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What if we got promoted in 1996-97 when we should have gone up? We'd have had a young Wright, Vaughan, Scowcoft, Dyer, Tarricco and Petta in the Premier League. We could have potentially still signed Venus and Holland who'd have been great signings anyway and we would have likely nabbed Kevin Phillips too.
I'd bet on us having stayed up and the whole history of the club would have been very different. Just getting those extra years in the top flight out of Wright, Holland and Scowcroft would have made such a difference.
I don't think we were really challenging for automatic promotion that year were we? We were still far from the finished article as a side at that point. Going up in 98/99 maybe, as we deserved to that season really and we'd have kept Dyer at a time where he was already good enough to play for England. We wouldn't have had Stewart though, or McGreal, or a couple of others that ended up being key players.
Alternate Town History on 17:17 - Feb 12 by Herbivore
I don't think we were really challenging for automatic promotion that year were we? We were still far from the finished article as a side at that point. Going up in 98/99 maybe, as we deserved to that season really and we'd have kept Dyer at a time where he was already good enough to play for England. We wouldn't have had Stewart though, or McGreal, or a couple of others that ended up being key players.
Well, quite. There's no way the 96/97 side would have stayed up, although the whole subsequent history of the club might have been better without the highs and lows of 2000-05.
It wasn't that good a side in 96/97, Scowy had yet to really establish himself, Dyer didn't play until the following season and we had Chris Swailes and Tony Vaughan in defence. Burley's really good spell begun in Autumn 1997, pretty much with the signing of David Johnson.
afaicr the TWTD mood at the time was we were better off staying in the Championship winning games as it was more entertaining to watch, than being hammered in the Premiership again like in 94/95.
in fact even in 2000, the expectation was a single season of losing most games. so no I dont think the alternate history plays out like that.
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Alternate Town History on 17:30 - Feb 12 with 1778 views
Can't imagine it would've been much of a better platform than 2001 really? I think the bigger question is what happens if we manage to spend at least one season in the Premier League after the more significant parachute payments kick in.
Alternate Town History on 17:24 - Feb 12 by Steve_M
Well, quite. There's no way the 96/97 side would have stayed up, although the whole subsequent history of the club might have been better without the highs and lows of 2000-05.
It wasn't that good a side in 96/97, Scowy had yet to really establish himself, Dyer didn't play until the following season and we had Chris Swailes and Tony Vaughan in defence. Burley's really good spell begun in Autumn 1997, pretty much with the signing of David Johnson.
I'd forgotten we didn't have Jonno at that point. So yeah, the majority of the side that got us to the Prem and kept us there wasn't in place. And we finished that season with fewer points than Mick's side in 2014/15 for context, so not sure I buy the premise that we should have gone up let alone that going up then would have been better for us.
We stay up in 2002 (which we should've done after our good run during the Autumn). We miss ITV digital collapsing, we don't go into administration, we don't fire sale most of the great Burley team and even if we go down in 2003, we get better parachute payments.
Alternate Town History on 17:52 - Feb 12 by jayessess
Alternate town history:
We stay up in 2002 (which we should've done after our good run during the Autumn). We miss ITV digital collapsing, we don't go into administration, we don't fire sale most of the great Burley team and even if we go down in 2003, we get better parachute payments.
That would have been a better scenario as would, I think, going up in 2004/5 because that team would not have needed too much doing to it to survive and maybe prosper.
Alternate Town History on 17:24 - Feb 12 by Steve_M
Well, quite. There's no way the 96/97 side would have stayed up, although the whole subsequent history of the club might have been better without the highs and lows of 2000-05.
It wasn't that good a side in 96/97, Scowy had yet to really establish himself, Dyer didn't play until the following season and we had Chris Swailes and Tony Vaughan in defence. Burley's really good spell begun in Autumn 1997, pretty much with the signing of David Johnson.
'BORN IS THE KING OF PORTMAN ROAD'
[Post edited 12 Feb 2021 17:58]
# WE ARE STEALING THE FUTURE FROM OUR CHILDREN --- WE MUST CHANGE COURSE #
Alternate Town History on 17:52 - Feb 12 by jayessess
Alternate town history:
We stay up in 2002 (which we should've done after our good run during the Autumn). We miss ITV digital collapsing, we don't go into administration, we don't fire sale most of the great Burley team and even if we go down in 2003, we get better parachute payments.
