Guardian preview of our season

[billycopper]

http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2013/aug/07/premier-league-preview-everton

I appreciate where the perception comes from that we over-achieved under Moyes and that we should expect to drop back into midtable (or worse), but I think we'll surprise people this season. We were hard to beat but painfully predictable under Moysie. This summer we've played some top European sides with a variety of different personnel and systems and we've been unfortunate to concede any goals at all. So, it's not looking like we're going to suddenly fall apart defensively. We could do with being a bit more potent upfront still but I don't think we've seen the best of any of our forwards yet. Mirallas, Jelavic and Deulofeu are all capable of hitting a purple patch and I'm sure that Naismith, Anichebe and Kone will weigh in with a fair return too. If Baines and Fellaini stay and fringe players like Oviedo, Barkley and Stones provide greater competition for places I don't see why we can't make progress from last season.

Arsenal and Spurs could both be arguably weaker once the window closes, as too Liverpool if Suarez either moves or goes on strike. And I don't really see anyone from Fulham, Stoke or West Brom overtaking us this term.

 

[Petit]

The way I see it, Utd, City, Chelsea, Spurs and Arsenal have too big and too good squads for us to be able to compete with them over the course of a complete season.

We´re competing with Liverpool, Swansea, Fulham, Sunderland, Newcastle and Norwich for that 6th spot.

 

[Vacancyhub uk]

simple question would be are we more confident before this season than last? i would have to say i felt happy we would finish top half under Moyes and maybe push for europe.

Under Martinez we are supposed to play more football, thus far i have only seen glimpses of the back 3 or 4 passing once or twice before the hoof.

We havent the players to play total football imo and i think we will finish around 7th to 10th.

 

[Tubey]

I think 7th-8th would be a good season. It's a transition year and we need to give the new manager time.

 

[sportbillyblue]

The way I see it, Utd, City, Chelsea, Spurs and Arsenal have too big and too good squads for us to be able to compete with them over the course of a complete season.

We´re competing with Liverpool, Swansea, Fulham, Sunderland, Newcastle and Norwich for that 6th spot.

Disagree on the NE teams but I'd throw Soton in there. Sadly I think 6th or anywhere near would be a result.

 

[neil999]

I think 7th-8th would be a good season. It's a transition year and we need to give the new manager time.

yep, i'd be happy with 8th if we smash a couple of teams..whcih we should be capable of doing

 

[billycopper]

The way I see it, Utd, City, Chelsea, Spurs and Arsenal have too big and too good squads for us to be able to compete with them over the course of a complete season.

We´re competing with Liverpool, Swansea, Fulham, Sunderland, Newcastle and Norwich for that 6th spot.

Bale won a lot of games for Spurs last year. I'm not sure that Soldado, Paulinho and Chadli will have the same impact.

Arsenal haven't addressed any of their perennial shortcomings so far and it might be a case of second season syndrome for Santi Cazorla.

Suarez would be a massive loss to Liverpool and I think that their defence could be worse off without Skrtel, Carragher and Reina.

Swansea could be a threat this year with Bony but the Europa League will push their squad to the limits.

Norwich might be quite useful with Fer, Redmond and Hooper. Ruddy will be back from injury too. They might struggle to grind out wins and to maintain consistency though.

I'm not too concerned about Newcastle, Sunderland and Fulham.

 

[billycopper]

Disagree on the NE teams but I'd throw Soton in there. Sadly I think 6th or anywhere near would be a result.

Agreed on Southampton. I think that our players might want to prove that their success wasn't all down to Moyes and that we'll do just as well without him. They seem to be more free to express themselves now and perhaps happier and more relaxed.

 

[Timak]

Getting anywhere near 60 points in his first season with an entirely new set of coaching staff, hardly any budget and another managers squad would be a huge achievement.

If we manage that, and play more attractive football than last season, then I'll hail Martinez as an actual footballing genius.

If however we do drift down the league and end up with around 45-55 points I won't be surprised because I am firmly in the "we overachieved under Moyes relative to our budget" camp. Because we did.

 

[dannyboy]

I think the biggest problem for us this year will be goals. We're going to lose Fellaini's threat for the most part with him dropping back to a more withdrawn role. Whoever replaces him there isn't going to be anywhere near as effective.

