2014-15 Season Preview

Phil, Tw'ers would never post a barrage of hilarious comments, would they? :-)

We know what to expect from Jags, Distin and Howard, consistent performances with occasional howlers and a weakness against accurate, fast crosses put in just above head height onto the 6yd line. John Stones may develop into a colossus, but it will take time. I don't share your faith in the cover provided by Duffy and Alcaraz, and Robles as first reserve goalie is worrying.

I know it's all about "sin miedo" but I have to confess to having just a touch of miedo about the daft goals we concede.

You would presume that our strongest thirteen or fourteen players will have played in the league. If they play from where we left off at the end of last season you would be confident of having twelve or thirteen points on the board out of a possible twenty one.

In terms of the other two competitions, it will be interesting to see if both Oviedo and Gibson are back to full fitness and playing games. The squad and younger players, upon whom there seemed to be so much emphasis in the pre-season games, will also have been given the chance to show if they are up to it in competitive games.

If we play well, then confidence and momentum will be in place. With season tickets at a recent all time high, a packed Goodison could add to this. A couple of bad defeats however, or if we struggle against a number of the lesser teams, and much of the optimism carried over from last season and the summer will have quickly dissipated.

In terms of our rivals, you would hope that there are a couple of the Sky created super Sundays early in the season. Lyndon is right to point out that it will take a number of our competitors time to bed in their new players. Some disjointed performances by our competitors against other top four chasing teams early in the season may play in our favour.

Pre-season has been and gone now, so hopefully we can all calm down a little and trust the manager to have the team prepared as best he can.

I know the likes of Pienaar and Osman have been reliable players in the past for us, but until they become our second choice starters we won't make the progress we all crave. Barkley, Besic, McCarthy, Lukaku, Coleman and Stones all have the talent, and more importantly the belief to actually go a step further than the old guard and win some silverware. The older players in the squad have too much of an inferiority complex when facing some sides, I think it may be too late for them to change.

How things have changed in the space of twelve months though, I honestly expect at least one Cup Final this season - hopefully in Europe. Let's hope we can paint Roberto's blank canvas at Finch Farm this season, it's been 20 long years!

The 'National' journos are at one in believing that the Vanman will restore Man Utd to something like their former glory and that our near neighbours will again be challenging for top spot.

Man City have it to lose and Mourinho is gearing up to another challenge. Arsenal – and Wenger – are said to be re-invigorated so that leaves just Spurs and Everton to fill the 'back-up' slots. (The experts' view, not necessarily mine!)

I have yet to find one opinion that we can make the breakthrough and it is annoying that, although we managed 5th last time, we are never regarded as art of the Big Six. Indeed, we don't feature too prominently in Sky's ill-chosen slogan of 'More of the games that matter' !

All of which goes to show that although they love Roberto, not too many think he is equipped to 'trouble the judges'. I share that view but cling to the hope that we JUST MIGHT be the team 'that wrecks their coupon'!

Well, you can't be miserable all the time.

I then read the posts on this read, and am really uplifted by the positive rhetoric, and optimism displayed by our loyal support and the contributions displayed on TW. The sun is metaphorically shining again, despite the grey skies, long may it continue.

Keep up the good work Phil! :-)

If we can get the win at Leicester on Saturday, it sets us up for two big games at Goodison. Get the results in them and we are flying. We beat both Chelsea and Arsenal at home last season. One by hook and crook, and the other with one of the best games I've seen us play at the old lady. Neither will fancy facing us, as Lyndon pointed out, with neither up and running on full steam hopefully.

As a born and raised Londoner with an array of family (mostly kopites) scattered around the Northwest, I can tell you from conversations with both sides, they fear us. The permanent signing of Rom made a statement. We are not plucky little Everton no more.

Squad-wise, I think we are strong in defence and midfield. Like most, I worry about our backup keeper and depth up-front. The latter I think will be addressed by deadline day, and also think a couple of squad players will arrive on loan.

Personally I would love us to win the Europa League with the gobshites finishing 4th in the Premier League. Am I right in thinking that would put us in Champion's League and take their spot, à la Chelsea & Spurs from the season before last? How great it would be at my brother's wedding next July to see my uncles' and cousins' bitter faces.

So, to all my fellow bluenoses, let's look forward to a great season, take care and Lukaku yourselves!

