be in Wonderland for next few seasons, and United's plastic fan-base is going to take a right old humping.
I don't think that they'll go in for any of the big stars at Real, Barca or Bayern. They'll look to pick off the next level ones and elevate them, selling them on Guardiola's management. Players like Sterling and De Bruyne seem well suited to it and they'll bring in similar ones to sort the squad out. Who'll be on the way out? Tons of them, I think. Most of the defence, the inconsistent Toure, unsuited Bony and unlikable Nasri. Experience can be essential, but I think that anyone older will have to be an essential starter. There was a rumour yesterday about Pogba joining them and I think that's the sort of statement that they'll make. A couple like that and a few of the next big thing signings, like Ricardo Rodriguez, John Stones, Ross Barkley and the like.
