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So just to get this straight,  60% predicting top half/saying that the squad should be capable of top half is 'the commonly thought' view of the forum. Based on 60% of people's guesses. And the example you've cited it Stifler. Okay then.

 

 

Well, yes :lol:

st this point I had to stop posting. Plain old facts boldly rejected lol.
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PL form 'amongst' the Europa League fixtures: W6 -- D1 -- L7 -- 42% win rate

 

PL form when no Europa League fixtures: W5 -- D7 -- L12 -- 20% win rate

 

 

The Europa League thing was always utter, utter f***ing bullshit and it's one of the main things I deeply hated him for.

 

c***. :thup:

 

Mental and physical fatigue is often cumulative. For example players might be fine during the Christmas run but the cumulative effect of fatigue might start to show in February. Also bad patches of form are harder to come out of with all of those games under their legs. 

 

Again EL performance stats are boosted by teams regularly in the competition who can cope with it. Chelsea, Spurs and Liverpool over the last 5 years as examples. They finish in the top spots regardless. It's the Evertons, Stoke and Swansea's that are better examples. Squads ill equipped for the challenge. All finished bottom half, all bar Stoke considered sacking their manager. None got so far in the competition. In recent years we've seen Southampton and West Ham not even qualify imo for fear of what it could do to league form.

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I thought we would finish 8-9th before the season started tbh, purely because doing so doesn't require a great squad and/or a great manager. McClaren's done terribly, worse than expected (and I didn't expect much) but I'm not going to retrospective start rimming Pardew in some vain attempt to point-score. It's pathetic.

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I thought we would finish 8-9th before the season started tbh, purely because doing so doesn't require a great squad and/or a great manager. McClaren's done terribly, worse than expected (and I didn't expect much) but I'm not going to retrospective start rimming Pardew in some vain attempt to point-score. It's pathetic.

 

Same, actually, 100% agree with you.

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Think the league is actually pretty good on the whole this season. The top teams are poor compared to what they were but almost every team have a few class players

aye I agree.

 

Watford's side isn't miles better than ours, and they are 8th. McClaren is doing is a f***ing terrible job

 

Give us Capour, Deeney and Igahlo we would be top half easy. As Ba / Best showed - if you've got 2 powerful, good finishers up top that can scare a defence to death and beat them to it - the 9 other players just have to keep it tight.  Some of these Igahlo goals are classic Demba/Best. Deeney knocks it into a bit of space, Igahlo storms everyone out the way and bosh into the net.

 

Keep it tight - win with a bit of magic can be powerful when everyone is confident.

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Watford's side isn't miles better than ours, and they are 8th. McClaren is doing is a f***ing terrible job

They have two strikers bang in form and a solid, strong team apart from that

 

They also just got promoted. They happen to have a very well organised and forward thinking manager.

 

And bought a lot of players in the Summer. They're a strong, athletic side with a pretty solid core and obvious strengths to play to. We have soft centre halves, weak midfielders, a lack of creativity and no obvious goalscorer. This team's no better than 15th.

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Nah. They've been the most direct team I've seen at SJP this season. Kept playing long diagonals to Deeney and Igahlo and we couldn't handle it.  Deeney is a real leader too.  Fantastic work rate. Great in the air. Strong. Team player. He's been fantastic - way better than any of our lot. We never looked like scoring against them either. 

 

The whole team is confident so they're playing it about a bit but mostly it's strength, athleticism and organisation down the spine with massive quality up top.

 

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Guest neesy111

People forget we don't have a team, it's just a bunch of individuals bought because of our farcical transfer policy.  That's why we are almost bottom and will continue to stay there until the transfer policy is gone and we start buying players to fix areas where we are woeful at.

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They do, and I think it's a lot to do with the manager, there would have been no one tipping them for top half this season, no way

 

Have to disagree, I don't see much style. Flores doesn't really have much of a good reputation, either, I'm sure VI mentioned he was a pretty uninspiring, pragmatic manager, for example.

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. The manager is getting more than the sum of their parts.

 

Starting to really get to me now that so many people on this board apparently don't think this is possible and that we're just doomed to be where we are because we don't have a 100% mint squad. It's fucking laughable, a good manager would have us performing, no doubt about it :thup:

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. The manager is getting more than the sum of their parts.

 

Starting to really get to me now that so many people on this board apparently don't think this is possible and that we're just doomed to be where we are because we don't have a 100% mint squad. It's fucking laughable, a good manager would have us performing, no doubt about it :thup:

 

You're making up opinions to argue with man. Everyone knows our form to date and the position we're in is unacceptable.

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. The manager is getting more than the sum of their parts.

 

Starting to really get to me now that so many people on this board apparently don't think this is possible and that we're just doomed to be where we are because we don't have a 100% mint squad. It's f***ing laughable, a good manager would have us performing, no doubt about it :thup:

 

I think this requires solid fundamentals and superb team spirit. Strong defenders, midfielders that compete, attackers that cause problems and score goals. To varying degrees that's what Leicester, Watford and Palace have (bit of magic rather than goalscoring attackers). We don't have any of those. No dominant CB's like them, no competitive central midfielders like Cabaye, Capoue or Kante, no goalscorers like Mahrez or Igahlo.

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You need both obviously. Mark Hughes is not an awful manager but you'd think so if you just went off QPR.

 

His record at Wales, Fulham, Blackburn and now Stoke are really impressive. Doesn't get the credit he deserves Hughes.

 

 

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You need both obviously. Mark Hughes is not an awful manager but you'd think so if you just went off QPR.

 

His record at Wales, Fulham, Blackburn and now Stoke are really impressive. Doesn't get the credit he deserves Hughes.

 

 

 

Completely agree. He was never the right fit for Man City, and no idea what happened with QPR, but I think he's a good manager who plays good football.

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You need both obviously. Mark Hughes is not an awful manager but you'd think so if you just went off QPR.

 

His record at Wales, Fulham, Blackburn and now Stoke are really impressive. Doesn't get the credit he deserves Hughes.

 

 

 

Completely agree. He was never the right fit for Man City, and no idea what happened with QPR, but I think he's a good manager who plays good football.

 

I can't stand the way Hughes goes on but in Arnautovic, Bojan & Shaqiri, he's formed a great front 3.

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. The manager is getting more than the sum of their parts.

 

Starting to really get to me now that so many people on this board apparently don't think this is possible and that we're just doomed to be where we are because we don't have a 100% mint squad. It's fucking laughable, a good manager would have us performing, no doubt about it :thup:

 

You're making up opinions to argue with man. Everyone knows our form to date and the position we're in is unacceptable.

 

I don't think I am, go to the McClaren thread and it's full of people explaining why we can't compete because Janmaat can't defend, Dummett is shit, Mbemba is young, Colo is shot, Colback and Anita are small and shit, Mitrovic is young and new.... and so on right through the team. It's all excuses for the manager being unable to make them into more than the sum of their parts.

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