One noticeable thing I've seen (and/or nicked from r/coys) is the disparity in first half and second half results At this point of last season we were 9th for first halves but 4th for second halves, which does have the unfortunate resemblance to Emery at Arsenal yet does show we could kick it up a notch when required At this point of this season, however, we're far more consistent - and not in a good way, as we're 8th for first halves and 7th for second halves, and the disparity in points compared to last season is hard to ignore
I read that table differently. To me, it does serve to highlight how bloody difficult it is to win a trophy, something PS regularly points out. Looking at the teams above us, I wouldn't want to swap places with Pompey or Swansea in a million years. West Ham won a trophy which you only enter if you fail to qualify for two bigger trophies, which is a peculiar but ultimately accurate way to look at it. Do I begrudge them their ECL win? Yes, but at the end of the day I wouldn't want us qualifying for the competition in the first place so it's a moot point. Would I swap with Leicester and take a PL and FAC for what looks like years of yo-yoing between the PL and Championship? I'd have to say no but that is a tough one and I'd respect fans who disagreed. Newcastle aside, the remainder of the teams have won exponentially more trophies than us generally and, apart from Chelsea and City, were winning trophies regularly long before Levy took over. I guess for me, a trophy would be fantastic but for example I don't reflect back on the Poch years as a 'failure' because they were trophyless. All I want to see from my side is good football through a style of play that reflects the club's traditions, showcasing the odd world class talent and winning significantly more games than we lose. Unfortunately we are a million miles away from this at the moment, and I don't think winning the EL will fix it one iota.
The aim has to be that every action or inaction is about being better. Not 'new manager bounce' better, but closer to the aim of competing AND winning trophies. There are too many football decisions taken for non-football reasons. Too much emphasis on saving money and buying and employing players and staff because they're relatively cheap. Too much focus on non-football matters. Would any other club employ Scott Munn as Director of Football. He's an administrator, just like Levy, with even less footballing experience. Make smart decisions, employ the right people and genuinely commit to the excellence applied to projects like the training facilities and stadium...and the trophies will come. The speed and ease with which smaller, poorer clubs are overtaking us points to how badly run we have become.
Just a point of clarification, I believe this is correct. Munn’s role seems to be mainly administrative and spans the men’s, women’s and youth teams. Lange is DoF.
