2nd, who would have thought it possible?

[Bradwell canary 109]

I guess there are many like me, who would not have thought in their wildest dreams that our club would be second at this stage of the season.

After last season , and the early days of this one, it looked like it would be a massively poor season.

so what has happened?

 

[cambridgeshire canary 6,675]

We have gone unbeaten in eight. That has helped.

[Capt. Pants 4,195]

In their widest dreams?

Most on here thought we would **** the league and are exactly where we thought we'd be.

I'm disappointed we're 2nd. I want our trophy back 😜

[Google Bot 3,256]

Before we'd kicked a ball I would have expected us to be here for sure.  But like you say, after the opening games I was really concerned and wondering if we could even hover around mid-table.

So, What happened?  Well - we've got a squad far better than most in this league is the main factor.

The opening games we had players not knowing if they were going to be here or not - Rashica doing his best to not give a **** was an indication of that, as was Pukki's early frustrations and uncharacteristically lashing out in games.

Sarge finding his shooting boots is where it turned for me, having minds locked in after transfer window shut another.  We're still far from the finished article, too.  So very promising.

[TheBaldOne66 681]

14 minutes ago, cambridgeshire canary said:

We have gone unbeaten in eight. That has helped.

Unbeaten in 9 actually 😎

[Pyro Pete 1,889]

I'm surprised we've got as many points as we have considering how unconvincing we've been.

I'm not sure if that is a good or a bad thing.

[canarydan23 4,060]

1 minute ago, Pyro Pete said:

I'm surprised we've got as many points as we have considering how unconvincing we've been.

I'm not sure if that is a good or a bad thing.

Yeah, I keep waiting for a performance where we rip a team apart, like the last 25 minutes of the Blackpool first half, only where we convert our chances and maintain it for the whole game. Haven't seen it yet.

We are where we are because we have one of, if not the best squad in the league. Credit has to go to Smith for getting us there whilst Burnley and Watford struggle, as they both finished ahead of us last season, but I can't help but thinking if we had a better manager, we'd be top of the league and battering the odd team, rather than scraping wins with often turgid performances.

[Mello Yello 2,279]

On Saturday whether we Win, lose or draw....I'm still going to the pub after....and even before the game, I'm actually more excited about going to the pub after....(I still want us to win though).....

I luvs Saturday 15.00hrs kick-offs....it's so normal....  

[Pyro Pete 1,889]

11 minutes ago, Mello Yello said:

On Saturday whether we Win, lose or draw....I'm still going to the pub after....and even before the game, I'm actually more excited about going to the pub after....(I still want us to win though).....

I luvs Saturday 15.00hrs kick-offs....it's so normal....  

 

[Mello Yello 2,279]

Just now, Pyro Pete said:

 

Celebrate a win or drown your sorrows if it's a defeat....If it's a draw? I'll have 2 Greggs steak slices - then get walloped....

[Greavsy 2,412]

38 minutes ago, TheBaldOne66 said:

Unbeaten in 9 actually 😎

He didn't go to that one! 

[ricardo 7,342]

With the squad we have we should certainly be in the top two at this stage and I for one would have been shocked and disappointed if we were off the pace. The only valid complaint as far as I am concerned is that it has been much harder work than I expected. Any competent manager ought to be able to get this squad promoted automatically given a fair rub of the green.

Yes, the claim can be made that we have suffered some injuries in important positions but we have a greater depth of squad than most so all things considered we are are where we should be at this stage albeit without looking as superior as I had hoped. Therefore I would mark progress as satisfactory but with the hope of a bit more style to come.

From where we stand we ought to be able to get to 88/90 points and that should be more than enough to do the job.

[Nuff Said 5,089]

19 minutes ago, ricardo said:

With the squad we have we should certainly be in the top two at this stage and I for one would have been shocked and disappointed if we were off the pace. The only valid complaint as far as I am concerned is that it has been much harder work than I expected. Any competent manager ought to be able to get this squad promoted automatically given a fair rub of the green.

Yes, the claim can be made that we have suffered some injuries in important positions but we have a greater depth of squad than most so all things considered we are are where we should be at this stage albeit without looking as superior as I had hoped. Therefore I would mark progress as satisfactory but with the hope of a bit more style to come.

From where we stand we ought to be able to get to 88/90 points and that should be more than enough to do the job.

Could you not argue that for Burnley and Watford too? (Yes, I realise only two teams can be in the top two).

