Best team in the league

[Belgianclaret]

Simple: it is us, having watched all teams in action now, I think we are going up
Some teams have better individuals, I believe we have the best mixture of individuals

[rincon]

What impressed me yesterday was the willingness to get booked and 'take one for the team' that bodes well and I think you're right

[Garnerssoap]

Sssshhhhh

[jen1066]

We are the best team in the league. But if we don't go up this season I won't be worried.

[BurnleyFC]

I don’t think we’re the best team in the league but I expect us to finish between third and sixth.

[Woodleyclaret]

We will go up as Champions

[Bosscat]

Eleven games Eleven games undefeated....
Eleven games Eleven games I pray....
Eleven games Eleven games undefeated....
Playing football the Vee Kaaay way ....

[4midable]

I don’t think we’re the best team in the league but I expect us to finish between third and sixth.

Who is better
Nobody

[jen1066]

Who is better
Nobody

We need more of your attitude on here!

[Juan Tanamera]

To slightly modify a quote from the great Brian Clough, "We might not be the best team in the league, but we're certainly in the top 1"

[Bosscat]

Nobody does it better
Makes you feel sad for the rest
Nobody does it half as good as you
Burnley, you're the best

[jen1066]

To slightly modify a quote from the great Brian Clough, "We might not be the best team in the league, but we're certainly in the top 1"

Love it.

[SalisburyClaret]

Not sure we’re the best in the league but we’re the most skilful.

[jen1066]

I think we're at least 8 points off what we deserve. Possibly 10. Of course we're the best team in the league, but (I know) if we can start killing teams off when we should be doing, then we'll then move on to heavy wins.

[CrosspoolClarets]

I think the time is right to look again at some of the Anderlecht tactical analysis from last season. This is the best I have seen (there is a link on it to an earlier piece which is also very good).

https://cafetactiques.com/2022/04/12/ar ... 2-tactics/

What I notice is how similar we are to that now, with the exception that VK went 4-4-2 last season after 4-2-3-1 like us now the year before. I think he will do 4-4-2 with us after January, and I think we will score far more as a result.

It is arguable we are the best now, but we will be the best then. As the author says, it is like art on a football pitch.

[mkmel]

Simple: it is us, having watched all teams in action now, I think we are going up
Some teams have better individuals, I believe we have the best mixture of individuals

Possibly although I think we have too many Belgian players

[Middle-agedClaret]

What impressed me yesterday was the willingness to get booked and 'take one for the team' that bodes well and I think you're right

…get booked and “take one for the team”
Is that not cheating?
How do we feel when opponents do it?
Far from my indicators of a good team.

[boatshed bill]

…get booked and “take one for the team”
Is that not cheating?
How do we feel when opponents do it?
Far from my indicators of a good team.

If you change that to "willingness to risk getting booked" it sounds a lot better (IMO of course).

[Belgianclaret]

The first official wet blanket has arrived on this thread after no less than 16 posts.

Must be a world record

[quoonbeatz]

I think the time is right to look again at some of the Anderlecht tactical analysis from last season. This is the best I have seen (there is a link on it to an earlier piece which is also very good).

https://cafetactiques.com/2022/04/12/ar ... 2-tactics/

What I notice is how similar we are to that now, with the exception that VK went 4-4-2 last season after 4-2-3-1 like us now the year before. I think he will do 4-4-2 with us after January, and I think we will score far more as a result.

It is arguable we are the best now, but we will be the best then. As the author says, it is like art on a football pitch.

It was that article that made me want us go for him when we were looking for a manager. (The Norwegian guy was my 2nd choice)

Just seemed a really interesting approach and a bit different. Certainly a big break from what we were used to which was the main thing for me. I didn't want another 'proven championship manager'. Working out nice so far.

[houseboy]

My Rovers supporting youngest son in law thinks we are the team to beat. Strong praise indeed. He’s not just a Rover, he is a true football fan and watches it all the time and he says he has seen nothing better in the Championship.

[Middle-agedClaret]

The first official wet blanket has arrived on this thread after no less than 16 posts.

Must be a world record

I think that should be “ no fewer than”
You’re welcome!

[houseboy]

I think that should be “ no fewer than”
You’re welcome!

Isn’t a pedant something you wear around your neck?

[jen1066]

Isn’t a pedant something you wear around your neck?

To some, that's a penis.

[houseboy]

To some, that's a penis.

Or it could be a pearl necklace.

[Bop]

I wouldn’t say we’re the best. But we’re in the top one.

[jen1066]

I wouldn’t say we’re the best. But we’re in the top one.

I like it.

[Quicknick]

We are the best side in this division.

[jen1066]

We are the best side in this division.

Easy.

[tiger76]

We've lost the fewest number of games so far, and the one we did lose we'd have won on another day.

The really encouraging aspect is we're improving rapidly.

6 points from our opening 5 games.

16 points from our next 8.

Maintain that 2 points a game ratio over the next 33 games and we'll be on course to finish on 88 points which given how congested this division is could well be enough for one of the auto spots and possibly even give us the title.

[mybloodisclaret]

I think we are a very strong team this year, although I think next Saturday will be our toughest home game of the season so far. I think they will come at us, but that could play right into our hands.