Our forwards still fill me with no confidence whatsoever so keeping Mirrallas fit is an absolute must. He's the only player I'd back to get into double figures this year.

 

[njligernj]

I feel like they (media in general) never predicted us to do that well even under Moyes. Every year our lack of funds etc. was going to "catch up with us" and we'd stop "punching above our weight." I saw a lot of 8-10th predictions each year even when we typically finished 7th+.

I think the biggest problem for us this year will be goals. We're going to lose Fellaini's threat for the most part with him dropping back to a more withdrawn role. Whoever replaces him there isn't going to be anywhere near as effective. Our forwards still fill me with no confidence whatsoever so keeping Mirrallas fit is an absolute must. He's the only player I'd back to get into double figures this year.

Naismith! ... Mirallas would be a monster in the hole but I fear our lack of wide options will force him out there. Plus (unless he's sold) we don't lose all of Fellaini's goals when he plays deep. I think we can actually improve our goals since, while he is good for around 10 goals, we can get a bit one-dimensional when Felli is up top (although there are occasions when it's worked like a charm too).

 

[dannyboy]

I feel like they (media in general) never predicted us to do that well even under Moyes. Every year our lack of funds etc. was going to "catch up with us" and we'd stop "punching above our weight." I saw a lot of 8-10th predictions each year even when we typically finished 7th+.

Naismith!

He looks much improved but I'd still be surprised if he's more than a squad option.

 

[SerenityNigh]

The way I see it, Utd, City, Chelsea, Spurs and Arsenal have too big and too good squads for us to be able to compete with them over the course of a complete season.

We´re competing with Liverpool, Swansea, Fulham, Sunderland, Newcastle and Norwich for that 6th spot.

United have never finished below 3rd in the Premier, but have a new manager. City look powerful in a FM setup, but who are they really? Also, they have a new manager. Chelsea look the best of the top three, since their manager has been there before. Maybe I've over-rated consistency in management, but I'd not be surprised to see trouble at one of these clubs.

Arsenal have the longest-tenured manager, but what have they done to improve their team? They should be solid, but not too scary. Spurs will be interesting, but losing Bale could be too much for them. Who will they purchase with the Bale proceeds? Liverpool could be dangerous, but they've got a bottler at the helm and without Suarez may lack real bite. What's in the envelopes?

Swansea will be interesting, but I'm not sure they're deep enough to manage all the cups and the league. I'll be happy with competitive campaign, and doing better than last year's 6 will be difficult, but I'm not wringing my hands yet.

 

[billycopper]

Getting anywhere near 60 points in his first season with an entirely new set of coaching staff, hardly any budget and another managers squad would be a huge achievement.

If we manage that, and play more attractive football than last season, then I'll hail Martinez as an actual footballing genius.

If however we do drift down the league and end up with around 45-55 points I won't be surprised because I am firmly in the "we overachieved under Moyes relative to our budget" camp. Because we did.

Under Moyes we drew over 40% of our games. I think it works out that if we'd won half and lost half of them we'd have had 50% more points than we did. So it's worth the risk of going for it a bit more.

I've enjoyed watching the football under Martinez, looking at how he uses systems, what special instructions he gives to players and how he tries to change a game. If we're going to keep it on the floor rather than looking for the channels or Fellaini up front, then we should see our creative players being on the ball more often and in more dangerous positions.

I don't think we're short of cash. We've spent around £7m so far, which could have been the money that we had ear-marked for Fer and could have been an advance on tv revenue. I think that we still had the majority of the Rodwell money available though and we've had a rent reduction on Finch Farm. We were probably paid a few million for taking part in the US tournament and there is the potential that we'll make another couple of million if Rooney is sold for a decent profit. Martinez has brought in four players so far and I think that he wants to assess things fully before deciding whether we need further strengthening.

 

[Goat]

I think 7th-8th would be a good season. It's a transition year and we need to give the new manager time.

Totally agree, the squad alone is more than capable of finishing 8th on its own, with Bill in charge.

Anything more is a plus, anything less would be dissapointing, but no need to press the panic button, im gonna moan and cry for most of the Season, but im willing to give him a Season, to bed himself in, next Season I will be demanding a little more, but at the end of the day hes still got the same glass ceiling that Moyes had.