Thoughts at the first international break

[bfcjg]

Really pleased, most of my comments have been covered by others regarding defense.

[evensteadiereddie]

I'd not seen them before but the Ytube videos of Kompany speaking to the players at his initial meetings with the players do give a huge insight into how his mind works and the meticulous attention to detail he's likely to demand.
He clearly knows what he wants, how to get it and, crucially, the players are with him all the way.
The early success shouldn't come as a surprise.

[Sozturf7]

Just love the new style of play. Remember watching the first match against Huddersfield in the pub and at half time the reaction was simply wow what have we just seen. UTC

[quoonbeatz]

I was positive about things before the start of the season, thought we'd be good side and would be up there but it would take time. But to be in 4th after 10 games with only 1 defeat, having bossed nearly every game, playing some pretty great football, is way beyond expectations, considering the level of upheaval and short time to prepare over the summer.

And this team hasn't quite fully clicked yet. It's been superb so far, really enjoying this season and that's the most important thing.

[ashtonlongsider]

Yes can only echo the sentiments of fellow posters, very impressive thus far. I'm not sure VK knows his best starting eleven yet and we still have big players to bed in ie. Twine and sometime hopefully before Christmas Westwood. I said before the season started that I would settle for mid table and to see us play some football. The second objective has certainly been achieved. We will develop and get better, I just wonder how we'll cope when the weather gets worse. However to finish on a positive note, on present evidence, I cautiously expect a play off slot as a worst case scenario.

[BabylonClaret]

The teams we have played is also quite interesting
1st-8th: Played none
9th-15th: Played 6
19th-24th: Played 4

I know it's early days, but most of our games have been against the "lower" teams, so I'm not getting carried away. That being said, I think the range of quality in this league is limited, so we've probably still seen a fair representation.

But that's how leagues work and at this point likely most of the teams at the top haven't played each other. People said this the first time we were promoted under Dyche - we played 7th yesterday- the fact they're not 7th now is because we beat them.

10 games is a decent barometer for now and we look worth every point of that 4th place. We are going to concede soft goals (let's be honest if you have the ball for 70% of the time it's more likely that the turnover comes from a mistake) but because we dominated the ball in most games we won't concede too many. If teams go toe to toe we have more space to counterand open up. Some of our players getting used to the league are getting better too.

I think we might be a little inconsistent for a while but will be in the hunt at the top

[brexit]

It's being to feel like 2008-09

[Top Claret]

Pleased so far with our overall performance although the standard of opposition leaves a lot to be desired.

What as disappointed me is our defending and until we brush up on this a top 2 finish is unlikely, although we look good for a play off spot.

I think the WC break will stand us in good stead and offer Kompany the chance to iron out the problems and bring us back stronger

[Goalposts]

Cant argue with the pace we have introduced that , weve all been screaming out for, for years. Side is gelling and will get better. Squad is strong and will only get stronger in the January window, fully expect ano 2-3 signings. Players also yet to make debut this year , suggest we will finish top 4

[1882Clarets1882]

I've been Dyche man till he left, but this side really is a breath of fresh air. Like many I've spoken to recently I actually really look forward to going on. The last couple of seasons felt I was going for goings sake.

[Squazo]

This thing about this squad, injuries aren’t really an issue. Especially on the wings!

[Dingo]

Delighted with where we're at. No team reaches perfection, so I find the critique of our defending (vulnerable to counter-attacks and at set-pieces), build up play (too slow, not direct enough) and our attacking (don't create, or take, enough clear-cut chances) really harsh when the team's application and effort to implement the plan is unwaveringly impressive. We can't have it all and inevitably as we push up the pitch looking to create chances we'll be open to counter-attack whilst bringing in complete defenders who can play like THB and defend like Mee are rare and expensive, so we will be vulnerable to set-pieces.

[Roosterbooster]

But that's how leagues work and at this point likely most of the teams at the top haven't played each other. People said this the first time we were promoted under Dyche - we played 7th yesterday- the fact they're not 7th now is because we beat them.

10 games is a decent barometer for now and we look worth every point of that 4th place. We are going to concede soft goals (let's be honest if you have the ball for 70% of the time it's more likely that the turnover comes from a mistake) but because we dominated the ball in most games we won't concede too many. If teams go toe to toe we have more space to counterand open up. Some of our players getting used to the league are getting better too.

