2024/25 Season

[BG1973]

Yeah.. under a new manager you'd hope we would start to improve after a few months...

[Rafa Justice]

TBF, Slot only dropped 6 points 2nd half of season with Feyenoord, drawing 3 times. So far this season, we've been a much better team second half of games. It's not inconceivable we finish 2nd half of season stronger, if we are lucky with injuries.

We're due a bit of luck with injuries imo

[fabinho]

That's a negative way to look at it I suppose. Chelsea were close to being 3 points behind us not long ago and have fallen away with the pressure of keeping up.

Arsenal have Saka missing, Odegard not playing at pre-injury levels and some very tough CL games coming up, potentially with knockout legs. Any catching up they do will be temporary when February comes along.

Its not negative, its about keeping our feet on the ground and not getting carried away. Every team would like to be in our position now, but there's still a long way to go and things can turn around very quickly in this league.

[dom9]

TBF, Slot only dropped 6 points 2nd half of season with Feyenoord, drawing 3 times. So far this season, we've been a much better team second half of games. It's not inconceivable we finish 2nd half of season stronger, if we are lucky with injuries.

If the second half of the league season is an improvement on the first, I'll be flabbergasted. The first half has smashed expectations and is a hard act to follow. I also think that overall we have more tougher aways in the second half than the first. Apart from Arsenal, we have played all the main teams at home so far, with the crap Mancs next to get us to 19 matches. Not played Everton either and they will be up for doing us in.

I also expect Arsenal to improve a little but not to the extent of making up the lost ground. Our match against them at Anfield on 10 May could well turn out to be something special. Revenge for 1989? Expect Michael Thomas to be wheeled out in front of the cameras.

[RedReet]

If the second half of the league season is an improvement on the first, I'll be flabbergasted. The first half has smashed expectations and is a hard act to follow. I also think that overall we have more tougher aways in the second half than the first. Apart from Arsenal, we have played all the main teams at home so far, with the crap Mancs next to get us to 19 matches. Not played Everton either and they will be up for doing us in.

I also expect Arsenal to improve a little but not to the extent of making up the lost ground. Our match against them at Anfield on 10 May could well turn out to be something special. Revenge for 1989? Expect Michael Thomas to be wheeled out in front of the cameras.

Points wise, it will be a hard act to follow, but I suppose it's possible we still improve as a team, without the extra points to show for it. We are looking so much better on the pitch now than we did in August/September (obviously). IMO we wouldn't have been capable of those Madrid or City performances and we didn't look like putting 5 past many teams. So from a purely points perspective, obviously we get the same amount for the West Ham game as we did against Wolves, Palace etc, but the improvement is clear as day.

So looking at this trajectory and taking into consideration that Slot will have more time to work with the team, improvement should in theory be more likely than not. The biggest concern is burn out for the players, but he came with a reputation for managing fitness and conditioning effectively, which so far the evidence supports and further gives reason for optimism. So again, 'in theory', instead of being dead on our feet come April/May, we might actually be fitter, sharper than our opponents, which is a scary prospect.

A lot of ifs and buts of course, but I don't think the logic is any more flawed that the argument that we are due a run of bad results because 'that's what usually happens' or we'll burn out later in the season because that's what happened under Klopp.

In terms of the Arsenal match, my gut feeling is that game will be purely academic, assuming of course we have no drastic and unexpected setbacks.

[Buzzo]

I think the pressure will tell on Arsenal eventually.

[dom9]

I think the pressure will tell on Arsenal eventually.

It usually does, but I think they are up for the chase.

Could do with Brighton turning up against them this weekend though.

[Buzzo]

It usually does, but I think they are up for the chase.

Could do with Brighton turning up against them this weekend though.

They need to win every game and hope we drop points. It’s a tough place to be. Any slip that we capitalise on and it begins to look inevitable.

Fingers crossed.

The battle for CL places means there will be a lot of focus on games with those teams also.

[BigChief]

I think the pressure will tell on Arsenal eventually.

After today's away game they have a game every 3/4 days in which they can't rest a single first team player. They could try resting players against Newcastle/Utd but that would risk both of their cup runs. And any rest given in the CL qualifiers means they risk an additional two games.

Conversely, we can rest nearly everyone on the FA Cup weekend and against PSV. Makes a huge difference, especially to prevent injuries.

[vlahka]

Conversely, we can rest nearly everyone on the FA Cup weekend and against PSV. Makes a huge difference, especially to prevent injuries.

We can but will we.

[Big-Red-Ed]

Fair to say that's Chelsea now out of the running.

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[chadrtc]

I can’t even remember who it was who was being an argumentative diva with anyone who suggested that Chelsea were definitely not in the title race, 3 weeks ago. But I’ll say it again - they’re definitely not in the title race, because their underlying stats say they aren’t anywhere near good enough.

[Buzzo]

5 points clear with 2 games in the tank.

[BigChief]

5 points clear with 2 games in the tank.

[Norbs]

I can’t even remember who it was who was being an argumentative diva with anyone who suggested that Chelsea were definitely not in the title race, 3 weeks ago. But I’ll say it again - they’re definitely not in the title race, because their underlying stats say they aren’t anywhere near good enough.

Possibly me, but i was only suggesting they were our closest rivals and in good form. Their form changed almost instantly so I'm taking full anti-mocking credit