24 Sep 2015 10:41:57
October is a tough month!
Away to Arsenal
Away to Everton
Away to CSKA
Home to City.
24 Sep 2015 11:28:47
True lastman if we can get through that month relatively unscathed we should pull through Nov and dec and in the new year be looking to compete for the title.
24 Sep 2015 11:30:01
We play everyone home and away over the course of the season. When we play them is of little consequence.
24 Sep 2015 12:10:00
That's utter tosh Shappy. There are loads of factors involved in determining better times to play particular games: your form, opponents form, congestion of the fixture list, pressures of time frame (i.e. games at the end of the season), pressures of other competitions, injuries, and on and on.
It's obvious to anyone that our fixture list in October is demanding: tough away games, a long trip to Russia, and a finale against our city rivals. For a tactics guy, it seems very naive of you to think that the sequence in which fixtures take place doesn't matter. We're off to a good start so far, but the punishing October schedule could set us on the back foot again.
24 Sep 2015 12:59:26
Angel,
I think I posted very similar before last weekend, October is tricky, if we are within 5 points of City by October 31st I have a feeling we will be in the title race. On paper November and December are easier but it never seems to work like that, especially when we will be fighting to get through in the Champions League and potentially have League cup games to deal with (if we continue to take it seriously we will get past Boro so quarter finals at least).
Shappy,
That is a little matter of fact, having tough games one after the other does obviously have some effect, we know we play every team twice, but getting a good start or getting ahead or behind your rivals makes a difference.
24 Sep 2015 13:04:28
Shappy you are talking waffles mate. If we went through the whole of October without gathering a single point it would leave us in a terrible postion with a dejected sqaud and a heap of pressure on lads for the forthcoming games. One poor slump in this league and there may be no coming back.
24 Sep 2015 13:15:31
You guys are so sure playing tough games in a row will have a bad effect on our season yet our best form last season came during our toughest run of fixtures.
Playing tough games seems to bring the best out of this squad. Its the games we feel we should be winning we slip up in.
Yes the trip to Russia won't be easy, but its much better to go to Russia in October rather than November/December.
I think people are too quick to be negative about our team atm. And on the back of a couple of wins the only thing to complain about is our fixture list.
24 Sep 2015 14:08:24
shap
your talking waffles
24 Sep 2015 14:34:07
True GDS I checked and saw that post. LVG is great at setting the team up for the bigger games so I think we will be okay during October and I believe we can launch an assault on the title.
I didn't know Shappy liked waffles? Belgian? Ronnie will back anytime
24 Sep 2015 14:35:15
You forgot Palace away and that is no picnic. We will also have a tough League cup game assuming we get through middlesborough, which will also be tough who I reckon will win the championship as all the big guns from the PL are still in the competition and knowing our luck we will draw arsenal, chelsea or city lol in the quarters.
Are there any fa cup fixtures in October?
Shappy
I have to disagree with you on that mate. Momentum and confidence are a big part of any football team and assuming that if we lose its okay as we have return fixtures at home is an odd logic.
If we lose 3 in october and are 12 points a drift then the whole psyche of the team changes and pressure does funny thins to people. If the results go against us, I suspect we will be in a dog fight for 4th as Chelsea will eventually get up the league table and Arsenal is always going to be there. The likes of Everton and Liverpool and Spurs will also be close or maybe even ahead of us.
Personally I think if we can get 5 or 6 point out of possible 12 in the 4 pl fixtures in october, that is a good outcome. A win ,2 draws and a loss I guess.
Last but not least the Wolfburg game is a must win and a draw is no good as it will look quite worrying going to Russia with just one point after 2 games.
24 Sep 2015 14:37:01
So I'm guessing people would rather play these games over Christmas? Or play in Russia in dead of winter?
Yes a bad result can have a knock on effect, or it can have a galvanising effect. Like wise If we get off to a good start the confidence could carry us through the whole month.
Last season in a 28 day run we played Spurs, Liverpool, Villa, City and Chelsea. No one gave us a chance, our form was patchy and everyone else was in good form at the time. We won all of them bar the last game against Chelsea which we were very unlucky to lose. In fact we could have considered it unlucky had we drawn let alone lose.
