cambridgeshire canary 6,513 Posted September 6, 2021 (edited) So, there I was watchig through some old highlights of Farkes first season with us as a little retrospective lookback. Reminding myself of that season. It's fair to say it was not quite the best season around, but it is a fun one to look back on. I'm sure we remember this season as being the one in which Burton Albion seemed to get spanked every match yet we ended up getting two 0-0 draws against them. We of course finished the season in 14th with 60 points, below Ipswich on goal difference as they finished 12th. This was a season in which Maddison very much kicked on, finishing the season as our top scorer with 14 goals. This was the season Farke had his hand at the transfers for the very first time as he had just signed on as our manager. Who did he bring in for us? Why, none other than Vranic, Zimmerman, Steipermann, Srbeny, hernandez, Mclean.. And I mean he did also bring in Husband, Raggett and Watkins too but still I mean you can't win them all. He also let Bassong go, contract termiated, and leaving with him were Bennett, Laffety, Whittaker, Jerome and Ruddy and various others all to try and free up the silly wages they were on as it's fair to say our club was rather suffering at the time with the money side of the club. But what was the first match of the season for us? Well, it was away to Fulham. We were trailing to an own goal early on and the match was looking a little bleak for us until near the end a beautiful chipped ball over the Fulham defenders from Hoolahan landed right at Oliverias feet an he blasted the ball into the net to resuce a point for us as the game ended 1-1. But what was the team Farke choice for his first ever competitive match with us? Well, here it is. How things change huh? Edited September 6, 2021 by cambridgeshire canary Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BobLoz3 486 Posted September 6, 2021 Oh yeah. Wildschutt as a full back. Pretty hilarious Also... Husband. Eek. Bless him. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nuff Said 4,938 Posted September 6, 2021 14 minutes ago, BobLoz3 said: Oh yeah. Wildschutt as a full back. Pretty hilarious Also... Husband. Eek. Bless him. TBF, with three at the back he was more of a wing-back. I have to admit I’d forgotten Farke had gone with three central defenders at the start. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pete 318 Posted September 6, 2021 And Grabban missing pen. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Alex Moss 2,165 Posted September 6, 2021 Swap out some of the bench for some of the starters and you’ve got a side there that could win the Championship! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Commonsense 597 Posted September 6, 2021 44 minutes ago, Alex Moss said: Swap out some of the bench for some of the starters and you’ve got a side there that could win the Championship! Have to be a few swaps. You wouldn’t want Husbands, Franke, Wild**** or Watkins anywhere near it!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cambridgeshire canary 6,513 Posted September 6, 2021 53 minutes ago, Commonsense said: Have to be a few swaps. You wouldn’t want Husbands, Franke, Wild**** or Watkins anywhere near it!! Hoolahan might be almost 40 but he's tearing it up in league one.. Dare I say he could still do the job in the Championship? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chelm Canary 402 Posted September 6, 2021 There are some below par players in that team. If I knew then what I know now I'd have a coronary seeing that lineup. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gordon Bennett 768 Posted September 6, 2021 2 hours ago, pete said: And Grabban missing pen. Different season. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Newtopia 513 Posted September 6, 2021 2 hours ago, Alex Moss said: Swap out some of the bench for some of the starters and you’ve got a side there that could win the Championship! Gunn pinto Zimmerman Godfrey Martin (I reckon he would be better than Husband at left back) tettey reid Murphy Maddison hoolhan Oliveria that would be a tough team to beat, 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Capt. Pants 4,090 Posted September 6, 2021 It was a pretty dire season though in some respects with only 49 goals scored compared to league winners Wolves who netted 82! Luckily it was bad enough to lead to some pretty inspired changes in time for 2018/19, and the rest is history. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hogesar 9,502 Posted September 6, 2021 2 minutes ago, Capt. Pants said: It was a pretty dire season though in some respects with only 49 goals scored compared to league winners Wolves who netted 82! Luckily it was bad enough to lead to some pretty inspired changes in time for 2018/19, and the rest is history. I think that's rewriting it a bit. I think you'll find Webber and Farke warned it was a transition season throughout, all part of a bigger plan. In fact I recall Webber coming out and telling fans if they didn't enjoy one of the later games that season they should go support someone else. I loved it but he took lots of flack on here for it. At the time we had really performed better at home in the second part of the season but a huge amount of fans were unwilling to acknowledge it and continued to scream "GEDDIT FORWOORRDDDSS". Thankfully Webber and Farke ignored the fan base, continued development of their playing style and at that point, the rest is history... 