The thing with Chelsea is that they have got a ridiculous amount of talent in their squad, so they can rotate when they get injuries, fatigue etc. Although they did look really flat without Hazard and Mata against QPR, they have got a wealth of attacking midfielders. I think they have been a top quality striker away from challenging for the title. It will be interesting to see how Ba gets on. I'm hoping, like you that Rafa makes a complete balls up of it and allows one of us to take advantage of their ineptitude. By us, I mean Arsenal of course
im not saying its a cert..im saying i hope...and we are not far from it as things stand so i think there is nothing wrong with optimisim. However it is up for grabs for us ,yourselves ,Everton and definately chelsea.
Do Chelsea have a playmaker without Mata though, Piskie? Not sure they've got anyone to pull the strings in there for them if he's not playing. They can probably do without him against some opposition, but it's not surprising that they were more than a little flat against QPR. Also, Turnbull...
To be honest I didnt expect us to be where we are now. Though I do think this may be down to Arsenal, Newcastle, Liverpool and Chelsea playing poorly than what I expected they would be pre season. Now we have reached the half way point I can see what AVB is trying to do and im happy with the way its going. I can now also see that if Chelsea gave him more time and less pressure then he would of done well there too.
They did look really flat against QPR without him. They should do better really, they have Oscar, Hazard, Lampard, Marin and Ramires.
I hope to god we finish in the top 4 but it will be very tough. IMO, it will be a few points that will seperate 3rd from 6th come the end of the season, possibly coming down to the last game. For me Chelsea are massive favourites to finish 3rd with the amount of money spent in the summer, the potential to spend vastly should they wish in this window, surely makes them almost a shoe-in... or it should do. Rafa is no mug, he just looks like one. Arsenal are very similar to us, they can play anyone off the park one week and be poor the next. If either one of us can be a little more consistant that should be enough to get 4th. AVB has stated that we will not be doing much business in the TW and I dont expect anyone to come in that will be playing first team football this season. I also dont think Arsenal will do much either as inflated prices normally scare AW off pretty quick. I would absolutely love a trophy and 3rd I would be very happy with 4th and a decent cup run. 5th/6th disappointing but wouldnt blame AVB, below that and that is a disaster.
This. Given all the changes over the summer and the unbalanced squad, top four (and a CL place, this time!) would be a real achievement. 3rd and/or a cup would be great, for sure, but it's too much to *expect*
We have certainly improved as the season has progressed. However, we simply must continue in the current vein of conceding less. We still look highly vulnerable defensively, at times. My main wish would be for that creative midfielder that we seem to need more and more, especially at home. There are few better teams around at the fast break type of attack where we have Bale, Lennon, Dembele, Walker, Ade, etc. all of whom have pace and strength. It's when faced with massed defences, like Stoke's that we seem unable to come up with a creative solution to unlock them. IMO, we need that player who sees the incisive passes that are necessary to achieve that. Given that player, and a bit of luck on the injury front, I believe we can make the top 4
When we took on AVB I think we were all aware that this would be a season of transition and change, not just because of the obvious contrast between AVB and Harry but also because we ended up losing Modric and VdV, obviously two hugely influential players for us. At the close of the Summer transfer window I was expecting to see a slow start to the season due to a new manager and new players etc. but I really hoped that once everything settled down so would our results, and by and large this has proved to be true. Lets not forget that relatively early in his career with us AVB gave us an away victory at Old Trafford, so the early signs that we would be capable of success were there for me. Of course not everything has gone to plan, partly due to injuries to key personnel in the squad, partly perhaps due to AVB not getting in certain players that would help us to play effectively 'his way', and also partly it has to be said due to poor tactical decisions from a man still learning his trade in the hostile environment of the Prem. But now I think we really are getting somewhere. When the circumstances demanded it he changed his system of play, and although I think we may see us revert to our original 4-2-3-1 if we get in an Eriksen, Moutinho or Holtby the important thing is that AVB has shown that he is willing to change his ways if the circumstances demand it. I said on this board the other day that I think we will be seeing more defensive substitutions and hence perhaps less thrashings for or against us, but perhaps more chances of wins and we will have to wait and see if this changes (if indeed we feel it should.....but thats probably another debate). Overall I think as others have said that the two Manchester clubs have first and second pretty much wrapped up barring disaster, so the fight for 3rd to 6th is on. There is maybe at least 4 teams who will be looking to fill 2 CL places and although the competition will be doubtless fierce I see no reason why we shouldn't succeed. I lost count of the amount of critics predicting us to flop this year and yet here we are in 3rd right now. I expect us to finish in the top 6 now, if we fell out of this '3rd-6th' group then that would be disastrous but if we do the right business in this transfer window then we should be able to maintain our current CL spot, which would be a massive statement of intent from the club and of course from AVB. A Cup Final or even a trophy (be it FA Cup or EL) would be great as well but at the risk of sounding like Wenger I think in this first year a CL spot is more important for our progression. EDIT: just seen we're getting Holtby in the Summer. Could well be a great signing for the coming season(s) but IMO this probably means we're not getting another creative mid in this window, which IMO may hamper our ability to break down some teams. This doesn't change the gist of the main body of my post too much but is something to bear in mind.
