Royal-Blue-Mersey
Player Valuation: £500k
I'm not sure about that, tbh.
I'd have to look it up but my gut instinct is under Martinez that our points total against the teams below us in the league has improved more than the points total vs the teams above.
I think looking at how many of our points have been gained vs the top 5, bottom 5 and middle 10 is interesting in terms of what it tells us about teams. And I imagine that this year we'll have improved most vs the latter.
Probably straying off topic here, so I'll keep this short.
I haven't looked it up either, so I'm not sure. You might be right in terms of results (which I know is all that really matters at the end of the day), but I mean more about performances.
I'm thinking back to those run of home games, think it was West Ham, Cardiff, Swansea. I was delighted that we won them, but it wasn't half hard (and a little dull to watch), and the players just didn't seem up for it as much as we do against the bigger teams. Also, the defeat to Palace at home, and the struggle to beat Fulham/Sunderland away, and the loss to Southampton.
We've played great at times this season, but we've also rode our luck a bit, and I'm concerned that when that luck runs out, those narrow wins become draws. That's why I want Martinez to get our players more fired up against those sort of teams and turn narrow wins, into more convincing and comfortable wins.
Anyway, that wasn't as short as I'd planned, so apologies!