Regardless of who they have played, they have lost 1 and drawn 1. They went to Brentford and beat them, went to the Bridge and won. I dont know if you are being serious?
Are you trying to say they've had easy fixtures?
What's your mid-season assessment?
- Thread starter sullydnl
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Regardless of who they have played, they have lost 1 and drawn 1. They went to Brentford and beat them, went to the Bridge and won. I dont know if you are being serious?
Are you trying to say they've had easy fixtures?
I think we’re in an alright position, could be worse, but could also be better. The Brighton and Brentford game let us down massively. But we’re only 4 points behind 3rd with a game in hand. Still in the league cup which we have a great chance of winning. We have a massive Europa league game to look forward to next year. Things are looking decent for Erik Ten Hags first season.
There are signs of progress. I think Ten Hag made mostly the right decisions so far and did very well not to let that bad start to the season not become a pattern. I feel that in previous years the Brentford and Brighton results would have set the tone for the entire campaign and heads would have dropped. He seems to command the respect of most of the players, regardless of what the Portuguese diva thinks about him. Still not sure it's going to result in any trophies this season unless Martial can stay fit. A top class striker has to be the priority for the next couple of transfer windows.
It seems like the right time to make a first judgement (as the first season phase came to an end), but at the same time it kind of doesn't feel right. All those injuries massively affected ETH choices, Ronaldo saga, and game every 3 days basically eliminates any possibility to work on any new different game-plans. How much the team spent on training ground in the last 2 months?
Results-wise, I think we're really good staying in touch with TOP4. Goal Difference is truly terrible, but we had some extreme results so I'm not really bothered. Europa League was simply a lot of bad luck to finish second, and we have a decent chance in EFL Cup with some big teams already out.
Performance-wise.. I guess we can divide the season so far in two phases, before and after Antony's injury.
When Antony was fit I thought we're really progressing with each game, we could hold to the ball, worked left right center, and although we did not create many good chances, we were definitely moving in the right direction. Not only we could control the game better then ever before, but we also limited opposition to half-chances and kept them under pressure. I felt excitement for the next game and I really though time is all that this team needs to score more goals.
The last few games since Antony was out I felt like this is Ole ball rather than ETH system. We had little control over the game, little patience and forcing a lot of early balls to Ronaldo, we seemed happy to give the ball away and then chase it back to catch opponent in transition. That is a fine tactic, but do we need to have Eriksen and Casemiro starting every game to execute that tactic? Because I have not really seen any alternative but I'll come to that.
The positives:
Overall I'm happy with Ten Hag so far, once again I think this is a very difficult season to re-build a team because of how little time is spent on a training ground and a lot of choices are automatic because of players needing rest / out due to injury. I am a bit worried that we don't have a plan B to 4231 system with Bruno as the link and Antony on RW, but it has to be said Ten Hag is getting the results. Some of those results seem a bit better than the actual performance suggests, so I'm not overly ecstatic, just happy with the season so far.
I'm very impressed by his signings which have been truly excellent for us (this shows even more with Antony missing). This is much better than I expected. However, I expected us to do better in terms of implementing a system and I'm surprised ETH has taken a more pragmatic approach recently, so maybe we're not playing great football, but we are getting the results so that speaks of manager flexibility. I feel in the end we will need to combine those two approaches to find a balance which is not quite there yet.
Results-wise, I think we're really good staying in touch with TOP4. Goal Difference is truly terrible, but we had some extreme results so I'm not really bothered. Europa League was simply a lot of bad luck to finish second, and we have a decent chance in EFL Cup with some big teams already out.
Performance-wise.. I guess we can divide the season so far in two phases, before and after Antony's injury.
When Antony was fit I thought we're really progressing with each game, we could hold to the ball, worked left right center, and although we did not create many good chances, we were definitely moving in the right direction. Not only we could control the game better then ever before, but we also limited opposition to half-chances and kept them under pressure. I felt excitement for the next game and I really though time is all that this team needs to score more goals.
