06 Sep 2018 09:26:26
What mark out of 10 would you give Emery in his first month in charge, using 5/ 10 as a base mark to us being niether any better or worse under him?
I'd give him 6/ 10 because we are definitely less wasteful in front of goal and because he is trying to introduce new things and wether they come off long term or not are at least an attempt to try something different and change our fortunes.
It's not going to be a quick fix but there are reasons to be hopeful of a good long term fix that might get us back amount the premier league elite long term.
06 Sep 2018 15:24:42
A bit early for me to judge, after a world cup summer, coming in cold and the start in the league we had. i'm mostly happy with what we are trying to do with shape and tactics but until we see one or two windows to gauge from, i think he has his hands tied. I think we can mark him half term and maybe full term but even then, we won't be seeing the end type product. I do know one thing, i am more happier with our new manager at the moment, than i was with wenger. The staleness for me has gone and i am hopefull of a better playing style. I also think, he will learn a lot more about the squad when all the cup comps start.
06 Sep 2018 15:57:19
I totally agree Steve it's way to early to give a definitive mark but I was thinking more of a progress report on a month by month basis.
Month 1 was always going to be the toughest month to gauge but I think as the months pass we will get to know and see where Emery is taking us.
Obviously if we'd got something off Chelsea and City he'd warrant a 10/ 10 for his first month in or if our defence suddenly looked solid as a rock but for August it's a 6/ 10 for me as although we haven't pulled off a shock wins or draws we haven't dropped any unexpected points either.
06 Sep 2018 17:38:48
I think a 6/ 10 is a fair initial score. Plus points are seeing a manager actually standing on the touchline barking orders, making positive and early substitutions, and trying to play attractive attacking football. Minus points include sticking with 'failure' players such as Xhaka and Iwobi when you identified and signed players to address these very same deficiencies, and some comical defending. The good news is the positive aspects are permanent, and the negatives are temporary, so hopefully that score will continue to climb.
06 Sep 2018 18:14:18
Good post Epping mate, I totally agree the good points will continue to improve and the weaknesses will be addressed over the coming months and years.
06 Sep 2018 18:27:18
I think it’s too early to give a score. He might have a years plan that he only calculates success after that period. If you relate it to points and goals for and against then he’s on the right side of average 6 or 7 out of ten if you relate it to where we want to be then it’s 3 or 4 out of ten. But like I say too early for me.
06 Sep 2018 19:09:08
6 and a bit from me but he’s mostly working with what’s left, his first transfer window directly after a World Cup was never going to be easy . My big criticism of him is trying to get Cech to play with his feet, my understanding is Leno is a better ball player?
Early days yet though.
06 Sep 2018 19:26:56
We were a tad unlucky at Chelsea 62, let’s remember the absolute sitters we missed, a draw would have been a fair result, ifs and buts but remember we got ourselves back into the game after being 2 down.
06 Sep 2018 19:45:09
Banners even citeh, where we didn't deserve anything we missed sitters and was denied a stonewall penalty. We aren't looking great but we are still troubling all teams.
06 Sep 2018 19:47:59
Definitely Banbury mate even in defeat at Chelsea there were some real positives as well as some real concerns about our defensive problems looking as obvious as always.
06 Sep 2018 19:49:01
Didn't we score more goals at chelski than we scored in the last 6 visits as well.
06 Sep 2018 20:15:38
Correct Steve
Even though we lost the two openers there were positives to take, though they can easily be forgotten
The thing I will say is we knew we were fragile at the back before the season started so no one should be shocked .
06 Sep 2018 21:01:08
I don't think anyone is shocked by the defence just a little puzzled by why there seems little obvious attempt to sort it yet.
It seems we are building from the front with the emphasis on sort the attack now and defence later rather than a more equal more all round improving approach, not a moan merely an observation.
06 Sep 2018 21:09:48
What can you change though? We haven’t got the players to change anything just yet mate .
06 Sep 2018 21:27:10
To be fair gunner, i don't think citehs defence is watertight, they just play in a way that doesn't normally give the opposition the chance to expose it. The same for liverpool, the defence is ok but itd not what i call a great defence, they just keep it protected by winning the ball further up.
06 Sep 2018 21:48:38
True Steve but their midfields are the real difference both attacking and defensively.
06 Sep 2018 22:22:29
Are you implying we have a weak link or two gunner in midfield. No!
06 Sep 2018 22:52:58
Transfer window activity - 4 / 10
Defence - 3/ 10
Tactics - 3/ 10 poor as not adapting to teams strength and sticking with his guns.
Decision making 5/ 10 as some good and some bad
Long term vision - 4/ 10 signing oldies in defence and no major changes.
Organisation in team - 3/ 10
Subs - 6/ 10
Team spirit - 6/ 10
Attack - 6/ 10
Midfield - 4/ 10
Set plays - defence - 3/ 10 while attack 8/ 10
Mentality of team - 4/ 10
Overall 4.5/ 10 could do better and expected a lot more in terms of change and vision as well as tactics based on what’s been said about him. Still early days and hopefully we start seeing some further improvements by Jan as well as more squad changes.
07 Sep 2018 06:56:38
Overall I am enjoying the new Emery era, we had become stale under Wenger and we had the weakest squad that I could recall. It is clear that it will take some time for the defending and playing out from the back to improve. However, what is a little odd is that all 5 new players were defensive players, which were clearly needed and yet only two have been in the starting line up. The 2 most expensive signings Leno and Torreira have yet to appear in the starting line up.
If our keeper, defence and DM contained all 5 new players it would be:
Leno
Lichtsteiner Mustafi Sokratis Monreal
Torreira Guendouzi
Would this selection perform better than the ones selected? Probably yes, so why hasn't it been selected?
To answer the initial question, if we started from 5 out of 10, then 6 out of 10 would be where we are, with little change evdient. Playing out from the back, defending in general and better pressing when not in possession need a lot more work. Perhaps the International break has come at an ideal time to work on these weaknesses.
