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OnDaBall

This time feels so much worse.

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Maybe it's because we weren't able to attend last time we went down, but this season feels way more desperate than 2 years ago.

Last time we had more about us, had some decent results and before COVID struck, I think we had a realistic chance of staying up. Obviously when they resumed the season we were woeful, no fight at all except in the cup game.

But we went down, still with a decent young squad, obviously money in the bank to regroup and there was room for optimism.

This time we all know how shocking it's been, the squad looks in disarray, a big clear out is looking likely, and a manager who is yet to prove he's the man to take us forward. A massive disconnect between fans and board, and a DoF who appears to be disinterested in the whole project.

Maybe I am overreacting and too caught up in the moment, after all a good transfer window in the summer and next season could be great, but right now things are looking bleak.

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Last time we had a definite playing identity that had proven successful under Farke at championship level. Last time we had Emi and Pukki who were unstoppable together at championship level. What the hell have we got this time? 

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2 hours ago, Making Plans said:

That's because it is much worse.

 

Came here to say exactly this. This time we've sold our soul, lost our identity and our team has no spine. 

Edited by AJ
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10 minutes ago, OnDaBall said:

Maybe it's because we weren't able to attend last time we went down, but this season feels way more desperate than 2 years ago.

Last time we had more about us, had some decent results and before COVID struck, I think we had a realistic chance of staying up. Obviously when they resumed the season we were woeful, no fight at all except in the cup game.

But we went down, still with a decent young squad, obviously money in the bank to regroup and there was room for optimism.

This time we all know how shocking it's been, the squad looks in disarray, a big clear out is looking likely, and a manager who is yet to prove he's the man to take us forward. A massive disconnect between fans and board, and a DoF who appears to be disinterested in the whole project.

Maybe I am overreacting and too caught up in the moment, after all a good transfer window in the summer and next season could be great, but right now things are looking bleak.

We've had two Premier League seasons where we went down. One where we started badly stuck with the manager and went down and one where we started badly, changed the manager and still went down. 

It does leave you starting to feel that there's simply no answer that will get the right result, namely establishing the club in the Premier League; perhaps that's why it feels worse. 

Edited by littleyellowbirdie
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We’re not in a good place, with the club rotten on and off the pitch.

Unless we have owners that embrace the Premiership, we will never stay in it. 
 

 

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I think a major part in this feeling like it does is the national coverage of us being promoted again and all the media calling us a joke and that we take up a space of a club more deserving, and then alot of us trying to defend the club against it etc. And now all the media who ripped into the club are proven 100% right...... Again 

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1 minute ago, komakino said:

We’re not in a good place, with the club rotten on and off the pitch.

Unless we have owners that embrace the Premiership, we will never stay in it. 
 

 

What does that even mean: 'Embrace the premiership'?

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1 minute ago, GodlyOtsemobor said:

Give it a little cuddle. 

A little cuddle isn't good enough; a great big hug with a big sloppy kiss should be the minimum standard. 

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I mean it was poor last time round but this is next level shocking. A clueless manager underpinned by a squad that doesn't want to be here. Deeply worrying and I fear Smith has already lost the players.

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Brentford stayed up quite comfortably, so it wasn't impossible. We failed because we made terrible decisions, and most of that falls on Webber's head. Yet Delia and Michael apparently beg him to stay. There's no hope, is there?

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5 minutes ago, littleyellowbirdie said:

A little cuddle isn't good enough; a great big hug with a big sloppy kiss should be the minimum standard. 

90% is a cuddle and peck on the cheek so that will have to be the compromise

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Thing is when we went up last time nobody really expected it given we had finished midtable the season before and our squad was made of youth players are free agents and we had Farkeball in full flow playing amazing football. When we went down we all expcted it given it was amazing we even went up, so needless to say the fact that we went and spent the money and we went back up this time we had tons more expectations and sadly they never delivered.

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Every element of the club feels like it’s being run badly. Ok losing might add to that perception but the screw ups send failure to communicate with the fans are laughable. Just to add to the list today Sainty tweeting about how the club did not once help advertise the Trusts food bank initiative despite repeated requests and tweets about Hanley apparently not showing up to receive his Ambassadors Club POTS award whilst those waiting to present it to him could see him on the pitch playing football with his kids.

All small things in isolation but there is a repeated pattern and it all points to either not giving a sh*t about the fans or just plain incompetence. Some of these people running our club are being paid obscene amounts and they are taking people for mugs.