The last few games since Antony was out I felt like this is Ole ball rather than ETH system. We had little control over the game, little patience and forcing a lot of early balls to Ronaldo, we seemed happy to give the ball away and then chase it back to catch opponent in transition. That is a fine tactic, but do we need to have Eriksen and Casemiro starting every game to execute that tactic? Because I have not really seen any alternative but I'll come to that.
The positives:
- all of our players are contributing with goals and assists, that is a very good prognostic for the future once we have an actual striker
- Shaw, Rashford, De Gea back in good form
- Dalot and Garnacho look like proper players
- we seem to grind out results which is a huge boost for mentality
- we no longer look fragile defensively when starting a game
- all of our new guys have been very good and are already core of the team from back to front
- handling Ronaldo situation - I think ETH had no other option than to play him recently, although he did play him too often and the captaincy was bollocks
- playing Dalot and Bruno 3 days in 3 days out - especially Bruno I think should get more rest, not only because of fatigue but also because he is very hot and cold and forces us to play certain way; that said, it was a default setup and considering there was no time to train I think it's justified to put everything on one card (paid off in the end I guess)
- it seems like we don't have a plan B for midfield, but Eriksen and Casemiro have been playing way way too much. I definitely prefer mixing them up with McTominay (who is having a good season) and Fred (who looks like a decent midfielder every now and then, but for sure needs a run of games first) than to run our main midfield duo into the ground with a justification "there's no alternative". I do not agree with that, it's a question of squad management. Again, did we really need to start Eriksen Casemiro against all of Omonia, Everton, Sheriff, West Ham and Aston VIlla in EPL, especially with so many hard games in between those? Also, if our tactic is to play long ball from defence to attack, what was the case in a few games recently, and then trying to get the ball back when opposition is transitioning to attack, wouldn't it make sense to use McTominay and Fred a bit more? That doesn't seem like a tactic made for Casemiro and Eriksen duo.
- some of his tactical choices are weird. Starting van de Beek high up the pitch when we already have Ronaldo and Rashford plus Eriksen - Casemiro midfield looked like suicide mission and it kind of was. Going for one runner (Rashford/Garnacho) up front when we are in low block (West Ham, Real Sociedad) is another one. Too many times the team lost any shape after subs. I think we can do better.
- stubbornness to play Bruno at all cost. What a bizarre idea that is, he doesn't bring us balance, we exploit him even more than needed (and he's already playing like 97% of the possible game time), he is not a threat on the counter starting from the half line, it's just bizarre. He adds energy but you can already see he's tired so even that isn't a positive factor. Elanga is a poor footballer, but if playing him makes it possible for us to rest Bruno and shape into a more 4-3-3 with fullbacks and #8's pushing higher, then I think this makes more sense than Bruno the Right Winger.
Overall I'm happy with Ten Hag so far, once again I think this is a very difficult season to re-build a team because of how little time is spent on a training ground and a lot of choices are automatic because of players needing rest / out due to injury. I am a bit worried that we don't have a plan B to 4231 system with Bruno as the link and Antony on RW, but it has to be said Ten Hag is getting the results. Some of those results seem a bit better than the actual performance suggests, so I'm not overly ecstatic, just happy with the season so far.
I'm very impressed by his signings which have been truly excellent for us (this shows even more with Antony missing). This is much better than I expected. However, I expected us to do better in terms of implementing a system and I'm surprised ETH has taken a more pragmatic approach recently, so maybe we're not playing great football, but we are getting the results so that speaks of manager flexibility. I feel in the end we will need to combine those two approaches to find a balance which is not quite there yet.
To do it on a school grading system, I'll go with A-.
Given all the goings on since ETH started the job (and there have been many) he has done very well on the whole - obviously still far from perfect but we are still very early in the process.
Without playing well consistently and with a now useless narcissist up front, and being very early in ETH methods... we are still averaging 1.86 PPG, which over 38 games would give us over 70 points - which is right in the mix for top 4.
If we continue to improve, and sign a bloody forward who doesn't resemble a mix of Manucho and Glenn Murray, then we have every chance of Top 4 and/or a trophy.