Phil (7) I too have yet to see a pundit give us half a chance. Man Utd haven't repaired their sieve at the back or strengthen their midfield enough imo to challenge for the top 4. They're still Man Utd so everyone else is still going to bring their A-game to the pitch against them. They're a year older, more injury prone and now Mr Moody is the captain.

As long as we can avoid injury, we have the squad to make the top 4. The only missing piece is a good attacking midfield with an eye for a pass. Perhaps Barkley can add the passes to his game this year or Besic's versatility can help here. A last-minute loan deal for Di Maria would be nice. :>)

"Only twice in the last 11 years we've finished outside the top 10, that's a massive achievement for a club like Everton..."

Fans shouldn't underestimate the job this manager has, trying to instill a winning mentality back into the squad.

I firmly believe with players like Neville around, and old 'knife to a gunfight' miserable bollocks - we were destined to lose every time we stepped foot in the likes of Old Trafford. The team was beaten before they stepped off the coach. Imagine training the week before going there, or to Anfield?

I bet 90% of the preparation for these type of games was on how best to defend against these sides. Thankfully, we are on our way back to thinking we should be on the same pitch as any side in the League, and we can beat anyone. That's were we have been lacking for many years.

Just saw a brief clip of Richard Scudamore comparing Spain's La Liga and England Premier League he said "competition in the PL is what makes it such an attractive option....I would prefer to have a league whereby we have five, six maybe seven clubs who could possibly come and challenge and win the title."

Problem with the EL is that there will be some top teams left in there come the quarter finals but over a knock out scenario, I'd like our chances on a packed mid week night at GP. I would be VERY disappointed not to at least make it out of the group stages given how poor most of them were last year. After that, its a lottery.

I really hope (and believe) that Atsu won't be our last signing as he's the only loanee we have, so we have room for a couple more to bolster the squad. Would hope for another AM and a striker as we have no cover before Kone comes back and Rom is likely not to be able to play a full 90 for the first couple of games.

7 points from the first 3 games would be a great start, especially if we get 3 points at home to Arsenal as I fancy Chelsea to be stronger.

As the start gets closer, I'm getting more optimistic.

All I would add is that I'm going to enjoy watching this team develop over the season and how Roberto goes about mixing the players in the different competitions.

I've said before we should be very proud of this club, we alone almost every season put the wind up the 'money clubs', most of the time with a negative transfer spend or a pittance in comparison with the said opponents or anybody else for that matter!

I know BK and other board members get a lot of stick from us on TW but in many ways the club is a example of how clubs should be run. Okay, I know there are deficiencies in some areas of the club, but nothing's perfect!

We all know the Premier League is distorted by some clubs spending, throwing absolute fortunes on players... whether the FFP restrictions will make much of a difference I don't know; let's hope so.

Especially seeing as we seem undercooked with Coleman, Mirallas and Lukaku yet to kick a ball in anger.

I’m hoping to be proved wrong but I’m not expecting much in August.

How many top 7 finishes does it take before we are considered as a Top 7 team and therefore we are not punching above our weight at all but equalling our performances?

We are not 'punching above our weight' — we are a very competent Premier League side that are just that little bit of consistency away from the Top 4.

It looks a tough start on paper at least we have a 'go' at the top 4 these days rather than 'roll over' so who knows. I admire Martinez for sticking to his principles; if we could give him a little more generous financial backing, I firmly believe we could challenge the existing order of things in the Premier League.

Regardless of the money that Man City and Chelsea have, I still don't think they are bigger clubs than us, I know I am in denial!! We are a proud club with a great history.

COYB

The only failing was strength in depth which hopefully is somewhat improved for this season and the return from injury of Gibson, Kone and Oviedo should endorse that.

TalkSportÂ’s Â’Super ComputerÂ’ has stated we have a 13.1% chance of the Top 4 and a 0% chance of relegation.

Unlucky 13 for the others I hope.

Right, feet up, fag on, and relax ...

Also I don't think either of them will be jumping for joy having to play us away so early in the season. We beat Chelsea at home last year (admittedly luckily) and stuffed Arsenal 3-0 just a few months ago. Lets not get too down, our home record both them is pretty strong.

I think the start is really tough, but iÂ’m feeling good, just hoping Rom and Kev will be fit to start as theyÂ’re both in my fantasy team! I still feel confident of a one or two more loans on deadline day. COYB

Personally I think we will finish 2 or 3 places lower than last season for several different reasons. If that is the case I will not be too worried as I feel Roberto has a long term plan and that he will succeed eventually in the next few seasons.

