KozIsCul
02 Aug 2005, 02:10 AM
The Baptista thing was really disappointing. We really need _somebody_ nicknamed "The Beast". The physical presence of the team has declined substantially over the last couple of years or so. Thank God for Phil at least.
That leaves us in a situation where we have a little money, but no real good targets. The important thing is that our maneuvers in the transfer market must be governed by the opportunities out there, not by our perceived need to get new players.
The same goes for replacing Vieira. The "replacement" for Vieira might not be there. But, the opportunity to improve the team isn't just restricted to one position. For example, the signing of GK Viera was an excellent move. Michael Owen or Jermaine Jenas would not be, for different reasons.
Having said that, the performance of the team this year was always going to be dependent on the players who were in the squad last year, and we have reason to think that many of them will improve. Others need to regain lost form. AW has to sort all this while still winning the early matches.
We should be more afraid of poor coaching by the staff more than our disappointments in the transfer market. It was very troubling to see, in spite of all our wins, the same problems plague the team for the whole year, with seemingly little improvement. The team must stop goals from set pieces and long balls. They must learn how to retain possession against an overloaded midfield. They have to figure out something to do with their multitude of corner kicks.
I'd say there's at least 3/4 chance that we'll finish 2nd this season. I fear Chelsea will be just too consistent to take the title from them. ManU just plain sucks way too much to be a real threat, and Liverpool are still a year away. The real goal this year, aside from any silverware we might win, is to restore our ability to intimidate the rest of the league, to the point where, before the whistle blows against Charlton or Birmingham or whoever, the opposition already knows, in their heart of hearts, that they are beat.
That leaves us in a situation where we have a little money, but no real good targets. The important thing is that our maneuvers in the transfer market must be governed by the opportunities out there, not by our perceived need to get new players.
The same goes for replacing Vieira. The "replacement" for Vieira might not be there. But, the opportunity to improve the team isn't just restricted to one position. For example, the signing of GK Viera was an excellent move. Michael Owen or Jermaine Jenas would not be, for different reasons.
Having said that, the performance of the team this year was always going to be dependent on the players who were in the squad last year, and we have reason to think that many of them will improve. Others need to regain lost form. AW has to sort all this while still winning the early matches.
We should be more afraid of poor coaching by the staff more than our disappointments in the transfer market. It was very troubling to see, in spite of all our wins, the same problems plague the team for the whole year, with seemingly little improvement. The team must stop goals from set pieces and long balls. They must learn how to retain possession against an overloaded midfield. They have to figure out something to do with their multitude of corner kicks.
I'd say there's at least 3/4 chance that we'll finish 2nd this season. I fear Chelsea will be just too consistent to take the title from them. ManU just plain sucks way too much to be a real threat, and Liverpool are still a year away. The real goal this year, aside from any silverware we might win, is to restore our ability to intimidate the rest of the league, to the point where, before the whistle blows against Charlton or Birmingham or whoever, the opposition already knows, in their heart of hearts, that they are beat.