I think we might be a little inconsistent for a while but will be in the hunt at the top

I don't necessarily disagree with most of that, there will be an element of positioning this early on depending on who you have played

But some of the top 8 clubs have played each other quite a bit already

Sheffield Utd: 3 of top 8
Norwich: 1 of top 8
Reading: 4 of top 8
Sunderland: 5 of top 8
QPR: 3 of top 8
Blackburn: 3 of top 8
Rotherham: 3 of top 8

We are an anomaly having played none of them

Don't get me wrong, we deserve to at least be 4th, I'm just being cautious with my optimism

[Colburn_Claret]

I am happy so. far but why Connor Roberts won't get first time balls wide to Benny is a mystery
Benny was skinning his marker for fun ,yet Connor often dithered on the ball.We have quality players but need the ball whizzed into feet not slowed down.We should be top but for our draws.After the break we need to push on .Top by Christmas and then stretch away from the rest had to be a realistic aim with our talented squad

Benson , for some reason doesn't fit.
He's a loose cannon, that looks exciting because he is very quick, very nippy and looks really dangerous.
I've described him more than once as another Terry Cochrane, loads of talent, but no football brain.
Despite his excellent goal yesterday, JBG is a far better option, he doesn't have Bensons techers, but he has a far greater football brain, and Roberts consequently, always looks better playing with JBG in front of him than Benson, because he knows what JBG is likely to do. He had a lovely overlap with him very soon after JBG came on. He couldn't do that with Benson, because he could easily have been left hanging.
I've lost count of the number of times Benson is in a position to play the ball in quick behind the defence, and he plays it backwards, and he certainly wouldn't have pinged the cross in for Jay's winner.

[RVclaret]

and he certainly wouldn't have pinged the cross in for Jay's winner.

While JBG’s cross was very good, it’s perhaps harsh to say he wouldn’t have pinged in the cross when it was his excellent cross which broke the deadlock against Millwall the other week.

[Quicknick]

We will finish top.

[KRBFC]

I don't necessarily disagree with most of that, there will be an element of positioning this early on depending on who you have played

But some of the top 8 clubs have played each other quite a bit already

Sheffield Utd: 3 of top 8
Norwich: 1 of top 8
Reading: 4 of top 8
Sunderland: 5 of top 8
QPR: 3 of top 8
Blackburn: 3 of top 8
Rotherham: 3 of top 8

We are an anomaly having played none of them

Don't get me wrong, we deserve to at least be 4th, I'm just being cautious with my optimism

Not really sure on the relevance, Watford and Bristol were inside the top 8 when we played them.

WBA (A) and Watford (A) are more difficult fixtures than Rotherham (A), despite Rotherham being 8th.

We have played 2 of the other 5 automatic promotion contenders away from home. Boro, Norwich, Sheff U to go.

[RVclaret]

Not really sure on the relevance, Watford and Bristol were inside the top 8 when we played them.

WBA (A) and Watford (A) are more difficult fixtures than Rotherham (A), despite Rotherham being 8th.

Agree with this. Hull were also 1st and unbeaten. PNE were top 8 before our game.

[KRBFC]

Agree with this. Hull were also 1st and unbeaten. PNE were top 8 before our game.

Aye, the top 8 after 10 games doesn't mean those are the best 8 sides either. I wish we could play Reading and Rotherham every week, we'd get automatic promotion then.

[Cooclaret]

My thoughts;

Roberts is a problem within this system, but there is no viable option to replace him currently. Not his problem, he’s not got the vision to play that quickly as we’d like or positionally ‘inside’ and so slows a vast majority of the possession we have.

Taylor is a great CB partner for THB, and without the stability and voice alongside him we would have more problems.

We can afford to play without Cullen or Cork but both are a class above at this level and both should be in the starting 11.

Benson is isolated too much by Roberts ‘tucking in’ within the system and so does go missing in games.

JRod and JBG are a class above at this level but they cannot manage the current workload of a full season in the Championship. One or both will break down.

Brownhill can be amazing for us, but is part of the ‘too good for the Championship, not good enough for the premier league’ paradox

Kompany is developing as a manager, needs to work on his plan B and plan C before we can show the required elasticity/pragmatism to top this league

Happy overall and excited to see the season unfold further.