What do others think? Are you prepared to give him a few seasons for his plans to develop or will you see a lower finish and no silverware as a failure?

I do take your point and I suppose that is what my heart says, but can we really say we are a big club when we haven't won anything for nearly 20 years. I think as Jim says they are bigger than us at present as they are winning trophies regularly, have better grounds than we do, attract better players (in general than we do) and yes most importantly have more money than we do.

I do take issue with BK's leadership if he is big a blue as he says he is, we could surely have attracted more significant investment into the club over the past 10 years and he could have got out of the way and enjoyed us winning things and competing for the top honours on a regular basis and thought 'I made this happen'. The irony is I don't think we need a Man City or Chelsea sized injection of cash to make the difference. It seems all kinds of teams can attract considerable investment compared to us.

Is it inconceivable that the officials are briefed to ensure that those clubs who can generate large audiences and big sponsors should be favoured or given the benefit of the doubt as often as possible? But that clubs like Everton who won't be able to generate huge audiences or add to the brand as far as those in charge are concerned will be hampered by questionable decisions throughout the season?

Richard Scudamore is once again trumpeting the 39th game scenario a match which most football fans are against but obviously sponsors and TV companies are hoping to see.

Football has always been a business we all understand that but has it always had such disregard for the regular match-going supporters? Celtic were given a second-chance last week and re-entered the CL but what if one of the more glamorous teams had made the same mistake as Celtic's opponents would they have been kicked-out out of the competition? I somehow doubt it.

If analysts were as skeptical of our competitors as they are of us, they'd actually realize United, Liverpool, and Spurs have much more glaring weaknesses. United doesn't have ONE decent center back nor do they have many of them. That's a huge problem, especially if you're gonna play three at the back under an attacking manager. Wenger still hasn't signed a defensive midfielder or a striker. Depth at these positions is the only reason Arsenal hasn't won the title and most likely won't again. Liverpool just lost 45 goals scored or created from the former best player in the league, only to replace it with four 20 year olds and decent players from an 8th place team. Spurs (and United really) have to make up 8-9 points on us and hope we regress, which, given our young core, is pretty unlikely. But I digress.

Lyndon, you write beautifully and just about always sum up our prospects well. One small thing I disagree with. You say money always winning is a cold hard fact. In a paradigm where all the clubs take a short term view and buy ready made world class talents, the teams with the most cash will always win. Agreed. But, say we train our young stars, develop them into world class talents, and successfully hold onto all of them long enough to win for an extended period of time? Doesn't that alter the playing field?What if Southampton didn't sell Bale, Walcott, Ox, Shaw, Lallana and kept them all? I would say that this is what we are trying to do under Martinez. And if we have the stones to follow through by raising the wage bill rather than our transfer expenditure, couldn't the dream become the reality?

Results and performances during pre-season have been shown numerous times to be no barometer of how things will bear out in even the first few fixtures. I don't even believe it's primarily due to players being conscious of picking up a possible injury. There's just a psychological barrier that players are unwilling to bypass when they know there's nothing riding on the result. Why push yourself when there's nothing to be reaped from it? Pre-Season's made for going through the motions. Nothing more.

It's for that reason that i've been a bit bemused at some of the criticisms and snap judgements people have been making in which they seemingly view below par pre-season performances as blazing portents of impending doom.

It's like your wife laying into you for being a bit half arsed when you were sat at home stroking Yoda behind the ears while she was out getting her hair done.

Just because any 'romance' and foreplay on your part was prematurely binned off in favour of furious fist pumping, a box of tissues and a bizarre mental image of 1960's Catwoman nuzzling on the minge of the midget medium from Poltergeist, whilst a suspender clad 'Wee Jimmy' Krankie stands in the background clapping...before giving you a strangely big thumbs up for someone with such small hands, doesn't mean there's going to be such a shocking lack of effort, tenderness and technique when it comes time for the real action to get under way.

There's a massive psychological difference between palm and real life partner, just as there is between pre-season friendly and full on competitive fixture.

All in all, a long winded way of saying that a friendly is basically the wank of the football world. A league game's a shag, a cup games oral and...err...i guess that makes Champions League anal.

I'm mildly confident that Martinez can maintain the standards of last season and, if he can instil a bit more ruthlessness within the ranks, we could quite possibly go one better and all be reaching for the lube this time next year.

