End of Season review thread

[225]

So that's it, 38 games played!

Final Position in the PL (vs last season):

Position: 5th (+1)
Games Won: 19 (-2)
Games Drawn: 7 (+1)
Games Lost: 12 (+1)
Goals Scored: 58 (+3)
Goals Conceded: 53 (+2)
Goal Difference: +5 (+1)
Points Gained: 64 (-5)

League Cup: Final (lost to Chelsea)
FA Cup: 4th Round (lost to Leicester)
Europa: R32 (lost to Fiorentina)


But hey, we made it through the season with the same manager!

Positives:

Reaching a Cup Final
Finishing above Liverlol
Harry Kane scoring 31 over the season - who the f*** saw that coming!
Danny Rose being a good contender for player of the season for us - who the f*** saw that coming!
Bentaleb continuing to impress
Eric Dier being brilliant for his age/cost
Chadders and Eriksen getting double figures in goals
Lamela improving greatly towards the end of the season


Less Positives:

Adebayor became a crumbling mess with his personal issues and form
Soldado had a worse season
Chadders and Eriksen going from Messi to Messy in a moments notice
Our defence
The long awaited return of Kyle Walker being a long running nightmare of form


Overall, not a great season in terms of form really - but considering we've still got all the flops we had last season from the 7, can't really be too surprised. A bit of a mixed bag. Happy with the final standings as we've finished higher than last season!

 

[Sp3akerboxxx]

I predicted 6th so 5th is beating my pre-season expectations.

That is boiling it down to the most basic of conclusions though. Some highs, some lows, and I am hoping that the young age of our side bodes steady improvement in the future.

 

[Lilbaz]

I voted as expected. We finished in a higher position but with less points. Our defence has gone to shit. Cup final was nice. But we have lost ground on the top 4 which is going to be extremely difficult to make up next season.

A lot of work to do this summer.

 

[L-man]

I think we all expected top 6 and a good cup run, so on paper it looks good enough and I voted as expected.

I think we were unlucky in the cup final and our young squad was always going to find it terribly difficult against an extremely experienced Mourinho side. Although, the majority of performances in the league have been below-par for me. I would have been happy to finish on less points if we'd seen more glimpses of Pochs' 'philosophy' and ultimately lost instead of the many mid-season dreadful performances covered up by an Eriksen/ Kane winner. We finished on less points than AVB/ Sherwood and it's our highest goals conceded since 2008 so you could argue there's a bit of a failure there

However, it's still a good enough basis for next season and if we make some shrewd signings combined with another pre-season under Poch, we could/ should hopefully be more ready for a proper challenge on the top four.

 

[kaz Hirai]

Position better than expected, performances worse than expected

 

[only1waddle]

6/10, couple of sturdy performances mixed with some mediocre insipid crap.

7/10 if we had bought the Cup back to WHL.

 

[UpTownSpur]

We were only a 7-0 win at Old Trafford away from CL qualification so you have to say it was a better season than can reasonably have been expected given we had a new manager in his first season.

 

[Geyzer Soze]

We were only a 7-0 win at Old Trafford away from CL qualification so you have to say it was a better season than can reasonably have been expected given we had a new manager in his first season.

How's that?

 

[IGSpur]

Voted above expectations. Expected 6th and hoped for a cup run somewhere and not to get hammered by top clubs.

5th, final and actually beat some this season and put in good performances against others.

For a first season I'm very happy and considering we have only finished 4th twice I'm not going to complain. People will think our performances could have been better or Poch made mistakes hhere and there but that happens every season regardless of manager, especially when the manager has handed down poor players.

Also we have finished 5th with a core of academy players and 2 in our CM which shows how well they have played despite the criticism they have sometimes received.

While I would have liked for Poch to use the academy more I'll let him slide for a first season, hope to see his famed use of the academy moreso next year. Wrt utilising his what he had a available I really can't complain. The question I have to ask myself is would any manager have finished higher than Poch did this season with our squad, and don't believe any manager would have got us CL with our squad When I see LVG buying Di Maria, Blind, Rojo etc and only starting to click when they faced us it shows how well he has done for me.

Onwards and hopefully upwards next year COYS

 

[danielneeds]

In golfing terms, I'd say it was a just under par: -1 for the season.

The big frustrations for me were losing the two matches after beating Chelsea and Arsenal and dissipating all our momentum.
The Palace game, where we had the match in our hands, only to collapse, and Liverpool where we were 2-2 with 10 mins to go, and should have shut up shop.

Big pluses are the performances of the youngsters - Kane, Rose, Bentelab, Mason, Dier, Pritchard, and Alli. (Albeit the last two shining at a lower level.

Poch needs to spend the summer better drilling the team in his press, and how we drop back into shape when the press fails. Levy needs to back him and get some players out and in quickly, so Poch can work with a full squad.

 

[Sp3akerboxxx]

How's that?

it would put us level on points and goal difference with us winning the head to head/ahead on goals scored (whichever is the difference maker. (I think it is goals scored ceteris paribus)

 

[Derryank]

A cup final.
European football next season.
A younger squad.
A team that never gave up.
A step closer to a new stadium

In my opinion, an improvement on last season. A successful season would have meant winning a cup. We didn't. But an improvement from a manager that believes in his abilities and what we offer as a club. COYS

 

[Oshi]

Rose has surprised me the most, I used to think he was absolute shite and gave him pelters.

 

[Lilbaz]

it would put us level on points and goal difference with us winning the head to head/ahead on goals scored (whichever is the difference maker. (I think it is goals scored ceteris paribus)

Is that taking into account their 3 goals?

 

[Geyzer Soze]

it would put us level on points and goal difference with us winning the head to head/ahead on goals scored (whichever is the difference maker. (I think it is goals scored ceteris paribus)

We'd have had to have won 21-0 I think

 

[Air Jordan 3]

Expected 6th and got 5th and a cup final, so overall it has been slightly better.

What's encouraging is the opportunity for big improvement so I an very optimistic for next season. A big summer for us!

 

[scat1620]

I predicted 6th so 5th is beating my pre-season expectations.

That is boiling it down to the most basic of conclusions though. Some highs, some lows, and I am hoping that the young age of our side bodes steady improvement in the future.

This for me, word for word.

 

[Sp3akerboxxx]

Is that taking into account their 3 goals?

Yes. -3 goals from their GD and add 3 goals to our GD. Then add 7 goals to our GD and minus 7 goals from their GD leaves us both with a GD of +15

 

[marion52]

I didn't expect a 5th place finish, so that was above expectation but that was offset by the poor home form that saw us lose to WBA, Villa, 'Stoke, Newcastle, Pool and Man City, plus Leicester in the FA Cup.
A season of 'if only' again!

 

[Spurger King]

We'd have had to have won 21-0 I think

Not if you deduct the goals scored/conceded in the actual game.