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As much as I'm prepared to put today's performance down to a bad day at the office, I think we need to get away from the "where we were a couple of seasons ago mantra".
Only 3 of today's starters made the trips to the likes of Accrington, Morecambe, Fleetwood, Forest Green etc.
Would be applicable if we were still playing that squad bur we've spent over 100 mill to keep us up.
KM talks of not winning every week. No one expects that. But A win would be nice and you'd expect the owners will be asking when does 100 mill get you a win..
To be honest considering where we were a couple of seasons ago on 08:38 - Oct 6 by textbackup
Getting bored of seeing the ‘yeah but look where we were’ posts
The past provides context for where we are, what we are trying to do and who we have trying to do it, so it is a factor whether we like it or not. But it should not be an excuse.
The team of the last two seasons was better than the sum of its parts which is why we are in the PL to all intents and purposes, KM has made the choice to largely change that team as he clearly thought it stood no chance. Looking at what I’ve seen (home games and three tv of the away games) he was probably right. The gap is ridiculous, even to an average team like WHU.
So it was a bit ‘stick or twist’. Bring in a load of what you think are better players, some with potential sell on value and risk destabilising the original group, or do a Norwich and accept hammerings every week trousering the cash.
The club has chosen to try and spent an awful lot doing it. Is the team better for that? Hard to compare but we have what looks to me to be a collection of individuals who don’t quite know where they or their teammates are meant to be (e.g. Hutchinson).
In his first half season, KMs team defended but couldn’t score. That changed as the team evolved but took months to do so, even with better players than the other L1 teams. My worry is that we don’t have months for this team to come together and we are in a world where most teams have better players than us.
After a good hiding like that we need another game, not a two week break. But it is what it is. We have who we have and we are where we are. He’ll have learned more from yesterday’s debacle about his players than the rest of the games put together. McKenna and his players need space, air, trust, some support, patience from all to work this team up.
So yes, I’m concerned, but back to perspective, it’s important but doesn’t define what happens from now. Now is an old bloke shouting his head off in support in two weeks time against Everton.
For the ultimate perspective and as an aside, my neighbour a few doors down is a West Ham season ticket holder. He’s ok but normally I’d be dreading hearing his usual honest post game assessment. But two days ago he brought home his terminally ill wife to die, so I doubt football will be first on the conversation list - but as a distraction it might. His choice.
On Thursday I took Mrs C for her first post-cancer check up with her Consultant in Maidstone. All went well. So with those events did yesterday’s game matter? Real life events say no, but the agony of investing in sport, the competitiveness in me say yes. So I swore a lot figuratively did Palin’s Barnstoneworth Ripping Yarns and was annoyed as ever after disappointment. On to the next game.
Kiplings ‘If’, meeting triumph and disaster etc? Load of cobblers and I hate poetry anyway. Especially when there’s the clock to throw out of the window!
Over long rant over
[Post edited 6 Oct 2024 9:48]
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To be honest considering where we were a couple of seasons ago on 09:49 - Oct 6 with 1140 views
To be honest considering where we were a couple of seasons ago on 17:27 - Oct 5 by GlasgowBlue
As much as I'm prepared to put today's performance down to a bad day at the office, I think we need to get away from the "where we were a couple of seasons ago mantra".
Only 3 of today's starters made the trips to the likes of Accrington, Morecambe, Fleetwood, Forest Green etc.
I think we're better off looking in the present tense if we're talking about a gulf in class. How many of our starting 11 would start for them?
Delap, at a push?
The answer is probably zero.
[Post edited 6 Oct 2024 9:50]
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To be honest considering where we were a couple of seasons ago on 14:02 - Oct 6 with 995 views
To be honest considering where we were a couple of seasons ago on 14:02 - Oct 6 by Blue_In_Boston
That's a damning verdict on the way we have spent £100+ million.
I don't think it is. It's realistic. West Ham are an established PL side. They won Europa Conference last summer. They've got a huge stadium which they got on the cheap and they fill it with tourists every other weekend. Of course they have a better squad than ours.
It goes back to the topic of the OP about the context of this journey and our expectations as fans. We have been promoted with a Championship squad which (due to phenomenal coaching) punched above its weight. While they might have been on a poor run* the relative quality all over the pitch is much higher than anything we can put out.
What we're seeing now is that if you're not 100% at your game, opposition players have the individual quality to punish you. While disappointing, I don't think we should be surprised if decent teams slap us if we're not at it.
*They've lost badly to Chelsea, Liverpool and Man City. Their form has been substantially overplayed IMO.
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