[Colburn_Claret]

While JBG’s cross was very good, it’s perhaps harsh to say he wouldn’t have pinged in the cross when it was his excellent cross which broke the deadlock against Millwall the other week.

He's also put in many crosses that a giraffe wouldn't have reached, on a trampoline.
I'm not trying to slag him off, and I understand why people get excited by him, but imo he's a luxury we could do better than. If you could have a mix of Benson and JBG you'd have a world class player.

[leelad]

So far so good for me. A solid platform to build on. In hindsight, we should have had another 4 points at least if we had converted wins from draws in the games vs. West Brom and Blackpool.

Norwich and Sheff Utd appear to be the teams to beat. But we have not played them yet either home or away.

There is potential for this team to grow and develop further. At times though we take far too many passes without delivering the cutting/clinical edge. I was relieved yesterday to see us win. But with 16 new signings, there is still some more transitional work ahead before we begin to click (hopefully). Just need to be in or around the top 6 by the time of the World Cup starting. From what I've seen so far, I would like to think we will be in that top 6 by then. That's the next marker for me.

[Roosterbooster]

Not really sure on the relevance, Watford and Bristol were inside the top 8 when we played them.

WBA (A) and Watford (A) are more difficult fixtures than Rotherham (A), despite Rotherham being 8th.

We have played 2 of the other 5 automatic promotion contenders away from home. Boro, Norwich, Sheff U to go.

The last time either of the 2 automatic promotion teams were outside the top 8 after 10 games was 2014

[tiger76]

Positives outweigh the negatives by a fair margin, however there are negatives that we need to iron out.

Positives:

4th in the league.
Scored in 9 of our 10 games, and we only didn't bag at Watford due to their keeper having a blinder.
Picked up points in 9 of our 10 games, including some tricky away trips.
8 different goal scorers in only 10 games, so goals are coming from multiple sources as VK hoped they would.
Unbeaten at home.
Most of our new signings have hit the ground running, notably Tella and THB.
Style of play is much easier on the eye.
Jay looks like he'll score a good number this season as does Brownhill.
Subs have produced regularly when called upon, Benson against Millwall, and JBG yesterday spring to mind.
And we still have players to add, Twine should be a huge asset if we can get him on the pitch.
Only lost 1 and that was at a fellow newly relegated side unlucky.

Negatives:

Conceding sloppy goals.
Struggling to hang onto leads.
Struggling to break teams down despite dominating possession in most of our games.
Only 2 clean sheets in 10, 3 in 11 if you include the cup tie.
Thrown daft points away against Blackpool, and late on at West Brom.
Too many draws for my liking, 5 in 10 games.
Vulnerable in the air especially at set-pieces.

[scouseclaret]

Benson , for some reason doesn't fit.
He's a loose cannon, that looks exciting because he is very quick, very nippy and looks really dangerous.
I've described him more than once as another Terry Cochrane, loads of talent, but no football brain.
Despite his excellent goal yesterday, JBG is a far better option, he doesn't have Bensons techers, but he has a far greater football brain, and Roberts consequently, always looks better playing with JBG in front of him than Benson, because he knows what JBG is likely to do. He had a lovely overlap with him very soon after JBG came on. He couldn't do that with Benson, because he could easily have been left hanging.
I've lost count of the number of times Benson is in a position to play the ball in quick behind the defence, and he plays it backwards, and he certainly wouldn't have pinged the cross in for Jay's winner.

I’ve been a critic of Benson and his lack of end product so far, but I thought he was outstanding in the first half yesterday. As well as his goal, he pinged an absolute peach of a low cross early on which Tella should probably have got on the end of, and he hit another wonderful pass to Matsen which should also have resulted in a Tella goal. I think we need to give some of the partnerships in this team time to gel, although I suspect Brnson might ultimately be best used as an “impact” sub.

Overall, I’m made-up with how well we’ve done so far - really thought it would take longer to come together. At the start of the season, I thought any finish between 1st and 24th was possible. 10 games in, I’m confident we’ll be much closer to the former than the latter.

[Tribesmen]

All i can say is Scotland and away and Aremria at home

[quoonbeatz]

Benson has been a mixed bag so far (typical winger at this level) but he'll still be getting used to this league. Whilst his goal yesterday was a good hit, it was largely down to some really poor defending and goalkeeping. The keeper in particular should be facing serious questions about getting beat on his near post from there.

