2 world wars, 1 world cup Don't know what will happen.
The truth is the reason there are so many views on here as to whether or not we've played good teams or shit teams and who's better that who is because we're just so early in the season. We've either done well and could be high up the table was it not for bad luck and freak cockups or we are genuinely shit. We genuinely won't know until we play more games.
Perhaps Bod will turn out to be an absolute gem as his goal ratio is already suggesting. Baldock and McNulty will click with how we play. Barrow continues to terrorise, swift returns to form, bacuna finds the brilliant form we know he's capable of, Aluko suddenly decides to take his finger out his arse and live up to his price tag, Gunter comes in for an enviable fullback pairing of him and the impressive yiadom,.. Illori returns, walker turns out good or mannone solidifies.
The above is very possible and we could be looking at a team of playoff candidates we just don't know. It only took one player to turn things around when Roberts joined us and I think anything could happen here. A good win against villa honestly wouldn't surprise me. It's too early to tell.
The issue with comparisons to one player making a difference like Roberts, is back then we had a limited but exceptionally organised team who were used to going on winning streaks and toughing out harder times. They were fit, they played to the whistle, they knew their jobs, they worked as a unit. They just needed a bit more quality up top.
By contrast, this lot are disorganised, sloppy, confused, lost, used to losing and winning streaks are utterly alien to them.
Even look at the new signings (who I mostly like and approve of)
Yiadom - just got relegated so used to losing
O'Shea just fought four relegation battles losing the last two
Meyler - just fought a relegation battle and survived
Baldock - got promoted! But then barely played for a year
That's half our new signings either used to losing in the last year, or at least unfamiliar with winning in that time.
We're by no means even close to a good side. We've put in improved performances in three of our first four games this season, but we've picked up one point anyway. They don't have the mental fortitude to deal with that much longer before it destroys any hope of actual recovery. By game 10 the table has started to stabalise. By December it's pretty close to how it'll finish for most teams. If we don't pick up points soon we're forever playing catch up andfind ourselves in yet another relegation fight the players don't believe they're in.