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Redknapp

For example - United first half, 45 points, second half 44 points. City 45 points, 44 points Arsenal - 36 points, 34 points. Chelsea - 34 points, 30 points. Saudi Sportswashing Machine 30 points, 35 points. Spurs 42 points, 27 points. It's the only one that stands out. Do you not see that this is problematic?

You know, after reading MK's post I was about to reply saying something like 'boom, absolutely nailed it, completely explains why a season should be seen over 38 games and how our early season results over-inflated our expectations' and then reading your reply I was about to say 'DMac, you are forgetting that away results are much more difficult to get than home results and we played easier teams away in the first half of the season'.

But then I saw that stat, and to be honest it's blown my perspective wide open. It simply isn't acceptable. It's true that we did have most of the game in the matches against the likes of Stoke, Sunderland, QPR, Villa etc but we suddenly forgot how to create any real good chances. We got some serious bad luck in this run, when everything else seemed to be going for Arsenal in the league and Chelsea in the cups, and we got absolutely nothing. But does that explain a 15 point difference?

England speculation damaged confidenced largely. Players started snatching at shots, and I think it's just that when players aren't the most important thing that everyone is talking about, their heads go a bit. The England thing was a distraction, it clouded them. They knew the man giving them instructions was thinking of leaving. Subconsciously, that would have an effect. I don't think Harry tactically was too bad in that run, but we lacked a clinical edge despite dominating games, there's only so much tactics can do in that regard when teams are parking the bus and it comes down to players needing to win their individual battles, to have the confidence to open something up and it just wasn't happening. So many games in a row we saw us dominate the ball and not really create anything concrete.

I'm not saying it was the player's fault, I'm saying it was the speculation's fault. But then I think Harry probably needs to go because the damage is done now. The club is in a negative mood, and it may take a while for confidence to return. Not that Harry is a bad manager, but too much has happened now, and it may be hard to come back from. It doesn't look like he will get a new contract, and that run is completely unacceptable. So I think it's best for the club to have a new voice to reinvigorate it.

DMac, you nailed it IMO. That point disparity is completely unacceptable. We we did have a good squad. And the point about being the third best team means that we don't just accept losing certain games because it's the status quo...we have the third best team with the third best players and should have gotten more points. Simple as. That is totally unacceptable.
 
Dmac. Some very good points there sir, well put together too.

no one is saying we didnt end up having a dissapointing season.....but in term of our initial goals we technically succeeded . you cant sack someone for that.

its even possible we over achieved in the first part of the season and sort of leveled out in the second half (if you took the whole season and averaged it out).....if we managed to have a 'decent' or expected form in our second part of the season then third would have been comfortably ours. true. but we went into bad form and bad confindence and that has a spiral effect to boot...it didnt end well. these things happen, only the best managers or the best players have what it takes to consistently stop this from happening

If Harry goes , i wont be upset...i will be worried though if we could even get any manager that can get the players to play to the level he has made them ...but thats the risk in giving up someone that has done well for pastures new. cause quite frankly someone could come in here and make a total mess of the players we have now.
 
You know, after reading MK's post I was about to reply saying something like 'boom, absolutely nailed it, completely explains why a season should be seen over 38 games and how our early season results over-inflated our expectations' and then reading your reply I was about to say 'DMac, you are forgetting that away results are much more difficult to get than home results and we played easier teams away in the first half of the season'.

But then I saw that stat, and to be honest it's blown my perspective wide open. It simply isn't acceptable. It's true that we did have most of the game in the matches against the likes of Stoke, Sunderland, QPR, Villa etc but we suddenly forgot how to create any real good chances. We got some serious bad luck in this run, when everything else seemed to be going for Arsenal in the league and Chelsea in the cups, and we got absolutely nothing. But does that explain a 15 point difference?

