A flash in the pan? Are we going to come crashing down to earth at some point? Is this a false dawn?
No, I'm not being a pessimist, I'm just trying to find a balance between our actual performances and our position in the table. Let's get real here. For large parts of the game, Preston were better than us and could well have won had they taken their chances. And that certainly applies to the game at QPR which was something of a smash and grab. The players should have worn masks for that one! The win against Hull could easily have gone against us as well as they also gave us a lot of problems.
Personally, I don't think we've played that well, our possession stats being well down on last year. That said it's often argued that a team that doesn't play particularly well, but still manages to win games and points has something going for them. And there's much truth in that. It's a complete contrast to when we used to completely dominate teams but still contrived to lose the game. Right now, I feel that our performances can be compared to the curate's egg - good in parts.
We certainly seem to be more clinical in front of goal, which is to be applauded but we have also benefitted from our opponents' wastefulness in this respect. We have certainly shown a great deal of character and resilience that has greatly impressed me and something I feel we have lacked in recent seasons. But is this enough to make us realistic promotion contenders? Being honest, I'd say no, it doesn't. Not on its own. I think that Cooperman, to quote his new moniker from @Ladygargar 's excellent cameo on air, has to find a way to get his team playing with more fluency and start improving the passing and possession stats as a matter of urgency: something that might come about when he eventually arrives at his most effective lineup. And we must also start performing for 90+ minutes of every game and not for just the odd moments here and there as is the case right now.
I hope that I haven't come across as being pessimistic because that is far from being the case. I'm just trying to be realistic about where we're at right now and what we need to do to consolidate ourselves as genuine promotion contenders. It is well within our grasp in my opinion but there's still much work to be done to make this a reality rather than a pipedream. And the owners can help by making sure that we retain the quality services of Ayew and Baston, as I feel that they can be key to a successful promotion challenge this season. COYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
No, I'm not being a pessimist, I'm just trying to find a balance between our actual performances and our position in the table. Let's get real here. For large parts of the game, Preston were better than us and could well have won had they taken their chances. And that certainly applies to the game at QPR which was something of a smash and grab. The players should have worn masks for that one! The win against Hull could easily have gone against us as well as they also gave us a lot of problems.
Personally, I don't think we've played that well, our possession stats being well down on last year. That said it's often argued that a team that doesn't play particularly well, but still manages to win games and points has something going for them. And there's much truth in that. It's a complete contrast to when we used to completely dominate teams but still contrived to lose the game. Right now, I feel that our performances can be compared to the curate's egg - good in parts.
We certainly seem to be more clinical in front of goal, which is to be applauded but we have also benefitted from our opponents' wastefulness in this respect. We have certainly shown a great deal of character and resilience that has greatly impressed me and something I feel we have lacked in recent seasons. But is this enough to make us realistic promotion contenders? Being honest, I'd say no, it doesn't. Not on its own. I think that Cooperman, to quote his new moniker from @Ladygargar 's excellent cameo on air, has to find a way to get his team playing with more fluency and start improving the passing and possession stats as a matter of urgency: something that might come about when he eventually arrives at his most effective lineup. And we must also start performing for 90+ minutes of every game and not for just the odd moments here and there as is the case right now.
I hope that I haven't come across as being pessimistic because that is far from being the case. I'm just trying to be realistic about where we're at right now and what we need to do to consolidate ourselves as genuine promotion contenders. It is well within our grasp in my opinion but there's still much work to be done to make this a reality rather than a pipedream. And the owners can help by making sure that we retain the quality services of Ayew and Baston, as I feel that they can be key to a successful promotion challenge this season. COYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
