A quick retrospective with a month to go

(Mods, please feel free to dump this in another thread, wasn't quite sure where else to put this.)

There is still a lot of football to be played and we don't know today what the season may bring us in terms of silverware. But trophies won and lost have the knack of hiding strengths (through losses) and weaknesses (through wins). This is a stream of consciousness so probably a few idiotic notions (what's new!) but it will be a relief to put this down in TLDR format

So with that said, and a week's break (love that a full 6 days is considered a break but there you go, that's part of being successful at the business end of the season), thought it would be good to put out the good and the bad as it stands today with no regards for medals to come (or not as the case may be).

Overall, if at the start of the season you'd have told me we would still be in Europe (albeit with 3 superb sides) AND be in with a small shout of the title, I'd have bitten your hand off (Walking Dead style) and walked around with it round my neck (Game of Thrones style).

Seriously, what we have achieved to this point has shown once again how lucky we are to have Mourinho back at the helm. It has often felt like we have been treading water with a coach and I do include RDM in that. Love Robbie for everything he has given us, but as mentioned above a win can cover a lot of cracks and my own perspective is that we were not going to advance with him. I wish him well and expect he will have a great career in management but not with us right now.

I keep hearing how Jose isn't a tactical mastermind but we have often shown our best form against the best teams and that is something we can build on as we once again entertain the thought of regular title races. That we have been able to get wins at City, to make up a 2 goal deficit in Europe against one of the 'in vogue' sides is proof that Jose knows what to do when it counts. We may well get hammered at Anfield, but that shouldn't detract overly from what we have achieved.

On the flipside, we continue to graft against teams that want to defend deep and pressure our attacking trio. Too many sloppy, low energy performances as Jose tries to feel out his preferred combination if there is such a thing. However, given I am something of an optimist on the whole, I also apportion this significantly to the lack of any consistency up top. I cannot think of another side that has gone this deep in the season without a recognizable striker (or two). That we lack this right now (and yes Eto'o has been good in patches, but he looks his age be it 32 or 52 ) and it's both the worst thing and best thing. Worst for obvious reasons, best because of how much better we should get with a front man. This really excites me as I think it will be much harder for the other top English sides to improve as much as we can with a single purchase.

We have some cracking good players out on loan but I still am uncertain if we will see the fruits of this. What we do with Lukaku (and when we do it) will be telling. If HE can't come back and contribute, I have doubts that any of our loanees ever will (TC should be the exception but if Cech continues to perform, even there we may cash in). This is a tough one. Money from these loanees stemming from sales is good for FFP, but I also look at Liverpool and see Sterling and think that we're still missing a trick. Players developed internally that come up through the ranks are the future talismans of most top sides. No coincidence that JT was that guy for us and that Gerrard is that player for Liverpool even if there are better players on the pitch.

Centre Back needs to be addressed. We are good, but not great there. JT is getting older but still puts in timeless performances. Cahill is solid enough. Luiz is not going to be our starting CB and neither I think is Ivanovic. We need to get young there and quickly. Speaking of Luiz, I'm bloody confused. I love his spirit, his energy and his talent but still don't know where to play him. Personally I would start him in midfield in front of the back four (but in more of an advanced sweeper than a true DM) against the lesser teams that we should be beating and that have less potency up front. He can be a real spoiler there. I'd use him at CB in spots and would have him as an energy guy on the bench in big matches, but I don't see where I would start him in our big match XI. But we need a squad, not a team and I would resist calls to sell him because he wouldn't start a Champions League final in many of our first choice elevens.

Matic was a great buy and a pity it took selling him to see him develop. But we're not Liverpool and the past is not my focus, but the present and the future. Few here doubt he has the potential to be a huge cog in a very successful side. That said, we could benefit from another central (vertically and laterally) midfielder as Frank is also aging I don't think we need to spend huge here and maybe MVG can be a glue guy in the middle, but I also look at Yaya and would love to get the poor mans version of him. There are good value options out there.

Our strength is the attacking midfield set, though each frustrate in different ways (except for Hazard who is as much a game changer as Robben used to be for us). Oscar can still be lightweight and even though Jose has handed him the no 10 crown, he doesn't always get the nod on the biggest occasions or against physical sides. Without him though, we lack a critical passer. The rest of the squad here are runners in different ways. Pace in plenty on and off the ball but often lacking a killer pass. But they are a young group and so much potential, it makes me very happy that we are deep here, especially as this was one of our biggest gaps for season after season. And also, like I said, with a reliable front man, who knows how much better they could be. I have some doubts with all, but they are far outweighed by my hopes.

Can't talk about this group without Mata. This still makes me sad but in the current environment I can understand the move (it is possible to understand and dislike it all at the same time). Jose for reasons he knows best (be it work rate, defensive ability or something else) made him second fiddle to Oscar. Do I think that hurt us at times this season, yes. Do I think that we sometimes looked our best with Oscar there, yes I do. So given that the best manager we have ever had deemed this to be so, it made sense to give Oscar the keys as well as profit financially. I do wish we had gotten more money and I really wish he had gone abroad as I think we will see him excel if Moyes (or his successor as the case may be) gives him the no 10 role full time, but in the context of this reality, I understand why we did it. I also think that it wouldn't be Mata that makes the difference against the weaker sides as much as a top striker will and that is going to prove to be (in my opinion) a better use of the money than a backup no. 10.

Last of all, I am not sure we'll see any of the front 3 again. I hope Torres makes the Spain squad and scores a few to get an Italian/Spanish club interested in a cut price deal. Ba is definitely gone and I think Eto'o will be gone as well (he has looked awfully slow at times and in a fast attack, need something else - he also holds it up well for a man of his size, but again, we can probably do better there).

I'm excited for the current squad and extremely excited for what we can be with an effective scorer. We may end up potless (aka pulling a Wenger) this year, but we've made more progress than I thought possible, we are young and deep in many key areas. We also still have Roman's money and that won't last forever, at which point, our moping about Mata this and Torres that will likely seem like the distant dreams of greedy people. Until then, we have all the parts to be a great team for several years and with not that much effort can have as much success as we've seen so far under Roman.

Keeping the Blue Flag Flying High, Forever!


PS I wrote this in English as I learned today that this is a language that Naughtius is conversant in

 

I am not Zani and I am not in possession of closed envelopes

 

I don't disagree, but my point on this was that we have a Premiership ready player in a position of need and even he may not get the nod. If he doesn't, I remain doubtful that we would roll out a young CD especially with Jose as defensively concerned as he is. Nothing would make me happier than to see one or more of this group as a regular, it's more a question of liklihood.....