Ps Our games are so much more entertaining than last season... it is so nice to look forward to them again!
Given all the goings on since ETH started the job (and there have been many) he has done very well on the whole - obviously still far from perfect but we are still very early in the process.
Without playing well consistently and with a now useless narcissist up front, and being very early in ETH methods... we are still averaging 1.86 PPG, which over 38 games would give us over 70 points - which is right in the mix for top 4.
If we continue to improve, and sign a bloody forward who doesn't resemble a mix of Manucho and Glenn Murray, then we have every chance of Top 4 and/or a trophy.
Ps Our games are so much more entertaining than last season... it is so nice to look forward to them again!
- Some awful results and performances but some very good ones
- The new singings have settled well and look like good business
- ETH handles difficult situations well. E.g Ronaldo and Maguire
- Big improvements in certain players - Rashford, Dalot, Shaw, De Gea
- He's been firm but fair on the players IMO. Most players have had a decent chance (DVB in recent weeks) but he gives the impression that he won't let people just coast along once their chance has failed
- Has given youth a chance (Garnacho being the obvious one)
- He just has an air of authority about him. It is clear he IS the boss but without having to be a bit of a dick about it. and that's something we have lacked for a long time
7/10 for me for far. A couple more signings needed and the players to get better at controlling games against so called lesser teams.
- The new singings have settled well and look like good business
- ETH handles difficult situations well. E.g Ronaldo and Maguire
- Big improvements in certain players - Rashford, Dalot, Shaw, De Gea
- He's been firm but fair on the players IMO. Most players have had a decent chance (DVB in recent weeks) but he gives the impression that he won't let people just coast along once their chance has failed
- Has given youth a chance (Garnacho being the obvious one)
- He just has an air of authority about him. It is clear he IS the boss but without having to be a bit of a dick about it. and that's something we have lacked for a long time
7/10 for me for far. A couple more signings needed and the players to get better at controlling games against so called lesser teams.
I'd say given the circumstances we're above what I expected coming in to the season for the following reasons.
Coming into the season with 2 utter shambolic performances could have set us down the wrong path, we bounced back well and until the Villa game picked up some really good points. Beating Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham, and being disappointed to not beat Chelsea at the bridge is a sign things are changing.
We've been without our first choice striker for most of the season, shunting Rashford up there only made more problems on the left until Garnachos break through. Ronaldo having a complete meltdown could also have cast a big shadow over the season, but ETH has managed him perfectly and shown why Ronaldo doesn't deserve to be here.
The team spirit is amazing and has brought the fans along with the side. The high 5s between defenders might look and feel weird, but you can see they are fighting for each other. Along with this is the way he has phased players not good enough out of the starting 11. Maguire, Fred and McTominay were all given chances before being dropped once they had poor games. The same goes for Shaw and Malacia who started the season well and then dropped off, so Shaw came in and has been decent throughout in earning his place back.
I finally feel like we're on the right track and adding a few more of the right players, with a good team ethos I think we'll make top 4, although it will obviously be tight with Newcastle and Arsenal looking so good this season
Coming into the season with 2 utter shambolic performances could have set us down the wrong path, we bounced back well and until the Villa game picked up some really good points. Beating Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham, and being disappointed to not beat Chelsea at the bridge is a sign things are changing.
We've been without our first choice striker for most of the season, shunting Rashford up there only made more problems on the left until Garnachos break through. Ronaldo having a complete meltdown could also have cast a big shadow over the season, but ETH has managed him perfectly and shown why Ronaldo doesn't deserve to be here.
The team spirit is amazing and has brought the fans along with the side. The high 5s between defenders might look and feel weird, but you can see they are fighting for each other. Along with this is the way he has phased players not good enough out of the starting 11. Maguire, Fred and McTominay were all given chances before being dropped once they had poor games. The same goes for Shaw and Malacia who started the season well and then dropped off, so Shaw came in and has been decent throughout in earning his place back.