Yes, my post will seem odd to some who have forgotten that I do have it in me to be serious when required. PESKIE will be disappointed that I haven't given him any ammo to fire back at me (even if I do provide him with nothing more than comedy rubber bullets). But, fear not, I have no intention of letting this spell of maturity mar my subtle Mouser/Gooner put-downs. Normal service will be resumed, shortly.
I don't deny AVB is/will be a great coach but the managerial side of the game is something he'll have to improve on but I've been impressed with him so far at Spurs. In all honesty Spurs have exceeded my expectations under him thus far, I thought he was dealt a fairly poor hand by not being able to bring in one or two more players and Dempsey was a panic buy. Spurs seem a right fit for him and hopefully (for him) he'll be able to implement his own philosophy and style. Only downside is Spurs aren't nearly as good to watch under him but that is as much to do with the loss of Modric and injury to senior players as anything else. Spurs still struggle against the top sides (but to be fair always have done) but AVB has instilled a level of confidence which has enabled Spurs to be more free flowing away from home. No longer are Spurs "Southern softies" they've gone to places like Old Trafford and SOL and won pretty comfortably. As for the defence I'm not willing to judge AVB on that because he's been without Kaboul (who I believe is your best CB) and even Barcelona would ship goals galore if forced to play G*llas in their side. As an outsider my expectations are for Spurs to now challenge for a top 4 finish. 2nd is beyond them but anywhere between 4th-6th is where I'd expect them to finish. My hopes are obviously a 20 point deduction and a 20th place finish but I think Spurs will finish 4th or 5th (on the fence) depending on the January Market. As it stands I'd go for 5th but if Moutinho signs and Arsenal don't strengthen much I think 4th. Either way the NLD in particular but all the games between Chelsea, Spurs and Arsenal will in all likelihood dictate who finishes where. Arsenal have the better manager of the 3, but Chelsea and Spurs arguably have better first XI's formwise.
Sixth would surprise me. Fifth due to some last second unforessen and unforseeable disaster is all too effing likely. The one thing I really expect is that fourth place will come down to the last game or two. As to AVB: How can I phrase my feeling I was one of his early supporters, relatively speaking? It didn't help that I waffled a little, nor that I would have kept Harry...so maybe there's no way to big up my incredible insight on this one. I'll have to think about it. In any case, I'm very impressed with how well AVB has done so far. Suffocating the other team with pressure and bombarding the keeper with shots is working very nicely. The team looks to have bought into AVB and his system. The bad news is it all can change in a moment, and does a number of times in a season.
almost exactly what you said i would agree with like you i didn't expect higher than 5th or 6th when he was appointed,but he's won me over,almost 100%.As long as he continues in this vein,and keeps in improving the team,i'm happy
DL, good post. But the only way I see us finishing ahead of Chelsea is some kind of meltdown--though that is a possibility, given the recent past. Chelsea have too much strength in depth, and will have more after the transfer window is closed. If we keep winning 7/9, of course, we've got a good shot, but a look at those nine games shows 8/9 times we were clear favorites. I agree particularly about attractive play. Mostly it's that Modric had a high flying style, whereas Dembele takes the ball from the other team and delivers it to the attackers in a very efficient but low key way.
This is so true spurf. It's amazing watching us give the opposition no time on the ball. So many sides have looked clueless when we've closed them down. Against reading, I didn't see them string more than about 5 passes together before one of our players had won possession back. It's making a huge difference like u say
Actually they strung passes together and had their best spell of the game in the 10 minutes after AVB had made yet another of his mystery substitutions. In fact the stats in favour of Reading in those immediate 10 minutes after the sub are alarming. Until this weakness is more positively addressed, I'll continue to refrain from jumping on this band wagon.
At our current rate we're heading for 70.6 points by the end of the season, which would have got us 3rd last season and 4th most seasons. Chelsea are a point better off than last season, Arsenal have two points less, Liverpool are 4 worse and if you replace Newcastle with West Brom they're 3 off. We are also 7 points worse off. The difference between 3rd(us) and 10th this season is 10 points, last season it was 20, it looks like there won't be the big gap there's been in the past showing the points are more evenly spread this season in that area. It's a disservice(and inaccurate) to our performance so far to dismiss it because other teams around us aren't doing so well.
