After 40 years of supporting this club, one thing I have learned - especially over the last few decades - is never get too down about our poor results or too up about our good ones. We are, inherently, as an upper mid-table club, inconsistent. This season, so far, we have more or less done as we should have done: pretty much beaten the sides we "should" beat. However, last season, we were winning away at places we normally wouldn't and losing at home when we normally wouldn't. So we never found a balance.
Of the next seven games, one would think that the matches against West Ham, Watford, Wolves, and Brentford will be critical. 8 points would be par for the course. The games at United, City, and home to Spurs might yield an expected 2-3 points. If we get 10 points from these next 21, I'd say we were doing ok. That would be 23 points from 13 games, a respectable return. Ancelotti was given the benefit of the doubt because he gave us something we hadn't had since the late 1980s: regular wins against top clubs. However, all of that was ruined by abysmal defeats to the likes of Sheffield United, Burnley, and Fulham. One step forward, one step back.
Benitez, it seems to me, is likely to do the opposite: reliably defeat the poorer sides, especially at home, but probably fail to do too much at our so-called betters. Whether that is down to the relative merits of the managers or whether it is to do with home crowds coming back after COVID, who knows? What it does suggest is we will win far more at home and pick up far fewer points away. The sweet spot for Benitez will be in reliably winning at home and getting a few points/wins against the petroclubs. However, given the lack of investment this summer, that might have to wait.
For now, we need to be getting a little consistency into our performances and results. If Villa can win at Old Trafford, I'd like to see us competing there. By the same token, we can't be expecting to brush the likes of West Ham aside at home - though it is games like that that more accurately point out our progress or lack thereof. What we need to avoid at all costs is a run of 5 defeats or something from this next seven. The more stable he can keep us, the more embedded his project can become and the quicker he can go through this risible squad like a dose of much-needed salts.