I finally feel like we're on the right track and adding a few more of the right players, with a good team ethos I think we'll make top 4, although it will obviously be tight with Newcastle and Arsenal looking so good this season
Ask Ronaldo. He has all the answers apparently.
If you'd told me 2 games in we'd be in the mix for a CL place, we had players with skill and character, a cohesive team with an emerging identity, and everyone was looking forward to watching us play each week, I'd have snapped your arm off.
Happy so far but I can see a bumpy post WC period for lots of teams, with lots of tired and injured players. The teams who can weather that will be the ones who finish top. Hard to say at the moment how well placed we are for it.
Happy so far but I can see a bumpy post WC period for lots of teams, with lots of tired and injured players. The teams who can weather that will be the ones who finish top. Hard to say at the moment how well placed we are for it.
This is like arguing with a six year old. But yes, Arsenal have had easier fixtures than us. So far.
That point took way too many posts to get across to you…
Sorry didn't realise they get to play different teams in the same league.. Easier
After the first 2 games i thought wow we really are relegation fodder. Since then a vast improvement. I really like ETH and i Am Sure he will get us back to competing for the premiership in another 2- 3 windows.
He quickly identified McFred and Maguire were not good enough and addressed it. . Something the last 2 managers failed to see. I also think he knows we are a better team without Ronaldo but injuries have forced him to play. (Not any more)
My expectation is we push for top 4 this season, we are certainly as good as or better than - spurs Chelsea Newcastle..
He quickly identified McFred and Maguire were not good enough and addressed it. . Something the last 2 managers failed to see. I also think he knows we are a better team without Ronaldo but injuries have forced him to play. (Not any more)
My expectation is we push for top 4 this season, we are certainly as good as or better than - spurs Chelsea Newcastle..
Yup. "Just at par" about sums it up, results-wise.
Sorry didn't realise they get to play different teams in the same league.. Easier
Jesus Christ. You really are as thick as you seem.
Remind me how Arsenal got on against City when they played them? Or West Ham? Or Everton? And how did United get on against teams Arsenal already played such as Bournemouth, Palace, Forest, Wolves and Leeds?
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The funny thing is, they could play them all and us not play another game and still be top.
The football part not so great but ultimatley winning 26 points in 12 games if we dont count the two losses at the beggining of the season has to be counted as a victory. We were in dire shape and everything was doom and gloom and then we beat the dippers, the (still waiting for a bottle job) Arsenal, the trophyless Spurs and got a desrved draw at Stamford Bridge. All those teams were labeled as better than us at the beggining of the season.
I do have a few things to say about ETH that are not so rosy but at the end of the day he has done a 8 out of 10 job for me with this squad.
Not bad
I do have a few things to say about ETH that are not so rosy but at the end of the day he has done a 8 out of 10 job for me with this squad.
Not bad
With Varane, Antony and Casemiro in the side we look great imo and I don't see us losing many games with our first choice 11. We lack depth and our back up players are especially poor at keeping the ball.
With those first two back and with the rise of Garnacho, I think we'll have a cracking second half of the season. Considering even now with such a tough schedule we're on course for 70-71 points and with the expected improvement, I think we'll likely have our best season points wise since Mourinho came second.
Quite frankly after last season, that'd be incredible progress.
With those first two back and with the rise of Garnacho, I think we'll have a cracking second half of the season. Considering even now with such a tough schedule we're on course for 70-71 points and with the expected improvement, I think we'll likely have our best season points wise since Mourinho came second.
Quite frankly after last season, that'd be incredible progress.
Promising signs but important for the club to be free of the Ronaldo circus for any real consistent progress to be made. Hanging over the club atm.
5th.
2nd in group EL
0 in goal difference
It aint fantastic...
2nd in group EL
0 in goal difference
It aint fantastic...
From a rival fan's perspective, I'd say the following:
-Plain as day that you have your best manager since SAF.
-League results have been very good, although I think a bit fortunate as you have won a lot of games that were fairly even, with only a couple truly dominating wins. You only have three matches this season where you were > 1xg better than the opposition.
