November Light: A Welcome Six Points
Two wins on the bounce? What is this team before me? It’s too early to say we’ve turned a corner, but it feels a little lighter to be talking about six points out of six in November, compared to zero out of nine in October. With six goals from four scorers (plus Mister OG), it’s been a welcome relief and has shown the players that still care about rescuing this cause. Little things like goal celebrations as well, making the team look like a happy unit rather than individual players looking for someone else to blame for their mistakes.
Purpose and Passion: The Player Response
Bowen will never not care, and his media-savvy yet honest approach to post-match interviews is showing us that he’s level headed without being passive. Paqueta plays with purpose. He shows his frustration, sometimes to his detriment, but there’s something about his style that shows he wants to turn this season around for the team. And Soucek continues to, quite literally, put his body on the line and bang in goals when we least expect.
The Nuno Question: Speculate to Accumulate?
In the last few weeks, Nuno has come into question for his team selections. There were some strange choices, from our perspective. But was he trying a ‘speculate to accumulate’ approach? A risky strategy, granted. But if it pays off in the long run, we have to trust that he knows his plan well enough to execute it. It’s nice to see him smiling and celebrating on the sidelines, hopefully the good times will help us all warm to him and we’ll start to see more of the character we know he can be. In a time of fan unrest, continued protests against the board and a lack of stability, this little run has come at a nice time. The board must be feeling some pressure, but the players can’t let any of that distract them from the task at hand.
The Difficult Road Ahead: December Threatens
Looking ahead, Bournemouth away is often tricky, but they’re coming in off the back of two defeats, so you never know. Liverpool at home – as much as we’d like to capitalise on their poor run of form, my gut tells me there’s nothing in that game for us. Of course, I hope I’m wrong! December threatens to undo any good we can do this month, it’s an awful run on paper. Both Manchester teams, Villa and bogey-Brighton not once, but twice! I think I know what we’ll all be asking Father Christmas for this year.
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