behind target...

Chewie · November 5, 2011

so far we've 19 points from 11 games... at this pace that's 65/66 points for the season... (had we won today that'd been 21 from 11 which is aon target of 72 points....

in the pre-season one was heard to roar a little at those who only saw doom and gloom on the horizon... at that time the points were made that...

if kenny hits his career points average we should hit 70 this season

that based on the sort of form we saw at the back end of last season we should hit 70 this season

that the players signed should be better than those that left meaning we should as a minimum expect 70 points

that if the players signed come in and get going then we shoulod be aiming for 75 points

that the players being brought in should be familiar with the league and therefore we shouldn't have to bed too many in

that all of the above is reasonable and should not be dismissed as wide-eyed dewy optimism if things don't plan out

that it will not be unreasonable to review the season and ask why we did not meet the above targets if this proves to be the case...

all of that held true in the summer and all of it holds true now...

so far we really could go either way (which is better than last year when the only way is up, but not better than if we were off to a flyer and then perhaps unsurprisingly begin to fade). We are running out of margin for error and we have yet to establish a real sense of momentum in our play and in our results. We have looked very good at times and yet have not scored. If every keeper apparently plays a blinder against us then maybe the trend suggests our finishing is not what it should be. Of the players signed since last January only Suarez and Enrique can be said to be unmitigated successes. Downing is lapsing into the player we thought he was when he played for Boro and Villa and not the player we hoped we was when he signed for us. Adam, has looked ok but actually will never really look better than he is now. I love Lucas (not Lucy) and he should be the shield in the middle...but Adam alongside has yet to truly convince. Henderson looks like a kid with good feet and ability but may lack the mentality to really impose himself on games as a proper Liverpool player. You can see a player in there but we're still waiting for him to shine. Andy, well this is the biggest conundrum of them all. You cannot help but feel that at the sort of money we paid there would have been a few strikers out there capable of weighing in with a greater goal return. So, there is much room for improvement on the new players in. We may or may not see a fit Gerrard playing week in week out so that factor, which was hoped for in the summer, is very variable right now.

As for the King... well, let's hope he can steer us through. Just before the game today Gillespie was talking about how everyone was expecting us to give someone a good hiding. We are also undefeated in 8 now... but that cutting edge win at all costs mentality seems to be lacking. It will be up to Kenny and Steve C to get this team believing in themselves. There are players there who perhaps deserve some more gametime - Jay and Maxi both did excellent last season and we shouldn't fear what they could bring compared to what we are seeing. Suarez and Kuyt seem to link better than Andy and Suarez and as much as the big man needs games we need points more. Right now we look like a team that is trying to gel, which is not surprising given the number of players signed, but we'd need to or this year we'll be looking at around the mid-60s mark and that would not be good enough. There is still enough about us to suggest we can do better than this, but we'd need to because Spurs and Arsenal are very much in this and Newcastle have had the sort of flyer referred to above that we were hoping we would benefit from. The next few weeks could be season defining... my memory of the 90s was of too many bleak Novembers when we just put ourselves too far behind for the reast of the season to really matter. Let's hope that pattern is not repeated but the push from now to the New Year is massive...

for all the reasons set out in the summer above it is still on and they still hold true... but precisely because it was right to set our expectations at those sort of levels it is also right at this stage to admit we ain't were we should be by now... we have barely set a pace that is on target for those 70 points and we need to pick it up...

C'mon Kenny... help a Wookie roar!!!

Chewie

Falconhoof · November 5, 2011