| I know I'm in a minority..... 10:54 - Oct 4 with 8192 views | blueysbackside |
....but the season for me started when Morsy and Celina were fit - and Cook was able to field what is arguably his strongest XI. What took place last season and early this season is an irrelevance to me - and I've posted before the reasons why. What he needs now is until Xmas to get this lot into a well-oiled winning machine. If we're still where we are now, I'll admit defeat. Until, then, however, he's still the man for me. |  | | |  |
| I know I'm in a minority..... on 18:35 - Oct 4 with 573 views | jayessess |
| I know I'm in a minority..... on 18:22 - Oct 4 by Darth_Koont |
Yeah, maybe.
I just think there are degrees. If we were the best team in the league for the second half of the season, charged into the playoffs and into the final but then we’re cruelly beaten, would we sack Cook? I can’t see it myself, nor why we would justify it.
I think a failure to improve/build the team will be the key criteria, which of course could mean a change much earlier rather than waiting for the end of the season and confirmation we’ve missed our league target. |
The"improve/build" the team is a bit of a tricky concept in this context, I think? Since we've retained virtually no-one from last season, there isn't really a baseline to measure against and not really much credit to be doled out.
In ordinary circumstances you could point to the coaching improving specific players or tactics that worked better with time. With a limited budget you could probably also give the manager a bit of credit for spending it judiciously or unearthing a hidden gem.
But if Edmundson is an upgrade on Chambers and Wilson, do you give out credit for that? if Morsy is a dominant midfielder or Celina ends up with 15 assists and 10 goals, you're just... getting what you paid for surely. |  |
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| I know I'm in a minority..... on 18:37 - Oct 4 with 577 views | itfcjoe |
| I know I'm in a minority..... on 16:58 - Oct 4 by Mullet |
Genuinely baffled anyone thinks like this at all. I can't tell if it's some sort of coping mechanism or just not paying attention.
Anything but top 2 is a failure. We didn't spend all this money and overhaul the squad to this extent to be where we are. The owners aren't here to keep us afloat they want Prem football as soon as they can. |
It’s just constant moving of the goalposts to find a way to accept mediocrity, except this time it isn’t even mediocrity.
Lambert had checked out of this job, whilst Evans cut back everywhere he could and finished 11th and left us in 7th - now some fans seem to have set those finishes up as some sort of high watermark of what can be achieved.
The fact we are nearly out of automatic contention and it’s early October will mean that Cook’s job is in severe danger, whether others want to believe that or not. If we don’t put a good run together from Saturday he won’t make November [Post edited 4 Oct 2021 18:40]
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| I know I'm in a minority..... on 19:17 - Oct 4 with 520 views | SomethingBlue |
| I know I'm in a minority..... on 16:10 - Oct 4 by Darth_Koont |
General question.
As the thread has descended into assertions that it was all about promotion this season, I can’t remember exactly who but didn’t someone high up in the organisation say that it wasn’t sh/t or bust this season? And despite the goal of promotion they were prepared for another season in League One if that happened?
Also: if the overall goal is getting and staying in the Premier League then there’s realistically a 4-5 year window for that. Is there a difference between fluking our way up but then struggling in the Championship and going up as one of the automatics next year and able to hit the ground running? In reality, there isn’t a big difference.
I think the key for the short-term and long-term goals is to see a team consistently getting stronger and pushing higher so that it’s well-positioned to get to the Prem and possibly stay there. Clearly that improvement has definitely flickered but not been convincing enough yet but if they see that under Cook (and sooner rather than later obviously) then they’ll stick with him. |
Thing is that if we don't go up this year then we're losing a swathe of the squad: Celina, Bonne and the other loanees; Carroll and probably most of the other out-of-contract players, then perhaps a couple of the lads it hasn't quite worked out for (Chaplin? Harper? Those aren't predictions, just potential examples), then inevitably someone we don't really want to sell for whom an offer comes in. That's another rebuild of 8-10 players, it might not be 19 but not sure that can be spun as iterative progress.
For this squad it's all about this year in L1 and then beyond in the Champ, that's what it has been designed for and it won't stay together under any other circumstances.
It's different if we get to the Championship. It'll be vital to stay up but a steadier, sustainable progression while establishing ourselves at that level would be acceptable to just about everyone. Stay up in year 1, dig into mid-table year 2, can we nibble around play-offs in year 3 ... just as a fag-packet schedule.
This year, though, it just has to happen: that's the position we have put ourselves in with the way we've recruited, asking Championship-level players to take a holiday in L1 and taking a couple of insane-quality loanees. We can still achieve it under Cook but need to start coming on strong very quickly. | |
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| I know I'm in a minority..... on 20:20 - Oct 4 with 457 views | reusersfreekicks |
| I know I'm in a minority..... on 16:35 - Oct 4 by PhilTWTD |
Not getting promoted this season will be a big disappointment and a signficant failure given the resources and level of recruitment. The target has always been the top two this season. |
Discussion over - thanks Phil. |  | | |
| I know I'm in a minority..... on 20:21 - Oct 4 with 456 views | reusersfreekicks |
| I know I'm in a minority..... on 16:36 - Oct 4 by blueysbackside |
Phil….just for interest, have you got any direct quotes from the owners saying this? |
Just for not making me look ridiculous have you got any.... | | | |
| I know I'm in a minority..... on 20:23 - Oct 4 with 451 views | reusersfreekicks |
| I know I'm in a minority..... on 16:58 - Oct 4 by Mullet |
Genuinely baffled anyone thinks like this at all. I can't tell if it's some sort of coping mechanism or just not paying attention.
Anything but top 2 is a failure. We didn't spend all this money and overhaul the squad to this extent to be where we are. The owners aren't here to keep us afloat they want Prem football as soon as they can. |
Really is very simple isn't it | | | |
| I know I'm in a minority..... on 20:55 - Oct 4 with 418 views | blueysbackside |
| I know I'm in a minority..... on 20:21 - Oct 4 by reusersfreekicks |
Just for not making me look ridiculous have you got any.... |
Yawn. | | | |
| I know I'm in a minority..... on 21:29 - Oct 4 with 395 views | Burns7 |
The league starts in August though. |  | | |
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