The facts dont support the notion we've slipped away from the top 6

[davek]

Exactly.We did something with the ball on Saturday, unlike last season were we passed the ball around aimlessly. Weren't you a stallwart supporter of the Manager for those tactics while the rest of us were calling for the type of FOOTBALL we saw on Saturday

The type of football we saw on Saturday we saw on display last season too: Lille, Wolfsburg, United at home just off the top of my head. When other teams allow us to face their goal and have bit of space to break into that's what happens to them. The trouble is that those opponents are in the minority and the vast majority of teams will get all but one player behind the ball. So as great as Saturday was we'll struggle to play that way too often. I'm sure Martinez and the players wish they could play that way all the time, but reality dictates otherwise and they have to play a different way and be patient...and get the right personnel in who can unlock defences.

 

[davek]

Bump this.

Form this season pretty much underlines the point made in my OP.

UPDATE:

Last 10 match form guide:

City 30 pts
Arsenal 18 pts
United 15 pts
Everton 14 pts
Chelsea 14 pts
Spurs 13 pts
Southampton 13 pts
Liverpool 11 pts

Again, underlines the original post.

 

[Saint Domingo]

Bump this.

Form this season pretty much underlines the point made in my OP.

UPDATE:

Last 10 match form guide:

City 30 pts
Arsenal 18 pts
United 15 pts
Everton 14 pts
Chelsea 14 pts
Spurs 13 pts
Southampton 13 pts
Liverpool 11 pts

Again, underlines the original post.

This is what is annoying about Everton. We can play to a really high level, and we can show topb4 form (regardless of how much other squads are worth in comparison) yet for some reason we just drop off it sometimes and throw points away. I want to see this sort of consistency over a season. It's easily doable we just have to avoid these stretches of games where we lose a few and draw the rest. So frustrating when you see Everton fourth in a form table over a calendar year or over a different 38 game stretch, for once do it in a season when it matters Everton. It is all about mentality with this side. We have the players all over the pitch to consistently beat anyone.

 

[davek]

This is what is annoying about Everton. We can play to a really high level, and we can show topb4 form (regardless of how much other squads are worth in comparison) yet for some reason we just drop off it sometimes and throw points away. I want to see this sort of consistency over a season. It's easily doable we just have to avoid these stretches of games where we lose a few and draw the rest. So frustrating when you see Everton fourth in a form table over a calendar year or over a different 38 game stretch, for once do it in a season when it matters Everton. It is all about mentality with this side. We have the players all over the pitch to consistently beat anyone.

We'll see what can be done this season in games against the likes of WBA etc who park the bus. Hopefully we have the smarts to brea them down this season.

 

[catcherintherye]

Bump this.

Form this season pretty much underlines the point made in my OP.

UPDATE:

Last 10 match form guide:

City 30 pts
Arsenal 18 pts
United 15 pts
Everton 14 pts
Chelsea 14 pts
Spurs 13 pts
Southampton 13 pts
Liverpool 11 pts

Again, underlines the original post.

Where are Leicester mate?

Given we collapsed the last couple of home games last season thats a pretty good score, especially with our hard start.

What is really alarming is Liverpool. No word of a lie, they could be relegation fodder this season under Rodgers.

 

[Seamus Colemole]

Cool. When do we get the "4th in the last 10 games" trophy?

 

[sageyefc]

I fully expect us to be in or around the top 5 by seasons end.

 

[davek]

Cool. When do we get the "4th in the last 10 games" trophy?

There's always a cynic.

 

[davek]

Where are Leicester mate?

Given we collapsed the last couple of home games last season thats a pretty good score, especially with our hard start.

What is really alarming is Liverpool. No word of a lie, they could be relegation fodder this season under Rodgers.

I only looked at the top clubs from last season plus us because it was a generally expressed feeling in the summer that we'd dropped away from being a top 6 team.

As for Liverpool: someone pointed out yesterday that since their defeat at the hands of United last March (flagged up generally as the point they lost it) they've only won 4 times.

If they lose at home against Norwich I wouldn't be surprised to see Rodgers sacked.

 

[Stan Lee Park]

There's always a cynic.

And there's always somebody who can quote selective statistics to prove any point they want to make.
The only fact that matters was our finishing position last season, and that wasn't good enough - compared with the previous season and every season bar one of Moyes' tenure.

 

[catcherintherye]

I only looked at the top clubs from last season plus us because it was a generally expressed feeling in the summer that we'd dropped away from being a top 6 team.

As for Liverpool: someone pointed out yesterday that since their defeat at the hands of United last March (flagged up generally as the point they lost it) they've only won 4 times.

If they lose at home against Norwich I wouldn't be surprised to see Rodgers sacked.

Without trying to go off point, Marx symbolised capitalism as a system of boom and bust, with the cycle between boom and bust reducing and the bust getting deeper and deeper.
This is basically what I see with Rodgers and Liverpool. He gets lucky for a few games that relies on a new formation, but never deals with the fundamental issues of the squad. He then gets found out quicker and quicker than before and the poor form continues to dip even deeper.

 

[davek]

And there's always somebody who can quote selective statistics to prove any point they want to make.
The only fact that matters was our finishing position last season, and that wasn't good enough - compared with the previous season and every season bar one of Moyes' tenure.

Standard measuring points in the game: New Years Day onward/last 10 games.

I'm not going to apologise that they show us in a decent light.

 

[Kendall's Dream]

Swansea away means a lot more now. Win there after the good start they have made, and we mean business

 

[bourneblue]

I get your point Davek,I hope by the end of October you will be vaulting this thread big time. Early days yet but it does appear to be a bit more promising this season.

 

[davek]

Without trying to go off point, Marx symbolised capitalism as a system of boom and bust, with the cycle between boom and bust reducing and the bust getting deeper and deeper.
This is basically what I see with Rodgers and Liverpool. He gets lucky for a few games that relies on a new formation, but never deals with the fundamental issues of the squad. He then gets found out quicker and quicker than before and the poor form continues to dip even deeper.

In Marxist terms, Rodgers is an example of the tendency of the fall in the rate of profit: the organic composition of capital increases to a point where the enterprise becomes unproductive. That's what he's done: increased the team investment to a massive degree and then produced less with it.