FAN ARTICLES

It's us versus them

By Mike Dillon :  02/09/2008 :  Comments (15) :

All I'm hearing on the forums is doom mongering that despite our shiny new signings, the clubs around us have improved. By that, I'm assuming they are Arsenal, Liverpool, Portsmouth, Villa and Spurs.

But who was all set to finish fourth until dropping away at the end last season? Us, or them?

Let's start with us.

I'm not excusing how this summer's been handled but on the pitch our squad's still good enough to compete. The reason I say this is simple; we were sat rather handsomely in fourth place last season for a large portion of the campaign, and that's despite losing our most influential players for long periods at a time.

This season's signings, whilst largely unspectacular, have added the two things we've sorely needed in recent seasons. The first is depth - I believe in Moyes enough to believe that the players like Jacobsen, Saha (assuming he is ever fit) and Castillo are capable of doing a job if put onto the park. Rodwell has looked decent at times this season and with these three additions, we have competition for places.

The second (and most important) thing I feel we have been missing is a tank to park in the centre of the park. A big, six foot-something grock to put himself about, let the opposition feel like they're in a physical game. I'm not knocking Carsley, but we've needed height, power and strength in the middle of the pitch. It's well documented that our midfield is a bunch of skilful, miniature technical players. Hopefully, The Big Fella(ini) will fit that role.

Now, onto the others.

Arsenal. I know it might seem ludicrous to suggest we can compete with Arsenal, but when you think about it, it's not all that bizarre. They rely heavily on Fabregas, have sold a large chunk of their midfield without really replacing it. Nasri is more of a creative player than an enforcer, and for me, they seem to have simply forgotten about several key areas of the pitch (the flanks, for example. Eboue? I think I prefer Pip..) and I'm not entirely convinced that their defence is watertight. For me, Arsenal have taken a couple of steps backwards.

Now, Liverpool. Yes, they signed Riera - but lest we forget he flopped horrendously at City for Pete's sake. Benitez, when he does sign wingers, signs duds. Pennant? Benayoun? Width is Liverpool's weakest point and the fat waiter completely missed that ? I heard he was trying to sign Barry, who had excelled in central midfield, to play him on the flank. That's generally how clueless our Iberian friend is.

Not only this, he spends £20M drafting in an Irish chancer and will therefore continue to play him. This, of course, ruins Liverpool's ONLY effective method of playing, with Stevie Me and Torres as the Cahill / Yakubu of their side. They're hardly to be feared as world beaters. Hell, take off those two FAGs (Fernando and Gerrard) and what are you left with?

Though, being Liverpool, they'll somehow no doubt be diabolical all season and still end up in fourth.

Everything is apparently going to be totally different at Spurs this year. As it was last year. I won't go into much detail, but it's always Spurs' year to crack the top four, isn't it? Let's have a look, shall we? Yes, Corluka will tighten their defence slightly, which looks reasonable with King and Woodgate fit. In midfield they have Bentley and Modric who are both good players. Whether Modric will adapt to English football as quick as will be expected remains to be seen. Same goes to Pavlyuchenko. As an aside, the thing that amuses me about him was that last season, despite doing fairly well for Spartak and having a reasonable Euro 2008, he was not the star of the Russian side. It wasn't Arshavin, either. It was Pavel Pogrebnyak, who remained almost completely forgotten due to injury. In another world, maybe, Arshavin would have sat out the Euros instead, wouldn't have had his stock rise so significantly and perhaps would be pulling on the Royal Blue shirt. But that's water under the bridge. In short, Spurs have a lot of fancy-sounding names, and a good squad on paper, but too many questions to answer. Will they blend? Will their defence complete two games on the trot? So far this season, and it IS early doors, they've hardly set the league alight, have they?

Portsmouth are, I'll admit, a bit of a conundrum. In theory, they've improved significantly. Diarra, for me, has been one of their better signings. Defoe and Crouch CAN form a partnership and have done at various England levels with respectable success. They're decent at the back, have a decent goalkeeper and in Kranjcar a player of true class. The formation 'Arry played against us was stumbled upon and worked reasonably successfully - though I maintain that if we would have cut out several individual errors (that includes taking s*ite penalties) the result would have looked a lot different, even with our depleted squad. If you look at it from a Football Manager perspective, i.e. looking at a screen with their squad and formation laid out in front of them, they look a good side. But are you ever convinced? Do you ever think to yourself, that even with that squad, Portsmouth are a team that will really challenge the top of the league? I don't think so, and I can back that up by the drubbings they've recieved by both United and Chelsea this season.

Now, to Villa. I'll admit that Villa look exciting. In Young and Barry they have players who can create goals. In Ablongahor they have a pacy stiker with an eye for goal. Milner won't do too badly at all for them, and their defence is solid without being spectacular. Surely, then, a nailed-on contender for our (yes, ours, until May 2009 possibly says otherwise) fifth spot. Not so. Villa have, frustratingly - for the fans, at least, I for one will be laughing - the ability to blow hot and cold. We've seen it already this season; demolishing Man City at their place then losing to Stoke, of all teams. Their game with the Shite was a write-off. This inconsistency will be their biggest problem, and in my eyes, likely to be their downfall as it arguably was last season.

Of course, the other threat COULD come from City's band of pseudo-mercenaries. But despite the furore over Robinho, one man does not make a team - and have you seen how utter crap they've been this season?

What we can do is cut out all this negativity, leave the moaning to that lot over the park, plonk our arses into Goodison and beyond and get ourselves behind the team - where we'll be just fine, thank you very much.

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