ealingfox Posted 10 December 2015 Posted 10 December 2015 Anyone else getting a bit sick of hearing this? Yes nobody expects the title, or even the top 4, and it's good to try and keep everyone's feet on the ground and stay pragmatic, but I think we are going into overkill on this now. Mahrez is the latest culprit. Even if they secretly think very different things, which I sincerely hope they do, I don't think its a good idea to continually trot out this 'party line' that we only care about getting to 40 points. Propaganda theory dictates that if you tell someone a lie enough times they will eventually believe it to be the truth. This isn't exactly the same as it's not really a lie that we can't win the league (although, I suppose given that we can still mathematically win the league saying that we can't actually is a lie) but if they don't believe its possible then it almost certainly won't happen. We have had an incredible season so far, we are on 32 points after just 15 games. We have 23 games to get to 40 points. I think we have to stop with the suggestion that if we got 8 or 9 points from the rest of the season then we would still end up considering the season to be 'Mission Accomplished'. Now that really would be a lie - perhaps they are trying to force us to believe it? Obviously the main concern with staying in this mindset is what will happen after we have reached 40 points (I imagine this will be in either the Bournemouth, Spurs or Stoke games in January - pessimist I know ). If the players all think that is all we set out to achieve all season, what will happen? The likelihood is our performance levels will fall off a cliff, and that will put paid to any possibility of qualifying for Europe. Alternatively, you might say if they believed they were title contenders now, they will swagger into fixtures such as Bournemouth at home and levels will drop off anyway. Clearly balance or modesty is the best tactic, but how is this best played out in post- and pre-match pressers? I would have liked to have seen the 40 points rhetoric become top-half rhetoric after one of our last few fixtures. There should be hoops to jump through and ambition until the last kick of the last game. Let's set the bar a little bit higher. If this is merely the 'party line' being toed, what do we think they think secretly? Can all we do is hope nothing changes after 40?
Wymsey Posted 10 December 2015 Posted 10 December 2015 No, not getting sick of it. They're saying that to stay grounded, and it's clearly working.
Kitchandro Posted 10 December 2015 Posted 10 December 2015 They are managing expectations I suppose. The important thing is they have the self-belief. If they think they can win the title/finish in the top 4/ top 6/top half, or whatever, then it doesn't really matter what they tell us. I hope Mahrez thinks we're better than that, or soon he'll think he's better off somewhere else.
ARM1968 Posted 10 December 2015 Posted 10 December 2015 No. It's very sensible to be honest. Keep the lads focused on that simple goal. Once reached we can set another simple goal.
Foxxed Posted 10 December 2015 Posted 10 December 2015 It's mid december, we've lost one match, we're two points clear at the top of the premiership. I'm fairly ****ing happy. The focus on just winning the next match, and assuming we're starting from zero points, has worked beautifully. Rather than criticising the phrase, I'm idly contemplating getting it tattooed onto my chest, along with a smiling tattoo of Claudio.
Kitchandro Posted 10 December 2015 Posted 10 December 2015 If we look at it another way - Pearson said it was dangerous to set expectations too low, an attitude I was really impressed with. But then his tactics completely betrayed this idea as he sent teams out as if they weren't capable of competing on their own merits. Getting to 40 points proved a huge struggle. This season we've played as if we think we're good enough to match or better teams by just doing our thing. 40 points is imminent.
Izzy Posted 10 December 2015 Posted 10 December 2015 Propaganda theory dictates that if you tell someone a lie enough times they will eventually believe it to be the truth. This isn't exactly the same as it's not really a lie that we can't win the league (although, I suppose given that we can still mathematically win the league saying that we can't actually is a lie) but if they don't believe its possible then it almost certainly won't happen. Reading this bit made my head hurt. But the rest of it was good
Strokes Posted 10 December 2015 Posted 10 December 2015 Anyone else getting a bit sick of hearing this? Yes nobody expects the title, or even the top 4, and it's good to try and keep everyone's feet on the ground and stay pragmatic, but I think we are going into overkill on this now. Mahrez is the latest culprit. Even if they secretly think very different things, which I sincerely hope they do, I don't think its a good idea to continually trot out this 'party line' that we only care about getting to 40 points. Propaganda theory dictates that if you tell someone a lie enough times they will eventually believe it to be the truth. This isn't exactly the same as it's not really a lie that we can't win the league (although, I suppose given that we can still mathematically win the league saying that we can't actually is a lie) but if they don't believe its possible then it almost certainly won't happen. We have had an incredible season so far, we are on 32 points after just 15 games. We have 23 games to get to 40 points. I think we have to stop with the suggestion that if we got 8 or 9 points from the rest of the season then we would still end up considering the season to be 'Mission Accomplished'. Now that really would be a lie - perhaps they are trying to force us to believe it? Obviously the main concern with staying in this mindset is what will happen after we have reached 40 points (I imagine this will be in either the Bournemouth, Spurs or Stoke games in January - pessimist I know ). If the players all think that is all we set out to achieve all season, what will happen? The likelihood is our performance levels will fall off a cliff, and that will put paid to any possibility of qualifying for Europe. Alternatively, you might say if they believed they were title contenders now, they will swagger into fixtures such as Bournemouth at home and levels will drop off anyway. Clearly balance or modesty is the best tactic, but how is this best played out in post- and pre-match pressers? I would have liked to have seen the 40 points rhetoric become top-half rhetoric after one of our last few fixtures. There should be hoops to jump through and ambition until the last kick of the last game. Let's set the bar a little bit higher. If this is merely the 'party line' being toed, what do we think they think secretly? Can all we do is hope nothing changes after 40? With any luck they won't be able to say it in three games time.