England speculation damaged confidenced largely. Players started snatching at shots, and I think it's just that when players aren't the most important thing that everyone is talking about, their heads go a bit. The England thing was a distraction, it clouded them. They knew the man giving them instructions was thinking of leaving. Subconsciously, that would have an effect. I don't think Harry tactically was too bad in that run, but we lacked a clinical edge despite dominating games, there's only so much tactics can do in that regard when teams are parking the bus and it comes down to players needing to win their individual battles, to have the confidence to open something up and it just wasn't happening. So many games in a row we saw us dominate the ball and not really create anything concrete.

I'm not saying it was the player's fault, I'm saying it was the speculation's fault. But then I think Harry probably needs to go because the damage is done now. The club is in a negative mood, and it may take a while for confidence to return. Not that Harry is a bad manager, but too much has happened now, and it may be hard to come back from. It doesn't look like he will get a new contract, and that run is completely unacceptable. So I think it's best for the club to have a new voice to reinvigorate it.

DMac, you nailed it IMO. That point disparity is completely unacceptable. We we did have a good squad. And the point about being the third best team means that we don't just accept losing certain games because it's the status quo...we have the third best team with the third best players and should have gotten more points. Simple as. That is totally unacceptable.


but a team is made up of its management and training regimes and style of play adopted etc etc etc..not just the squad players

taking that into consideration you canT..as in CANNOT comfortably say we had the third best team and the third best players
 
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but a team is made up of its management and training regimes and style of play adopted etc etc etc..not just the squad players

taking that into consideration you can comfortably say we had the third best team and the third best players

So we should have done better, no?
 
So we should have done better, no?

(i meant to say CANT.not can,...damn. sorry about that)

not necessarily

take arsenal for instance. i once argued here that our 2-1 win was very fortunate and that in fact arsenal dominated that game.......many didnt agree, but when you actually watch the game despite arsenal's situation at the time.....they basically outplayed us with what people considered to be far less quality starting 11 than ours.....th thing is that alot of the times quality can be down to marketing, exposure and being the in the right kind of tactical set up..fo al intents and purposes arsenal actually had the better TEAM that day and the better manager and the better style of play which totally outshone us on the day

i knew full well arsenal would be fine come end of season..., i didnt think they would come third mind you.

we have good players...and certainly it is within us to do well...but you cannot be so certain we had the third best team
 
The world's least reputable ITK, wpd659, has said this: Wont be a DOF at spurs as long as HR is here and looks like a new contract will be offered this summer.

That can only mean the OP is right.
 
(i meant to say CANT.not can,...damn. sorry about that)

not necessarily

take arsenal for instance. i once argued here that our 2-1 win was very fortunate and that in fact arsenal dominated that game.......many didnt agree, but when you actually watch the game despite arsenal's situation at the time.....they basically outplayed us with what people considered to be far less quality starting 11 than ours.....th thing is that alot of the times quality can be down to marketing, exposure and being the in the right kind of tactical set up..fo al intents and purposes arsenal actually had the better TEAM that day and the better manager and the better style of play which totally outshone us on the day

i knew full well arsenal would be fine come end of season..., i didnt think they would come third mind you.

we have good players...and certainly it is within us to do well...but you cannot be so certain we had the third best team

I disagree here. I think Redknapp took a bit of a gamble on Arsenal's poor defence knowing that our set up would give them more of the ball but that we would create more chances. He was completely correct as well. While Arsenal certainly controlled posession in that game we created a vast majority of the clear cut chances.
 
Conversely in the away game at the Emirates even at 2-0 up I didn't think we were going to win that game because not only were Arsenal controlling posession but they were also creating chances, while we were no longer doing so.... That game was actually crying out for us to go back to a 4-4-1-1 formation as soon as we were 2-0 up as we were very vunerable. That simply wasn't the case in the game at WHL where only one team looked like scoring.
 
It still proves nothing in isolation.

Of course it does - our terrible form over the course of over 2 months. How can that be so blatantly ignored?

