Half-term report

tonea2003 said:
new years day is the best time for this question, the result v liverpool could be pivotal
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I think a lot of people expect us to lose that one but I agree it will be pivotal if we win it providing of course we also beat Hull and Burnley.
 
Bentheblue said:
Good post I agree with everything you say.
I would add that being 7 points behind the leaders is not a lost situation at this stage of the season. I seem to remember some team coming back from being 8 points behind the leaders with only 6 games to go. Now that was a real lost cause. If we continue to improve and gell with Peps systems then we could have a good go at the title.
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The problem with being 7 points behind at this stage is that we have the added pressure of not being able to afford any more slip ups, Chelsea have a cushion, the knowledge that if they have a blip they would still have the chance to recover. In 11/12 it only took a couple of slip ups from United, coupled with them having to play us, to put us in the driving seat. Its quite likely that Chelsea will also have a couple of bad results, but we have to sustain a run for longer to capitailise on that.

11/12 proved that its possible to recover from what appears to be a sizeable deficit. But 12/13, 14/15 and 15/16 also demonstrated that if we slip behind the leaders in Dec/Jan, its more difficult to catch up.
 
Father Paul said:
I think the idea is to use Christmas as the half way mark rather than 19 games. I dare say that results today and next Saturday may change a lot of peoples scores
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Also a good point that 19 is the half way mark and not 18 as I wrongly stated. We could be a point off top and well clear of third by then you're right.
 
6p from Hull and Pool and I'll give us 8,5 out of 10, that Chelsea keep on winning can't be done much about, but if we get the maximum from this week, we're in a good position.
 
It could still go either way, (especially if we progress in the CL and start getting distracted) but many of last season's weaknesses have crept into our recent performances: recurring injurues, sloppy defending, slow starts, too many peripheral lightweight midfielders, minimal effort and concentration when the opposition have the ball etc.
Also, nobody knows if Jesus will hit the ground running or whether he'll take time to settle like Sane.
Most people would agree that we need at least three new defenders, but these will probably come in the summer. For the moment, we'll have to rely on a lot of goals protecting our defensive frailty.
 
B\connellblue said:
We have stood still instead of progressing. Must do better 6/10
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Can't understand how any fan can think that.

Last 17 games last season 27 points
First 17 games this season 37 points

If you can't see an improvement in our play or think we are in a better position now then we were at the end of May then I don't know what to say really.
 
I'd give us a 6 for current performance & a 9.5 for potential.

I think most of the talk of huge learning curves etc for Pep, is comical bollocks. It's about small adjustments here & there so far as the manager is concerned. The huge learning curve is for the players & some of the fans.

The bigger questions for me are whether any of our current defenders are going to become good enough to do the job Pep requires, IN ANY SYSTEM at Premier League intensity & whether we are going to become more clinical at both finishing & final pass. If we don't get at least one end right, Pep's football can't function, it's that simple. Then who do we sign to make it work ?

Players: not that happy with any so far bar Sterling & Fernandinho. Workrate is good on the whole though.

Pep: fully understand what he's trrying to do. Stuff talked about systems is bullshit. But his part of the job which so far isn't god enough, is the actual organisation of the defence in open play, in any system.

The players have been dozy quite often, but in a 3 or a 4, it's not right. They are too random & not organised. That's his job.
 
7/10.
The season has gone just the opposite of what I anticipated before the start of the season. Expected us to struggle with the new system in the first few months and then kick on after adapting to PEPs style and demanding requirements.
Disappointments both in defence and in the goal scoring department but plenty of positives in the midfield and individual performances from players who have upped their game this season.
Liverpool away is a massive game but I expect us to move more into cruise control for the second half of the season. Let's enjoy our rollercoaster ride and see what it brings.
 
Think we have done okay but it's clear Pep has limited room for manoeuvre in the second half of the season he simply doesnt have the players to execute his plans. I guess he'll be looking for major changes in the summer that will give him a squad he can really work with. You do have to wonder how - given the hierarchy knew of his arrival how he (Pep) got stuffed with such a limited squad - particularly in defensive areas at the end of the last transfer window - given the resources we made available.
 
