ShockingBadBuy
Often disappointed, never discouraged
There are things we can improve or upgrade on, but it's difficult to find genuine negatives from yesterday. And how many first games of the season has it been since we were able to say that ?? I'm tempted to offer this as a positive in itself ...
So many positives too, beyond just the performances of individual players. Here are ten of mine, in no particular order:
1) the genuine team ethos and spirit that brought us so much last year seems unaffected by the summer break. If anything, yesterday, we looked more resolute still.
2) the new outfield players seem to have settled really well, appear to understand exactly what we're about on the pitch--one sign of an effective pre-season--and so far look like like they give us a substantial upgrade defensively.
3) the new signings also make us bigger, collectively, than we were ? If they can get off the ground, Stearman, Stevens, Lundstram (and in the 95th minute when we need a goal, Jamal) should all increase our threat from corners and free-kicks, as well us making us more imposing defensively.
4) we are sticking with 3 at the back, which is a fantastic sign (hopefully) of optimistic, attacking football to come. Also interesting that Wilder stressed this positive approach as soon as the second paragraph of yesterday's programme notes. The extra body in midfield that 3-5-2 gives us may be part of what allows us to surprise a few teams, literally, this season. It will be interesting to see if this remains our default shape away from home. Hope so.
5) we weren't overrun in midfield, when it might have been a major weak spot for us. Teams that had a proper go at us through the middle last year, and there weren't many, occasionally had players running straight at our goal for 20-30 yards+ without meaningful challenge. It's been an issue for us for years. With the step-up in oppo quality this season, I was concerned how this might play out. Instead, Brentford often found themselves forced out wide yesterday, where they were dangerous enough: but we battled them effectively in the middle for most of the game. Coutts' seemingly constantly improving fitness, and Stevens' athleticism, may be big factors in this.
6) having to battle, which this Utd side isn't used to doing, didn't negate our ability to play. Quite the opposite. Despite the View from Bitter Brentford, as relayed to us by the weird-and-mighty Roygbiv, we did indeed knock the ball around effectively and pleasingly at times, and if yesterday is anything to go by we should have more than enough in the "proper football" locker to dispatch plenty teams in this division during the coming months.
7) one or two looked tired before the end, but that can happen at any point in the season and for the first game of the year (in warm sunshine) fitness levels look really good; another sign of an effective pre-season.
8) three points taken against a club on the up fielding accomplished Championship trickiness and talent.
9) a crowd that size, in the middle of the school holidays when plenty people are away, and with relatively poor away numbers, suggests we will "sell out" league games this season (albeit that "sold out" these days seems to mean "not really sold out at all").
10) was it just my summery, "1-0" mood, or did the much vaunted, new "fast pour" system actually get me a much quicker pint at the South concourse bar, kop end ?
And I didn't even mention that Preston won, or that one of the seriously smelly buggers who used to sit next to us seems to have moved. Hurray
So many positives too, beyond just the performances of individual players. Here are ten of mine, in no particular order:
1) the genuine team ethos and spirit that brought us so much last year seems unaffected by the summer break. If anything, yesterday, we looked more resolute still.
2) the new outfield players seem to have settled really well, appear to understand exactly what we're about on the pitch--one sign of an effective pre-season--and so far look like like they give us a substantial upgrade defensively.
3) the new signings also make us bigger, collectively, than we were ? If they can get off the ground, Stearman, Stevens, Lundstram (and in the 95th minute when we need a goal, Jamal) should all increase our threat from corners and free-kicks, as well us making us more imposing defensively.
4) we are sticking with 3 at the back, which is a fantastic sign (hopefully) of optimistic, attacking football to come. Also interesting that Wilder stressed this positive approach as soon as the second paragraph of yesterday's programme notes. The extra body in midfield that 3-5-2 gives us may be part of what allows us to surprise a few teams, literally, this season. It will be interesting to see if this remains our default shape away from home. Hope so.
5) we weren't overrun in midfield, when it might have been a major weak spot for us. Teams that had a proper go at us through the middle last year, and there weren't many, occasionally had players running straight at our goal for 20-30 yards+ without meaningful challenge. It's been an issue for us for years. With the step-up in oppo quality this season, I was concerned how this might play out. Instead, Brentford often found themselves forced out wide yesterday, where they were dangerous enough: but we battled them effectively in the middle for most of the game. Coutts' seemingly constantly improving fitness, and Stevens' athleticism, may be big factors in this.
6) having to battle, which this Utd side isn't used to doing, didn't negate our ability to play. Quite the opposite. Despite the View from Bitter Brentford, as relayed to us by the weird-and-mighty Roygbiv, we did indeed knock the ball around effectively and pleasingly at times, and if yesterday is anything to go by we should have more than enough in the "proper football" locker to dispatch plenty teams in this division during the coming months.
7) one or two looked tired before the end, but that can happen at any point in the season and for the first game of the year (in warm sunshine) fitness levels look really good; another sign of an effective pre-season.
8) three points taken against a club on the up fielding accomplished Championship trickiness and talent.
9) a crowd that size, in the middle of the school holidays when plenty people are away, and with relatively poor away numbers, suggests we will "sell out" league games this season (albeit that "sold out" these days seems to mean "not really sold out at all").
10) was it just my summery, "1-0" mood, or did the much vaunted, new "fast pour" system actually get me a much quicker pint at the South concourse bar, kop end ?
And I didn't even mention that Preston won, or that one of the seriously smelly buggers who used to sit next to us seems to have moved. Hurray
