| What’s been most surprising to you this season? 12:33 - Mar 17 with 11788 views | Illinoisblue |
On or off the pitch?
1. The fact that members of the press/media are counted in attendance figures. (This will never make any sense)
2. Finding out the head analyst at goalkeeper,com - who convinced us to buy Muric - has zero experience in professional football and only job since leaving university was at Tesco. This is all on LinkedIn if it sounds too far fetched to be true.
3. Just how much better the ground looks now. [Post edited 17 Mar 12:35]
|  |
| |  |
| What’s been most surprising to you this season? on 08:18 - Mar 19 with 1616 views | Bluespeed225 |
Those half time ‘Pitch Security’ blokes who stand on the corner of the box and behind the goal. wT actual F is that all about!! |  | | |
| What’s been most surprising to you this season? on 09:15 - Mar 19 with 1557 views | Trequartista |
| What’s been most surprising to you this season? on 09:16 - Mar 18 by artsbossbeard |
The squad being referred to as "The Group" by The Potter's & Rodger's of the footballing world. |
McKenna's been calling it the "The Group" since he arrived! |  |
| |
| What’s been most surprising to you this season? on 09:34 - Mar 19 with 1534 views | artsbossbeard |
| What’s been most surprising to you this season? on 09:15 - Mar 19 by Trequartista |
McKenna's been calling it the "The Group" since he arrived! |
I realised this after I posted it.
McKenna out! |  |
| Please note: prior to hitting the post button, I've double checked for anything that could be construed as "Anti Semitic" and to the best of my knowledge it isn't. Anything deemed to be of a Xenophobic nature is therefore purely accidental or down to your own misconstruing. | | Poll: | Raining in IP8 - shall I get the washing in? |
| |
| What’s been most surprising to you this season? on 18:43 - Mar 19 with 1397 views | brushhand |
| What’s been most surprising to you this season? on 13:21 - Mar 17 by stonojnr |
That's definitely a thing, must be all those protein drinks they're giving them ;)
What I've not got my head round yet is where these players come from in terms of you don't see them in lower leagues working their way up. They just appear in the Prem, and our experience with our players is theres more to playing at Prem level than just having the fitness, physicality, so how they do they learn those skills ? |
Ask Dan Burn at Newcastle, He won league One with Wigan.
We all have seen these lower league players make the transition to the prem. | | | |
| What’s been most surprising to you this season? on 19:56 - Mar 19 with 1364 views | Swansea_Blue |
| What’s been most surprising to you this season? on 18:43 - Mar 19 by brushhand |
Ask Dan Burn at Newcastle, He won league One with Wigan.
We all have seen these lower league players make the transition to the prem. |
We’ve had one or two through us who are still playing. Cresser and Tyrone immediately spring to mind. Both came through in lower leagues and have adapted. Loads probably struggle to make it though. |  |
| |
| What’s been most surprising to you this season? on 22:18 - Mar 19 with 1304 views | bournemouthblue |
| What’s been most surprising to you this season? on 12:43 - Mar 17 by Blueschev |
The huge step up in Physicality in the top division. Every team seems much bigger than us. Palace for example aren't very nice to watch, I certainly wouldn't want a season ticket, they're a team of giant athletes who are boringly effective. |
On that subject, someone was linking us with a 6 foot 7 midfielder from France
That feels like two windows too late but I wouldn't be surprised if signings this summer have a focus on athleticism, size, strength and power |  |
| |
| What’s been most surprising to you this season? on 23:31 - Mar 19 with 1257 views | The_Romford_Blue |
Oh please tell me that second point is true.
That’s magnificent.
In fact I’d say that sort of sentence deserves to belong in the banter era |  |
| |
| What’s been most surprising to you this season? on 07:24 - Mar 20 with 1152 views | chicoazul |
The way it’s driven some posters who I used to think were good posters utterly mad (not aimed at you bubala) |  |
| |
Login to get fewer ads
| What’s been most surprising to you this season? on 11:18 - Mar 20 with 1066 views | FifeITFC |
| What’s been most surprising to you this season? on 13:09 - Mar 17 by homer_123 |
Yup.
