Eco Posted May 16, 2019 Posted May 16, 2019 I know some leagues and teams are still playing, but we also have a handful of members that are done with this year's season. So, give us your team's report on how you think you did, steps you'd like to see moving forward, and what the highs and lows were of the season.
Azeem Posted May 16, 2019 Posted May 16, 2019 Who says you get to pin you're own threads while there so many active threads that aren't ?
Eco Posted May 16, 2019 Author Posted May 16, 2019 15 minutes ago, Azeem said: Who says you get to pin you're own threads while there so many active threads that aren't ? I do.
Subscriber Viva la FCB+ Posted May 16, 2019 Subscriber Posted May 16, 2019 Thoroughly mediocre season. Squad revamp is coming in the summer with some tidy exorbitant business already done. Announcements of Ribery, Rafinha and Robben departing, likely Boateng to follow, James likely on his way back to madrid and theres been rumblings about Müller considering his future. Coming in confirmed already are Lucas Hernandez, Benjamin Pavard and Jann-Fiete Arp. Id like to see a change of manager to be honest. The two replacements I would want aren't available though for at least another seasons in Ten Hag and Tuchel, maybe its just a pipe dream. The lows; probably the match against Liverpool in the CL, we where thoroughly outclassed over two legs and showed 0 intent or creativity going forward. The highs; remains to be seen.
Eco Posted May 16, 2019 Author Posted May 16, 2019 9 minutes ago, Viva la FCB said: Thoroughly mediocre season. Squad revamp is coming in the summer with some tidy exorbitant business already done. Announcements of Ribery, Rafinha and Robben departing, likely Boateng to follow, James likely on his way back to madrid and theres been rumblings about Müller considering his future. Coming in confirmed already are Lucas Hernandez, Benjamin Pavard and Jann-Fiete Arp. Id like to see a change of manager to be honest. The two replacements I would want aren't available though for at least another seasons in Ten Hag and Tuchel, maybe its just a pipe dream. The lows; probably the match against Liverpool in the CL, we where thoroughly outclassed over two legs and showed 0 intent or creativity going forward. The highs; remains to be seen. I hope for Pavard's sake that he lives up to the reputation he gained in the WC.
Dr. Gonzo Posted May 16, 2019 Posted May 16, 2019 A or A-, kind of depends what happens in a few weeks. But it's been a season where we've demonstrated huge improvement and we've seen a lot of positives from the team and not a lot of weaknesses. Biggest weakness we've shown is our lack of depth compared to Manchester City. Biggest strength is our starting XI excellent. The highest point was probably smashing Barcelona in the CL. The lowest point was probably drawing Manchester United at Old Trafford or the draw against Everton.
Inverted Posted May 19, 2019 Posted May 19, 2019 I'd say a B-. Obviously being on the cusp of the treble treble is amazing, but the chaos around Rodgers jumping ship, the squad being an unbalanced absolute horror show with a bunch of random loan signings no full backs, and Lenny not really knowing what to do with it, has taken a shine off of it. Also two defeats in the Old Firm is not really acceptable. We've got a lot of recovering to do from Congerton, but even just like £10 mil on a few smart signings would see us on the right path, so here's hoping. Getting beat by AEK in the CL playoff was also hugely gutting, especially since the issue was the defensive lapses we all knew about from our weak defence and which could have been sorted in pre-season. Getting 2nd in the Europa League group over Leipzig was a good achievement and then getting knocked out by Valencia is perfectly fine, though again the manner of it showed a lot of the issues we had for some reason refused to sort. Overall, we are in what should be a golden era for the club, but chronic mismanagement is making it seem much harder and more frustrating than it needs to be.
nudge Posted May 19, 2019 Posted May 19, 2019 On 07/08/2018 at 01:25, nudge said: My club: Werder Bremen Final league position: 7-10 Player of the season: Maxi Eggestein Best goalscorer: Max Kruse Most appearances: Jiri Pavlenka Best new signing: Davy Klaassen Biggest surprise: Jojo Eggestein Manager change (yes/no): No! The above were my expectations before the season so the team definitely lived up to them... Finished 8th and just missed on Europe by 1 point. Not a big deal, my only criticism is the fact that we wasted too many points against clubs in relegation zone by drawing or losing matches we should have been winning comfortably. The team was quite balanced and developed very well under Kohfeldt and we are finally playing attractive attacking football again. 11 more points, 21 more scored goals and 9 less conceded goals compared to last season so we've been making progress in pretty much all areas. Had a successful cup run as well and could have even made it into the final if it wasn't for a wrongly given penalty in favour of Bayern in the closing minutes of the semifinal. On top of that, managed to extend contracts of most of our best young players. A very solid season; a strong 8/10.
Subscriber CaaC (John)+ Posted May 19, 2019 Subscriber Posted May 19, 2019 Can't say much about United except Jose got the boot Ole took over and started well but then the players run out of steam and ideas on the pitch, they did not have a decent leader captain wise to kick a few arses and continue on what Ole had created...that is all.