Everything is how you choose to look at it, and there is always at least two sides.
Like I said this team based on the last 12 months plays better against the tougher opposition.
For me the only tricky bit is fitting the travelling to Russia in. But when we were drawn in the same group as CSKA everyone was happy, we avoided Roma. And yet would you rather we travel to Russia later in the year when the average temperature would be 6-10 degrees colder than in October?
I just think some people like to make excuses before we play.
How will people feel if we win every game in October but lose every one in November. Which is as likely as losing every one in October and winning every one in November?
If we go on a run like we did last March/April and win every game in October will people start talking about us as genuine title contenders? Or will they start stating that the players will be fatigued come March and we will lose all the games in our tough run in?
We have a team that is playing better, looks tougher to beat and at times plays some nice football. We all look forward to the big games far more than the less attractive fixtures. We have a whole month of big fixtures. let's just try and enjoy it rather than worry about what might happen.
24 Sep 2015 15:03:37
shaps
if we win all our games in october great .
if we lose all our games in october so be it .
but 2 things stay the same,
1. like the op days october is a tough month.
2. your talking waffles
24 Sep 2015 15:40:41
Shaps u have to take into consideration confidence that winning or losing these games have on a team.
I'm sure if u asked Liverpool fans if there first 7 away games are not having an effect on there season they would tell u they are.
They can't build any momentum at he moment and the tough away games are a factor in that.
Likewise our decent run last season vs city,spurs and Liverpool really helped us cement top 4 too.
24 Sep 2015 15:50:25
Arsenal have dropped more points against us than any other team in the league since the inception of the Premier league. Last year we beat them away. We have improved since then, where as you could argue Arsenal haven't improved since last season. Why should we fear playing there?
Everton can be a tricky game away, but if this team is to be successful we can't fear going away to mid table teams.
Travelling to Russia isn't ideal but should we fear a team that would be lucky to get out of the group stage?
City at home, granted City are a very good team but we did beat them 4-2 last season at home. Yes they have improved but how we approach this game will be more telling about our future than the result.
Our attitude to these games will be the key to getting results. Moyes attitude was we should aspire to be like these teams or make it difficult for them. LvG's is we are every bit as good as them or better, and if we prepare in the right way and have the right mind set then we should get a positive result.
I would hate to see many of the posters who fear playing Everton or a mid level champions league team manage our club.
To think you are inferior is to be inferior.
24 Sep 2015 16:06:25
Not if you're Nietzsche.
24 Sep 2015 16:06:28
shaps
its nothing to do with moyes .
we have arsenal everton cska and palace away.
middlesbrough in the cup ( a game you have said will be hard )
and city.
we play everton , cska and city over a 7 day period all hard games as well as traviling to russia.
of course its a hard month so stop talking rubbish .
we might win every game but its still a hard month .
24 Sep 2015 16:13:17
Shappy,
So would a month with 3 tough away games be different to a month playing Sunderland, Leicester and Watford at home? I think that is all the OP is saying that October we have tricky games, not sure the over analysis of whether tricky games are tricky was really needed?
24 Sep 2015 16:56:26
I'm saying its about perception. If you think you will struggle against a team then you likely will.
Sunderland are fighting against relegation, they probably see the game against us as one they wouldn't expect to get any points from. That probably frees them to perform much more than playing a team that is also battling relegation which would feel much more like a game you can't afford to lose.
Like wise Arsenal may well be feeling the pressure more against us as the media spins it as a 6 pointer. It's more important to win the games against those around you mentality rather than just going to win every game.
Last season we won more points against the top six than the rest of the top six, yet it didn't make us win the league. It is all your results over the whole season that matter not one month.
Chelsea had a horrendous start so are we writing off their chances of winning the league? And they weren't playing all these "tricky" games.
When is momentum just good form? And when is good form momentum?
Last time I checked titles are handed out May not November.
24 Sep 2015 17:11:01
Thankfully trite cliches are available a all year
24 Sep 2015 18:27:55
i take it back october is any easy month if we don't win all our games lvg out
24 Sep 2015 20:22:12
Thats more like it Jred ;-) lol.