That is a fact. Unlike you opinion of an unbalanced fixture list which is by and large untrue, imv and that of many others.

Not sure what lack of balance as far as our rivals are concerned either - Arsenal beat City, Liverpool, Everton, Spurs (us), and Saudi Sportswashing Machine during that time - it's not like they were playing bottom 5 teams only
 
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(i meant to say CANT.not can,...damn. sorry about that)

not necessarily

take arsenal for instance. i once argued here that our 2-1 win was very fortunate and that in fact arsenal dominated that game.......many didnt agree, but when you actually watch the game despite arsenal's situation at the time.....they basically outplayed us with what people considered to be far less quality starting 11 than ours.....th thing is that alot of the times quality can be down to marketing, exposure and being the in the right kind of tactical set up..fo al intents and purposes arsenal actually had the better TEAM that day and the better manager and the better style of play which totally outshone us on the day

i knew full well arsenal would be fine come end of season..., i didnt think they would come third mind you.

we have good players...and certainly it is within us to do well...but you cannot be so certain we had the third best team

Hmm fair enough. I just think we had a good manager, and a good squad, and a quality team, and yet the drop off is just shocking really. I never really looked at it like that before. It wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't for the fact that every single other team in and around us near enough levelled out their points from one season to the other. I can't believe they all had a nice 'mix' of tough/easy home/away games to suit them where as we got shafted. We had winnable games that we didn't win. I don't think that's Harry's fault directly, but I think that speculation absolutely screwed us. Confidence was taken from us like that. *clicks fingers* :)

What a brick, unlucky season. I think we did have a better squad that Arsenal. Yes they had RVP but they also went a month without any full backs. They had Wheelchair out all year. They had Walcott seriously underperforming. They had Gervinho at the ANC. They had Vermaelen out at points. In the end we are getting told we did well to finish above Chelsea but that's only because of exceptional circumstances. It wasn't as if we were pushed all the way but hauled ourselves infront, we had a gift.

When everyone was doing comparisons of Arsenal's squad compared to ours before the NLD in February, RVP was the only one getting into the team. It wasn't outrageous to say that either. It can be argued Gibbs and Sagna vs Ekotto and Walker is much of a muchness, and Song/Parker is a tough one. But other than that, especially with the injuries they had, there's no way we should have finished below them. But that tail off from one half of the season to the other is just shocking. We were just so unlucky that everything that possibly could have gone against us, did go against us. One of these days we surely have to win the league or something through getting the complete rub of the green, otherwise I don't see how the world is fair. I don't see how we can carry on if everything doesn't even itself our eventually. It was literaly outrageous how much went against us.

Anyway, I digress. If Redknapp is to be offered a new contract, then at least Levy is backing his man. Strong leadership that I'm happy with there.
 
All I keep hearing is two months of poor form blah blah fudging blah. yadda yadda fudging yadda. I see words on a screen but no fudgein context.

Two months of poor form in THREE years is not that fudgein bad. Players have dips in form, so do Managers, so do teams fudge so do employees of any fudgein Organisation. WHAT THE fudging fudge?

ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
 
it never ceases to amaze me that people trot out this argument about our results against the top 4 sides

They finished above everybody - because they have better teams - you do know that's how it works, right?

The team who beat us by one point we split the points with, the team who finished one place below us, we had the points balance over - why is this ignored?

If we had beaten all of the top sides and finished 4th, I would be calling for his head as well, because that would have meant we were losing more games against inferior opposition.

Everyone recognises the impact of a manager on a team, and blames HR on the results during "The period of uncertainty" between Capello resigning and the new England manager being appointed. So lets blame it on one man, its simpler that way.

Yet whilst everyone recognises how a good manager can inspire a team of players to gel, a large number of people happily ignore that those individuals, when they see the potential loss of their inspirational manager, can also cease to perform effectively - when THEY (the team) think they might be losing him. To fail to understand this, simply shows how few people actually recognise the cohesive effect a good manager can have.

