Some great results there, 9 wins out of 14, with the other 5 games being losses. Results against Fulham, Portsmouth, West Ham, Everton and FC Twente really highlighted our improvement since last season. A last gasp win against Dinamo Bucharest was also pleasing, which leaves us in a good position to qualify from our UEFA Cup group. Disappointing results were few and far between, but a last minute winner from Atletico Madrid and a terrible defence of our League Cup trophy against Southampton did not make me happy whatsoever. But there may be other ways we can get into Europe, if you look at the tables... Take a look:
So 4th in the league, with a game in hand on 3rd and second. I was frankly astonished when I was taking the screenshots for this post, because I had only checked it after the Portsmouth game, when we were 9th. My centre back pairing of Papastathopoulos and Rusol have been the main reason for our success, and with Joe Mattock and Antonio Barragan being the wing-backs, our defence has been very solid. Marius Niculae upfront has been a revelation this season, topping our scoring charts, but the player ratings will come later. I am definately not thinking about top 4, but I am definately expecting us to finish in the top 10, and I think that we have a chance of snatching 6th with a few decent January signings. Hopefully we can do better in the FA and UEFA Cups than the League Cup though!
Now onto player ratings. Marius Niculae surprisingly leads our scoring charts, with a fantastic 11 in 12 appearances (10 starts), with Kevin Doyle following on 6, and 3 players including central defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos tied on 4. Assist wise, Ashley Young leads on 9, with Jack Wilshere and Kevin Doyle on 5 and 4 respectively. Best ratings are Niculae (7.41), Young (7.32) and Papastathopoulos (7.28). God that name is hard to spell!
Anyway, that is it for this post, next one coming up soon.
Mike read through your previous posts and look for my Tottenham team you couldn't wish for a better team in three seasons
ReplyDeleteWow, COngrats!!
ReplyDeleteHow're you doing as teh Ivory Coast?
Got a Goalie Yet? ;P
Oh, what would you say is your weakest position?
Also, wow, Leeds in teh Prem, after only 5 seasons is pretty decent.
ReplyDeleteI'm guessing for them it went:
Play-Off/Automatic Promotion, Below Mid, Above Mid, Play-Off/Auto, Prem.
Am I right?
Well done Kyle, your team is admittedly very very good. Keep up the good work!
ReplyDeleteLiamTheWelshman, on the goalie front, I have not found a keeper as of yet, and I have done every search filter possible. I searched goalies that were available for the Ivory Coast, but nothing came up, so I did Western Africa, national pool, even had a look at their clubs, but nothing. How can 6 professional clubs not have a bloody goalie!
And as for Leeds this was their season-to-season statistics:
1st season: 2nd in League 1, 92 points. Leicester got 98
2nd season: 19th in Championship, 54 points
3rd season: 10th in Championship, 65 points
4th season: 1st in Championship, 86 points
A very credible rise up the league ladder, and almost exactly the way you said it! Well done.
And finally, on the weakest position, my coaches tell me that it is DMC, but I personally believe that my right back area isn't up to scratch, with only Peter Ramage and Antonio Barragan available. If we want to keep this good form up, then we will need a top Premier League right back in his place, or at least one with potential to be a leading Premier League right back.
Mike what about the players that come up in grey, don't you have any of those for your keeper?
ReplyDeleteNot when I search Kyle, but when I look at the Ivorian clubs now, there is an 18 year old keeper who is in gray. I cannot do anything with him when I click his name, so can you give me some advice on what to do? Much appreciated.
ReplyDelete