-Health will be key the rest of the season. It's true for every squad, of course, but even more so in these situations where a manager is implementing a new style of play and the reserves just aren't capable of that kind of football.
-All in all, ETH still has everything to prove in terms of how high he can take United eventually, but at least you can see the possibility of the manager being capable of building a team that competes for the biggest prizes, whereas it was obvious from the beginning that previous managers simply didn't have that level in them (or didn't have that level in them anymore in the case of Mourinho and LVG).
-Plain as day that you have your best manager since SAF.
-League results have been very good, although I think a bit fortunate as you have won a lot of games that were fairly even, with only a couple truly dominating wins. You only have three matches this season where you were > 1xg better than the opposition.
-Health will be key the rest of the season. It's true for every squad, of course, but even more so in these situations where a manager is implementing a new style of play and the reserves just aren't capable of that kind of football.
-All in all, ETH still has everything to prove in terms of how high he can take United eventually, but at least you can see the possibility of the manager being capable of building a team that competes for the biggest prizes, whereas it was obvious from the beginning that previous managers simply didn't have that level in them (or didn't have that level in them anymore in the case of Mourinho and LVG).
I think all fair points.
Obviously very early days but he’s built a very strong base around the back five and that’s been the reason why we have won those games you mentioned.
We are yet to have any kind of consistency in the forward areas. I’d argue the best front three would be Rashford, Martial and Antony and they are yet to play together.
I think overall performance will improve if we get this sorted but yeah our season this year will be very much dependent on keeping a settled first team. That’s until EtH can have a few more windows to develop his squad.
7/10 so far.
Without Ronaldo we are pretty much back to where we were under Ole pre Ronaldo, plenty of encouraging signs but not quite there yet.
With Ronaldo we are pretty awful maybe marginally better than last season but pretty poor really.
Im hopeful that once the Ronaldo issue is sorted (after the interview I would imagine he will be gone sooner rather than later) that will see ten hag ball really begin to take shape. We have seen glimars of it (particuley spurs at home where we were relentless)
All in all pretty much as expected so far, he isn't a miracle worker and the demons of last season needed excersising. Most of them have been and the biggest one has just made the job of getting rid much easier.
His signings have been decent enough, new exactly what we were getting with casemerio, Martinez has proved his doubters wrong so far and Anthony looks a good player.
I'm confident of making top four and there have been signs of him implementing his style and philosophy in recent weeks. I would expect to see that really come to fruition in the second part of the season.
Without Ronaldo we are pretty much back to where we were under Ole pre Ronaldo, plenty of encouraging signs but not quite there yet.
With Ronaldo we are pretty awful maybe marginally better than last season but pretty poor really.
Im hopeful that once the Ronaldo issue is sorted (after the interview I would imagine he will be gone sooner rather than later) that will see ten hag ball really begin to take shape. We have seen glimars of it (particuley spurs at home where we were relentless)
All in all pretty much as expected so far, he isn't a miracle worker and the demons of last season needed excersising. Most of them have been and the biggest one has just made the job of getting rid much easier.
His signings have been decent enough, new exactly what we were getting with casemerio, Martinez has proved his doubters wrong so far and Anthony looks a good player.
I'm confident of making top four and there have been signs of him implementing his style and philosophy in recent weeks. I would expect to see that really come to fruition in the second part of the season.
Huh?
I'm happy with what he's achieved so far, which is very odd when you consider the start to the season, getting pumped at citeh and not winning a very winnable EL group (dodgy pen decision aside).
The second half of the season is going to be rough on everyone, and much depends on which players return unscathed from the WC. It could really damage certain teams, and the possible fatigue is going to harm smaller squads when we get deeper into the season. I would imagine we will see a good share of the lads who didn't make the WC starting the first games back.
We should finish Top 4 and I'd be confident that we will do at this stage. We look to have another gear or two in us, and we're griding out a few wins. I think, to date, we've looked better than Spurs, Vermin and Chelsea. Newcastle are on a massive purple patch which I think they'll find hard to replicate after the WC, and will surely fall away.