[BobbyBoucher]

Posted a few weeks ago, I backed us as champions for a season long bet , with City and Rangers in a treble. We were the longest odds and rightly so, I just felt our recruitment was excellent. I have seen nothing yet to change my mind and like others have said with a more established team I dont think we would have given up those 8-10 points which would put us miles ahead. Of course just because we are doing ok doesnt mean all this will come to pass but as always time will tell. I know watching us, according to others, can at times be a bit slow but personally I love it. The level of control at times is great to watch. I think we all need to remember that many of this team are acclimatising or very young. They will only get better in my opinion.UTC

[fatboy47]

If morale stays high we can p1ss this division.

[NottsClaret]

For balance, we've not played a single side in the current top 7 or even beaten any team from the top half, as it stands.

[fatboy47]

For balance, we've not played a single side in the current top 7 or even beaten any team from the top half, as it stands.

That's the kind of drivel that was getting posted around this time in 2015.

[NottsClaret]

That's the kind of drivel that was getting posted around this time in 2015.

Well let's hope we have our 2-0 v QPR type game from that season to convince the non-believers.

[IanMcL]

I think we're at least 8 points off what we deserve. Possibly 10. Of course we're the best team in the league, but (I know) if we can start killing teams off when we should be doing, then we'll then move on to heavy wins.

That is the worry. Best and most comfortable, in the ball, however, we are not getting men in the box and that includes the strikers. That is in the coaching.

Also very short in size and therefore soft at the back. The 'tough' teams could have 25% possession and stuff us.

Mental attitude, in the winter, will sort the wheat from the chaff.

[jen1066]

For balance, we've not played a single side in the current top 7 or even beaten any team from the top half, as it stands.

For balance, Bristol City were 6th when we played them.

You go off the table when we played them.

[claretandy]

For balance, we've not played a single side in the current top 7 or even beaten any team from the top half, as it stands.

For balance, the current top 7 shouldn't park the bus like some of the teams we've already played.

[Spijed]

For balance, we've not played a single side in the current top 7 or even beaten any team from the top half, as it stands.

Norwich have had similar form in that respect to ourselves:

[jen1066]

Enough balancing to last us a few weeks.

[ClaretPete001]

Norwich have had similar form in that respect to ourselves:

You'd have to say the same thing about Norwich when you look at those results. You would think that Cardiff was a one off but perhaps the Preston result was a less of a surprise than it should have been.

They also have a lot of difficult teams play between now and mid-November, which may see them dropping points.

You would think they will be top 6 but looking at that they may not be as nailed on top two as it currently looks.

[ArmchairDetective]

For balance, we've taken more points on average from each game compared to the league average points per game. As such, you would expect the teams that we have already played to be slightly lower in the table for having played us.

[houseboy]

Positions don’t matter it’s all on the day. Who would have given PNE a rats chance at Norwich? Rovers have beaten QPR who were apparently terrible on that day. Bristol were one of if not THE form team when we beat them. Teams in this division are separated by, to use a classic Dycheism, fine margins. The teams at the bottom are not Rochdale or Morecambe or Bradford, they are decent sides who, on their day, can beat anyone in this division. What’s that famous saying? Oh yeah, you can only beat what’s put in front of you, or not.

[jen1066]

For balance, we've taken more points on average from each game compared to the league average points per game. As such, you would expect the teams that we have already played to be slightly lower in the table for having played us.

Is your armchair balanced?

[ArmchairDetective]

Is your armchair balanced?

Depends if we're winning

[nil_desperandum]

Results in the Championship are notoriously unpredictable, and forecasting results based on league positions is not a particularly good indicator - especially so early in the season.
Given the way we play, I would predict that we may well find it just as difficult to pick up wins against big physical teams towards the bottom of the table as we will.against teams near the top who try to play "good" football.
We also have a lot of local derbys and they also tend to be tougher fixtures - even if the opposition is perceived to be weak.

[ClaretPete001]

For balance, we've taken more points on average from each game compared to the league average points per game. As such, you would expect the teams that we have already played to be slightly lower in the table for having played us.

Not really, we could come 12th with an average number of points, which would be statistically consistent with a team that comes 12th in the sense we largely don't beat any teams in the top 12.

Therefore our results would have no statistical significance to a single team more than any other team in the division.

If you are assuming that our current position is indicative of our final position and we will have a final points tally above the average then you would have to assume the same of others, in which case, the fact that we haven't played the better sides yet is relevant.

[ClaretPete001]

Results in the Championship are notoriously unpredictable, and forecasting results based on league positions is not a particularly good indicator - especially so early in the season.
Given the way we play, I would predict that we may well find it just as difficult to pick up wins against big physical teams towards the bottom of the table as we will.against teams near the top who try to play "good" football.
We also have a lot of local derbys and they also tend to be tougher fixtures - even if the opposition is perceived to be weak.

Are you making assumptions about the relative size and strength of teams in the division ahead of actual results?

We've done well against side at the bottom of the division. So, you may have a point but I;m not sure what it is based upon.

The results of 13 games is good but it will be a lot better in a months time when we have played most of the current top half of the table. And even better by mid Dec when we've played over 20 games.

I think based upon 13 games we are as good as anyone in the division with the one caveat I'd like to see us play Norwich and Sheffield Utd. Is that not entirely reasonable?

[claretonthecoast1882]

40 games into the season Burnley 8 points clear of 2nd place yet you would still have this odd nonsense trotted out about who we have played.

There will be real disappointment inside some if we were to win the next 4 or 5 games leaving them unable to continue with this nonsense.