[jurek]

The most impressive thing for me is how VK and the team
have managed to put the smiles back on fans' faces.
Predominantly because of the way we're playing which seems
like a breath of fresh air to many.

Of course there are still 'issues' to resolve which some posters have pointed out
but all in all there's not many that are not happy with where we are at present
and how we're playing especially given it's virtually a new team.
It's also pleasing to see that Cork, Taylor and Jayrod in particular are making positive contributions.

Hope it continues and if possible improves.

[warksclaret]

Some posters on here stating we have not played any of the top 8-but thats just a form table. We all know that those 8 will not finish the top 8 at season end. Our first three games when we were a brand new team/new manager/new coaches/ new style of play were Watford and two of last year's play off teams. Thats a hard start, followed soon after by WBA. There are only two teams to worry about-Sheff Utd and Norwich, and I am pleased we have not played them sooner
The start we have made is excellent-the media have not woken up to it, as there are currently bigger fish to fry in the PL.Rather pleased we are going under the radar.Exciting times to be a claret

[fatboy47]

Agree with this. Hull were also 1st and unbeaten. PNE were top 8 before our game.

Huddersfield were joint top when we played them.

[Elizabeth]

This thing about this squad, injuries aren’t really an issue. Especially on the wings!



While I agree about the wide positions, I feel injuries to Cork and Rodriguez would be an issue.
It's always a good feeling going into an international break with a win , especially as we've drawn too many games we should have won.
There's every reason to feel confident that we are going to be challenging for promotion as we are proving difficult to beat and picking up points home and away.
There is still time for me to warm to Muric

[ClaretPete001]

This thing about this squad, injuries aren’t really an issue. Especially on the wings!

Without Cork and Jay Rod I think we would struggle...

[Guller Bull]

I genuinely think that some of the fringe players at the moment will be a vital this season. I think Bastien is going to be a great example of someone who can come in for a suspended/injured Cork or Brownhill and surprise a few with his performances. Westy will be the same on his return once he has found his fitness.

[fatboy47]

Just about everything has exceeded my expectations (fears?).. Namely..

The football has been a breath of fresh air..quick, slick, skilful, innovative, attacking and fearless.

League position well away from the relegation battle I'd feared.

Kompany isn't Cloughie just yet, but he's a man with a vision of football beyond trying to achieve a "smash and grab" in every game.

The Turf is buzzing and expectations are growing by the week. Crowds around 5k above what we might have expected.

Debt situation appearing to being responsibly managed...no sign of the bailiffs just yet at least. And possibly some light at the end of the tunnel.

Happy chap here, planning a good few trips north in the coming months.

Exciting times.

[Culmclaret]

Put yourself in the shoes of a fan of almost any other team in this division and you wouldn’t be looking forward to the games against us would you?

[basil6345789]

Very capable young lads playing tippy-tappy football but big men will hurt them - need to toughen-up.

[fatboy47]

Very capable young lads playing tippy-tappy football but big men will hurt them - need to toughen-up.

Maybe you'd be happier up Townley.

[SydneyClaret]

Very confident we will finish in the top 2 and get promoted.

Unfortunately that would mean the premier league again and as good a championship team this is we will get some serious hidings due to the unforgiving nature of the PL.

[Targetman]

Very confident we will finish in the top 2 and get promoted.

Unfortunately that would mean the premier league again and as good a championship team this is we will get some serious hidings due to the unforgiving nature of the PL.

We will also get some serious money!

[Swizzlestick]

Very capable young lads playing tippy-tappy football but big men will hurt them - need to toughen-up.

Good grief.

[jos]

Me too Belgianclaret.

With Darko & Twine out, VK might welcome it though.

Yes,I think VK said as much too.

I can’t help wondering if getting relegated was the best thing that could happen given the refresh that the team needed anyway. Life in the PL was going to be a real struggle.

This way we can build anew.

UTC

[CrosspoolClarets]

Brilliant, I won’t repeat what many other posters have written.

I’m unconcerned about who we have played - the division is tight apart from the top two who have had a jammy run which will not last. Blades fans are certain they are not that good.

My one main concern is how we will cope on a wet and windy December night in Stoke (which of course we have, just not sure about the wet bit).