Mid Term Season Report Card

I usually do this on the Prem board but thought I'd post it here and open it up to everyone.

Don't feel that you only can do the team you support. If there are any other teams that you think people would be interested in seeing your grading on, then do it.

Standard GCSE grades apply (A* to G)

Arsenal

We had a very bright start to the season but we're beginning to stumble a bit now. Having said that, we're still in 2nd place and level of points with Utd, which is a HUGE improvement on last season.

We have Milan coming up in the CL. They're the favourites and so, for now, I'll assume that its unlikely we'll progress. I think on our day we can beat anyone though so it'll be interesting to see exactly how our CL run goes. We seem to strive in the face of adversity though so fingers crossed.

We're now out the League Cup, which I'm slightly disappointed about in all honesty as I think that we could have possibly played a slightly stronger team and at least got a win at home, which would have changed the complexion of the away game.

So ovearall, I'm giving us an A-

:chins:

A lot of people didn't think Arsenal would be able to keep up with ManU, and I was one of them. However, Arsenal has surpassed my expectations by being so close at this stage, though I still think ManU will win the league by 4-6 points. The nerves of all the Arsenal kids will really come to a test in the last 6 games or so. Will Cesc come up with a goal or a killer pass on an away game Arsenal is drawing? Will Adebayor keep averaging a goal every two games (or less) in that crucial stage? Will Van Persie finally be fit and play his part in several wins? It will be interesting to see what happens.

And although Milan are favorites against you, they really only are slight favorites. I don't think Pato will be ready to perform by the time they play you and el gordo is bound to be injured again by then. That would leave Milan with Inzaghi and Gilardino to rely on, which isn't a good thing.

Torrente wrote:A lot of people didn't think Arsenal would be able to keep up with ManU, and I was one of them. However, Arsenal has surpassed my expectations by being so close at this stage, though I still think ManU will win the league by 4-6 points. The nerves of all the Arsenal kids will really come to a test in the last 6 games or so. Will Cesc come up with a goal or a killer pass on an away game Arsenal is drawing? Will Adebayor keep averaging a goal every two games (or less) in that crucial stage? Will Van Persie finally be fit and play his part in several wins? It will be interesting to see what happens.

Bearing in mind that we lost our [supposedly] star player in the summer and made a net profit on transfers, this season really has come as a surprise.

Many were expecting us to not qualify for the CL this season even, with Spurs replacing us.

And although Milan are favorites against you, they really only are slight favorites. I don't think Pato will be ready to perform by the time they play you and el gordo is bound to be injured again by then. That would leave Milan with Inzaghi and Gilardino to rely on, which isn't a good thing.

A few weeks ago I'd have been confident, but the fixture build up seems to be affecting us now and we look lethargic. Milan have had the Christmas break and won't have anywhere near as many fixtures as us in the lead up to the game so I wouldn't be surprised to see them get a decent result in the first leg, then spank us in Milan.

Well we made the perfect start with an impressive 2-0 win away at West Ham, playing fast flowing football the team seemed to gell straight away despite so many new signings. We then beat Derby and Man U*d (always a brilliant feeling) without conceeding. Although we have obviously slumped since then we have maintained a top 4 place from August till December and are now in and around the top 4 which is a brilliant accomplishment, given last seasons terrible season.
We have also done it whilst playing some amazing football and pass it around very, very well. Sven has got the team to gell and made some brilliant signings in Corluka, Petrov and Elano. We have also coped well given the fact we have had to change the side around a lot due to injuries.
A top 4 finish sounded unrealistic at the start of the season but it is now a possibility. We have a long way to go and have stuttered a little of late, yet we have remained hard to beat. Also we got to the quarter final of the Carling cup and are still in the FA cup up to date, add to that the fact we won 9 home games on the bounce and remain unbeaten with 12 of the 19 home games played.
Overall, its been a brilliant season, well above my expectation levels of wanting a top 10 finish and if possible to push for a UEFA cup spot. Yes there is a long way to go but so far its been a great season. A

Dull football, best players out of position, awful results, etc etc etc. The Pr!ck had us playing like minnows and has left us aiming for midtable. D-

I'm sure that will all change under Keegan.

It's hard to have too many complaints when you are 7 points clear at the top of the table, have scored the most goals, and conceded the second fewest. We've been unbeatable at home and have won away to Villarreal, Valencia, Barcelona, and Atletico. Still, our overall play leaves a lot to be desired. The scorelines have been pretty convincing but watching the matches, you get the sense that if we didn't have Ruud and Casillas we would be languishing in 5th or 6th place. There have been glimpses of brilliance but the task for Schuster, now, is to maintain the results AND get us playing well consistently.

Outside of the league, we are out of the Copa del Rey which is disappointing for me and we have struggled in the CL even though we're through to the last 16.

Overall Grade: B+

The team is growing into something special, very fluid with players who know each other very well. Its been a near perfect season so far, just couldn't have asked for more.

A+

(however, reaching the CL final is critical for us this season to maintain the A grade)

Awful league campaign but still in the other two big cups, we started well but have gone downhill due to problems on and off the pitch, we totally lack confidence at the moment:

D+

For Ajax - U, been a disgraceful season $h!t signings, Perez returning was okay and Davids + some bright youngsters coming through, maybe a G-

A disappointing start to the season with an inability to get results away has gradually given way to more stable performances in the league.

