Expectations

[evertonarntwe]

we'll still make 7th comfortably when we get all our injured players back and if they settle in

 

[JLW]

Expectations this season:
Create an identity and style of football
Rid the club of old guard
Get back the connection between players and fans
Approach every game with aiming for the win

From what I’ve seen so far all of the above is happening

 

[Toffe3m4n]

I expect to put a team like Huddersfield away very handily like. For me that game has caused the biggest concern for me so far.

 

[RobC]

Lack of clean sheets is a concern but hopefully the new signings bed in quickly and the defence tightens up.

 

[Kaiser Soysauce]

Disagree. Top 7 is the target, the top 6 teams are still way ahead (though with some luck we may catch 1 of them) and so we need to be 'the best of the rest' to finish 7th with a new manager, system, players and a focus on rebuilding the squad.

I'm focusing more on who cements places in the team. If by season end there are 6 high performing players who are as close to 'un-droppable' as possible and we finish 8th it would be a good season as it shows what and where players are needed to improve.



New manager
New players
New style and system
Lots of injuries
4 games into the season.

We don't know what would happen if we had last years fixtures. Richarlison may never have been sent off and may have been lethal on the counter against more attack minded teams...who knows?

I would take draws against West Ham and Arsenal rather than a win and a defeat even for a point less. Simply because this is a work in progress.



Why should we be beating teams? What's the reason we should be beating Huddersfield, Southampton, Wolves and Bournemouth?

Wolves -- had a season where they smashed the championship, have a settled team and manager. We had 10 men.
Huddersfield -- Settled team and manager for a season + we cant counter attack them, timewasting grocks
Bournemouth -- Well drilled mid table side and a manager whose been there long term. We had 10 men.
Southampton -- We beat them.

Games at this level can go either way. It wont happen overnight...lets enjoy the season and see what changes occur.

Weren't we 2 nil up with 10 men then lost 2 goals when they went down to 10 men?

 

[Kaiser Soysauce]

Not to roll over and led the RS tickle our bellies while Salah scores 15 goals.

 

[Brisan123]

With 11 men against Wolves and Bournemouth we would have won both games. Today, with less players out we would have won too.

It's not as if we have been a worse side against anyone (like we were last season in most games) and so we should expect to keep improving.

I'm not particularly bothered about players we 'could have' or 'should have' signed now as the window has closed.

If...Pickford, Mina, Digne, Bernard and Richarlison show consistently high performances over the season then its 5/11 positions filled for next season.

What we know is that Gomes and Zouma have been loaned in. This means that we will be in the market for these 2 positions next summer, unless other players can step up, as an example; Holgate and Dowell seem to be the most similar.

In my opinion, Pickford, Digne and Richarlison 'appear' to look like top 4 quality players. If Mina and Bernard are of the same level then we either add or we assume that two of our u21s can perform to a top 6 level (or new high level signings are made as expected) then we look like this;

Pickford
??? -- Holgate -- Mina -- Digne
???
Dowell -- Bernard
??? -- ??? -- Richarlison
​

So, there are the assumptions that Holgate and Dowell (as examples) cement places by the end of the season OR Gomes and Zouma replacements are signed of a top 6 or higher level calibre player -- which I trust we can do based on the summer signings.

We would be only 4 players away from having a first eleven of top 6 or higher standard...

Lots of assumptions...but effectively it looks like the work has been done on the left half of our team and now we will offer opportunities to see who can take the positions on the right half -- otherwise players will be sold and replacements signed.

I'm interested to see who can take the chance to win a place this season.

I think you can add the assumption that if Zouma and Gomes do well for us we will try and sign them on a permanent basis
Gomes in particular knows he has no future at Barca indeed I think he doesn’t want one due to his difficulties last season
If all six new signings work out and there’s no reason to suggest they won’t with Pickford Walcott ( yes I know he’s a pensioner in your eyes ) Coleman ( if he gets back his pre injury form ) then we are only two players off a top 6 first 11
However it’s a squad game and we are lacking in depth in quality all over the squad

 

[Mitch Ward's Minder]

If we were unbeaten and picked up 6 pts from the last 4 games, I think everybody would be positive. The team last year would've crumbled against Bournemouth and lost, would have failed to pick an opening against Huddersfield and lost, probably would've conceded another against Saints and drawn (so probs 2 pts rather than 6). As far as I'm concerned we're better off than last season. At any time in the season any team can go a run of games and not pick up as many points as expected, but no one panics, so why is everyone panicking when there's still 34 games to go!

