Belief and will to win - It's starting to come back
Posted: Thu Dec 09, 2004 5:31 pmI think 3 of our last 4 games are giving us a very good pointer as to the effect Rafa is having on the team. Against Arsenal, Spurs and Olympiacos we showed a strength of character to keep going to the final whistle.......I have often thought that we lascked desire and passion in recent years, including up to recently the away loss to Boro.....
Dare I say it but I believe we becoming more like Manure in that respect....and that's a good thing....a match is not lost until the end....look back to the home match against Palace...another injury time winner.
We might be playing more attractive football but desire and passion can make up for a lot of things....if we can buy sensibly in the transfer window...including a goal poacher who is eligible to play in the CL I can see us mounting a winning run that can put us in the frame......I don't see us winning the league but we should expect the team at a minimum to put in these combative displays week in week out and put a run of 10 wins together to at least get us back in the mix and be considered championship material....I realistically hope that by 30 games played we should not be worrying about CL qualification and be focused on the leaders as genuine challengers (within 7 points of the top) and be successful in CL (last 8/4), league cup winners and still in the FA Cup. We don't neccessarily have to win silverware this season to have a successful one.....Realistically 3rd in the league involved up to the last few games, last 8 CL and two good cup runs would be a remarkable turnaround from half time last night.....This would give us the springboard for next season, hopefully with new players, deadweight players gone, new investment and above all else the players have the expectation that 2nd is no longer good enough.
Dare I say it but I believe we becoming more like Manure in that respect....and that's a good thing....a match is not lost until the end....look back to the home match against Palace...another injury time winner.
We might be playing more attractive football but desire and passion can make up for a lot of things....if we can buy sensibly in the transfer window...including a goal poacher who is eligible to play in the CL I can see us mounting a winning run that can put us in the frame......I don't see us winning the league but we should expect the team at a minimum to put in these combative displays week in week out and put a run of 10 wins together to at least get us back in the mix and be considered championship material....I realistically hope that by 30 games played we should not be worrying about CL qualification and be focused on the leaders as genuine challengers (within 7 points of the top) and be successful in CL (last 8/4), league cup winners and still in the FA Cup. We don't neccessarily have to win silverware this season to have a successful one.....Realistically 3rd in the league involved up to the last few games, last 8 CL and two good cup runs would be a remarkable turnaround from half time last night.....This would give us the springboard for next season, hopefully with new players, deadweight players gone, new investment and above all else the players have the expectation that 2nd is no longer good enough.
