22 Aug 2015 10:21:16
I find it funny that people are so quick to totally right off our chances of winning anything this season based on the idea we didn't sign this player or that player.

There seems to be two main issues people keep bringing up as reasons why we won't win the league. The first is our defence.

Well atm I would say Smalling is performing as one of the top 3 or 4 CBs in the league. Darmian has shown he is an excellent RB, Shaw was in the team of the year a couple of seasons ago and has started the season in storming fashion. Blind has not given us reason to doubt him in any of the games he's played at CB and Rojo is a solid back up. McNair will hopefully kick on if he is needed.
On top of all that we have the best defensive record in the league between November last year and now. Admittedly between November and March a lot of that was down to DDG but since March our team has clicked defensively and will only get stronger. The defensive unit is all about understanding and communication, these are things that can only be improved with time and not fancy new signings.

Add to that the new additions in midfield such as Schneiderlin then I think from a defensive point of view we are well placed.

The other issue people have is Rooney and the lack of quality cover for him. Well Chelsea won the league last year with Costa, Remy and Drogba as their only options. Drogba is a fading talent, Remy imo is no better than Hernandez and Costa missed large parts of last season. I see no reason if Chelsea could win the league with those options then we can also with Rooney, Hernandez and Wilson.

Last season we were a match for every team that finished above us. Our problems came against the smaller teams, that is where we dropped most of our points last season.

I will agree that I doubt Rooneys ability to be a 20 goal a season striker. And that it might ultimately cost us silverware. But we have a team that is more than capable of challenging, and if you can challenge then you can win it.

When I look at the strongest possible team we could field then imo the only positions we need strengthening are a world class centre back who is a leader. And a striker who can get us 25-30 goals a season. Beyond that a winger with pace for the right hand side would be a nice option to have but not vital imo. The only thing we would need beyond that is replacements if current options were to leave such as DDG.

But there isn't a team in the league who doesn't have a few areas they need to strengthen. City are in injury to Aguero away from struggling to score as we saw last season, Silva always starts the season strong then fades after Christmas due to the lack of rotation options, Toure is a fading force and they seem to lack some coheasion in midfield. Left back is also an issue and defensively they could have issues. Kompany seems to have rediscovered his form but with how badly it dropped off last season that would be a concern it could happen again. Otamendi has shown last season he can play at the highest level but he didn't shine like that at Porto. How will he settle in England? Beyond those two the other options are sketchy. What if Kompany and Otamendi struggle to work together? They are a similar type of defender, they both like to attack the ball. They might not compliment eachother all that well. Of course this is just opinion and we won't know until we see them play together. But things aren't perfect.

Chelsea have had their worst start to a season in 17 years, I'm sure Jose will turn that around pretty quickly but they are short of defensive cover in central defence, and they still look lacking of cover up front. In a lot of ways they are suffering the same issues as we are.

Arsenal, have the same issues too, lack of depth amd quality upfront and potentially weak defence with a lack of quality options beyond their first choice. And a lack of options at DM.

So when we compare oursleves to our opponants we match up pretty well, to win the league we will need what every team that wins the league needs. A bit of luck. To avoid injuries at key times, to get the bounce of the ball in key moments and for vital decisions to go our way. But these are the things that are beyond our control and these are the things our opponants also need.

Could we do with strengthening certain areas? Yes. Do our opponants also need to strengthen key areas? Yes. Our we signifcantly worst off than our opponants? No. Can we match them out on the pitch? Yes. Can we there for challenge for the title? Yes. There for we CAN win the league this season. that's not to say that we will, just that it is possible with this group of players. let's just get behind the team and enjoy the beautiful game for what it is. let's leave the season diagnosis for after the season and not try and the be mystic meg and predict things we have no real chance of predicting acurately now.

1.) 22 Aug 2015
22 Aug 2015 11:17:02
Post of the day

2.) 22 Aug 2015
22 Aug 2015 11:18:01
shappy
there is an argument that we could do with another player or 2 but that is always the case.
a lot of people don't seem to care about how much we spend or the players we buy its all about buying the players they want .
if we had of bought reus instead of depay many would be happy .

3.) 22 Aug 2015
22 Aug 2015 11:29:09
Excellent post
Plus we're possibly not through with the transfer market

4.) 22 Aug 2015
22 Aug 2015 11:29:20
Excellent post and very wise words. Cheers, Shappy.

5.) 22 Aug 2015
22 Aug 2015 12:02:03
Excellent post Shappy, too much negativity around here.
If you look at our squad,
we have RCB, RB nailed on with 2 just a level below World Class signings.
We have 5( 6 if you count Blind) absolutely top midfielders and you can even say it's in europe's top 5 best midfields. Behind only madrid, barca, bayern and psg IMO. Better than Juve too.
We have a top class upcoming LW. We have a very Attacking Mid in Mata.
We have a striker called Rooney who will score at some point, one goal and his form would improve immensely.
We have a quite few who could do a decent job at RW.
LCB is a concern but hey Blind hasn't been bad.

Cheer up guys, Rooney's fitness is better than aguero or costa.
Trust in van gaal, I could assure you with the this squad we have, Alex Ferguson would have won us the title, a carling cup and atleast a top-8 finish in Premier League.

6.) 22 Aug 2015
22 Aug 2015 12:23:02
Shappy

I maintain that to have any chance of winning the league we have to have a top striker as a minimum, to truly challenge a wide pacy creative player as well and to do anything in Europe a classy centre back

I note your point about City yet it doesn't do justice to Bony, who is a very good reserve striker or Sterling who has added to their attack, they have also strengthened at the back and haven't finished. We are not at their level

We could win a cup but we spent 26 years like that and it isn't enough. It is all about opinions but I don't see a title challenge with what we have.

7.) 22 Aug 2015
22 Aug 2015 14:44:50
I think that game proved my point