I think both the Premiership and the Europa Cup will be too much for us, and I can see a 5-7th place only and reaching the last 8-16 in the Europa Cup. Both competitions have just to many good clubs in them, and you can see what the likes of facing just Porto and Celta Vigo has done to us.

To me we need to ensure that we play our strongest team in the domestic cup competitions as this is where we could win something, only 6 games are required to be won, not 30 odd in PL and 15 in Europa Cup.

I personally don't think there is unfair bias from the media regarding our chances to finish in the top 4, ironically our own bias is much stronger! We have never played in the Champions League, and you have to go back to 1971 for the last time we played in the European Cup. Another sustained assault this season might change the perception, but one decent season under Roberto is hardly grounds to see us progressing, especially considering the strengthening of teams like United and Arsenal.

Simply put, world class foreign stars sell more shirts in Asia than a Henderson, Milner or Lambert.....

Incredibly, Real Madrid got 20.7m in shirt sales revenue for Rodriguez within 48 HOURS of signing him (within 2 days of getting him they already got 1/3 of their transfer fee back!). That's about double our entire annual commercial revenue!!!!

Unless these sides hit Barcelona under Pep levels they will always hit a ceiling, a very high ceiling but one they fluctuate underneath. We on the other hand have improved continuously over the last 10 years. No matter how much the teams above us spend in every window we get closer and closer. Now we've breached the 70 point mark we are in their territory. It doesnt matter how much they spend, if we remain consistent against the lesser sides and keep up results in the heads to heads we will challenge.

There's always the 'what if Lukaku gets injured' argument. Its valid, but what if he stays fit and Sturridge gets injured, or Costa, or Soldado? 3 of our rivals with forward lines led by Lambert Torres and Adebayor - is that really that menacing?

With my sensible head on I can see City and Chelsea being far off the rest, Arsenal a clear third, but why oh why cant we challenge Spurs Liverpool and United, three sides we have finished ahead of in the last two seasons at some point, for fourth?

Repeat 72 points and we'll be close again. Better it and we are right in the mix no matter what anyone says about squad depth. Liverpool almost won the league using a small core of players. Our core of players is very strong if we stay injury free in the right areas.

But I agree with you......average 2 points a game and CL will be there or there abouts.

The bit I am not sure I agree with is about the shift in paradigm, as the group of players you mentioned have cost the club nearly 50 million pounds, and you could argue with exception to Barkley that they have all been nurtured and developed elsewhere, and we have only bought them once they have actually shown a decent amount of promise. Three of them were full internationals before they even joined us. If these lads work out, then it will be great. If not, are we gonna have another 50 million to fork out in a few years?

Of course there are a few weeks left of the window but it doesn't seem as if any of our key players are about to up sticks and move to a 'bigger' club. That to me is a sign of progress, if we can also integrate and develop our youngsters such as Garbutt into the first team over the next twelve months that will show more progress.

It's not so long ago that the absence of one key player such as Pienaar, Felliani, Baines would have had the supporters fretting about how we would or could cope, we now have players in most areas of the pitch that can come into the side and do a good job.

At 3pm on Saturday, Everton the team has to make a statement and declare themselves as a team that means business regardless of which players are picked to represent the Club. It won't be easy it never is against newly promoted clubs on their own patch, but that is the challenge to whichever players are chosen. Expectations are fairly high and the players should want to keep them that way, it's no longer enough to work hard and eek out a result it is now about showing how good they are in all the games they play, if they can do that more often then we could and should have a very good season. If however, they retreat into their shells they could find themselves in unfamiliar territory which nobody wants to see.

In the heat of battle we need at least one of our senior players preferably the captain to provide an example and calming influence for the rest.

From Peter Farrell to present day I have seen a small number of outstanding Everton captains. In their case a fancy arm band was not required to recognize who was the team leader. In my opinion, Jags who I greatly admire lacks those vital leadership qualities.

However, the likes of Lallana, Shaw, Lovren, Long, McCormack and any number of other deals this summer are way higher. Whether that boost will be enough is all dependent on whether the gamble to spend all that extra money on Lukaku pays off.

I think long term it will pay off in spades but in the short term we are massively over reliant on him! I just hope we can get cover in on loan that allows us to see the short-term and long-term benefits of signing arguably the best young striker in the world, at least looking at his stats.