[wcorkcanary 4,329]

3 minutes ago, Nuff Said said:

Could you not argue that for Burnley and Watford too? (Yes, I realise only two teams can be in the top two).

Only Man City ( and  Arsenal, for now) can be Happy with where they are in the football ladder. The rest of us are losers by varying degrees. 

[hogesar 9,616]

Apparently, we've got here because our manager is the luckiest person ever to grace the planet.

Equally, or conversely depending on your view on the above, we have a team full of Premier League dream-teamers, so we're only just about scraping expectation.

Oh, but should we get promoted all our players are rubbish and miles from being Premier League players.

[BigFish 1,986]

7 minutes ago, hogesar said:

Apparently, we've got here because our manager is the luckiest person ever to grace the planet.

Equally, or conversely depending on your view on the above, we have a team full of Premier League dream-teamers, so we're only just about scraping expectation.

Oh, but should we get promoted all our players are rubbish and miles from being Premier League players.

There was a strong cohort of the usual suspects saying that this team was much weaker than the last promotion winning season and we were more likely to exit the Chumps via relegation. Oh, and that Smith didn't know his **** from his elbow. Seems like they were wrong on all counts. Turns out we have a well drilled team full of motivated good players. Who knew?

[canarydan23 4,060]

2 hours ago, Nuff Said said:

Could you not argue that for Burnley and Watford too? (Yes, I realise only two teams can be in the top two).

I don't think so, no.

Burnley saw £60 million quid worth of talent walk out of the door in McNeil, Pope, Collins and Cornet, plus lost Mee and Tarkowski to frees. That's over half of last year's starting lineup. Their replacements cost a fraction of the price and are not in the same league as the players who left.

Watford waved goodbye to Kamara, Dennis, Hernandez, Caetano, Masina, Sissoko for fees and lost a couple of regulars with their contracts expiring. Again, a significant portion of their starting 11. They only paid money for one player in the summer and their other signings were all frees. They spent about 10% of what they received in transfer fees.

Of all the players we let go, you'd only really call PLM and Rashica regulars. Unlike Watford and Burnley who brought in huge amounts of cash in outgoing players, we had a net spend in the summer after bringing in Nunez and Sara.

If we don't have better squads than them after that, then something has gone badly wrong, particularly compared to Watford who only started with a 1 point head start on us.

Par for this squad is automatic promotion, probably even title-winners.

Edited October 6, 2022 by canarydan23

[ricardo 7,342]

1 hour ago, Nuff Said said:

Could you not argue that for Burnley and Watford too? (Yes, I realise only two teams can be in the top two).

On the basis of who they sold in the summer I would say no. They are certainly much weaker than last season but are certainly competitive in this league. On paper I wouldnt swap their squads for ours.

[ricardo 7,342]

43 minutes ago, canarydan23 said:

 

Par for this squad is automatic promotion, probably even title-winners.

This 

[Capt. Pants 4,195]

38 minutes ago, canarydan23 said:

I don't think so, no.

Burnley saw £60 quid worth of talent walk out of the door in McNeil, Pope, Collins and Cornet, plus lost Mee and Tarkowski to frees. That's half of last year's starting lineup. Their replacements cost a fraction of the price and are not in the same league as the players who left.

Watford waved goodbye to Kamara, Dennis, Hernandez, Caetano, Masina, Sissoko for fees and lost a couple of regulars with their contracts expiring. Again, a significant portion of their starting 11. They only paid money for one player in the summer and their other signings were all frees. They spent about 10% of what they received in transfer fees.

Of all the players we let go, you'd only really call PLM and Rashica regulars. Unlike Watford and Burnley who brought in huge amounts of cash in outgoing players, we had a net spend in the summer after bringing in Nunez and Sara.

If we don't have better squads than them after that, then something has gone badly wrong, particularly compared to Watford who only started with a 1 point head start on us.

Par for this squad is automatic promotion, probably even title-winners.

Agreed. Both clubs have new managers as well. Burnley in particular have a lot of new players and a different playing style. 

That said I expect them, us and Sheff Utd to be challenging for the top 2.

[ricardo 7,342]

1 hour ago, BigFish said:

Turns out we have a well drilled team full of motivated good players. Who knew?

Everybody knew. The argument is over whether it is being sufficiently displayed on the pitch.

[vos 155]

4 hours ago, Bradwell canary said:

I guess there are many like me, who would not have thought in their wildest dreams that our club would be second at this stage of the season.

After last season , and the early days of this one, it looked like it would be a massively poor season.

so what has happened?

