GlobalVillan Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 (edited) 5 minutes ago, Kiwivillan said: This is our squad minus Zaniolo that got 2nd most points in 2023 4 points more than Liverpool and we've added Torres Diaby Zaniolo Tielemans in that period and 2 have made significant impact and Diaby has chipped in with 4 goals and 4 assists and Zaniolo rescued a point recently. 7 games to make it to Conference final and some FA Cup games thrown in if we beat Chelsea. I don't think that's too taxing Youve conveniently missed out the fact that in half of 2023 we had Buendia, Mings and a fit Ramsey playing out of his skin. We have none of those for the run in. Our squad is not strong enough and that will be quite evident as we get further into the season, just like it has recently. Edited January 14 by GlobalVillan 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Follyfoot Posted January 14 VT Supporter Share Posted January 14 2 minutes ago, GlobalVillan said: Youve conveniently missed out the fact thatnin half of 2023 we had Buendia, Mings and a fit Ransey playing out of his skin. We have none of those for the run in. Do you not think Ramsey will replicate last year’s form at some point? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GlobalVillan Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 1 minute ago, Follyfoot said: Do you not think Ramsey will replicate last year’s form at some point? Sadly not. I hope I'm wrong of course. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwivillan Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 3 minutes ago, GlobalVillan said: Youve conveniently missed out the fact that in half of 2023 we had Buendia, Mings and a fit Ramsey playing out of his skin. We have none of those for the run in. Our squad is not strong enough and that will be quite evident as we get further into the season, just like it has recently. Ramsey had down games last season where he was brutal. I'm expecting back from injury he's starting to show lately that's he's near back on it. Hate to say it but Torres is a massive upgrade on Mings for Emery ball and when he's back, hopefully vs Everton and beyond, that's an uptick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delphinho123 Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 (edited) I honestly think we’ll finish 5th. And that is some achievement. Having watched a fair bit of other teams this year, I predict: City Liverpool Spurs Arsenal Villa As the top 5. If that means CL, then we have to try and push on and cement the place. Chelsea and United are going to start feeling the pinch of not being in CL and so we have to strengthen to stay above them. I’d be looking at getting rid of a fair few in the Summer and bringing in 3 players at most, but 3 high quality options. Edited January 14 by Delphinho123 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GlobalVillan Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 8 minutes ago, Kiwivillan said: Ramsey had down games last season where he was brutal. I'm expecting back from injury he's starting to show lately that's he's near back on it. Hate to say it but Torres is a massive upgrade on Mings for Emery ball and when he's back, hopefully vs Everton and beyond, that's an uptick Its about squad depth so Torres being an upgrade on Mings, misses the point. We need both! Look what at OT happened when Torres got injured. Our 1st 11 is fantastic. Maybe our first 13 say. Of those who aren't out for the season. And then the quality drops off a cliff. Which, again, is why I think 5th is our ceiling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwivillan Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 (edited) 3 minutes ago, GlobalVillan said: Its about squad depth so Torres being an upgrade on Mings, misses the point. We need both! Look what at OT happened when Torres got injured. Our 1st 11 is fantastic. Maybe our first 13 say. Of those who aren't out for the season. And then the quality drops off a cliff. Which, again, is why I think 5th is our ceiling. Lenglet is pretty decent backup for Torres. I feared Kamara stupid suspension would cost us and it did at OT we were toothless in central midfield Edited January 14 by Kiwivillan 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Follyfoot Posted January 14 VT Supporter Share Posted January 14 18 minutes ago, GlobalVillan said: Youve conveniently missed out the fact that in half of 2023 we had Buendia, Mings and a fit Ramsey playing out of his skin. We have none of those for the run in. Our squad is not strong enough and that will be quite evident as we get further into the season, just like it has recently. Another question, if you don’t mind, where do you think we could finish if we had Mings and Buendia fit and Ramsey playing at his best Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CVByrne Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 (edited) 12 minutes ago, Delphinho123 said: I honestly think we’ll finish 5th. And that is some achievement. Having watched a fair bit of other teams this year, I predict: City Liverpool Spurs Arsenal Villa As the top 5. If that means CL, then we have to try and push on and cement the place. Chelsea and United are going to start feeling the pinch of not being in CL and so we have to strengthen to stay above them. I’d be looking at getting rid of a fair few in the Summer and bringing in 3 players at most, but 3 high quality options. Spurs are overrated, I think they've been quite lucky. They just play a game of chaos and allow so many chances against them. The xG for and against is 35.2 and 34.8 meaning they create as many chances as they concede. The top 5 in terms of xG difference are Liverpool, City, Arsenal, Chelsea and Villa. The top 4 teams and the team who cannot finish any of the chances they create as they've no proper CF. In the expected points table it's the same top 5 teams The underlying numbers say we should stay in top 4 and Spurs should drop back. Edited January 14 by CVByrne 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GlobalVillan Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 3 minutes ago, Follyfoot said: Another question, if you don’t mind, where do you think we could finish if we had Mings and Buendia fit and Ramsey playing at his best Well I think we would win the ECL and still be able to focus on the league so a trophy and top 3 or 4. I think fatigue will set in with a lot of our key players in the latter dtages of the season and we will prioritise winning the ECL. Which is fine. But will cost us league points. @KiwivillanI agree about Kamara. That silly red card still pisses me off now! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GlobalVillan Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 5 minutes ago, CVByrne said: Spurs are overrated, I think they've been quite lucky. They just play a game of chaos and allow so many chances against them. The xG for and against is 35.2 and 34.8 meaning they create as many chances as they concede. The top 5 in terms of xG difference are Liverpool, City, Arsenal, Chelsea and Villa. The top 4 teams and the team who cannot finish any of the chances they create as they've no proper CF. The underlying numbers say we should stay in top 4 and Spurs should drop back. Who gives a flying **** about XG. Spurs are just 3 points behind us and have been missing Maddison, their key forward for a chunk of the season as well as having to adapt to life without Englands record goalscorer. They are also strengthening their squad currently and will be well positioned for the run in with no European distractions. XG can get in the bin. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwivillan Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 (edited) 9 minutes ago, GlobalVillan said: KiwivillanI agree about Kamara. That silly red card still pisses me off now! I don't care what anyone says. Emi caused that and he was first to say sorry on Twitter to Kamara apology post Edited January 14 by Kiwivillan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lichfield Dean Posted January 14 VT Supporter Share Posted January 14 Presumably UEFA are no longer considering scrapping the new format for the upcoming season? There was some talk about it being abandoned after the super league legal case a few weeks back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hank Scorpio Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 54 minutes ago, GlobalVillan said: Sadly not. I hope I'm wrong of course. Are you going to ignore the fact that Ramsey had no pre season and is trying to gain fitness during full Premier league games? Does that seem more likely than, as you suggest he has suddenly turned rubbish compared to last season? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calcifer Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 I honestly don't see us finishing top 4. Think FFP is going to hinder us, if we can't bring in some extra players, with Europe to come back soon, the players are already blowing out their ass, Let's be brutally honest, If teams play the low block we can't break it, teams will know this is our weakness. I expect to see this deployed more by opposition managers. RB is an area we do need back up, Konsa needs to be in the middle! Cash is an OK player but he isn't the player that will push us to the next level. Perfect squad player, but it's an area we need an upgrade If someone said to me at the start of the season you would finah 5th, I would have snapped their hand off! Will 5th give us champions league? Would probably need English clubs to win the Europa, UCL and us to win the Conference. We had an extra team in Europe and 2 have already gone finishing bottom of their groups... But if a team that is not in the top 4 wins the Europa (tall ask I know) they would get the UCL spot and 5th would get Europa. UEFA ain't letting 6 english clubs in the ULC! Would be our luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GlobalVillan Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 5 minutes ago, Hank Scorpio said: Are you going to ignore the fact that Ramsey had no pre season and is trying to gain fitness during full Premier league games? Does that seem more likely than, as you suggest he has suddenly turned rubbish compared to last season? No it's precisely the fact that he hasn't had a pre season that we DON'T have a fit and in form Ramsey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CVByrne Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 49 minutes ago, GlobalVillan said: Who gives a flying **** about XG. Spurs are just 3 points behind us and have been missing Maddison, their key forward for a chunk of the season as well as having to adapt to life without Englands record goalscorer. They are also strengthening their squad currently and will be well positioned for the run in with no European distractions. XG can get in the bin. Lots of people who understand how longer trends and statistical variability works and means. If I give you odds for 2/1 on rolling a 6 on a dice and you take the best and roll a 6. It was still a bad bet. The more times we roll the dice and play the bets the higher the probability I will win over time. This principle applies to football. The more chances you create and the fewer chances you concede, over time that will translate into results on the pitch. Just because you don't understand something doesn't mean it's useless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodders129 Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 1 hour ago, GlobalVillan said: Sadly not. I hope I'm wrong of course. That is massively pessimistic. What’s that opinion based on? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GlobalVillan Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 (edited) 6 minutes ago, rodders129 said: That is massively pessimistic. What’s that opinion based on? He hasn't had a pre-season and coming into the heat of a a hectic mid season and building up fitness that way, is not the same as having the controlled and intergrated pre-season fitness build up. He has been poor in the games he has featured in so far this season and I understand why. Hope he proves me wrong, but I think he will struggle to get back to the heights of last season in the next few months. Edited January 14 by GlobalVillan 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinker Posted January 14 VT Supporter Share Posted January 14 Could be joint top on points today. Think we just need to worry about our own results as if we continue on our 12 month form we should get top 4. Spurs with their high intensity Besla ball tatic will always pick up injuries and concede late in games. I think we will finish above them. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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