joedurham
Striker
Watching the first half yesterday I found myself thinking "wtf is going on here?" Playing against the world club champions in a match determining European qualification and we totally controlled the narrative, always on the front foot, moving through the gears smoothly and quickly to create chances. We ended up with 20 goal attempts and an xG of 1.93. Against Man Utd, a team that just swept aside Brighton's 17 game unbeaten run, we could and should have won. Again, against De Zerbi's revitalised Spurs we dominated again and were worthy winners. (The Forest game I didn't see and don't want to know about). Our football is changing from reactive to proactive.
We all know that next season will be much tougher due to the extra demands. I'm not that bothered about second season syndrome, but playing contantly two games a week means we need two players for every position (at least!). While worried abut that prospect initially, the more I see of how we play, RLB's tactical and coaching "genius", the leadership and quality of our players (Xhaka, Nordi, O'nien) and the intelligence of the technical staff and owners, the more confident I am that this is only the second step to greater glory.
The only thing we can't control is lady luck. When I look at what happened to Spurs and the crippling injury list they had to confront, I just hope that things beyond our control don't turn against us. Little details at this level can make a huge difference (thank you Woltemade). We also all know where we have to improve - chance creation and taking them. Brobbey, for example,is a monster at hold up play, but if we are brutally honest, we know his finishing is somewhat wayward at time (thank you Malo Gusto) and we have to see if our wingers are capable of stepping up and providing more threat. That however is the job of the technical staff and the thing to watch for this summer. The other potential threat is if we lose any of our key players during the summer, but again if that happen, Ghilosophi and company have to provide the answers.
For the moment though we can sit back and enjoy the WC and Team Tuchel, and await the coming season with great optimism and belief that we are about to enter an unprecedented era in the history of our club.
We all know that next season will be much tougher due to the extra demands. I'm not that bothered about second season syndrome, but playing contantly two games a week means we need two players for every position (at least!). While worried abut that prospect initially, the more I see of how we play, RLB's tactical and coaching "genius", the leadership and quality of our players (Xhaka, Nordi, O'nien) and the intelligence of the technical staff and owners, the more confident I am that this is only the second step to greater glory.
The only thing we can't control is lady luck. When I look at what happened to Spurs and the crippling injury list they had to confront, I just hope that things beyond our control don't turn against us. Little details at this level can make a huge difference (thank you Woltemade). We also all know where we have to improve - chance creation and taking them. Brobbey, for example,is a monster at hold up play, but if we are brutally honest, we know his finishing is somewhat wayward at time (thank you Malo Gusto) and we have to see if our wingers are capable of stepping up and providing more threat. That however is the job of the technical staff and the thing to watch for this summer. The other potential threat is if we lose any of our key players during the summer, but again if that happen, Ghilosophi and company have to provide the answers.
For the moment though we can sit back and enjoy the WC and Team Tuchel, and await the coming season with great optimism and belief that we are about to enter an unprecedented era in the history of our club.
