Nathan_NCFC
Vital Champions League
I know it's only been 2 games but it seems that a painted picture opposite to what of last season we were served up. Last year as we all know, our chronic lack of goals was the major reason to our downfall, which went hand in hand with our lack of forward play or desire to get the ball into good positions and fast. We managed just a shocking 49 goals in 46 games which is an average goals per game ratio of 1.06. Meanwhile, at the other end of the pitch we weren't too shabby and seemed somewhat reliable. We were in the top 8 in terms of clean sheets with Gunn shutting up shop 15 times in 46 games giving us a clean sheet record for 32.6 % of the season. Imagine if we had scored much more? A very different season.
This season, we've had goals galore so far, from the 8 preseason games we netted 3 or more times in 3 of the 8 games and scored more than once in another 2, meaning the only time we failed to score more than once was in 3 of the 8 games and only failed to not score at all once. Simiraly, the first 2 games of the season we've found 5 goals already continuing the trend. The summer task of SW and DF ultimately was to find more goals whilst on a low budget, and then for DF to work on us showing more attacking intent and not pointless sideways and backwards passing that leads to nothing. So far, I've genuinely found evidence of that having been at the first game and watched the whole of the second game. We're getting far more balls forward, quicker, and in much better positions and clearly scoring much more goals. At this rate, including the pre season games, we've scored 15 goals in 10 games which would work out finishing with goals scored of around 69 which is +20 goals on last season when last season we had the likes of Maddison and Murphy. Granted some of the games were against lower league teams, but we've seen the trend continue against championship opposition (even more so if anything, 5 goals in 2 at championship level = 115 goals a season if it were to continue)
But on the flip side of the coin it has come to the detriment of us conceding much more already, with us conceding 9 goals in pre season (only kept 1 clean sheet in 8 which came against Crawley) and of course a further 6 goals in the first 2 games. So we're at the age old problem of scoring v defending. We always conceded with Lambert but out scored the opposition more often than not. The annual 6-7 goal thriller at Swansea was the highlight of my seasons. Under Alex Neil we could not defend for the life of us but were in the top 2 for goals scored. DF came in at a time when we seriously needed improving in the defense and he succeeded, but to the neglect of our goals. This year he's seemingly sorting out the goals but our defense looks like it's going backwards again.
Only every few seasons you get a squad that is good at doing both and they always end up being the teams in those top positions. 75% of the league every season will say its this balance that's cost them and we're not any stranger to that. Any manager or set up that can guarantee a club the solution to this problem would not be in the championship long, if not at all. So the question is, what do we prefer as fans? Do we prefer to be hard to score against but not score many in return? Or do we want to see many goals but also accept we're going to concede a lot more? Solid but boring v Sloppy but Entertainment, maybe? We all want NC and expect NC to be up there every year without fail but in reality it's never going to happen no matter how many times we kick managers out and bring new ones in, or how many players we swap.
As I think Tuckster said on the front page recently, and also something I've been pondering about is that what goes up really does come back down. Last season the very epitome of what we wanted NC to aim for, for many years, in becoming an established premier league side, we would look no further than the likes of Stoke, Swansea and WBA, all of which seemingly showing the way for clubs like ours the way it's done and how it's possible, yet after all the prem experience and money those clubs have had to play with, all find themselves in exactly the same boat and position as us! All that hard work and years of sustainability and yet we're now on level footing as them without any succcess. This has lead me to believe that when you genuienly expect outstanding seasons year after year (which I always have), you're just leaving youself for an almighty fall and are left miserable and utterly let down every weekend. It's the kind of expectancy that is driving some fans to not even support the club anymore (there's many on Facebook who say they no longer go to games and have no interest in NC). But in reality (without our yellow and green specs) and in the bigger picture of the rest of the 92 clubs in the football world in this country, we're no different to anyone else with exception to the top 6 in the Prem, for obvious reasons. Therefore, IMO as long as there is tangible forms of evidence of improvement we can get behind it and only look to change managers when its absolutely certian we're only going backwards.