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13 minutes ago, littleyellowbirdie said:

We've had two Premier League seasons where we went down. One where we started badly stuck with the manager and went down and one where we started badly, changed the manager and still went down. 

It does leave you starting to feel that there's simply no answer that will get the right result, namely establishing the club in the Premier League; perhaps that's why it feels worse. 

There is no answer whilst we place ourselves in a financial straight jacket, except absolute excellence in every department which leaves no room for error. 

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It’s because my worst fears have been confirmed. I was in denial as to just how unambitious and tinpot the club were but this season confirmed. **** ever taking my support for this con seriously ever again .

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15 minutes ago, littleyellowbirdie said:

What does that even mean: 'Embrace the premiership'?

Not slagging it off would help for a start. The league isn’t at fault for the clubs problems, the club is. 
 

However our owners aren’t interested in the EPL, though that is nothing new. 
 

This season has shown how hopelessly out of depth our owners are at this level and how badly run it is. If it were an animal, it would be put down out of kindness. 

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13 minutes ago, Jim Smith said:

Every element of the club feels like it’s being run badly. Ok losing might add to that perception but the screw ups send failure to communicate with the fans are laughable. Just to add to the list today Sainty tweeting about how the club did not once help advertise the Trusts food bank initiative despite repeated requests and tweets about Hanley apparently not showing up to receive his Ambassadors Club POTS award whilst those waiting to present it to him could see him on the pitch playing football with his kids.

All small things in isolation but there is a repeated pattern and it all points to either not giving a sh*t about the fans or just plain incompetence. Some of these people running our club are being paid obscene amounts and they are taking people for mugs.

Far better articulated than my response! Sums it up perfectly though. Summer, I’m doing the unthinkable and picking a new team.

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As others have said, the expectation was higher this time, due to those with previous experience supposedly being bolstered by an influx of new talent. Sadly, the recruitment proved to be a complete disaster. As anyone knows, if you keep gambling you always lose out in the end.

For me, the saddest thing is that I honestly believe we are re-entering the Championship with a worse team, manager and sense of purpose than we left it with. 

Not since the dark days of Glen Roeder's tenure have I felt this disconnected from the club.

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Last time was a Free hit in a sense we went up a lot earlier in the plan than we expected 

we were told that it is a yo yo effect each time getting stronger adding players here and the with PL money 

so we could end up with a squad good enough to stay up 

also with a DOF the club would have a style of play that if head coach left or was replaced like for like would come in

so wholesale changes were not needed etc 

now we have no playing style and a squad weaker as a team 

 

 

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The biggest loss is the continuity we had under Farke. We should have been upgrading the squad by improving the weakest areas on the pitch while keeping our successful system along with its best players.

Instead we sold our best attacker, abandoned our style and brought in a rabble of uncommitted loanees and unintelligent, one-dimensional signings who still have no clue about how to play to our strengths. Watching Rashica take the ball wide and hit head-high crosses today showed just how little understanding he has developed with Pukki over the season, and it bodes badly for the future. 

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Last time we had a manager who fit this club, this time we have a manager that doesn’t. 

last time we had Emi and Skipp. This time we have neither. 

last time we had a clear vision and style. This time we have no shape or set formation 

last time we had fans behind the club, this time they are massively disaffected 

last time we understood the need to bank the money and go again, this time we blew it on rubbish 

last time we had some decent results - this time nothing

last time we played exciting football/ this time we hoof it up and hope for the best  

last time we trusted Webber / this time we don’t 

Last time Pukki was in his prime- this time he is ageing 

last time we needed a couple of players to improve us- this time we need a total overhaul 

last time we had sellable assets- this time we will struggle to shift the over priced dross 

i could keep going. Bottom line - this is different - wheels are off and I fear a difficult few years ahead. Just think how bad finances will be if parachute payments run out…

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13 minutes ago, Dean Coneys boots said:

Last time we had a manager who fit this club, this time we have a manager that doesn’t. 

last time we had Emi and Skipp. This time we have neither. 

last time we had a clear vision and style. This time we have no shape or set formation 

last time we had fans behind the club, this time they are massively disaffected 

last time we understood the need to bank the money and go again, this time we blew it on rubbish 

last time we had some decent results - this time nothing

last time we played exciting football/ this time we hoof it up and hope for the best  

last time we trusted Webber / this time we don’t 

Last time Pukki was in his prime- this time he is ageing 

last time we needed a couple of players to improve us- this time we need a total overhaul 

last time we had sellable assets- this time we will struggle to shift the over priced dross 

i could keep going. Bottom line - this is different - wheels are off and I fear a difficult few years ahead. Just think how bad finances will be if parachute payments run out…

But look at Burnley...sigh! 