2009. In the wake of the home win over Norwich City, Marcus Evans keeps the faith with Jim Magilton, in the face of fan and local media pressure and even grants him further transfer funds, allowing him to secure a season-long loan for Giovani Dos Santos, who forms an instant partnership with Jon Walters, allowing them to fire Town to promotion.
Norwich City, on sacking Bryan Gunn decide to appoint Roy Keane as their manager, Delia says 'Roy will take us back to the glory days of Munich'. Norwich miss out on promotion back to the Championship via the playoffs and languish in the lower leagues for several years whilst Town become a semi-regular Premier League fixture.
I'm one of the people who was blamed for getting Paul Cook sacked. PM for the full post.
Alternate Town History on 17:59 - Feb 12 by BlueBadger
2009. In the wake of the home win over Norwich City, Marcus Evans keeps the faith with Jim Magilton, in the face of fan and local media pressure and even grants him further transfer funds, allowing him to secure a season-long loan for Giovani Dos Santos, who forms an instant partnership with Jon Walters, allowing them to fire Town to promotion.
Norwich City, on sacking Bryan Gunn decide to appoint Roy Keane as their manager, Delia says 'Roy will take us back to the glory days of Munich'. Norwich miss out on promotion back to the Championship via the playoffs and languish in the lower leagues for several years whilst Town become a semi-regular Premier League fixture.
Town are sitting in the driving seat at Christmas, but the squad is thread bare from injury and a jammed fixture list. We have a BBC televised game vs Soton where Alan Shearer almost seems disgusted by how we play.
Marcus Evans digs deep to get the Manager some money in the January window to help keep us up the top of the table.
We go up, ME recuperates some of his money, and we get w*nkered in the PL.
Alternate Town History on 17:59 - Feb 12 by BlueBadger
2009. In the wake of the home win over Norwich City, Marcus Evans keeps the faith with Jim Magilton, in the face of fan and local media pressure and even grants him further transfer funds, allowing him to secure a season-long loan for Giovani Dos Santos, who forms an instant partnership with Jon Walters, allowing them to fire Town to promotion.
Norwich City, on sacking Bryan Gunn decide to appoint Roy Keane as their manager, Delia says 'Roy will take us back to the glory days of Munich'. Norwich miss out on promotion back to the Championship via the playoffs and languish in the lower leagues for several years whilst Town become a semi-regular Premier League fixture.
That should read 'glory day', and that's being charitable.
# WE ARE STEALING THE FUTURE FROM OUR CHILDREN --- WE MUST CHANGE COURSE #
Alternate Town History on 17:59 - Feb 12 by BlueBadger
2009. In the wake of the home win over Norwich City, Marcus Evans keeps the faith with Jim Magilton, in the face of fan and local media pressure and even grants him further transfer funds, allowing him to secure a season-long loan for Giovani Dos Santos, who forms an instant partnership with Jon Walters, allowing them to fire Town to promotion.
Norwich City, on sacking Bryan Gunn decide to appoint Roy Keane as their manager, Delia says 'Roy will take us back to the glory days of Munich'. Norwich miss out on promotion back to the Championship via the playoffs and languish in the lower leagues for several years whilst Town become a semi-regular Premier League fixture.
On the subject of Gunn getting sacked. I have been thinking recently that as funny as it was at the time, if Norwich hadn't have lost 7-1 at home to Colchester maybe Lambert wouldn't have been appointed there and built his reputation based on sucessive promotions. A competent manager would have either kept us in the Championship or gained promtion last season.
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Alternate Town History on 18:30 - Feb 12 with 1658 views
Alternate Town History on 18:20 - Feb 12 by EastTownBlue
On the subject of Gunn getting sacked. I have been thinking recently that as funny as it was at the time, if Norwich hadn't have lost 7-1 at home to Colchester maybe Lambert wouldn't have been appointed there and built his reputation based on sucessive promotions. A competent manager would have either kept us in the Championship or gained promtion last season.
OR Lambert stayed at Colchester, took them to successive promotions,won the Premier League, lost to Borussia Dortmund in Champions League Final.
