Where do you reckon we'll finish?
God knows mate.
If we carry on floating around the 35% mark for wins, you're looking at anything from 10th-13th going by previous seasons, maybe a bit lower.
Under Moyes, our Prem finishes were
15th
7th
17th
4th
11th
6th
5th
5th
8th
7th
7th
6th
So no consecutive bottom half finishes with squads in a number of seasons far, far, far worse than the current one. And he didn't have a 20 goal a season (all competitions to be fair) striker of Lukaku's quality for three consecutive seasons.
The problem with praising performances is that they are essentially intangible - are we really being entertained if we play nice but left with disappointment on results? Not sure, I think it's subjective.
For me, there are key problems. The goalkeeper is now a complete liability. I personally think Funes Mori is utter garbage, but he's only played in, what, 16 of those 55 games (the 17 in 55 run referenced elsewhere); so the defensive unit is failing beyond just him. And some very, very average players have come in, like Kone and Cleverly, and it seems that they are largely untouchable.
We are being asked to see a semi-final as 'progress'. Is that it? Even Moyes managed what, three in his eleven full seasons - and his cup record is rightly judged as woeful. Martinez has managed one in three (so far), with the ignominy of going out in the first round of both comps last season.
And the worse thing about it all is we aren't even holding Martinez up against the yardsticks of Kendall, Royle, Catterick et al. - a standard we should be aspiring to. We're only comparing him with Moyes, who drifted through his final 5 years at the Club every season more disillusioned and disinterested than the last.