 

[Brisan123]

Defo. It can have a lot of positive effect on PL form.

Mourinho always targeted th League cup in his first season at a new club
He said it gave the players a winning mentality and a major boost for the last 2/3 months of the season for the run in
Success breeds success

 

[Brisan123]

I thought we’d have 7 points after 4 games ( 2 home wins and a point at Bournemouth) so points wise I’m not too disappointed. However throwing away 2 leads has peed me off.

Until we sort our defence out we will keep having up and down results.

I think Zouma Mina and Digne were acquired to sort out the defence
Let’s wait till all 3 have played 4/5 games together to pass judgement

 

[LouReedwalkonthewildside]

If we were unbeaten and picked up 6 pts from the last 4 games, I think everybody would be positive. The team last year would've crumbled against Bournemouth and lost, would have failed to pick an opening against Huddersfield and lost, probably would've conceded another against Saints and drawn (so probs 2 pts rather than 6). As far as I'm concerned we're better off than last season. At any time in the season any team can go a run of games and not pick up as many points as expected, but no one panics, so why is everyone panicking when there's still 34 games to go!

2-0 up against Bournemouth mate, we still crumbled. We beat Huddersfield 2-0 home and away last season, and Huddersfield looked a better team when we played them last season than this.

 

[penev10]

Coleman has two bad games back to back and therefore needs weeding out.... Jesus wept.

 

[Toffe3m4n]

Conceding goals has been my primary concern, including the manner in which we concede them (which has become painfully obvious). Huddersfield was a great opportunity go bag our first clean sheet and a comfortable victory leading into the international break and we couldn't even manage that..

Extremely disappointing.

 

[GwladysPhil]

Expectations this season:
Create an identity and style of football
Rid the club of old guard
Get back the connection between players and fans
Approach every game with aiming for the win

From what I’ve seen so far all of the above is happening

Ditto - then realistically go for a top 4 finish next season

 

[fandjango]

I feel that a lot of posters are being extremely harsh when we are sitting on 6pts and unbeaten after 4 games. If we beat West Ham we will have 9pts from 5 games which would be a very good beginning of the season + we are through to the next round of a cup.

All of this despite Jagielka, Digne, Mina, Keane, Holgate, Zouma, Gana, Schneiderlin, Gomes, Baningime, Richarlison, Bernard, Walcott, Lookman, McCarthy (and no doubt more) either returning from injuries, injured or simply unavailable in some (or all) of the first four games, For a new manager with several new signings it is very difficult to build any momentum.

What I personally expect for this season;

1 -- Fast attacking football playing to win games.

2 -- Players cementing their positions in the team. This would give us a core of 5 or 6 mainstays which we can build on and gives us consistency.

3 -- I am hopeful that Digne, Mina, Richarlison and Bernard perform to a high standard. Having four permanent signings show a high consistent level over a season would breed optimism for any new incoming players.

4 -- Players need to be weeded out. This includes fan favourites underperforming (Coleman as an example) and shouldn't be limited to seniors but also u21 players. This season must be an evaluation of the retained squad members with a target that there are more outgoings in January and next summer. We've seen the first wave of mercilessness from Brands and Silva with a large amount of players culled...there should be a couple more rounds to go.

Good football on the front foot and an assessment of players over the season is what is needed, along with a top 7 finish.

Pickford
??? -- ??? -- Mina -- Digne
???
??? -- Bernard
??? -- ??? -- Richarlison
​

Pickford, Digne and Richarlison look a different class. Mina and Bernard are new signings and come with high expectations.

Based upon my own expectations there seems to be a lack of 'understanding' or an 'unwillingness' to focus on a rebuilding job as opposed to an 'I want it now' attitude from 'some'..

We've seen the quality of permanent signings Digne and Richarlison, imagine if Mina and Bernard are of equal ability?

Personally, I continue to find this season extremely refreshing and am not only excited but optimistic for the future.

Fully agree
There are some very short memories here... or people have blocked out all memory if what they wanted in terms if post allardyce rebuild
Most people were pragmatic and suggested give the new regime a year.... 3 UNDEFEATED league games and a cup win and the knives are out
Give your heads a wobble