So the question is, are we at that point yet? I've seen many saying we are but I definitely believe we are absolutely not. The defense was a big improvement last season and it's seemingly apparent that the attacking willingness and goals are being improved this season, so let's now give it time for as good a balance as we can get between the two to form and see where that takes us. 2 games in at this level is just not enough time to decide whether we're moving forwards for the better or backwards for the worse. In any case, for now, lets get behind DF and the team, tighten the seatbelts as we all know that one thing being a NC supporter uniquely gaurantees, it's going to be a bumpy ride.
OTBC
This season, we've had goals galore so far, from the 8 preseason games we netted 3 or more times in 3 of the 8 games and scored more than once in another 2, meaning the only time we failed to score more than once was in 3 of the 8 games and only failed to not score at all once. Simiraly, the first 2 games of the season we've found 5 goals already continuing the trend. The summer task of SW and DF ultimately was to find more goals whilst on a low budget, and then for DF to work on us showing more attacking intent and not pointless sideways and backwards passing that leads to nothing. So far, I've genuinely found evidence of that having been at the first game and watched the whole of the second game. We're getting far more balls forward, quicker, and in much better positions and clearly scoring much more goals. At this rate, including the pre season games, we've scored 15 goals in 10 games which would work out finishing with goals scored of around 69 which is +20 goals on last season when last season we had the likes of Maddison and Murphy. Granted some of the games were against lower league teams, but we've seen the trend continue against championship opposition (even more so if anything, 5 goals in 2 at championship level = 115 goals a season if it were to continue)
But on the flip side of the coin it has come to the detriment of us conceding much more already, with us conceding 9 goals in pre season (only kept 1 clean sheet in 8 which came against Crawley) and of course a further 6 goals in the first 2 games. So we're at the age old problem of scoring v defending. We always conceded with Lambert but out scored the opposition more often than not. The annual 6-7 goal thriller at Swansea was the highlight of my seasons. Under Alex Neil we could not defend for the life of us but were in the top 2 for goals scored. DF came in at a time when we seriously needed improving in the defense and he succeeded, but to the neglect of our goals. This year he's seemingly sorting out the goals but our defense looks like it's going backwards again.
Only every few seasons you get a squad that is good at doing both and they always end up being the teams in those top positions. 75% of the league every season will say its this balance that's cost them and we're not any stranger to that. Any manager or set up that can guarantee a club the solution to this problem would not be in the championship long, if not at all. So the question is, what do we prefer as fans? Do we prefer to be hard to score against but not score many in return? Or do we want to see many goals but also accept we're going to concede a lot more? Solid but boring v Sloppy but Entertainment, maybe? We all want NC and expect NC to be up there every year without fail but in reality it's never going to happen no matter how many times we kick managers out and bring new ones in, or how many players we swap.
As I think Tuckster said on the front page recently, and also something I've been pondering about is that what goes up really does come back down. Last season the very epitome of what we wanted NC to aim for, for many years, in becoming an established premier league side, we would look no further than the likes of Stoke, Swansea and WBA, all of which seemingly showing the way for clubs like ours the way it's done and how it's possible, yet after all the prem experience and money those clubs have had to play with, all find themselves in exactly the same boat and position as us! All that hard work and years of sustainability and yet we're now on level footing as them without any succcess. This has lead me to believe that when you genuienly expect outstanding seasons year after year (which I always have), you're just leaving youself for an almighty fall and are left miserable and utterly let down every weekend. It's the kind of expectancy that is driving some fans to not even support the club anymore (there's many on Facebook who say they no longer go to games and have no interest in NC). But in reality (without our yellow and green specs) and in the bigger picture of the rest of the 92 clubs in the football world in this country, we're no different to anyone else with exception to the top 6 in the Prem, for obvious reasons. Therefore, IMO as long as there is tangible forms of evidence of improvement we can get behind it and only look to change managers when its absolutely certian we're only going backwards.
So the question is, are we at that point yet? I've seen many saying we are but I definitely believe we are absolutely not. The defense was a big improvement last season and it's seemingly apparent that the attacking willingness and goals are being improved this season, so let's now give it time for as good a balance as we can get between the two to form and see where that takes us. 2 games in at this level is just not enough time to decide whether we're moving forwards for the better or backwards for the worse. In any case, for now, lets get behind DF and the team, tighten the seatbelts as we all know that one thing being a NC supporter uniquely gaurantees, it's going to be a bumpy ride.
OTBC
