So what's changed?

[Walsh]

Now don't get me wrong as I have enjoyed the last couple of games the same as the rest of us. Meulensteen will not last forever anymore than Jol was going to. Lets be honest here 21 shots and 2 goals is a poor return. Especially with a dubious penalty from us and the one that wasn't from them. It shows that we could have finished yesterday with a draw which would certainly not have suited us.
So the medicine seems to be working for the time being! Everyone has their idea as to why yet the distance between winning and losing is as small as whether Sidwell scores from a tight angle or a referee awards them a penalty. Something a manager or coach has no say over.
OK we have taken it and we are ready to accept that changing the manager was the reason and we were all right in demanding this earlier.
Well we are going to need a lot more games like that and it is fair to say we are starting from a very poor position. I hope the optimism on here today continues to the end of the season and we stay up

I got to take into account that playing styles change once you're in the lead, for example. Jol put every man behind the ball once we went 1-0 up and hoped that we could hold it off, we seem to be playing wing backs and once we went 1-0 up we didn't push the wing backs up as much.

[Skatzoffc]

Rm likes the 4-2-3-1 that Man Utd play.

We are playing with wingers again. Dejaga

Kaca is working harder & backed by full back Riisse.
Dejaga back is a massive bonus and he's backed by Riether.

When the midfield two or the center of the 3 get the ball they have overlapping players to get the ball to.

imo the workrate of the players has been immensely improved in the last two games.

Not only pressuring high up the pitch by the midfielders, (and even Berba too).
But also the back four and midfield throwing themselves in front of the ball when defending.

All round the team were working 100% harder for each other.

An excellent change  in approach and application.

Riise looks like he's 10 years younger....
I dont know what's happened. but I like what I see.

049:gif

[Twig]

We can all see what has changed over the last 2 games but I am looking at what will have to change in the near future. Our veteran heroes of the present squad cannot last too much longer.
Riise, Hangeland, Parker, Sidwell, Berbatov, Duff & Karagounis cannot be expected to play at their current level for ever. Replacements will have to be found soon. Not many of those mentioned will be found from ut I wold al so it is a reality that substantial investment will have to be made once our Premiership status has been securedbe needed for sure .

Some investment will investment will be needed for sure but I am also certain that Rene will look to promote some of the junior players.  Perhaps his FA cup team picks may give us a clue?

[Fulham1959]

Northern Cottager is right that the intent is what is important. Yes we can go overboard because we actually had shots in the last two games. Something we have been starved of. So nobody is thinking we are saved from the drop. We have started from a poor position. But I think we can be pleased that should we go down we are at least going down fighting.

Look at any game and the final score could be so different if certain things had not happened or decisions were made that could have gone another way. The Spuds first goal for instance. A player jumping out of the way of the ball while standing infront of the goal in an offside position.

While we can let's enjoy the extra flair the team seems to have.

So true.  

Senderos was a giant and Riise had a great game.  In fact everyone looked like a giant (maybe not Scotty P!) so a lot has changed.

[Ichabod Magoo]

2 things have changed:

1. Players are trying much harder. We are winning 50:50 balls. We are diving in with tackles and blocks. We have forward momentum, lot less passing back and sideways. Body language of players and manager is alot more aggressive.

2. We now seem to have a strategy and tactics and each player has been assigned a role. Under jol we were all over the place.

That kind of sums things up in a nutshell.   :54:

[Ichabod Magoo]

Probably the same percentage of shots are going in but unlike with Jol we don't have to wait a month for 20 shots to arrive.

:wine:   064.gif

[Jack Fulham]

Those stats really aren't that uncommon in the premier league.

Arsenal and Everton just over half of the shots we had a scored one a piece.

Palace had 19 shots and scored twice.

Liverpool 32 shots 8 on target 4 goals

Soton 15 shots 1 goal City 12 shots 1 goal

From what I can see, Stoke had best conversion with 9 shots, 3 on target and 3 goals.

Its not uncommon for shots to hit double figures in the premier league. Even the best teams don't convert that many.

[Burt]

The manager.

Next question?

:dft011:

In short we are starting to see positive tactics, increased self-belief and confidence, and a hunger to win. All of these ingredients have been missing for a long time.

As someone who was pro-Jol, I still find it hard to understand how he managed to achieve so little with the talent he had at his disposal.

[jms]

...so what's changed? We are playing football again and are 100 times better to watch...

Simple, but true......not sure what everyone else's 'waffling' about....
PS.....it's not rocket science, it's a load of blokes kicking a piece of leather ( plastic ? ) round some grass :005:
049:gif
:merry christmas:

[Shredhead]

We're creating chances.

Exactly and there's more fight as well.  The Guardian match report said we played as dif trying to qualify for a European place. Same players,  different team!

[JDH101]

Now don't get me wrong as I have enjoyed the last couple of games the same as the rest of us. Meulensteen will not last forever anymore than Jol was going to. Lets be honest here 21 shots and 2 goals is a poor return. Especially with a dubious penalty from us and the one that wasn't from them. It shows that we could have finished yesterday with a draw which would certainly not have suited us.
So the medicine seems to be working for the time being! Everyone has their idea as to why yet the distance between winning and losing is as small as whether Sidwell scores from a tight angle or a referee awards them a penalty. Something a manager or coach has no say over.
OK we have taken it and we are ready to accept that changing the manager was the reason and we were all right in demanding this earlier.
Well we are going to need a lot more games like that and it is fair to say we are starting from a very poor position. I hope the optimism on here today continues to the end of the season and we stay up

fp.gif

I'm going to do my best to stay positive as I upset a couple of people yesterday when negative things were posted.

What has changed? If you need someone to tell you what has changed then you are probably wasting your time going to a football match. All the evidence is there for you. In a nutshell though:

We have a new manager that has changed and improved all of the following:
Our formation and tactics
Playing personnel.
Motivation and desire.
Getting the best out of our so called star players.
Uniting the fans by not alienating them and telling them he could leave for top jobs all over europe.

Our last two performances we EASILY our best two "performances" of the season and dare I say it, of the last calendar year. It is not coincidence that this is because we changed our manager.

[rogerpbackinMidEastUS]

2 things have changed:

1. Players are trying much harder. We are winning 50:50 balls. We are diving in with tackles and blocks. We have forward momentum, lot less passing back and sideways. Body language of players and manager is alot more aggressive.

2. We now seem to have a strategy and tactics and each player has been assigned a role. Under jol we were all over the place.
----------------------------------------------------

The third main thing to change is us.
The manager and team seem to have 'won us back' as the saying goes.
That has a roll on effect on everyone (the 12th man on the terraces etc)
and me from my sofa :0)

As someone else said, he hadn't seen a transformation like this since Micky Adams, and what a great season that was. The main disappointment was winning at Cambridge only to find out Wigan had won and pipped us to the title.
However no problem with coming second and getting promoted.