B+ for the season so far.
- The manager has dealt with some really big, high profile, tabloid headline issues, and has handled them all very well. It's nice to see someone who has the full respect of the squad..........
- The football is getting better. I think we have only seen glimpses of the potential to be unlocked so far, but the fixture congestion has hampered the time that could otherwise have been spent on the training pitches. We're slowly controlling more, pressing far better and winning the ball high up the pitch instead of dropping off. This should translate into more dominant performances, but don't be surprised if that is inconsistent until next season.
- We have an uptick in performances and form of a number of players - De Gea, Shaw, Rashford. Martial came back from the brink of being binned off to being our starting #9, when fit.
- Good signings in the summer, all of whom are contributing to everything that we have done well. They all seem to have been integrated very well and at the right time. I'd be confident in allowing ETH and his team in identifying the right players which hasn't always been the case over the past 10 years or so now.
- Players who maybe played too much over past seasons are being phased out, but in a manner that allows them to do it to themselves. They're not performing, given chances, failing and then being hooked. There can be no complaints from the under-performing players.
- Bald.
The second half of the season is going to be rough on everyone, and much depends on which players return unscathed from the WC. It could really damage certain teams, and the possible fatigue is going to harm smaller squads when we get deeper into the season. I would imagine we will see a good share of the lads who didn't make the WC starting the first games back.
We should finish Top 4 and I'd be confident that we will do at this stage. We look to have another gear or two in us, and we're griding out a few wins. I think, to date, we've looked better than Spurs, Vermin and Chelsea. Newcastle are on a massive purple patch which I think they'll find hard to replicate after the WC, and will surely fall away.
B+ for the season so far.
You mean 3/4 quarters of the water to mid season right?
Anyway clear signs of progress which is heartwarming but still a long way to go before we're anywhere close to fighting for the top honors.
We need strengthening in the already excessively mentioned areas, preferably in jan and also the Ronaldo situation needs sorting out.
Anyway clear signs of progress which is heartwarming but still a long way to go before we're anywhere close to fighting for the top honors.
We need strengthening in the already excessively mentioned areas, preferably in jan and also the Ronaldo situation needs sorting out.
Started to build a side he can trust and is in his own image, and about half-way, which is surprising.
Needs to offload the problems and the players he doesn't fancy and continue with the rebuild.
Needs to offload the problems and the players he doesn't fancy and continue with the rebuild.
We look very likely to beat Ole’s best ever points haul.
After last season I’d say that’s pretty fecking good.
Ended on a nice cliffhanger with Ronaldo and looking forward to when the United soap opera resumes after the World Cup.
No, I've been very impressed with how ETH has gone about things, he's come into a sea of problems and done a fine job tackling some and seems quick to react and see what needs changing or fixing. My expectations were him doing a good job but landing 5th-6th but I think we have a good chance of grabbing top 4 if we get a Jan striker. I just look forward to him getting more time with some of the existing players and new players in. Martinez has been a great call so far at defending and passing forwards, many thought we could've got by without buying a CB for a while. The new players with their quality and attitude have been key.
No, I've been very impressed with how ETH has gone about things, he's come into a sea of problems and done a fine job tackling some and seems quick to react and see what needs changing or fixing. My expectations were him doing a good job but landing 5th-6th but I think we have a good chance of grabbing top 4 if we get a Jan striker. I just look forward to him getting more time with some of the existing players and new players in. Martinez has been a great call so far at defending and passing forwards, many thought we could've got by without buying a CB for a while. The new players with their quality and attitude have been key.
People say there are signs of progress but in reality we are 5th, 4 points behind 4th. Europa League we didn’t win a very easy group and because of that have to play Barcelona to proceed. Our goal difference is 0 in the league. Is this progress after £250m spent?
I’ve seen two very good performances this season against Spurs and Liverpool. The rest of the time there hasn’t been much change from the dire football we have witnessed over the last 9 years. I’m willing to give ten Hag time but I believe too many people are getting carried away believing we are doing better than we actually are.