I can understand Journo's being included as they are there but including ST holders who haven't attended is the odd bit. |
But the attendance is, in essence, ticket sales. Whether they turn up or not, the seat has been "sold". |  |
| |
| What’s been most surprising to you this season? on 12:13 - Mar 20 with 1017 views | _clive_baker_ |
| What’s been most surprising to you this season? on 12:58 - Mar 17 by Churchman |
The gap between Premier League and Championship. You have to see it to believe it. |
Yep, that gap doesn’t really translate on TV so much. It’s the strength of depth within the league too, it’s not just a handful of top sides, the gap is huge throughout. If you took the equivalent championship side based on league position the gap doesn’t decrease. The Fulham, West Ham, Everton’s are at a completely different level to the likes of QPR, Preston, Millwall etc. As they should be with their budgets, but it’s so stark when you see it in the flesh. It’s the only league in the pyramid where it’s so vast because of the money involved. L1 sides can go up and mix it in the championship as us, Plymouth & Wednesday showed last season. Pompey & Oxford will probably stay up this yeah, maybe Derby as well. PL will be the 3 up straight down, as it was last season. That only gets harder with each season as those in there keep strengthening. Fast becoming a closed shop and very difficult to break into that group. |  | | |
| What’s been most surprising to you this season? on 17:35 - Mar 20 with 911 views | LA_Tractor_Boy |
| What’s been most surprising to you this season? on 12:13 - Mar 20 by _clive_baker_ |
Yep, that gap doesn’t really translate on TV so much. It’s the strength of depth within the league too, it’s not just a handful of top sides, the gap is huge throughout. If you took the equivalent championship side based on league position the gap doesn’t decrease. The Fulham, West Ham, Everton’s are at a completely different level to the likes of QPR, Preston, Millwall etc. As they should be with their budgets, but it’s so stark when you see it in the flesh. It’s the only league in the pyramid where it’s so vast because of the money involved. L1 sides can go up and mix it in the championship as us, Plymouth & Wednesday showed last season. Pompey & Oxford will probably stay up this yeah, maybe Derby as well. PL will be the 3 up straight down, as it was last season. That only gets harder with each season as those in there keep strengthening. Fast becoming a closed shop and very difficult to break into that group. |
I think it is possible though.
We weren't ready for the PL this season on or off the pitch, but sooner or later an established PL club will have a stinker of a summer transfer window &/or a load of injuries to key players. Hopefully that will coincide with our return to the PL and we can take advantage.
One thing is clear, if we can stay up in our first season next time, there is every chance we can progress like Forest, Brighton, Fulham, Bournemouth and Brentford etc. | | | |
| What’s been most surprising to you this season? on 10:25 - Mar 21 with 767 views | skinnybob72 |
The biggest thing for me is that in 29 games so far not once has the opposition been 'miles off it' - barely a single player for the opposition has had a game where they stuck out as 'having a mare'.
You do get that in the Championship, where a team simply have an off day but we've not seen anyone we've played doing so - even in the 3 games we have won. Spurs were all over us second half, Wolves battered us for a spell after drawing level and Chelsea certainly had chances. | | | |
| What’s been most surprising to you this season? on 15:00 - Mar 21 with 693 views | dowsie3 |
| What’s been most surprising to you this season? on 10:25 - Mar 21 by skinnybob72 |
The biggest thing for me is that in 29 games so far not once has the opposition been 'miles off it' - barely a single player for the opposition has had a game where they stuck out as 'having a mare'.
You do get that in the Championship, where a team simply have an off day but we've not seen anyone we've played doing so - even in the 3 games we have won. Spurs were all over us second half, Wolves battered us for a spell after drawing level and Chelsea certainly had chances. |
Prem teams are miles of it in some games for example Liverpool last week against Newcastle but if Liverpool had played like that against us Liverpool would still have beat us . Unfortunately the 3 promoted teams are not good enough for this level and so every time they play the opposition can have an off day and still win | | | |
| What’s been most surprising to you this season? on 18:41 - Mar 21 with 578 views | TheBoyBlue |
| What’s been most surprising to you this season? on 10:25 - Mar 21 by skinnybob72 |
The biggest thing for me is that in 29 games so far not once has the opposition been 'miles off it' - barely a single player for the opposition has had a game where they stuck out as 'having a mare'.
You do get that in the Championship, where a team simply have an off day but we've not seen anyone we've played doing so - even in the 3 games we have won. Spurs were all over us second half, Wolves battered us for a spell after drawing level and Chelsea certainly had chances. |
Yep. All except Southampton at home. They played in a way you'd expect a team well bottom and zero confidence to play. Misplaced passes, wide open at the back with very little threat up front. Which makes it all the more annoying that we contrived to lose it.
Otherwise though, you are spot on. Pretty much everyone else has been professional and there has been no point I have felt relaxed. Even the Chelsea game you wouldn't have put it past them getting a quick couple with the likes of Cole Palmer on the pitch. The levels of concentration needed have been immense and exhausting just to watch, so it's not surprising that we have slipped up in that area. [Post edited 21 Mar 18:42]
| |
| |
| |
By continuing to use the site, you agree to our use of cookies and to abide by our Terms and Conditions.
