Antonio Conte made more changes in midweek than I’d expected, but there is no denying the starting XI that were put out absolutely should’ve been good enough to produce both a performance, and a positive result, against NS Mura in our penultimate Europa Conference League Group G clash. It’s almost inconceivable that we managed to blow it in such a pathetic fashion, as with a 2-1 defeat, we have thrown away a chance at top spot and our very qualification through to the next round is now hanging in the balance with Rennes up next.
It’s hardly how anyone wanted to back up Conte’s first Premier League win, and it’s certainly not the preparation we’d have wanted going into what will be another tough clash with Sean Dyche’s Burnley side this coming Sunday, but it is what it is and we need to see a much better reaction from the players when they take to the pitch again.
You can only imagine some have now marked their card under Conte and we’ll see less of them moving forward as we look for an unlikely January boost to our spirits.
Question: What’s the best estimate of the number of shots on goal today if the match had been played?
Answer: The same as the number of shots on goal that THFC actually had on goal today.
May the gods have mercy on us that a cancelled match obtained the same number of shots on goal as we’ve been seeing recently in matches actually played.
TK good to see you back BTW, but you are back with a bit of a sour puss ☹️🤣.
No one said it would be easy to get back to where we were just a few, seasons ago.
I must agree that Thursday was a bit of a shi££er, however it shows the manager and indeed the owner just exactly where we are and where we need to go, now if Levey wants us back up among the money makers of the top 4, he needs to be rid of a few passangers on this team, I feel that the positive we can take from Thursday is that Conte can go to Levey with his, wish list of ins and outs and Levey can’t really justify any argument against it, as his previous decisions have been found out to be piss poor largely.
With that said it is going to be a tough road, but under Conte there is some measurable improvement, at lest we are starting to cover more ground now, we are not as pedestrian, and our possession is much better. Hopefully before Thursday Conte can get another baby step forward by getting our shots on target up a bit, we have to look for improvements we were we can find them, this season, for me, I think isn’t going to be pretty, with that said I still think we can be in the mix for top 5.😉
This was one of the better spurs performances in recent times. 🙂
All jokes aside, performances haven’t been great lately.
But much like I did last year under JM, I am looking at the situation we’re in, and there are reasons to remain optimistic.
ECL aside, we’re in the LC quarter-finals, with a tie against West Ham waiting. West Ham are a decent team this year but they’re not in the class of Chelsea, City or Liverpool. This is a winnable tie and we could yet get lucky on the draw for the semi-finals if Brentford or Sunderland win their ties. The LC remains a decent shot at a trophy this year.
In the PL, the top 3 looks set, but a win against Burnley would have seen us climb to 22 points, just 1 point off 4th place. We are still in the mix for top 4, with realistically 5 teams (Spurs, Arsenal, Man U, West Ham, Leicester) fighting for that 4th place. All of those teams can cause us problems on the day, but all of them have their own flaws too and remain a beatable bunch if Conte can instil a bit of organisation and discipline in our team.
The FA Cup may yet provide another competition for us to shine in, in a few weeks.
And results may yet swing our way in the ECL, and we may yet get some help and qualify anyways (whether that is a good thing or not is a question of opinion, but mathematically we’re still in the mix).
As much as we can be disappointed with recent performances, this is far from rock bottom.
I admire your optimism BS. We just need a new squad and a massive clear out.
wentworth – we need a new squad and massive clear out if you expect the club to win the PL/CL soon.
If the goal is merely finishing in the top 4, the bar is much lower. We’re not that far as things stand, with an imperfect squad. It wouldn’t take very much in terms of additions to catch the likes of West Ham and Arsenal.
Catching the top 3 is another story, however.
Thats agreed BS…COYS
Yep you are right BS. Maybe small steps first.
Hi BS
My thoughts exactly, I’m looking for progress this year, maybe a trophy if we’re lucky but at the moment certainly not the league title.
I said as much in my earlier post.
My prediction …. 20-0. It’s not an impossible score after all!