Shambolic summer but plenty of reasons for optimism - by John Brennan

No its been shambolic. Three weeks to put things right.

Sloop John B making a positive return - man management.

I was thinking about these opening 4 games before the international break earlier. It's a tricky start, Chelsea and Newcastle away, with Bournemouth and villa at home - and villa's performance today won't help us, as I'm sure they won't come out of their penalty area. 

But these opening games have the potential to shape the whole season. We could easily win the lot.. we're a good home team, Chelsea seem an even bigger shit show than us and Newcastle we wiped the floor with last season when we were out of form and they were at the peak of their powers.  So there's an argument to be made that 12 points is possible. But then  equally you could make a case that we might struggle to match last season's opening 4 of a Bournemouth home win and 2 draws. 

I've just got no feel for it at all. I believe in klopp and think he's genuinely the games best, but it's clear we can't defend to save our lives at the moment and a lack of a 6 won't help with that. 

I'm generally a glass half empty fella, so I didn't see those 12 points. I'd almost be happy with the 5 like last year. 

9 minutes ago, Barrington Womble said:

I'm generally a glass half empty fella

To explain further…

IF we don’t buck our ideas up in the coming weeks and get some depth and fill some holes, this season may turn into a disaster.

Yeah it’s great Jurgen looks confident and pumped again. Yeah we have probably the best attack in the league. And yeah Mac Allister is a solid signing, jury still out on the Hungarian guy (just seems to foul everyone).

But crucially we haven’t moved the needle in addressing our main issues from last year and they won’t magically go away. I haven’t seen a defensive side of an elite team as poor as this one for a long long time. Teams go through us at will. That needs sorting. The team is too attack oriented, you don’t win anything by conceding goals.

Also, one or two injuries and we are in the crap already. You can’t let go of 8-9 players and bring in 2! It’s a long season for a team that is pushed to its limits in training and match days. Make no signings and I’ll give it two poor results before the fan base starts making noises.

It’s all very well going for Caciedo and I admire the ambition but the Club seriously needs to wake up now and secure some quality for this Manager to work with. A few poor results and he will be up against it.

 we haven’t moved the needle 

That is straight up American.

Shambolic is right. We've managed to start the season with a weaker defensive unit than we ended last season. On an optimistic note, we might just score more goals than we concede - Rock n Roll football.

Fucking hell John, you'd see a nuclear war as a fresh start!

8 hours ago, tlw content said:

Jörg Schmadt his pants?

Quality

In FSG’s defence, I don’t think this window has been anywhere near their top 3 worst windows.

For me, it’s:

1) Being top of the league, with no available CB’s and bringing in a pub player from Germany and another CB who may, or may not, actually exist

2) Having a year to replace the best player in the world and bringing in a small child, a maniac and a different pub player

3) Having their manager say he’d have “to be a lunatic” to sell a striker and not bring in a replacement, then do just that.

I think this could potentially be the worst. It depends how we cope I could see our Midfield suffering like last season because we have no 6 or 6 like players and our defence being like the shambles a few years ago. There's time. The worst decisions of all have been not topping up the side with genuine quality each window its been a shortsighted shit show on that front. 

Said at the end of the season  we are going to spend nearer to 200 million and my opinion hasn't changed. They better have another option after caciedo if its Lavia they better have a few options elsewhere too.

Squad aside and its massive imbalances, I'm more concerned about the tactics. It feels like we are trying to follow the lead of others rather carve our own way with what we have.

Once again we are looking like we’re going to be hoping for no injuries to key players, (unless Henry being here is the portent of some better news. Not holding my breath though.).

That’s never worked out in the past and it would be utter folly to rely on it again.

The Caicedo farce has shown we’ve been done up like a kipper, probably by agents looking for more money, rather than the player himself.
I have great faith that most players are fairly thick twats who just sign where the “x” is when they are told.

Up until that broke, we’d made changes where they needed to be made and pre-season was going pretty well. Midfield was looking more dynamic and the forwards were scoring goals. Defensively we still looked in need of improvement but that improvement may, or may not, have been in the offing. I guess we never know these things really until they actually happen, that’s how it used to be and how, I hope, it will be in the future.

With all the shite of the last week or so it’s easy to be dispirited but taking a step back from that, I think we’ll improve on last season but not enough to stop City picking up another hollow title.
 

1 hour ago, Bobby Hundreds said:

I think this could potentially be the worst. It depends how we cope I could see our Midfield suffering like last season because we have no 6 or 6 like players and our defence being like the shambles a few years ago. There's time. The worst decisions of all have been not topping up the side with genuine quality each window its been a shortsighted shit show on that front. 

 

Said at the end of the season  we are going to spend nearer to 200 million and my opinion hasn't changed. They better have another option after caciedo if its Lavia they better have a few options elsewhere too.

 

Squad aside and its massive imbalances, I'm more concerned about the tactics. It feels like we are trying to follow the lead of others rather carve our own way with what we have.

The point of not building each window is the key here. Build from a position of strength, it's the most obvious statement in football, but somehow with all the brains we have, nobody thought it important. If we'd have just stuck with that basic principle, then this summer wouldn't have needed the surgery it does, while at the same time dealing with a market with Saudi and Chelsea money. Then we might have been able to get through a summer like this by getting Mac on his release clause and not have to do anything else. Instead we need to buy half a team and we're just behind and failing to get too many targets. This summer is a major fuck up, but it's such a fuck up because of where we started. Getting Mac and Dom should represent a decent summer if the squad isn't fucked. 

'If nothing else works, a total pig-headed unwillingness to look facts in the face will see us through.'

We're a fucking shit show.

The tactics are crap with the players we have, apart from being a defensive shambles it also looks shit to the eye,  really ugly, we are terrible to watch. It should have been ditched, however without a full complement in midfield I don't know what we should do for the best. 442 probably but has a Klopp team ever played that?

Virgil will not be significantly better, maybe a bit more switched on as captain but his problems are manifesting as physical.  You can see it when he jumps, he's worried about the landing, he can't turn and face his own goal quickly, he's lost some pace.

MacAllister will be good. Szob I'm not as sure about but time will tell as with every new signing.

The less said about our transfer activity the better, disgraceful.

One positive, I dreamt Gakpo tore up the league this year and I can actually see it happening.

So we'll probably finish in the top 6, maybe even scraping fourth.  Well that doesn't sound so bad does it? Sorry yes it does, from where we were. Our fall has somehow been shocking but also utterly predictable. A shit show.

11 hours ago, tlw content said:

Speaking of people not doing their job, what about  Jörg Schmadtke? Big Jörg? Jarg Jurg? Jörg Schmadt his pants? The nicknames will come soon enough. Sooner than any of his signings, anyhow.

 

 

A bit childish that ..