Can our young stars reproduce what they did last year?
Or will they improve and move us onto a higher and more consistent level of performance?

I'm going for the later.

Howard – same as now
Hibbert – Coleman much better
Baines – same
Heitinga – Distin much better
Jagielka – same
Neville – Barry much better
Osman – McCarthy much better
Pienaar – Atsu / McGeady jury's out
Coleman – Mirallas much better
Naismith - Barkley better
Jelavic – Lukaku much better
Substitutes
Distin (45 Heitinga) – same
Junior (74 Neville) Besic – much better
Anichebe (63 Coleman) – Naismith better
Gueye (80 Naismith) – Pienaar better.
What I'm getting at is the squad has massively improved since Bobby's arrival and is much younger. Whilst I don't think we'll crack the top 4 this season, we are a lot closer than we were. Onwards and upwards!

I agree with your premise that overall our squad is stronger than two years ago

But fuck me trying to work through your logic has done me in

Coleman is better than Hibbert but not as good as Mirallas

Distin is better than Heitinga but not when he’s substituted.

When you replace with Gueye with Naismith, Pienaar is better.

I found string theory easier.

I'm slightly anxious about the first game as surprises can be sprung by the newly promoted teams. After that, I expect us to make mince-meat out of all and sundry.

Nobody will look forward to playing the Mighty Blues.

I'm particularly looking forward to our first win at Anfield in 14 years. Then trouncing them at Goodison for our first double over them in ages.

Top 4 is on.

Coleman is better than Hibbert at right back but not better than Miralles at right wing. I prefer to play players in their correct positions , in that game Moyes obviously played Coleman RM in front of Hibbert.

Martinez has moved us on in leaps and bounds I used to look at a fixture, ie, Manure away and think "I’d be happy with a draw" but expect a loss, now I believe we can win games like that.

Our team is capable of beating anyone and with a bit of luck top 4 is possible, a bit more luck and Lukaku and Barkley becoming the players they can be why not Champions.

I love your optimism, I’m very tempted to respond but it has been a long day.

For me we still lack goals. Lukaku has the potential for 20, whilst Coleman and Baines are good for another 10-15. Our midfielders need to be looking for nearer 10 a piece. They don't, whilst without a Remy type, plus goals from a Lescott type, we will still be short.

Greed is good, and I still want more in through the door.

Yet reading the previews it all seems a bit pointless. Apparently we're just playing Spurs for 6th place.

I might put a quid on Pelligrini being a one and done.

There's no two ways about it, the pre season has been pretty shambolic, but does that matter ? probably not, JD in his own inimitable way kinda sums it up. Still it gave us something to talk about as we waited for showtime.

I would have liked Lyndon too have spoken more about our visits to the top grounds. I believe these games will be absolutely key.
If we are to break the glass ceiling, we need to start considering these fixtures six pointers. I don't just mean talking the talk. We HAVE to start winning some of these games. One point at the grounds of the teams who finished top six is simply not good enough - The Ginger Twat did better than that taking his penknife.

Win some of these crucial fixtures and I believe the 13/2 the bookies are offering for us to finish in the top four will start to look on the generous side.

Its on. . its definitely on

I share your concerns regarding the depth of quality and centre half but didn't dwell too long on any one position as the piece was long enough as it is. With more time, a more thorough examination of each position might have been a valuable exercise.

My point regarding Duffy and Browning on the one hand (both largely untested options) and Alcaraz on the other (a player who started off looking accomplished and unflappable but who eventually revealed himself to be, to these eyes, something of a liability) was really to demonstrate the number of bodies we have as cover. As Tony Hibbert and Duffy himself demonstrated during a previous European adventure, that can be important.

Regarding the second Peter's point about Everton overcoming the cold realities of the money-driven Premier League, I actually think that we are on the right track to overcome them with the investment in youth we're currently pursuing.

For the purposes of this article, I was thinking purely short term but if Martinez continues to nurture a squad of young players to the height of their potential, in a few seasons we could be credible, perennial top-four contenders without having to spend the tens of millions per player that the likes of Chelsea and City are throwing around.

However, we are also under pressure to ensure that we maintain the positive profile we have as being a good enough squad to consistently finish in the top six. You could spot all the positive hype surrounding the club's push for a CL place last season from outer space. The opposite could also be true and we could very quickly be labelled a forgotten mid table team if we fall away.