ealingfox Posted 10 December 2015 Author Posted 10 December 2015 I hope Mahrez thinks we're better than that, or soon he'll think he's better off somewhere else. This is another very real danger of keeping a small-time mentality for too long.
richardsfoxes Posted 10 December 2015 Posted 10 December 2015 Each game at a time, we haven't secured our place for next season yet, after that we can start talking about other goals.
nnfox Posted 10 December 2015 Posted 10 December 2015 Keep it simple and achievable. If (OK, when) we get to 40, the next target should be 50, then 60 and so on.
EGBFitness Posted 10 December 2015 Posted 10 December 2015 I think CR summed it up well the other day, 40 points is the goal at the moment but not his ambition! It's clearly obvious now that our goal isn't just 40 points, what you think our agenda was, smash that target by Christmas and then have the rest of the season to piss around? behind the scenes there will be a very high standard they want us to achieve but why make everything so public? Before the season the media loved putting us a relegation favourites, so I think saying we are only working for those 40 points is like a constant reminder of how wrong they were. I can imagine us playing on it all season that we will the be do using on just achieving 45 points, 50 points and so on. From an outside perception it keeps the club grounded and doesn't allow the media to play off on our top 4 challenge. If we hit a rough patch they would love to slate us but we still have the advantage to say we're still on track for 40 points.
Thracian Posted 10 December 2015 Posted 10 December 2015 nyone else getting a bit sick of hearing this? Yes nobody expects the title, or even the top 4, and it's good to try and keep everyone's feet on the ground and stay pragmatic, but I think we are going into overkill on this now. Mahrez is the latest culprit. Even if they secretly think very different things, which I sincerely hope they do, I don't think its a good idea to continually trot out this 'party line' that we only care about getting to 40 points. Propaganda theory dictates that if you tell someone a lie enough times they will eventually believe it to be the truth. This isn't exactly the same as it's not really a lie that we can't win the league (although, I suppose given that we can still mathematically win the league saying that we can't actually is a lie) but if they don't believe its possible then it almost certainly won't happen. We have had an incredible season so far, we are on 32 points after just 15 games. We have 23 games to get to 40 points. I think we have to stop with the suggestion that if we got 8 or 9 points from the rest of the season then we would still end up considering the season to be 'Mission Accomplished'. Now that really would be a lie - perhaps they are trying to force us to believe it? Obviously the main concern with staying in this mindset is what will happen after we have reached 40 points (I imagine this will be in either the Bournemouth, Spurs or Stoke games in January - pessimist I know ). If the players all think that is all we set out to achieve all season, what will happen? The likelihood is our performance levels will fall off a cliff, and that will put paid to any possibility of qualifying for Europe. Alternatively, you might say if they believed they were title contenders now, they will swagger into fixtures such as Bournemouth at home and levels will drop off anyway. Clearly balance or modesty is the best tactic, but how is this best played out in post- and pre-match pressers? I would have liked to have seen the 40 points rhetoric become top-half rhetoric after one of our last few fixtures. There should be hoops to jump through and ambition until the last kick of the last game. Let's set the bar a little bit higher. If this is merely the 'party line' being toed, what do we think they think secretly? Can all we do is hope nothing changes after 40? Have you ever been a serious sportsman? The players are adults not kids. What's more they're demonstrably winners. When they won promotion from the Championship, if it had been a motor race, they'd have lapped everyone on the track. They'll be pleased with the 40-points focus because it will have kept the pressure off and will represent their first major success of this season...remaining in the Premiership. Then the focus will be on points and more points towards the new main target of finishing as high as possible. And these guys will be playing for everything. The title. A place in Europe. A bumper new contract. A place in the record books. A book of their own. New challenges and new adventures. Having they convinced you yet. This team only ever wants to win. They don't go out to draw games but to win them and no matter who the opposition. We're the only team who's scored in every single game. We scored for fun last time out against Swansea. We won't even think about any other approach. It just won't happen.