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cambridgeshire canary 6,513 Posted September 6, 2021 (edited) 18 minutes ago, Capt. Pants said: It was a pretty dire season though in some respects with only 49 goals scored compared to league winners Wolves who netted 82! Luckily it was bad enough to lead to some pretty inspired changes in time for 2018/19, and the rest is history. Well, the fact that we ended the season lower than Ipswich says all you need to know really Edited September 6, 2021 by cambridgeshire canary Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Capt. Pants 4,090 Posted September 6, 2021 4 minutes ago, cambridgeshire canary said: Well, the fact that we ended the season lower than Ipswich says all you need to know really Even then they couldn't beat us though 🤣 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cambridgeshire canary 6,513 Posted September 6, 2021 6 minutes ago, Capt. Pants said: Even then they couldn't beat us though 🤣 And that says it all.. Even with one of our weakest squads and seasons in years they still could not beat us. Been what, 20 years now since they did? Time flies by Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KeiranShikari 1,354 Posted September 6, 2021 Those were the days, back when we had 2 of the best young defensive midfielders in world football,.Harrison Reed and Ben Godfrey. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
king canary 7,455 Posted September 7, 2021 15 hours ago, hogesar said: I think that's rewriting it a bit. I think you'll find Webber and Farke warned it was a transition season throughout, all part of a bigger plan. In fact I recall Webber coming out and telling fans if they didn't enjoy one of the later games that season they should go support someone else. I loved it but he took lots of flack on here for it. At the time we had really performed better at home in the second part of the season but a huge amount of fans were unwilling to acknowledge it and continued to scream "GEDDIT FORWOORRDDDSS". Thankfully Webber and Farke ignored the fan base, continued development of their playing style and at that point, the rest is history... It was a very dull season to be fair- 49 goals in 36 games, only 5 teams scoring less than us, and a general obsession with stagnant, sideways passing with no cutting edge or ability to cut teams open. Sure, we built on it the season afterwards but I don't blame fans for being skeptical at that point. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cambridgeshire canary 6,513 Posted September 7, 2021 1 minute ago, king canary said: It was a very dull season to be fair- 49 goals in 36 games, only 5 teams scoring less than us, and a general obsession with stagnant, sideways passing with no cutting edge or ability to cut teams open. Sure, we built on it the season afterwards but I don't blame fans for being skeptical at that point. Our football was immense, world class at the time really. I don't get why people complained 😉 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AJ 1,218 Posted September 7, 2021 Wouldn't mind Reed back to be fair, looking forward to seeing what this Normann chap offers though. It is an amazing revolution though, to scraping the barrel for players like Husband, Franke and Watkins to signing first choice internationals like Dimi, Rashica and Tzolis for tens of millions! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hogesar 9,502 Posted September 7, 2021 2 hours ago, king canary said: It was a very dull season to be fair- 49 goals in 36 games, only 5 teams scoring less than us, and a general obsession with stagnant, sideways passing with no cutting edge or ability to cut teams open. Sure, we built on it the season afterwards but I don't blame fans for being skeptical at that point. I get that. But what I said was people refused to acknowledge the improvements in the second half of the season and continued to shout "GET IT FURRWAAOOORRDDDSS". People wanted Warnock and similar ilk as manager. What followed should have been a real indication for some that they should show a little patience and try to understand, identify and pay attention. For some on here that's never happened, unfortunately. In regards to the improvements not being acknowledged in the second half of the season you only have to see @cambridgeshire canary's silly post picking out a couple of poor results. We actually Millwall 2-1, beat Brentford Away, Boro at Home, beat Reading 3-2 at home, beat Villa 3-1 at home, beat Leeds 2-1 at home. And it isn't actually the results that matter in this instance, the performances were clear but people refused to accept it at the time. Like I say, you hope lesson learned. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Yelloow Since 72 53 Posted September 8, 2021 (edited) The changes this window are more of an evolution than an abrupt change. Rashica was the first indication of an increased emphasis on counter-attacking with pace. Sargent and Tzolis have added to that. In midfield, Gilmour and Lees-Melou are another shift, moving away from the double pivot of Skipp and McLean which thrived in the Championship but could be overrun in the PL. The 3 man midfield allows a wider screen in front of the defence but other options to support our own attack as well. It's interesting that Spurs have now switched to a 3 man midfield as well, with Skipp at the heart of it. McLean, Lees-Melou, Rupp and now Normann can also play at CAM which helps to bridge the gap from midfield to the attacking players while still being able to cover for FBs going forward. The 3-3 balance of midfielders and attacking players should make us stronger overall and harder to predict in attack, hopefully with more goals from midfield as well. With the possible exception of WR (when Sargent isn't playing there), every position has been strengthened for this season and the way we play has been strengthened as well. We'll be less predictable in attack while also being stronger in defence than we were in the PL two years ago. Edited September 8, 2021 by Yelloow Since 72 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites