Progress. assuming there is some.... - ....is it quick enough?
Posted: Thu Jan 15, 2009 8:29 pm
I got to thinking while we were discussing the "same number of points as last season" stat (which now appears to have been disproven) about progress over Rafa's period as manager.
Now I don't think there's too much doubt that we currently have a better team than the one which he miraculously guided to Champions League success. That debate though has been done to death, so without getting into it now, lets just assume for the sake of argument that it is so.
The point of the question and indeed the post is this, assuming we have progressed, how much is it by and is quickly enough to realistically expect us to at some stage win the title? Also, given the financial investment we have made, is the progression a fair return or not?
My reading without resorting to Google and stats, just going from memory is that the best team we had under Rafa was last seasons one when Torres was fit. I think Riera has improved the team this season, but the absence of Torres has more than compensated I think (although the emergence of Gerrard as potentially the best player in the World has made it a very close call). That team in my opinion would have gone much closer than 11 points off the top if a couple of things had been done differently (and no prizes for guessing what I think those were ) but whatever, that was the best one for me.
The season before we had a very good team too, the one with Crouch up top which won the FA Cup. As I remember we won the FA Cup that season, beating a good Manc side en route, and finished strongly in the league to get within 9 points or so. The league was already won (by the Mancs I think), so there was an element of running on through beaten horses, but equally pro-rotationalists could argue that it was "delayed gazelle" in action. I think that team was plenty good enough to mount a title challenge as well given a methodology rethink, although not as good as the team the following season with Torres up front.
So we can assume from all that, that according to my warped logic, if Torres had been fit this season, this team would be the best one that Rafa has put together. That's cool, because that's exactly what I think. Also we've slightly tweaked the philosophy and lo and behold, we're top of the league. What if though (and here's the rub) it still isn't enough? What if Torres comes back, starts banging the goals in and we still finish adrift of the Mancs?
I know there's a lot of what ifs there, but to me this is the nub.......
Is it enough to gradually improve season on season? Is it enough to add a player here and a player there, to wait on Gerrard getting better and better? Is it the case (and I personally think it probably is) that you'd need in a transfer window to buy a 20 million pound striker who actually improves the team (or indeed one who sometimes plays in it) and a fullback for 7 million quid who is at least quite good?
The thing is the Mancs will keep buying and will keep winning league titles. Can we catch them step by step, or do we need to do things differently?
Now I don't think there's too much doubt that we currently have a better team than the one which he miraculously guided to Champions League success. That debate though has been done to death, so without getting into it now, lets just assume for the sake of argument that it is so.
The point of the question and indeed the post is this, assuming we have progressed, how much is it by and is quickly enough to realistically expect us to at some stage win the title? Also, given the financial investment we have made, is the progression a fair return or not?
My reading without resorting to Google and stats, just going from memory is that the best team we had under Rafa was last seasons one when Torres was fit. I think Riera has improved the team this season, but the absence of Torres has more than compensated I think (although the emergence of Gerrard as potentially the best player in the World has made it a very close call). That team in my opinion would have gone much closer than 11 points off the top if a couple of things had been done differently (and no prizes for guessing what I think those were ) but whatever, that was the best one for me.
The season before we had a very good team too, the one with Crouch up top which won the FA Cup. As I remember we won the FA Cup that season, beating a good Manc side en route, and finished strongly in the league to get within 9 points or so. The league was already won (by the Mancs I think), so there was an element of running on through beaten horses, but equally pro-rotationalists could argue that it was "delayed gazelle" in action. I think that team was plenty good enough to mount a title challenge as well given a methodology rethink, although not as good as the team the following season with Torres up front.
So we can assume from all that, that according to my warped logic, if Torres had been fit this season, this team would be the best one that Rafa has put together. That's cool, because that's exactly what I think. Also we've slightly tweaked the philosophy and lo and behold, we're top of the league. What if though (and here's the rub) it still isn't enough? What if Torres comes back, starts banging the goals in and we still finish adrift of the Mancs?
I know there's a lot of what ifs there, but to me this is the nub.......
Is it enough to gradually improve season on season? Is it enough to add a player here and a player there, to wait on Gerrard getting better and better? Is it the case (and I personally think it probably is) that you'd need in a transfer window to buy a 20 million pound striker who actually improves the team (or indeed one who sometimes plays in it) and a fullback for 7 million quid who is at least quite good?
The thing is the Mancs will keep buying and will keep winning league titles. Can we catch them step by step, or do we need to do things differently?