Subscriber RandoEFC+ Posted May 19, 2019 Subscriber Posted May 19, 2019 Style of football has markedly improved which is important, we've finished in the same position as last season but with more points and better results against the top six so definitely a small improvement overall. Disappointments have been the cup runs where two really poor performances got us knocked out in games we had no excuse to lose. Player of the Season: Digne Signing of the Season: Digne Young Player of the Season: Richarlison Most Improved Player: Keane Best Result: Everton 4-0 Manchester Utd Worst Result: Everton 2-6 Tottenham Overall grade: C+/B-.
Administrator Stan Posted May 19, 2019 Administrator Posted May 19, 2019 Player of the Season: Ricardo Pereira Signing of the Season: Ricardo Pereira/Youri Tielemans Young Player of the Season: Ben Chilwell Most Improved Player: Ben Chilwell Best Result: Cardiff 0-1 Leicester/Leicester 2-1 Man City/Leicester 3-0 Arsenal Worst Result: Leicester 1-4 Crystal Palace/Leicester 0-1 Cardiff/Leicester 1-2 Southampton Overall grade: B- Firstly, it has to be said that October's tragic event where our chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha and 4 others lost their lives put a dampener on the season so far and cast a shadow for the rest of the season to come. The staff, players and anyone associated with the club handled it superbly and considering the circumstances of it all, managed the grief exceptionally well. To go to Cardiff in the following game and secure the 1-0 win through Gray's goal under deeply tough circumstances was just perfect. Football to be honest took a back seat and it was all about mourning the losses, especially Vichai's, in the moments that followed the accident. Cardiff were great in the situation too and were very supportive as a club. Same with other clubs that visited the KP in the following games too - Watford had a banner to show up during the game as well. It's hard to give the season any kind of summary with that in mind but the players and staff did us proud in those moments and recovered well from it for certain periods. Beforehand, August and September were as expected - we beat teams we expected to, gave good performances against the top 6 sides but ultimately lost. We were mid-table by the end of October. Throughout November to February it was very mixed results-wise. We beat teams like Chelsea, Man City, Everton (the win against Everton was probably the dullest game of the season, everyone on a new year hangover ) and lost against lower-table sides like Southampton, Cardiff, Newcastle and in February, Crystal Palace which was pretty much the last nail in the coffin for Puel. In reality, all the other proverbial nails in the coffin were in place for quite a while - for all the good work Puel did with developing youngsters, signing Pereira in summer, signing Tielemans on loan in January, the actual performances were pretty sub-standard - the worst of these perhaps in the FA Cup where it wasn't taken seriously; I expected him to get sacked after the embarrassing loss vs Newport but he stayed on. Not what the majority of fans would like to see - free-flowing, attacking football. Or at least something entertaining. Going to home games became a chore when it should be about being exciting to watch us. It was very, very dull to watch. I can understand that he wanted us to play a different way but ultimately the reservations that Southampton's fans had about him when he left them came to fruition with us. He probably outstayed his welcome here with us, really. After he'd gone, though, in comes Rodgers and it's a proper breath of fresh air. As soon as he walked in it's like there was a new lease of life for us - we got 20 points in 11 games under Rodgers and that was the same amount of points Puel got in his last 20 games. The turnaround is very much welcome in our late push for 7th. The inconsistencies of our form in the league overall mean we miss out but the signs are there for us to really push on next season, with the right signings and if our squad doesn't get picked at by bigger clubs. Right now, with Rodgers in charge and although it's early days, our club seems in a really good place. There were announcements earlier in the season that the stadium is scheduled to be expanded, there's a new, state-of-the-art training ground being build right now and there's some decent youngsters coming through. 4 young English players starting the latter games of the season and playing like seasoned pros sometimes - Chilwell, Maddison, Choudhury, Barnes. On top of that, Rodgers got Vardy firing again unlike Puel who decided not to play to his strengths - when you have a dynamic player like him who is our only out-and-out striker that can score goals and he gets benched, it doesn't bode that well. 18 goals for Vardy and he was the highest scoring Englishman in the league. Scored his 100th goal for the club and isn't far off scoring 100 goals in the Premier League, either. Said in numerous times on here but Tielemans just has to be signed. Fits in so well in our formation and shape and links up well with Maddison and Vardy when we're attacking. If Monaco want to keep Silva it gives us great scope to negotiate a deal you'd think. Really enjoy watching how he plays and it'd set us up really well for summer and next season if he signs permanently. I genuinely think that ourselves (and Wolves & Everton) can properly push for 5/6th place next season. If Man Utd and Arsenal continue to underperform (by their own standards?) then now is the best chance to put solid pressure on them - we all seem in a place of stability at the moment and actually fancy making sensible transfers instead of just throwing money about senselessly. There's no doubting some of our form was a direct result of what happened in October but on the positive side, we have a really good core group of players to be successful in Vichai's honour. The stand-outs for me were our full-backs Pereira and Chilwell. Not too bad defensively (where improvements can be made) and excellent going forward. Pereira has an eye for goal (the one against Man City was quality) and Chilwell just goes up and down all game and is almost another winger/attacker when on the pitch. Maddison, considering his age & with it being his first season in the Premier League, had a very good season - 7 goals and 7 assists isn't a bad return for me. Can only see him bettering those figures next season. Overall, our inconsistency this season matched other teams' inconsistency too, so we couldn't take advantage of any slip-ups other teams had. Wolves get European football in the end but perhaps it's better for us to have it in 2020/21 season as perhaps next season was too premature.