A Tony Hibbert, or a Leon Osman, or a Kone, as older players who perhaps aren't seen as leading lights in the squad, will have a valuable role to play in closing out games when coming on as subs, in guiding the younger players with their experience, in starting what are perceived as lesser games, say in cup competitions, to give first team players a rest. While their quality may be in doubt, their contribution isn't in my mind.

Just to assist your mission to be a unique optimist, I'll throw this into the mix ......

What a crap transfer window by Everton. Usually by this stage of the pre-season, we're used to a fix of cathartic grumbling to relieve the tension and anxiety of having only signed some lower division prospect (with callipers) on a free or some Dutch bloke who shows up to the press conference with a can of Kestrel Lager in his hand.

The TW pre-season nark-fest has always been something of a phenomenon (to use RM's words), with conspiracy theory lacing the cocktail of seething anger, resentment and anxiety.

It has been the internet version of being 'in the trenches' with plenty of justifiable black humour and, in a strange sort of way, enjoyable.

THE CLUB HAVE DENIED US THAT THIS YEAR.

I, for one, blame Kenwright.
And Tony Hibbert.

Howard –> Howard (he has arguably improved since two years ago)
Hibbert –> Coleman (attacking upgrade; defensively the same?)
Baines –> Baines (you could argue perhaps form has dipped since?)
Distin –> Distin (aging is only factor here .. .enter Stones ...)
Jagielka –> Jagielka (about the same ... or Stones ...)
Neville – Barry (immeasurably better, with Besic as cover)
Osman –> McCarthy (much better fit for position, again Besic as cover)
Pienaar –> McGeady (jury's out ... step up Atsu?)
Coleman –> Mirallas (much better fit for position, with options ...)
Naismith -> Barkley (much better fit for position ... Osman to close games / open games up as needed)
Jelavic –> Lukaku (much better, Long to cover / provide rest?)

Substitutes

Mucha -> Robles (Not sure on this one; never fancied either that much)
Heitinga -> Stones – (much better; kneed he may not be on the bench much)
Junior -> Besic – (expected to be much better)
Anichebe -> Naismith (better)
Gueye –> Pienaar (much better)
-> Osman
-> Hibbert
-> Atsu
-> Long
-> Garbutt
-> Browning

etc

l, for one, am relatively happy with where we stand, and enjoying the media focus on the "top 5" with only one report so far placing us above 7th for the coming season (and no-one placing us below ... would we bother even playing if we're so destined for 7th?!).

Out of the Top 8, only Spurs and Liverpool got points at Goodison. so although it would be great to win away against the better teams, it would be just as good to become flat track bullies. Especially if we could get 3 points at that shit-hole we vacated all those years ago in a row over the lack of toilet facilities!

Anyway, back to us... I think El Supremo's plan comes in several parts. The first was getting us passing the ball from back to front (and sometimes from side to side); we did that last season.

This season he'll be making us a more fluid outfit. I think when he was appointed there were a few on here worrying that he'd go straight for three at the back, and before we got the hang of it we'd get tonked by a few no-mark teams. Well, that didn't happen. We remained defensively solid.

But three at the back is coming. I can smell it in the air. Roberto seems wedded to the idea of a sole central striker and two wide men, so I can't see him going 3-5-2. I guess a 3-4-3 is possible - he used that at Wigan. Not that I expect him to always play a back three; 4-3-3 and last season's 4-2-3-1 will get plenty of airings too. The main thing will be that he will try to evolve the team to be more flexible, not only playing different formations in different matches but switching during games.

Will it work? I don't know. But that's how I see it going.

Of course you're right, three points is three points and I'm happy with our home form against the big boys.

We finished seven points off Arsenal and we weren't even in the same post code as Chelsea, but if we could have turned those two controlled performances at The Emirates and The Bridge into victories a mere three points would separated the three teams. The other two would have been under tremendous pressure to qualify for CL, so you have to wonder if they would have gotten the points they did if we were able to turn up the heat.

Fine, fine margins when you analyse it. but if we are to break the glass ceiling, we have to stop losing these big away games. We have to find a way of putting a bigger dent into their final points tally.

I think what we saw last season was a work-in-progress on that front and it will be more than interesting to see how the same squad ups the ante in their arrogance and confidence. Note the almost revolutionary change between seasons 1 and 2 under Rodgers. I expect the same improvement in momentum and fluency from us. COYB