With 7games gone already (5 in the league and 2 in the cup) I think we have had long enough to judge weather or not we have improved as a team and were our strengths and weaknesses are. Each season when we play a team I look at the same fixture from the previous season (obv. if against a promoted team I compare say West Ham and Wolves for example) and my target is for us to equal or better that score not do worse, so far if we go off that rule we have... Taken 1 point off Arsenal away when last season we took 0points = +1 1point off Swansea when last season we also took 1point = 0 We drew Liverpool when last year we took 3points off them at the SoL = -2 Drew at West Ham when for example we lost away at Wolves last season = +1 and finally We beat Wigan which we failed to do last season at the SoL = +3 thats +3 overall Some people might think its daft looking at it that way but thats the way I look at it. As for our strengths and weaknesses I would personally say our biggest weakness is the lack of quality in central midfield, Catts and Colback are good players in there own right but we have no height, power, pace, goals, creativity in there at all! MoN is not a daft man and surely he knows that that area needs strengthening next. We need someone who can get the ball off the defence and set the tempo for the team, get us ticking, dictate the game and get us over the finish line when we are dominating teams or its there for the win and we do not take advantage of it and drop points when this player would give us a miles better chance of getting us over that line. MoN has spoken already about the January window and I have just been looking at the fixtures in Jan and Feb and if we strengthen with 2 or 3 quality signings (the likes of Strinic, Moussa Sissikho and John Guidetti on loan) then we can really have a strong end to the season. Another weakness IMO has to be that when we have gone infront (in all our games so far that a goal has been scored) we have not been ruthless enough and have sat far to deep and in the end bar Wigan on Saturday surrendered the 3points, I don't know if this is because we don't have that player we desperately need in the centre who I have already spoken about or its more to do the lack of pace in the centre of defence and they don't want to be holding a line so high up the pitch or its tactics or what but it needs to stop. I do think a top centre half will be added next summer who will add pace, power and a good few years infront of them as our bunch are getting on. As for positives I would say for a start the form of Mignolet, the lad is going to be a top, top goalkeeper and he has been absolutely fantastic so far this season, a couple of the saves he made on saturday were outstanding and he is just going to get better and better, I hope he is our keeper for the next 5years at least, the only thing that irritates me about his game is his distribution is woeful. Another positive is that so far we are always getting the first goal that is never a bad thing but the main positive is the form of Fletcher. When we were first linked with the lad a month or two before the end of last season I was not a fan but having watched him for the remainder of last season you could tell he would be perfect for us. I have seen people getting on the bandwagon and saying he is better than Super Kev or Benty was for us which is far to premature to say esp in Super Kev's case but we have a top drawer striker on our hands and as we have seen if we create chances for him he will sooner rather than later stick one away. My overall opinion on us is that we about on par at the minute, could of been so much better if we had managed to hold on against West Ham but we are still unbeaten, still in the cup, Sess, McClean and AJ are not at there best at the minute but the thing that worries me hugely is the lack of quality in CM creating for the 4 creative players in front of them. I say get to January still in the mix (8-13) add 3players and we can have our best season since the days of Quinn and Phillips upfront. next 4games well we took 4 from Man City, Newcastle and Stoke last season so I would like us to equal that although not in the same way as last season and a win against Boro in the cup would certainly get the fans excited.
I think its still a bit early to judge how good the team is. Some players are clearly not match fit yet, how? I dont know, plus we have players still to play a game this season due to injury. I'd say by November we will have a better idea of how the team are gelling together.
Unquestionably, personnel wise we are better than last season, having lost nobody of note or worth to the first team, and having added real quality in AJ & Fletcher, and also in Cuellar who before the crock looked a very decent signing to me. Rose looks like a lad with huge potential, he needs to come out of himself a bit more, but already signs, and already he's said he wants to stay (Yorkshire lad, makes sense). We have a few players, namely Seb, Sess & McLean that are yet to hit form, and all are very influential players when they do, and AJ hasn't had a chance to settle yet, but his quality is unquestionable when he does. Results wise, pretty good when you break it down, although retrospectively the Swansea result doesn't look as strong, and we should have taken the game to West Ham for 3 points. The talk is about the system we play, and it's going to keep coming back to that, from me at least. It worked perfectly when MON came in, dropped the unknown McLean into the mix, and until teams started to double mark the lad he was a huge influence on the run that carried us away from danger, the problem is that the wins dried up when this started, and that is still the case now. Gardner, he's won me over with his attitude, and I do feel that we will have more possession when Bardo is back and we can shift him into the centre of midfield, the area where we seem to have a big issue holding the ball. Gardner has lovely tidy feet, isn't phased in tight spaces, and although his passing is fairly limited, he's ok with 40 yard passes, and to feed the wingers that is more than adequate. We all know the lad can smash in a few goals as well. This change may well be he key that unlocks the teams potential, Bardo plays tonight I believe in a 'closed doors' game. The players we have are more suited to high intensity passing football than counter attack, as was evident in 5 minute spells in the 2 home games, however I do feel having a lad in CM that can keep the ball and shift it sideways and into channels will see us improve massively, so my judgement is reserved until Gardner gets a run in the middle. Am I satisfied? Yeah, course, we haven't played anywhere near our best for more than 10 mins a game, and we are 7 unbeaten. 2 massive games now, that will really show where we are in terms of calibre (City) and which lads have the right heart & attitude for the club (Mags).
