Under Harry there were 11 first team defenders, 14 first team midfielders and 5 strikers. Compare this to AVB's 8 defenders, 10 midfielders and 3 strikers. So straight away we have 9 players less, which would have come in handy come with the injuries to Bale, Lennon, Kaboul, Sandro, Defoe and Ade's absence in African Cup.
But not just looking at how many people were in the squad it is who was in the squad that is just as important. We lost Corluka (a great versatile player that could have sat in for Kyle with his dip in form). Van Der Vaart was a huge loss and no one has come in to replace him at all. Modric was the heart of the midfield and his supposed replacement Dembele has been good, but the midfield still does not look as settle and strong (plus with Demebele's injuries it has not helped). Kranjcar was always a reliable source for the team and again was versatile. Pienaar did not make his mark on the team however if we had of kept him would he of got better? Pavlyuchenko was not the best forward we had in our history, but he worked hard and got some good goals (would have come in handy with Defoe and Ade's absence). Finally we have Dos Santos who could have played in midfield or up front (may have actually played well under AVB).
So that there is almost a first team squad! How can anyone say that AVB has a better team now?
Ok Bale has improved and stepped up to the plate, but we have not replaced what was lost. This is FACT not fiction. I hear Souness feels that the squad is stronger, but where is his proof? The key players were not replaced and there is less depth in the squad. I haven't included the likes of Jenas, Falque, Townsend, Kane, Bentley, Rose (as they were potentially fringe players) but the list just gets bigger and bigger and demonstrates the difference in the squad further.
AVB has a 49% win ratio and so did Redknapp, but if you do a direct comparison from the two teams AVB's ratio then stands out dramatically. For me I liked Harry, he was a nice guy and that is what the squad thought. AVB has more respect from the players and has implemented discipline and tactics.
There is no need for this discussion to get out of hand as the above facts speak for themselves, but wait I can take it one step further and show one last thing.
Last season our strike force netted 49 goals and managed 29 assists, whereas this season our strike force has netted 39 times and managed 15 assists! So we are currently down 10 goals and 14 assists. Losing Dos Santos, Louis Saha and Pavlyuchenko directly lost us 13 goals that have not been replaced and 9 assists. Ok we have 2 games to make a change to this, but it will not be a massive dent on the above. These figures are a clear sign of where the team has fallen down (this is not a team mistake), but we cannot rely on 3 strikers (1 of which is not an out and out striker).
To carry this on into midfield this season we have netted 42 goals and 54 assists, compared to 45 goals last season and 53 assists.
*figures are based on all competitions
In midfield there is not much of a difference. So again it highlights that the strike force is the issue. I hate to say I told you so, but again the club’s failure to make the necessary signings in January for 4 straight seasons are highlighted AGAIN.
Not 1 person can justify that they are correct in stating that the team is as strong or stronger compared to last year and the likes of Souness and the other fans/ writers/ ex players should look into things before stating something that is a completely false statement.
As a club we can see that for AVB to get a similar league position as Harry (whether it is champions league or not) he has done a fantastic job and so have the players.
Don't get me wrong, as a fan I always want more and not qualifying for the CL is a big issue, but if this one season is a transitional season and we push on from there, well I am all for it.
Well done to everyone involved at the club and well done to the fans that have been the rock for our players!
I am looking forward to the final 2 games as I am sure that we will see Wigan, Everton and Newcastle pull off some surprises (to say the least).
COYS!!!!!
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