I’ve seen two very good performances this season against Spurs and Liverpool. The rest of the time there hasn’t been much change from the dire football we have witnessed over the last 9 years. I’m willing to give ten Hag time but I believe too many people are getting carried away believing we are doing better than we actually are.
United have a game in hand in comparison to Spurs and Newcastle. The squad has managed to get the results even without a functional CF and no right forward the past month or so without Antony. Only Liverpool have done better to buoy themselves when considering the injuries to the squad. The Europa League group was not won because of poor goal scoring, which has been an issue due to said no functional CF and just not good enough goal scorers. Sociedad was gifted 3 points, we all know that.
United are doing fine and that's okay. Too many people look at the short-term to begin with and lose sight in the gradual progress and pains that will be ahead.
We have to give EtH as much time as he needs because he's actually a top manager that has the right values and principles for club football going forward - he's a proper fit since SAF.
At the moment, the club is in good standing table wise. Could careless about trophies being won this year. This is a total assessment year and weeding players out and getting the right player profiles in are extremely vital.
EtH is freezing out AWB, Henderson is not in the future of the club, making decisions on Maguire, Garner, etc. Those decisions and intentions are just as important as the immediate tangible results because it is a clear shift in the club and standards.
6 behind City and 4 ahead of Liverpool. Were we not a “million miles” behind those two last season ?
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Going into the season I expected we'd be competing for 5th or 6th. My main reason for this was a concern about the ability to score goals.
Right now, I believe we have an outside shot of competing for 4th. Bringing in another striker in January is vital though as my concerns about scoring goals proved to be justified.
Newcastle is overperforming thus far, but Liverpool and Chelsea are underperforming and I expect them both to improve in the second half.
Failing to make CL again would be a massive blow to the club so I really hope they recognize how important it is to bring more goals into the squad in January. There simply aren't enough goals to go around in this current squad to finish 4th.
Right now, I believe we have an outside shot of competing for 4th. Bringing in another striker in January is vital though as my concerns about scoring goals proved to be justified.
Newcastle is overperforming thus far, but Liverpool and Chelsea are underperforming and I expect them both to improve in the second half.
Failing to make CL again would be a massive blow to the club so I really hope they recognize how important it is to bring more goals into the squad in January. There simply aren't enough goals to go around in this current squad to finish 4th.
You have to take into consideration the fixtures and results from other clubs.
Results Against Bottom 8 Clubs:
For a start, we look at Tottenham and they've already played all 8 teams. The important thing is 5 of those results were at home, so they've had a pretty easy set of fixtures. Chelsea have struggled against the bottom 8 already losing twice and like us have been struggling to score goals. Liverpool have had a disaster so far despite only playing 2 of the bottom 8 away (failing to win in both games). We on the other hand have only played 1, yes 1 club in the bottom 8 at home (West Ham).
This implies that we've actually had a very hard set of fixtures so far this season, it's been counter balanced with the majority of the top 6 fixtures being at home mind you. But we've only played 3 of opponents outside of the top 6 at home so far, Newcastle, Brighton and West Ham.
I think there's a very strong reason to feel optimistic about the second half of the season in the league. I think we'll finish comfortably top four and I think Tottenham right now is in a rather false position, they've got a very hard second half of the season so I expect them to really struggle. Chelsea could be a real danger though as they've played an awful lot of away fixtures against the clubs outside of the 'Top 6', they've played 8 out of 14 games away and only 3 at home.
Results Against Bottom 8 Clubs:
For a start, we look at Tottenham and they've already played all 8 teams. The important thing is 5 of those results were at home, so they've had a pretty easy set of fixtures. Chelsea have struggled against the bottom 8 already losing twice and like us have been struggling to score goals. Liverpool have had a disaster so far despite only playing 2 of the bottom 8 away (failing to win in both games). We on the other hand have only played 1, yes 1 club in the bottom 8 at home (West Ham).
| Club | Games | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tottenham | 8 | 7 | 1 | - | 23 | 9 | 14 |
| Chelsea | 6 | 4 | - | 2 | 9 | 7 | 2 |
| Arsenal | 6 | 5 | 1 | - | 16 | 3 | 13 |
| City | 6 | 6 | - | - | 20 | 0 | 20 |
| Liverpool | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 14 | 4 | 10 |
| United | 4 | 4 | - | - | 5 | 1 | 4 |
This implies that we've actually had a very hard set of fixtures so far this season, it's been counter balanced with the majority of the top 6 fixtures being at home mind you. But we've only played 3 of opponents outside of the top 6 at home so far, Newcastle, Brighton and West Ham.