10/10 for the second half performance v Barc
8/10 for the derby win
0/10 for failing to close out Chelsea & Boro - we should have been at least 2 up in both games regardless of referees
2/10 for not thumping Everton and Southampton
0/10 for the Spurs and Leicester performances

We are conceding too many on the counter attack, can't get to the second ball, corners are still atrocious most of the time and the goalkeeper is left stranded too many times - and then doesnt cover himself in glory when in those situations.
 
Just need to keep on the coat tales of Chelsea - who are playing at their max at the mo - they will have a blip whereas we haven't hit top gear yet and considering we had our main striker out to win 3 out of 4 of those games is pretty decent. In previous seasons we have had major runs and then fell away so heres hoping for a repeat of the runs during the last 20 games of each of our title winning seasons. Certain players getting better by the game so fingers crossed.
 
39 points out of 18 is one more than our title winning season of 13/14 so we are certainly thereabouts.We were a win against Chelsea, which we should have won,from being one behind them. It feels like a not quite there yet issue because of the great run Chelsea are on.

Injuries haven't been kind to us, I still think the full backs don't fit the system regardless of their defending abilities and we could do with another main striker but we are thereabouts and that's where you need to be at this stage.Chelsea and Liverpool have a huge advantage not being in Europe though.

It's an exciting season...
 
Mr HJ said:
Just need to keep on the coat tales of Chelsea - who are playing at their max at the mo - they will have a blip whereas we haven't hit top gear yet and considering we had our main striker out to win 3 out of 4 of those games is pretty decent. In previous seasons we have had major runs and then fell away so heres hoping for a repeat of the runs during the last 20 games of each of our title winning seasons. Certain players getting better by the game so fingers crossed.
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If we replicate our last 20 games of 13/14 we would end up with 87 pts (83 pts if we replicate 11/12). So we would need Chelsea to pick up no more than 41 pts from their last 20 games, having picked up 46 pts from their first 18 games. That would be quite a significant loss of form by Chelsea, more than just a blip. Its possible, but it would mean that we would absolutely have to avoid the Feb dips that we often seem to have.
 
cibaman said:
If we replicate our last 20 games of 13/14 we would end up with 87 pts (83 pts if we replicate 11/12). So we would need Chelsea to pick up no more than 41 pts from their last 20 games, having picked up 46 pts from their first 18 games. That would be quite a significant loss of form by Chelsea, more than just a blip. Its possible, but it would mean that we would absolutely have to avoid the Feb dips that we often seem to have.
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Excellent stats cibaman - going to be tough but not impossible, a lot will depend on how Jesus and Sane develop in a short timeframe.
 
The chavs and dippers don't have the distraction and fatigue of CL football. That in itself is a big advantage, but Chelsea can't go on winning forever and once they do lose it could cause quite a confidence wobble after such a long stretch of wins. It wouldn't surprise me if the club prioritise the CL (seemed to be the case last season) and I'm sure team selections in the next two months will show if this is the case.
 
Helmet Cole said:
The chavs and dippers don't have the distraction and fatigue of CL football. That in itself is a big advantage, but Chelsea can't go on winning forever and once they do lose it could cause quite a confidence wobble after such a long stretch of wins. It wouldn't surprise me if the club prioritise the CL (seemed to be the case last season) and I'm sure team selections in the next two months will show if this is the case.
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I dont think we will prioritise CL until there's breathing space between us and the club in 5th place. And we have 6 more PL fixtures before the Monaco game.I expect the FA Cup will get short shrift.
 
cibaman said:
I dont think we will prioritise CL until there's breathing space between us and the club in 5th place. And we have 6 more PL fixtures before the Monaco game.I expect the FA Cup will get short shrift.
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Seemed like a sensible compromise. Also the AFCON coming up which could affect a few teams.
 
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