Five games gone, and with the international break upon us, it seems a good time to take stock of what's gone on in this season to date.

League Position
After the euphoria of last season, some of our fans got carried away and expected us to take the division by storm. Looking at our first five fixtures, I estimated we would get 4 points (I expected a win at Birmingham and draw at Wigan) so although I got the games wrong, we are where I thought we would be. At the start of the season most people expected Tottenham to be the side most likely to break up the so called "big 4", and therefore with them, Man Utd and Liverpool our opponents within the first 5 games, it was always going to be a tough start. I know Tottenham and Man U have not picked up the points they may have expected, but from our point of view those games are now out of the way and we now have to move on, starting with Reading next weekend.

Performances
Apart from the Luton disaster, the worst performance was Wigan by a long way. Liverpool outclassed us, and we performed OK in the other three games. We could have sneaked a point at Old Trafford, but a lapse of concentration cosy us dearly. However, we never threatened their goal, and the result was perhaps just about right at the end. New players are being bedded in, but with no mid week games until Christmas due to our League Cup exit, Roy will have plenty of time to work with the players during the week to get things right. We may see a more stable team due to this. I suspect his first choice midfield line up would be Edwards, Whitehead, Leadbitter and Richardson but injuries to all four have made this impossible.

Transfers
It is always difficult to comment on players after such a short time, but it is fair to say that Gordon and McShane have impressed, as to a slightly lesser degree has Chopra, who does have an unbelievable work rate. Higginbotham had a good debut, while Jones was always going to struggle on his own at OT, but did OK. We need to see more of Richardson before making our minds up. Etuhu looks strong, while Anderson hasn't really featured, and to date we have seen nothing of Cole or Harte. With less games to play in this league, and again due to our League Cup exit, it seems likely that players will move out on loan to the Championship or lower over the next few weeks as their "loan transfer window" has not yet closed. This will enable them to get first team football, and perhaps return in January to bolster the squad.

Attracting players
A lot has been made of this, especially in light of Roy's WAGS comments. Personally, I don't think this helped as it appeared to make the City a bit of a laughing stock. Having said that, there have been comments about both Newcastle and Middlesbrough getting players to move up here, while we did not necessarily get the players we wanted. If we look at this objectively,though, there is good reason.

I don't always take notice of Graeme Souness, but when he was Blackburn manager, he said you needed 5 consecutive seasons in the top flight before you could call yourselves established. This is something that has stuck in my mind as for once I think he is right.

Newcastle are starting their 15th consecutive season in the top flight and I would guess have been in Europe for about 9 or 10 of these seasons. They are well known to pay high transfer fees and decent wages to attract players. Say what you like about Freddie Shepherd, he always put his money where his mouth was and backed his managers. During Newcastle's 15 years, we have been promoted 4 times and relegated 3, the last two of which are still embarrassingly fresh in our memories.

Middlesbrough are starting their 10th consecutive season in the top flight. We have been promoted 3 times and relegated twice in this period. They have won the League Cup, played in Europe and reached the final of the UEFA Cup. They also paid big money to players, especially in the 90's. Say what you like about them, but I don't think Southgate had to lie (Sobs in the Wigan report) to Mido to get him to go 30 miles down the road. Let no one deride the League Cup either as four of the last five winners have been from the "top four" and clubs from this quartet have been beaten finalists three times in the last five years.

In addition, players in the North West can have the choice of moving to six or seven other premier clubs, without family upheaval etc.Man U/Man C/Liverpool/Everton/Blackburn/Bolton/Wigan are all close enough to each other. Similarly in the South East you have Tottenham/Arsenal/West Ham/Fulham/Chelsea/Reading and even Portsmouth in close proximity. There is no doubt we are geographically disadvantaged to an extent.

Yes, we are steeped in history, but that's what it is,simply history. How many people that turn up for the Reading game will be able to remember our Championship win in 1936 - very few I suspect. You also have to be the wrong side of 40 to have any recollection of 1973. It is now that players are interested in and we need to prove we are a team of the present and not just the past.

Finance
This has been covered by many people before, but there is no doubt that the new TV deal and other takeovers simply worked against us. Clubs that may not have had any financial muscle, eg Everton, Man City  & Villa have been able to pursue players they wouldn't have been able to touch previously. It's a shame the takeover didn't take place two years earlier.

Supporters
I may have missed it, but I haven't see any official statement form the club about the number of season ticket sales. My guess would be we are under 30,000, which means when you take the away allocation into account we will have over 15,000 tickets to sell on a match day basis. We were unable to do this for both Tottenham and Liverpool which was a disappointment. I know the games were on TV, had early kick offs and were in the middle of the summer season but I would have expected full houses. The next three home games are against less attractive opposition in Reading, Blackburn and Fulham whose away support is likely to be measured in the hundreds rather than thousands. The last thing we need is only 35-36,000 turning up for these matches. If we want to be treat seriously we need 40,000 at each game. At only £20 a time, surely it's not too expensive for people. There is nothing better than a full SOL, but sadly rows of empty red seats does nothing for the ground either.

Conclusion
I am more than sure we have enough to keep clear of the bottom three. I am not sure though that the top half of the table is achievable. However, with both Roy and Niall committed to the club I am pretty confident that if we get to January in a decent position, we will be able to attract more of the players that we initially thought would come at the end of last season and confidently build for the future. It won't be a short term fix, but long term I am happy we will be able to compete with the best. It will take time though, and supporters will have to be patient and continue to back the club.

David Cruise
Low Fell