NoblyBobly

Yes I’m afraid posters have been saying we are just as shit as in previous seasons under Poch and Potter and no improvements made. The criticism has been scathing only tempered when we score six. Now of course Palmer looks better than the rest. That’s because he’d look better than the rest in any other team in the PL ( probably Europe). So because we have a world beater you’re pissed at the other players for not being as good. 7 games under a new coach with new players and a new system . And I think you’d agree results wise pretty good. Are we languishing in 16th? No went toe toe with City and Dippers and lost by fine margins. . And don’t tell me Pool strolled through that match in second gear. You know that’s bollocks. We had more attacking play, more possession and same good chances. A pen and goalkeeping error cost us. We can argue about a pen for us but I’m sure you don’t want to or we’re even a bit miffed about it. Tbh , I’m getting a bit fed up with telling people not to be so fking miserable so I won’t any more. Just so long a they don’t tell me I shouldn’t be positive and optimistic about this very new and very young side .

It’s something in our drinking water. I just watched Kepa do the most horrific brain fart that somehow Arsenal didn’t score from.

See my other post , but in short we went to the Centre Back shop and said “ morning, we would like a fab centre back for our team. What do you have for sale? “ Shop assistant replied “ one moment sir , I will check in my back room and see what I’ve got” ( he goes off) Some minutes he returns looking a bit flustered : “ Apparently fuck all sir. But rest assured , safe in the knowledge that we will contact you when one comes in”.

Well as for the keeper , Petrovic was my preferred choice….would have been fine while searching for a top keeper, who as you well know don’t grow on trees. As for CB, I know what you would like. You would have liked us to identify exactly the right top draw CB , who was available and ready to leave his existing club, make sure he didn’t break the bank ( affect out ffp) and fit into our wage structure. That CB would have needed to hit the ground running, slip seamlessly into the side, and have absolutely no “ getting to know you time”…. Perhaps a young version of Silva? Bingo!! We are a club that over the years has been blessed with superb CBs. They have a sixth sense. Much of it can’t be learned as it instinct. They just know where the danger is coming from before it happens. Tosin or Bads or Fofo might look great in training but in those high pressure moments, in the big games, can they stay cool calm and instinctive. We were hoping one of these would come through ( and perhaps they might yet do that) , in the meantime we have to suck it up, appreciate it’s a difficult puzzle piece to fit, find that player and enjoy the positives of now , of which there are many.

They just need to get it out there Jane. The fact that we were denied two other penalties shouts ( see fillery post) is neither here nor there. Nothing to see at all.

I’m going to say it now. If we sort out our CB and possibly get a forward up grade , we will challenge next year.

When we lose a game ( especially to them) everyone should have the right to vent and moan. Conceding a shit goal like that is so fcking annoying. I said at start of season that we are asking for trouble if we make Sanchez the confirmed undisputed heavyweight number one keeper. And so it has come to pass. But the posters that from day one have just kept repeating “we’re shit we’re shit we’re shit” , even in victory, are becoming increasingly annoying. They can produce good content usually but they are stuck in the circle of doom.

I think sometimes when a player reaches such majestic standards as Silva reached , the mistake can be comparing him to those past standards and not to the other player’s vying for that position. Colwill is a very good player, but going on Silvia’s overall performances last season ( and he hadn’t fallen out of a tree since) , Colwill is the only one that currently deserves a place above Silva ( imo of course). Pointless convo coz he’s not here, but just saying.

It might be same guy. Does he have curly hair, a big tash, talks like he’s got a plum in his mouth and walks round saying “calm down calm down!!” ? Or is he a cockney bloke who has never been north of Watford but mumbles the words to YNWA in a drunken fashion when they score? I too look at this oppo YouTube sights. It’s interesting. They are all very concerned about us. All of them. And it’s the potential they see . They recognise we are a work in progress . Some of the posters on here really should give themselves a talking to. This is a massive rebuild . . Several seasons of shite behind us. Half the team alien to each other. A new coach . But 7 games in we have narrowly lost to the top two teams , but playing some nice stuff, well positioned in the table with plenty of goals to boot. I like a good old moan about this and that. I could slap Sanchez round the face sometimes, I’m endlessly trying to work out which of the Three Amigos ( Tosin, Bads and Fofana ) is fit to lace a 40 year old Silvas boot. But it’s the bigger picture that matters. Caicedo is blossoming, Lavia has HUGE potential as does Viega. Neto looked great last night. Dare I say James is back. Palmer is best player in Prem (but was very tightly efficiently marked last night). In short the positives outweigh the negatives by quite a margin. It’s all you can really ask at this stage. In the future If that pendulum starts to swing the other way then fair enough if some want to moan. Right now I’m happy and excited about the team.

Were those goals all down to him ? Is he the fall guy for those games . How many of those other players are still in this team? IMO he still looked our best and most consistent CB. Lost some pace yes, but about the same speed off the ground as JT in his pomp.

Can’t help thinking we should have given Silva another year. Despite his age, no one can tell me Tosin, Bads or Fofana are better at this moment. . We could have used him sparingly but my God that experience is needed in games like this.

I have a Liverpool mate ( just the one) who admitted he was emotionally shattered after the game. He said it was an emotional rollercoaster and said how deep Liverpool had to dig to win the game. No surprise he thought the ref was biased against them!! Jeez. Sometimes an oppos thoughts are more interesting than our own gravediggers. Considering our completely rejigged back four I’m happy with this performance. Hated the result obviously but no massive surprise.

So let me give you some positives that you are failing to observe. We had more of the attacking play and we had more possession ( those are the stats). But we weren’t gung ho. We had similar chances on goal. They were very organised defensively ( as you would expect from a top of table team) . So far this season they that had only conceded two goals. This is a well oiled , oven ready team . They are third oldest in the prem and we are the youngest. That is what their coach inherited. Ours did not. Maresco inherited a project. We have lost to city and pool so far and that is by very narrow margins. James is back, Lavia looks excellent in place of Enzo, Caicedo was amazing. Im sure you’re not writing off Arsenal for losing to Bournemouth the same as you didn’t write Liverpool off for losing to Forest. Why you want to write us off as a top 4 contender is very curious to me. If you see no improvement so far on last season then that is your opinion. My opinion is that we are very very close to being an excellent team. Not yet there yet of course, but closer than you think.

Considering the doomsayers thought we’d be annihilated, it was anything but that. We lost though and that is very annoying because I thought we had a chance to win this and at least get a draw. They were fortunate as ever with decisions and general rub of the green. But they were never ever comfortable imo. They must have been mightily glad the whistle went. I predicted we’d concede two and we did . My hope was that we’d score more. Their pen was a soft one. A ricochet ball lands in the worst place and Colwell is stretching and desperate. Their second was a mess . Sanchez got caught in two minds and made the wrong choice. He could have claimed that ball fairly easily if he had been decisive. Another brain fart in the first half almost led to a goal. One week he’s Gordon Banks and the next Gordon Brown. I don’t know the answer. The only good goal of the game was ours. Nice move and well slotted away by Jackson. We should have had a pen no question. One of the toughest places to go right now so to create the good chances we did, does not leave me at all morose. It’s a defeat which hurts, but an honourable one against a cheating crafty bunch of whining tossers ( but maybe that the Chelsea in me speaking).