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4 hours ago, GodlyOtsemobor said:

I think a major part in this feeling like it does is the national coverage of us being promoted again and all the media calling us a joke and that we take up a space of a club more deserving, and then alot of us trying to defend the club against it etc. And now all the media who ripped into the club are proven 100% right...... Again 

The media were criticised for saying we were crap or we were certain to go down, we all pretty much agreed with that.

The criticism was that they called us a disgrace and suggested we had no right to be in the prem and should be banned from promotion.

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12 hours ago, komakino said:

Not slagging it off would help for a start. The league isn’t at fault for the clubs problems, the club is. 
 

However our owners aren’t interested in the EPL, though that is nothing new. 
 

This season has shown how hopelessly out of depth our owners are at this level and how badly run it is. If it were an animal, it would be put down out of kindness. 

The state of the Premier League is killing English football in its entirety by simultaneously starving lower leagues of income and ensuring any talent that appears in lower leagues quickly disappears again., Further to that, the fact that the Premier League itself is now pretty much a two horse race between Man City and Liverpool underlines that the Premier League is even starting to kill itself. 

Germany, France, and other nations have vibrant top divisions with greater mobility between leagues and without the insane unsustainability engendered by this insane orgy of greed that the whole league has become. 
 

Edited by littleyellowbirdie
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12 hours ago, komakino said:

Not slagging it off would help for a start. The league isn’t at fault for the clubs problems, the club is. 
 

Have to say disagree with that 100% - the problem is exactly the EPL which is concerned almost entirely with making a small number of already very rich people even richer (and sanitising the wealth of some people who got rich by extremely dubious means), and next to nothing to do with being a sporting competion - a banal, made for TV reality show loosely themed around football and nothing more.

Huge shame that the European Super League didn't go ahead and we missed out on the chance of booting out the 6 English clubs that had signed up for it - that just might have been the chance to start to restore our top division to a football league worth aspiring to.

 

 

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12 hours ago, Jim Smith said:

Every element of the club feels like it’s being run badly. Ok losing might add to that perception but the screw ups send failure to communicate with the fans are laughable. Just to add to the list today Sainty tweeting about how the club did not once help advertise the Trusts food bank initiative despite repeated requests and tweets about Hanley apparently not showing up to receive his Ambassadors Club POTS award whilst those waiting to present it to him could see him on the pitch playing football with his kids.

All small things in isolation but there is a repeated pattern and it all points to either not giving a sh*t about the fans or just plain incompetence. Some of these people running our club are being paid obscene amounts and they are taking people for mugs.

I think this sums it up. Somewhere in the last couple of seasons the club seems to have taken a bit of a wrong turn when it comes to supporters relations. When Webber first arrived there was a sudden surge of transparency and availability with players, owners and execs being available for local media, youtubers and podcasts. It was a real breath of fresh air after the end of the McNally years. For whatever reason that has fallen away to be replaced by an attitude that sits somewhere between arrogant and sloppy. 

For example the situation with the 'fan of the year award.' It had always been presented by the family of Michelle Dack who the award is named after. This year it was presented behind closed doors with no word to the family at all, who were understandably upset. Such a small thing that could have been avoided by a simple phone call but it just doesn't happen for some reason.

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Is far far worse
We gave up
We have lost our identity
Replaced the best manager (or joint best maybe) we have had in recent years with a downgrade.

We need key changes over the summer with Webber and Dean Smith leaving as our top priorities. 

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1 hour ago, Creative Midfielder said:

Have to say disagree with that 100% - the problem is exactly the EPL which is concerned almost entirely with making a small number of already very rich people even richer (and sanitising the wealth of some people who got rich by extremely dubious means), and next to nothing to do with being a sporting competion - a banal, made for TV reality show loosely themed around football and nothing more.

Huge shame that the European Super League didn't go ahead and we missed out on the chance of booting out the 6 English clubs that had signed up for it - that just might have been the chance to start to restore our top division to a football league worth aspiring to.

 

 

So the EPL is to blame for Norwich's City's failings this season? Yes there can be a healthy debate on the EPL as a whole, but blaming them for our issues is absurd. We've not even tried to compete because we do want to. 

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