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Alternate Town History on 18:41 - Feb 12 with 1641 views
That would have been a better scenario as would, I think, going up in 2004/5 because that team would not have needed too much doing to it to survive and maybe prosper.
Just checked and we had an amazingly small squad that year. Just 21 players appeared in league matches, 8 of them virtually every present.
It was Davis; Wilnis, De Vos, Naylor + one of Diallo/Richards/Unsworth; Miller, Westlake, Magilton, Horlock (sometimes Currie); Bent, Kuqi pretty much every week!
Alternate Town History on 18:41 - Feb 12 by jayessess
Just checked and we had an amazingly small squad that year. Just 21 players appeared in league matches, 8 of them virtually every present.
It was Davis; Wilnis, De Vos, Naylor + one of Diallo/Richards/Unsworth; Miller, Westlake, Magilton, Horlock (sometimes Currie); Bent, Kuqi pretty much every week!
[Post edited 12 Feb 2021 20:25]
Shows that the squad size we've had recently is counter-productive. Too easy for players to not play their part and warm the bench, or get the 'ump at being left out of the 18. Next year we need to learn. Hopefully with Messrs Dyer and Butcher at the helm, with a decent CEO/DoF behind them.
What if we hadn't been thrashed 6-0 by Liverpool in 01/02? Or even if we had, what if we were playing the following midweek or weekend rather than having a three week gap between that game and Southampton? What if Sheepshanks had held firm with Burley rather than replace him with Royle? Or what if he had hired Mowbray instead? (As an aside I never realised Royle only had three full seasons with us - felt like more than that. And Jim only had two full seasons) What if Evans had been as firm against fan dissent over Jim as he is with Lambert? What if Evans had hired someone else but Keane as manager? Or Jewell, Mick, Hurst, Lambert... What if Hurst had had a firmer structure in place overseeing all decisions and offering him advice? What if Evans had given Lambert his P45 in January 2020 rather than a five year contract? Or what if he had simply withdrawn the contract offer?
Alternate Town History on 20:24 - Feb 12 by pointofblue
What if we hadn't been thrashed 6-0 by Liverpool in 01/02? Or even if we had, what if we were playing the following midweek or weekend rather than having a three week gap between that game and Southampton? What if Sheepshanks had held firm with Burley rather than replace him with Royle? Or what if he had hired Mowbray instead? (As an aside I never realised Royle only had three full seasons with us - felt like more than that. And Jim only had two full seasons) What if Evans had been as firm against fan dissent over Jim as he is with Lambert? What if Evans had hired someone else but Keane as manager? Or Jewell, Mick, Hurst, Lambert... What if Hurst had had a firmer structure in place overseeing all decisions and offering him advice? What if Evans had given Lambert his P45 in January 2020 rather than a five year contract? Or what if he had simply withdrawn the contract offer?
What if Frank O'Farrell had accepted the ITFC job in 1968/69?
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Alternate Town History on 20:34 - Feb 12 with 1481 views
What if Frank O'Farrell had accepted the ITFC job in 1968/69?
What if Scott Duncan had declined in 1937?
According to wiki (I know) we didn't have a manager between August and November 1937 yet we had a winning percentage of 63.6%. That can't be right, surely? If it is, maybe Evans should try that again.
Alternate Town History on 20:34 - Feb 12 by pointofblue
What if Scott Duncan had declined in 1937?
According to wiki (I know) we didn't have a manager between August and November 1937 yet we had a winning percentage of 63.6%. That can't be right, surely? If it is, maybe Evans should try that again.
Just checked in The Men Who Made The Town because I am not THAT old.
Mick O'Brien left on August 11th and Scott Duncan appointed on 10th November and started on 12th.
Looks like we went W7 D1 L2 so 70% win percentage in league games.
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Alternate Town History on 11:58 - Feb 18 with 1235 views
Alternate Town History on 17:35 - Feb 12 by Herbivore
I'd forgotten we didn't have Jonno at that point. So yeah, the majority of the side that got us to the Prem and kept us there wasn't in place. And we finished that season with fewer points than Mick's side in 2014/15 for context, so not sure I buy the premise that we should have gone up let alone that going up then would have been better for us.
Johnno wasn't as good as Kevin Phillips would have been. Johnno really struggled in the Premiership.
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