Did people really forget just how bad last season was so quickly?
And do Bears expect a Manager and 7 new signings who have never played in Scotland, to stroll into town and start knocking 10 goals past everybody?
Let's look at what Paul le Guen himself said to the BBC the evening after we drew with Dunfermline: “We need to improve and we need points. We must be able to play with pressure and win games such as against Dunfermline. We played less well than in our past couple of games and we missed chances.” Can anyone disagree with that?
Compare and contrast with previous inane witterings from McLeish on these occasions, where we got lots of ‘all hands to the pump' or ‘we were unlucky' messages rather than a measured acceptance of what the problems were. Before the Hearts game we were one goal, just one of the chances missed by Buffel at East End Park, away from topping the SPL. Le Guen stated at the start of this campaign that it would take time to mould a team and get the players he really wants. What part of that sentence isn't getting through?
Compare Les Rangers with Les Yahoos. They've signed Jarowsik (relegated last season) Riordan (peripheral ned) Caldwell (deeply average) Miller (Lovenkrands without the first touch) and currently chasing household name Lee Naylor of Wolves as the final piece in the jigsaw that will see them, er, sweep through the Champions' League undefeated. Managers all over Europe are quaking at the thought of a Paul Telfer overlap and I'm reliably told Shevchenko and Arjen Robben wake up in a cold sweat worried about whether they'll get anything out of McManus and Caldwell. Let's face it, there isn't a Tim with functioning two brain cells (I know, I know) who wouldn't swap Le Guen for wee Chesney in a heartbeat.
We've signed Sionko, Letizi, Clement, Svensson, Clement, Sebo - our biggest signing and a guy we haven't seen play yet - and acquired Lee Martin and Phil Bardsley from English minnow club, er, Manchester United. Le Keeper and big Karl have come under the spotlight but we simply must give them all a dozen games or so to settle in, unless they crumble completely. I'd take our signings over theirs every day of every week.
The key difference between this season and last is that we are now managed by a guy with a proven track record at the highest level of the game. Half the clubs in Europe were hounding the guy to come and work for them and he chose little old us. Does anyone out there think Le Guen isn't capable of adapting to the 5-5-0 formations we face everywhere except the Stade Du Gadd and Tynecastle?
I'll end with what le Guen said to the BBC on 13 August: “I ask the fans to be patient and we must stick together for confidence and points. But I'm optimistic.” Moi aussi, mon General, moi aussi.
Bearwood