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2021/22 Demarai Gray

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BlueToff said:
Not gonna turn this into the James thread. I mean, what you say is based on what another manager who isn't here anymore did. Gomes didn't need babysitting the other day and there could be a good chance he starts tomorrow.

The point I was making is it was arrogant in the extreme to think we were good/strong enough to let another player go without replacing them. We aren't there yet as a squad and footy is a squad game.

You point out Sigurdsson. Well that's another player that has gone without being replaced. He'd have been used by Rafael this season, no doubt about it.
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That 3rd goal we scored against Burnley is our way forward mate - players like Doucoure and Gray pace and energy and directness.

I never want to see the trio of slugs anywhere near our midfield starting games again man
 
TheBigIguana said:
Should be. But our yearly expectations being that when we are crap is not helpful. If we at some point between Martinez leaving and now decided, no, actually we need to target meaningful and lasting improvement and not Europe we'd be better off.
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We aren't *that* crap though.

We're not far off Arsenal and we're Kane/Son away from Spurs, in all honesty.

There's four really good squads in this league and the rest are middling to crap. I'd say we're in the middle of the middling ones... There's maybe 7 stronger squads that are definitely stronger than ours.
 
ForeverBlue92 said:
That 3rd goal we scored against Burnley is our way forward mate - players like Doucoure and Gray pace and energy and directness.

I never want to see the trio of slugs anywhere near our midfield starting games again man
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That way forward you spoke about came because we were on a counter-attack. Gomes was also on the pitch and him being there had given Doucoure chance to break clear a bit more.

It's all about moments in games and setting up for different games. Gray would be a big miss if he's injured for tomorrow because of his pace. But this isn't FIFA, you can't play in the same way every game.
 
BlueToff said:
We aren't *that* crap though.

We're not far off Arsenal and we're Kane/Son away from Spurs, in all honesty.

There's four really good squads in this league and the rest are middling to crap. I'd say we're in the middle of the middling ones... There's maybe 7 stronger squads that are definitely stronger than ours.
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I agree we're in the group that could finish 5th to 7th. But I'd say that group includes West Ham and Leicester also for sure to go along with the two scummy sides you've said and having seen some games it wouldn't surprise me if Brighton and Wolves put themselves in the mix as well. I also still have a little belief in Villa but that might not click this year. So it's a big group meaning we're more likely than not going to be outside.

I'm very impressed with how we're playing thus far and hope we keep it rolling but even if we finish 5th the key is sustaining it. The key is not having a manager on the hot seat or fired by Christmas 2022. If we're going to be the club we want to we need to have a run of being a top 8 at worst team. One offs are fun but don't ultimately lead anywhere but right where we're at. And because of that it ultimately for me doesn't actually matter this year if we're 5th or 9th or 11th. We need to build.
 
RomanReigns said:
Arise sir Alexander of Iwobi
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Iwobi Wan Iwobi

1631919831885.webp
 

BlueToff said:
That way forward you spoke about came because we were on a counter-attack. Gomes was also on the pitch and him being there had given Doucoure chance to break clear a bit more.

It's all about moments in games and setting up for different games. Gray would be a big miss if he's injured for tomorrow because of his pace. But this isn't FIFA, you can't play in the same way every game.
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Tell that to Man City..
 
BlueToff said:
We aren't *that* crap though.

We're not far off Arsenal and we're Kane/Son away from Spurs, in all honesty.

There's four really good squads in this league and the rest are middling to crap. I'd say we're in the middle of the middling ones... There's maybe 7 stronger squads that are definitely stronger than ours.
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4, there's 4 stronger squads.

You won't convince me otherwise, sure other teams have a few good players, but our squad is the 5th best in the league.
 
MikelsGoat said:
4, there's 4 stronger squads.

You won't convince me otherwise, sure other teams have a few good players, but our squad is the 5th best in the league.
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Our lack of FB cover is the only reason I'm unsure about that. Plus there are some caveats too. Will the manager play James? Is Rondon still at the same level of when he was at Newcastle.? And will Gbamin stay fit enough to be a reliable cover for Allan and Doucs?
 

MikelsGoat said:
4, there's 4 stronger squads.

You won't convince me otherwise, sure other teams have a few good players, but our squad is the 5th best in the league.
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Hmm, I still think Leicester and Spurs have stronger squads tbh mate. We really don't have that much depth (although that has improved). Arsenal are about level too I'd say, but I think we have a better manager. West Ham - about the same as us. Other than that squad wise that's just around where we are I think.
 
Marius57 said:
You have the benitez fan boys saying top 14 is acceptable, and the anti benitez fans saying they would be amazed to get top 10 under him. So not sure who he thinks is expecting Europe.

Either side of the fence is disgraceful ambition though.
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I think 10th or 8th will be about as far as we get (with less points than last season).

You can't spend £1.5mill in the transfer window with a squad that needs work on it (new RB, LB, CM) and think we'd get Europe. Madness.
 

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