The CL and Copa performances have been great and we are still very much alive in both with decent chances.

I have been very impressed with the defence this season, and I think we probably have a top 3 defence in the world!!

This would give a B as a score but,

The lack of form and injuries have really hampered our attack, and we are not playing fluently often enough and the fact that we lost at home against Real (albeit they didn't exactly steamroll us or anything) means that I will have to give a:

C-

Good start to the season followed by a bid of a bad run of games. Huge controversy in the Mourinho-Abramovich saga and then the shock appointment of Grant, although he has done well so far to be fair. Still in all 4 competitions, though playing catch up in the Prem. Good opportunity to progress to the QF of the CL too.

C

FC Groningen : A-


Good :

* We're fourth in the league
* There's a higher demand for tickets in the Green Cathedral than there are seats
* Were the better team against Fiorentina in the UEFA-cup. 1-1 in both legs against a team that on paper should be far superior to us. They took 1 penalty better than we did...
* Our scouting is ace (Stenman, Berg, Matavz, Metaj )
* Our youth academy is ace (Hiariej, Nijland )
* some new excting players are coming in halfway through the season (Cahais, de Roover & maybe Mouche)
* There's grit and character in the team
* We've played quite some good football on numerous occasions
* when we can't stop a player from leaving we negotiate a good price

Bad :

* All our important players are leaving in the winter (Silva, Kruiswijk & Nevland)
* even though we were better, we *did* go out on penalties against Fiorentina
* when we lose....it most of the times is a complete route (not that we really care to be honest)

Any plans in Groningen to expand the stadium? Would make sense.

Luis wrote:Awful league campaign but still in the other two big cups, we started well but have gone downhill due to problems on and off the pitch, we totally lack confidence at the moment:

D+

And you thought you were gonna win the league. Tish tish.

De Guzman wrote:Any plans in Groningen to expand the stadium? Would make sense.

Yup :

short term : small extra change will soon be implemented for a couple of hundred extra seats

long term : plans for a new ring to be added on....or even to build a complete new bigger stadium are being considered.

I know that at the moment there's more than 1100 people on a (paid) wating list for new season tickets.....that's something that's never happened before at FC Groningen

It's been a half decent season. Pretty good league campaign so far. Some results and performances have been out of sorts at times though. QF of the Carling Cup, pathetic attempt in the FA Cup. ad lots of injuries though, and as they start to come back...I think we'll push for a UEFA Cup place. So I'd have to say a C+

B+ Poor start to the season, started going on strong, some very annoying slip ups at crucial points and not very certain about where the team stands, on paper it looks promising but I have my doubts as to what this team can really achieve

Axeslammer wrote:

De Guzman wrote:Any plans in Groningen to expand the stadium? Would make sense.

Yup :

short term : small extra change will soon be implemented for a couple of hundred extra seats

long term : plans for a new ring to be added on....or even to build a complete new bigger stadium are being considered.

I know that at the moment there's more than 1100 people on a (paid) wating list for new season tickets.....that's something that's never happened before at FC Groningen

Cool. A new stadium sounds as weird as Amsterdam wanting a new stadium. Can't they think about extending beforehand, guess they kind of did it: an additional ring sounds fine. 30,000 should be fillable for sure.

Glad we're planning a new bigger stadium for Feyenoord too. Hope they can move the start date a little more forward. The additional revenue should be able to give us a competitive adge on Ajax and even more PSV.

-------

Arsenal A-
Feyenoord B+ (was A- midterm / at the end of 2007)

A-

doing as well as i could realistically have hoped in the league - pretty much winning the games we should, and picking up a few points we don't usually get (e.g. away at liverpool). with a reasonable fixture list remaining, we're in the position for a good shot at the top 6 and european qualification, which would be brilliant.

cups, lame. the usual exit to utd in the 3rd round of the fa and a meek exit to leicester in the carling cup.

as far as the team goes big pluses for Gabby and Young who've made us far more exciting and dangerous going forward. Laursen for becoming both defensive star and goalscorer extraordinaire. Barry's been his usual excellent self, Reo-Coker has been consistent and effective in a low-key role and Carew - in between injuries - has proved to be a class act.

overall, the team has improved in most areas from last season, although a few more clean sheets wouldn't go amiss. particularly in terms of goalscoring and results away from home, this season has been a big progression.

just need to keep it going really. add a couple of faces this week to strengthen the squad and try to get as many points as possible

De Guzman wrote:
Cool. A new stadium sounds as weird as Amsterdam wanting a new stadium. Can't they think about extending beforehand, guess they kind of did it: an additional ring sounds fine. 30,000 should be fillable for sure.

The start of the planning of our current stadium began 10 to 15 years ago IIRC, it took so long that when the stadium was finished it was already outdated

Axeslammer wrote:

De Guzman wrote:
Cool. A new stadium sounds as weird as Amsterdam wanting a new stadium. Can't they think about extending beforehand, guess they kind of did it: an additional ring sounds fine. 30,000 should be fillable for sure.

The start of the planning of our current stadium began 10 to 15 years ago IIRC, it took so long that when the stadium was finished it was already outdated

Just make sure it's bigger than the one the Frysians got...