Eco Posted May 21, 2019 Author Posted May 21, 2019 In order... Atlanta United - A Won the MLS Cup in just the second year of existance. Had the MVP, record breaking goal scorer, and played great and exciting soccer. Only reason this isn't an A+ is that we blew our chance at the Supporter's Shield when we blew it late and gave it away to New York Red Bulls. Portsmouth FC - B+ Hard to watch at times because they didn't play great football, and really struggled in front of goal. Highlight was winning the trophy against Sunderland at Wembely. Very hard to watch the playoffs, especially considering the first leg Pompey were up a player and couldn't capitalize. Hopefully next year automatic promotion will be in the cards. As a fan, I did pretty bad this year, as it's hard as hell to watch them even with my subscribe to iFollow. Regardless, would still love to see them move to the Championship. Eintracht Frankfurt - C+ First time following a German team, and what an exciting year to watch. They were absolutely stunning to watch, had a great Europa League run, beating teams like Inter Milan, Benfica, and took Chelsea to the limit. Maybe this grade is harsh due to all of that, but Frankfurt had a solid chance to make the Champions League for the first time, and fell apart at the end, losing to teams much worse than them, and maybe a lot of it will be gone, as some of the great players will be departing. Parma FC - A I loved Parma right after I loved Inter Milan. As the years have progressed, I have slowly enjoyed watching Parma more, mainly because the financial issues that they went through is something I would hate for any fan base, and they are a lot more of a local, city centric club with passionate fans. And now they are back in Serie A, and the goal was to survive, and that's exactly what happened. Playing Inter twice is odd, as it's something I've been able to avoid, but not anymore, and whereas Parma beating Inter at the San Siro may be a highlight, it was more bittersweet to me. The last goal dramatics vs Juventus were the highlights for me, alongside the moment the final whistle blew against Fiorentina, and the look on the coaches, fans, players faces were so incredible. The raw emotion knowing that another year in Serie A is a reality.
Spike Posted May 21, 2019 Posted May 21, 2019 C+ is Chelsea keep Sarri. F- if he is sacked. The entirety of this season weighs on the progress made this season, the change in style, the change in personnal, if Sarri is sacked this season is a write and everything was for nothing. It would be absolutely bizarre to sack Sarri coming off a third place finish and Europa League final.
Administrator Stan Posted May 21, 2019 Administrator Posted May 21, 2019 Frankfurt deserve to have a higher grade I'd say. At least a B. Getting to a semi-final and nearly getting Champions League football far exceeded expectations. Plus their football is great and fans are even better. Think the C+ is harsh!
SirBalon Posted May 21, 2019 Posted May 21, 2019 Arsenal B+ We are in a European final for the first time in years which is an amazing feeling and we have improved by one position in the league from last season. All of this with a new coach, not just a new coach in the sense like your regular story because we made the change after 25 years! Plus we've done all of this with a very unbalanced side and in many cases some very mediocre players. So for me the sesson is just off an A and had I been generous it should really be an A- Lets hope we continue to improve for next season.
SchalkeUK Posted May 21, 2019 Posted May 21, 2019 A sad season and one to forget as long as we learn the lesson. Having finished the league last season in a false position - 2nd was only due to others finishing below their normal par and letting us in, the men upstairs allowed the Manager to completely lose control of the team, the pitch, the dressing room and eventually the supporters. It was obvious at the end of last season by the way he allowed Frankfurt to take the Cup semi-final that he was not the man to be allowed so much control - but those in charge tried to assist him and control him rather than remove him and we went from bad to worse - the culmination the horror in Manchester. Tedesco refused to talk to some players - two fine young mid-fielders left on free transfers and our best young future defender left for Paris where he played as if he has been there years. Our most respected Senior man was allowed to go without a real effort to keep him and other senior (old) men ignored his efforts to solve problems - even yelling and swearing at him in front of watchers during training sessions which were - first time for a while - sometimes done without access to watch. Eventually the main idiots left and the long-time respected fall back guy returned to get a few draws and one notable victory over BVB to ensure survival - Huub is again an 04 legend! Hopefully he will be available to help and support David Wagner who is now our man and with the calmness and support of Gerald Asamoah amongst others he will be able to rebuild confidence and respect at the club to what it should be - but unless he is given the money to sort out the ins and outs of the squad before August, next year will be tough. David has a proven record in recent years (ignoring the second Terrier's season which was not totally down to him ) and if he can do what he did when he took over Huddersfield then he will have a long and happy future in Gelsenkirchen. I feel more happy now than for some time in recent days!
Subscriber Dan+ Posted May 24, 2019 Subscriber Posted May 24, 2019 Will do ours when I'm on a laptop. Deliberately not read Stan's yet. Can see them being similar, for some reason.
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.