Len Finsbury Posted 10 December 2015 Posted 10 December 2015 You shouldn't alter your target until you at least reach the current one, regardless of how clear it may seem that you'll achieve it.
yorkie1999 Posted 10 December 2015 Posted 10 December 2015 The team etc, are saying it to piss everyone else in the league off, we're at the top of the league and it's kinda like saying " imagine how good we'd be if we we're going for it" even if they are only joking.
crisp packet Posted 10 December 2015 Posted 10 December 2015 You shouldn't alter your target until you at least reach the current one, regardless of how clear it may seem that you'll achieve it.Amen
Bluetintedspecs Posted 10 December 2015 Posted 10 December 2015 With the season going like this how on earth can you be sick of it Ealing? It makes complete sense, keeps players grounded and provides the initial focus! I personally feel moaning about this is quite incredulous in truth. Very shrewd management and patently working.
crisp packet Posted 10 December 2015 Posted 10 December 2015 Every year around xmas the "surprise team " starts spouting about Europe and ultimately ends up mid table. I am liking our stance...The sooner we get to 40 the better for us all. Then dare we dream ?
pSinatra Posted 10 December 2015 Posted 10 December 2015 First it will be "get to 40 pts" Then it will be "improve on last season" Don't know what they'll be saying come January 1st
MPH Posted 10 December 2015 Posted 10 December 2015 Anyone else getting a bit sick of hearing this? Yes nobody expects the title, or even the top 4, and it's good to try and keep everyone's feet on the ground and stay pragmatic, but I think we are going into overkill on this now. Mahrez is the latest culprit. Even if they secretly think very different things, which I sincerely hope they do, I don't think its a good idea to continually trot out this 'party line' that we only care about getting to 40 points. Propaganda theory dictates that if you tell someone a lie enough times they will eventually believe it to be the truth. This isn't exactly the same as it's not really a lie that we can't win the league (although, I suppose given that we can still mathematically win the league saying that we can't actually is a lie) but if they don't believe its possible then it almost certainly won't happen. We have had an incredible season so far, we are on 32 points after just 15 games. We have 23 games to get to 40 points. I think we have to stop with the suggestion that if we got 8 or 9 points from the rest of the season then we would still end up considering the season to be 'Mission Accomplished'. Now that really would be a lie - perhaps they are trying to force us to believe it? Obviously the main concern with staying in this mindset is what will happen after we have reached 40 points (I imagine this will be in either the Bournemouth, Spurs or Stoke games in January - pessimist I know ). If the players all think that is all we set out to achieve all season, what will happen? The likelihood is our performance levels will fall off a cliff, and that will put paid to any possibility of qualifying for Europe. Alternatively, you might say if they believed they were title contenders now, they will swagger into fixtures such as Bournemouth at home and levels will drop off anyway. Clearly balance or modesty is the best tactic, but how is this best played out in post- and pre-match pressers? I would have liked to have seen the 40 points rhetoric become top-half rhetoric after one of our last few fixtures. There should be hoops to jump through and ambition until the last kick of the last game. Let's set the bar a little bit higher. If this is merely the 'party line' being toed, what do we think they think secretly? Can all we do is hope nothing changes after 40? Think we would look like complete fools if we started saying after 15 games " yeah we are gonna win the league!"
Max Power Posted 10 December 2015 Posted 10 December 2015 I think Claudio clarified it in one post match interview or presser. He said 40 points is the GOAL. His ambition is greater, but the first step is always 40 points. Then we'll see how where we stand.
EnglishOxide Posted 10 December 2015 Posted 10 December 2015 There is a difference between saying and believing. Nobody can accuse this team of lacking confidence in themselves and their ability, of course behind closed doors they will be thinking about re-adjusting their targets. But if Ranieri is still trotting out the 40pt line then everybody else must too. Nobody wants to be seen as getting arrogant or overconfident in public, especially as other teams will use that as motivation against you.
The Blur Posted 10 December 2015 Posted 10 December 2015 I agree with Ealingfox, it is important not to get ahead of ourselves but Ranieri need to be able to manage the mentality of the squad well to keep them ambitious. Constant bleating of 40 points and not winning the title will reduce expectations but at same time feed the defeatist thinking. If I was Ranieri then I would set 40 points as a goal (Ranieri has done this anyway) but set the focus on maintaining our high level performances, winning matches in fine style, playing up to the media and most of all, enjoy ourselves and the ride to keep the positive vibe going. Hopefully, we will be able to keep riding on positive waves to bolster self belief then the sky is the limit after that. Our team spirit, enthusiasm for the season and enjoying matches are the key- just look at Vardy, he does not appear anxious or pressuried by the record, he just enjoys playing and taking matches one at the time. Our team spirit alone is almost enough to win us games in some matches.
st albans fox Posted 10 December 2015 Posted 10 December 2015 Dont kid yourselves. The players realise (and so do the manager and board) that they have a huge opportunity to make the CL. for a lot of these players, this would be the only chance in their careers to pit themselves against some of the best in the world. Expectations are being managed to try and keep the pressure off. if we keep this up then it will become unavoidable and then the players will have to draw on their experience only two seasons ago of dealing with the pressure. that will help too. anything is possible from where we are. that includes a drift down to mid table obscurity.
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