 

The general standard of football in the Championship is very very average.

[It's Character Forming 1,160]

4 minutes ago, vos said:

The general standard of football in the Championship is very very average.

average : "having qualities that are seen as typical of a particular person, group, or thing."

[It's Character Forming 1,160]

About Watford and Burnley, first people equate transfer fees paid with the quality of players you've brought in.  But wages are if anything more important.  If you can get a player on a free because they've run down their contract, that's better than paying a transfer fee to a competitor.  I've no idea how well or badly Watford/Burnley have managed that process.

But surely the point about being in the Prem for a length of time is that when you're relegated, you have a stronger squad and can sell players to allow you to buy (or bring in for frees) good Champs level players.  If Watford/Burnley have sold a lot of players, why haven't they done that better ?

 

It does seem to me our recruitment setup works well in the Champs, not so well in the Prem, whereas Watford/Burnley could say the reverse in that they both managed a decent run in the Prem over the last few years, unlike us.

[It's Character Forming 1,160]

Also it's quite amusing to see the Reading forum were not at all surprised to see we had a slow start to this season but are now up at the top, which is pretty standard for us after getting relegated.  Maybe they know us better than some of our own fans ?

[littleyellowbirdie 2,510]

4 hours ago, ricardo said:

With the squad we have we should certainly be in the top two at this stage and I for one would have been shocked and disappointed if we were off the pace. The only valid complaint as far as I am concerned is that it has been much harder work than I expected. Any competent manager ought to be able to get this squad promoted automatically given a fair rub of the green.

Yes, the claim can be made that we have suffered some injuries in important positions but we have a greater depth of squad than most so all things considered we are are where we should be at this stage albeit without looking as superior as I had hoped. Therefore I would mark progress as satisfactory but with the hope of a bit more style to come.

From where we stand we ought to be able to get to 88/90 points and that should be more than enough to do the job.

How does no absence of fit CDMS and left backs go as far as a good rub of the green is concerned?

We have a good squad, but it's a squad more about technical play on the ground than physical domination. It's not reasonable to be pretty much suggesting they would deliver results as consistently as this with no decent tactical and strategic input.

Edited October 6, 2022 by littleyellowbirdie

[Mason 47 1,373]

I'm pretty sure I remember quite a few opinions that were predicting 14th place or lower, some even fretting about a Sunderland-style double relegation such was the shambles we were in.

Still, here we are. I stand by making a full assessment at the end of October after the run of doom.

[Branston Pickle 3,634]

It is interesting that some were seriously saying that we’d be relegated or at least struggle, now (presumably from different people) it is that ‘par’ for this squad is to win automatic promotion and probably the title.

We had our traditional slow start, and since then have picked up points whilst not fully firing - this would often be seen as a good sign but for some reason it’s the opposite for many.  I have to say it has left me rather confused, I for one think it a bit harsh to be too critical when we’re sat in second place, particularly when you consider we’ve had as many as 10 players out at times.

[Branston Pickle 3,634]

25 minutes ago, Mason 47 said:

I'm pretty sure I remember quite a few opinions that were predicting 14th place or lower, some even fretting about a Sunderland-style double relegation such was the shambles we were in.

Still, here we are. I stand by making a full assessment at the end of October after the run of doom.

100%.  I recall offering several £100 charity bets that we’d be top half/top 6 or whatever, but of course none were taken up.

[nutty nigel 7,509]

5 hours ago, ricardo said:

With the squad we have we should certainly be in the top two at this stage and I for one would have been shocked and disappointed if we were off the pace. The only valid complaint as far as I am concerned is that it has been much harder work than I expected. Any competent manager ought to be able to get this squad promoted automatically given a fair rub of the green.

Yes, the claim can be made that we have suffered some injuries in important positions but we have a greater depth of squad than most so all things considered we are are where we should be at this stage albeit without looking as superior as I had hoped. Therefore I would mark progress as satisfactory but with the hope of a bit more style to come.

From where we stand we ought to be able to get to 88/90 points and that should be more than enough to do the job.

I find this a little bit mad, a fair bit arrogant and a lot disrespectful to the other teams in the league Rickyyyy. If it's how the majority feel we'll never get a great atmosphere at Carrow Road this season. With this view fans will swing between being barely satisfied to totally unsatisfied. 

Add this to the seemingly widespread view that promotion is unwanted anyway for many the season would be totally pointless even if we got 100!

 

Edited October 6, 2022 by nutty nigel