I don’t recall us ever losing at Turf Moor and to our credit we always seem to scrap our way to results there.
It’s all par for the course so far this season.
Sure, but I bet it doesn't stop you worrying about this fixture every year when it comes up? It's the kind of game everyone expects us to struggle in, and we were going into it in pretty terrible form, low on confidence and with a team full of new, unfamiliar players. Was delighted with how quickly they all seemed to bond, even if the football was a little rough...
I suppose it’s always tough at Burnley but they’re not a peak Stoke that’s for sure. They’re a god awful team and we should always be looking to take 3 points off them, as we have done multiple times in recent memory. I feel like the idea of us struggling against these so called bully boy teams is old hat and hasn’t been relevant for a long time anyway. So while I don’t take it for granted it’s not a fixture I particularly worry about.
The thing is banana skins are perceived to be everywhere now because of the fact we’re not as good as we used to be. Fixtures that we used to consider bankers are now a different animal.
As I said I think from the 6 games this season it’s been par for the course. We’re never far from a cliff edge so I look forward to seeing what kind of run we can put together now, especially with a seemingly settled team.
Brentford was the only result which raised eyebrows, but I guess their result against Liverpool shows they're having a bit of a "newly promoted team" effect.
The City result was predictable as they come but I was alarmed by quite how easily they swatted us aside. I'd like to think it wouldn't have been 5-0 had it not been for Xhaka having one of his brainfarts, but they didn't have to break sweat against us which is a bit depressing.
I basically agree there isn't a result so far which has made me think "we are back!!", but it's nice to get a few wins on the bounce, builds a bit of momentum and confidence. It's hard to know whether there is a general upward trajectory, since last Christmas you could argue there is but we need to see a sustained improvement over the course of a season. If that doesn't happen this year then Arteta needs to go.
For years fans have been saying the journeymen were overpaid shite and the kids should be given a chance because there was fuck all to lose. Arteta, a ludicrously compensated individual who trained at the feet of an even more ludicrously compensated individual, seems to have stumbled upon what the common fans realise by default.
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Yeah I get the circumspection. But I guess if we can't hope then what's the point? I think the difference now is that there's a plan, and now that the manager has his new, predominantly young signings together we can see where we are supposed to be going. That is a key difference fom previously, and it does make a difference. The FA Cup run/win was based on defensive structure and knicking a goal, and even last season our complaint was that we were far too rigid - not enough invention and creativity. Now we are far more balanced than before and that is a better basis for progress. Will we progress the way we want? Who knows? But it does feel a bit more refreshing seeing where the manager wants to go rather than being as confused as the players seemed to be at times last season.
If you want to be glass half full, then if we want to look at 'par for the course' - and we discount the terrible pre Xmas 2020 run as an aberration (it was), we haven't done too badly as a team this calendar year!
Putting the laughter back into manslaughter