Talking about performance levels not trophies.
At the start of last season I was very confident that we'd win something by the way we'd started under Gerrard, we looked solid defensively when Goldson and Katic were a partnership but we struggled to break teams down, I thought that would come over time last season but it didn't. We've kicked on massively however as players have had extra time playing together and we've recruited well. My question is how much scope is there for this group of players to take it to the next level and deliver even better performances or are they performing at their peak? Away to Portugal and Denmark were two great performances, would be tough to better IMO.
You'd imagine the following will improve on this season's form so far;
As well as the above we have a couple of players who have been playing really well but I think there might still be more to come.
Nothing has been won obviously but it's pretty amazing the job Gerrard has done in 18 months. He, along with his staff and the board, deserve massive credit for turning the team around.
At the start of last season I was very confident that we'd win something by the way we'd started under Gerrard, we looked solid defensively when Goldson and Katic were a partnership but we struggled to break teams down, I thought that would come over time last season but it didn't. We've kicked on massively however as players have had extra time playing together and we've recruited well. My question is how much scope is there for this group of players to take it to the next level and deliver even better performances or are they performing at their peak? Away to Portugal and Denmark were two great performances, would be tough to better IMO.
You'd imagine the following will improve on this season's form so far;
- Kent - been stop/start because of injuries but we all know his ability and this season already has shown glimpses that he's a more confident player.
- Aribo - started strongly then maybe fell away a bit but again, think most are in agreement that there's a player there who's good enough to star for us.
- Ojo - I had/have high hopes for Ojo, he's young and has been taking out the team recently which I think will do him good, but he has potential to score 15 plus goals for us this season.
- Jones - started well, so much so that it was said Kent wasn't needed. Him and Kent in the same side would terrify opposition defenders.
- Arfield - probably not hit the heights of last season but if he can get back to his best he would still be my first pick when playing Christmas tree formation whenever Defoe is up front .
- Tav - has had a rough patch [by his own standards] but still key to the team, you imagine he'll get back to his best soon enough.
As well as the above we have a couple of players who have been playing really well but I think there might still be more to come.
- Jack has been amazing, I've been a fan since he arrived but he's now doing things that he didn't previously. He's now confident enough to drop the shoulder and go past people, him breaking the lines has been a massive bonus for us. He's looking to have a shot on goal now too. I don't think he'll ever be a natural attacking midfielder but he's definitely improving in an attacking sense and there's more to come. His improvement, weirdly, reminds me of Hutton, when Hutton learned how to draw a foul when going past someone it gave him the confidence to bomb down the wing and he was a different player after that.
- Barasic, he's been getting praise since the St Mirren goal but now looking back I think that's been comparisons to his performances last season. I think since the Feyenoord game you can see a confidence in him to go past people and demand more of the ball especially in the last few games. I'm sure there's more to come from him.
Nothing has been won obviously but it's pretty amazing the job Gerrard has done in 18 months. He, along with his staff and the board, deserve massive credit for turning the team around.