The team now have him back - and you still want to get rid of him?

Yeah, good call.

But, you argue, we will replace him with a vibrant exciting manager who will inspire through his brilliance and tactical acumen! What like Chelsea did with AVB?

Dont look to the past and quote our past failures and past glories - look to the future and be bold................cry the knowledgeable and wise

"Those who don't know history are destined to repeat it." Edmund Burke (1729-1797)
 
I disagree here. I think Redknapp took a bit of a gamble on Arsenal's poor defence knowing that our set up would give them more of the ball but that we would create more chances. He was completely correct as well. While Arsenal certainly controlled posession in that game we created a vast majority of the clear cut chances.

you see i dont remember the game that way...i remember them having alot of the possession but also missing quite a few good clear cut chances. balls across the box, walcott blasting over.....balls which 'should' have been played


i do think they had some very good chances in that game and were finding it very easy to get in behind the ful backs and to some into our final third.

better team and better game plan A
 
Conversely in the away game at the Emirates even at 2-0 up I didn't think we were going to win that game because not only were Arsenal controlling posession but they were also creating chances, while we were no longer doing so.... That game was actually crying out for us to go back to a 4-4-1-1 formation as soon as we were 2-0 up as we were very vunerable. That simply wasn't the case in the game at WHL where only one team looked like scoring.

where only ONE team looked like scoring? completely disagree with that mate
 
Hmm fair enough. I just think we had a good manager, and a good squad, and a quality team, and yet the drop off is just shocking really. I never really looked at it like that before. It wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't for the fact that every single other team in and around us near enough levelled out their points from one season to the other. I can't believe they all had a nice 'mix' of tough/easy home/away games to suit them where as we got shafted. We had winnable games that we didn't win. I don't think that's Harry's fault directly, but I think that speculation absolutely screwed us. Confidence was taken from us like that. *clicks fingers* :)

What a brick, unlucky season. I think we did have a better squad that Arsenal. Yes they had RVP but they also went a month without any full backs. They had Wheelchair out all year. They had Walcott seriously underperforming. They had Gervinho at the ANC. They had Vermaelen out at points. In the end we are getting told we did well to finish above Chelsea but that's only because of exceptional circumstances. It wasn't as if we were pushed all the way but hauled ourselves infront, we had a gift.

When everyone was doing comparisons of Arsenal's squad compared to ours before the NLD in February, RVP was the only one getting into the team. It wasn't outrageous to say that either. It can be argued Gibbs and Sagna vs Ekotto and Walker is much of a muchness, and Song/Parker is a tough one. But other than that, especially with the injuries they had, there's no way we should have finished below them. But that tail off from one half of the season to the other is just shocking. We were just so unlucky that everything that possibly could have gone against us, did go against us. One of these days we surely have to win the league or something through getting the complete rub of the green, otherwise I don't see how the world is fair. I don't see how we can carry on if everything doesn't even itself our eventually. It was literaly outrageous how much went against us.

Anyway, I digress. If Redknapp is to be offered a new contract, then at least Levy is backing his man. Strong leadership that I'm happy with there.

again you need to factor in their manager and the style of play thats embedded into the players from a very young age . it counts for ALOT. that combination is more important to team success than the talent or popularity of individual players
 
Of course it does - our terrible form over the course of over 2 months. How can that be so blatantly ignored?

That is a fact. Unlike you opinion of an unbalanced fixture list which is by and large untrue, imv and that of many others.

Not sure what lack of balance as far as our rivals are concerned either - Arsenal beat City, Liverpool, Everton, Spurs (us), and Saudi Sportswashing Machine during that time - it's not like they were playing bottom 5 teams only

how exactly can a fixture list even BE imblanaced in a league format where the fixtures are determined before the season starts but teams move up and down the league according to their results across the season?
 
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