I think there's a very strong reason to feel optimistic about the second half of the season in the league. I think we'll finish comfortably top four and I think Tottenham right now is in a rather false position, they've got a very hard second half of the season so I expect them to really struggle. Chelsea could be a real danger though as they've played an awful lot of away fixtures against the clubs outside of the 'Top 6', they've played 8 out of 14 games away and only 3 at home.
Liverpool are having a poor season. City battered us 6-3, could have been 10-0 so I’d say we still miles behind them.
this can be a bit misleading too. Weren’t we almost bottom when we beat the scousers?
It depends whether you're coming from the view of "missing out on CL is no big deal", or you're coming from the view "missing out on CL football is a disaster".
For me, no CL football for another season would be an absolute catastrophe considering the money spent and the ambitions of the club. So coming from that frame of mind, it's not a disaster but far from great. We're still not really in a position to be overly confident we'll be playing CL football next season.
On the negative we're outside top 4, 7th in xPTS, GD of 0, we've only won 1 league game comfortably all season (Spurs), and we somehow managed to feck up the Europa group so we have 2 extra EL fixtures against Barca of all teams. On the plus side, we're only 3 points off top 4 with a game in hand, and we've had a relatively difficult fixture list, so we still have a very decent chance of top 4.
For me, no CL football for another season would be an absolute catastrophe considering the money spent and the ambitions of the club. So coming from that frame of mind, it's not a disaster but far from great. We're still not really in a position to be overly confident we'll be playing CL football next season.
On the negative we're outside top 4, 7th in xPTS, GD of 0, we've only won 1 league game comfortably all season (Spurs), and we somehow managed to feck up the Europa group so we have 2 extra EL fixtures against Barca of all teams. On the plus side, we're only 3 points off top 4 with a game in hand, and we've had a relatively difficult fixture list, so we still have a very decent chance of top 4.
Of course it would be a disaster to not finish top four because it would hurt this team's ability to add top talent in the summer. They absolutely need to finish top four and that is why I don't believe any of the nonsense about them not spending in January. If they do that they have nobody to blame but themselves because this team has enough to compete they just need to enable the air game, finish better and some depth on that right side.
January they will be surgical. Of course we have Ronaldo complicating things, but they have no choice here. The Fullham game showed us a team that suffered at the front with those vertical passes that provided some quality chances on target with little result. And of course we already knew we have zero corner game. They are going to add a striker for sure soon. And hopefully a RB depth option with some quality, a Malacia equivalent for that side.
Pass marks so far. When we have our first 11 we’ve looked decent (Spurs/Chelsea) but we have a very light squad. Some slightly odd choices by ETH in a few matches but overall, after the first two games, we’ve done pretty well. You can see why we were after Frenkie though, as getting midfield control is still difficult for us. I’m concerned about the fixture pile up next year though - we need reinforcements in January to cope.
But that was the 3rd game of the season, when you're close to half way through you've already played most teams once. At this point we know which teams are relatively strong and which ones are weak so it provides some merit on how each club has done.
Chelsea have played 3 of the 14 clubs at home and 8 away.
Tottenham have played 7 of the 14 clubs at home and 4 away.
Liverpool have played 7 of the 14 at home and 3 away.
Chelsea will have a far easier second half to the season, while Tottenham and Liverpool are going to have a lot of away games. Liverpools misery may have just started.
The person arguing against you here was probably having the most insane argument I’ve ever seen.
how… did he not get what you were saying?