littleyellowbirdie 2,551 Posted December 12, 2022 (edited) 14 hours ago, canarybubbles said: It's also worth nothing that the competition was much stronger in 18/19 than it appears this season. Bielsa's Leeds, a very efficient Sheffield United, a parachute-payment West Brom, a Villa squad packed with talent and Grealish which Smith managed to get into fifth place almost twenty points behind us, plus a decent Derby County. There's no validity in nonsense comparisons like this. Wasn't it you who argued you couldn't compare Smith like for like with Farke based on better goal differences than Farke and better points per game than Farke, even though it was the same season with exactly the same squad? Edited December 12, 2022 by littleyellowbirdie Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Capt. Pants 4,247 Posted December 12, 2022 We cannot decide if Smith's tenure has been successful until the season has ended and that might not be until the end of May after a penalty shootout at Wembley. Still a long way to go yet. My concern with Smith is that he's faffed around a lot with formations, styles and selections, I was expecting a lot more consistency and I still don't what we are about as a team. Fingers crossed we finally get a grip on this league here on in. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shefcanary 2,410 Posted December 12, 2022 (edited) I'll whisper this. Everything is a bit meh at the moment, but have we ever been sitting top of the championship mid-way through December and coasting in the past? I accept the argument regarding trajectory but beat Blackburn next week (even with another godawful performance) and we are no worse and no better than we are traditionally at this point in the season. Unfortunately for the likes of Buh etc. this is why there is such a lack of commitment one way or the other, we may yet go on a run and win at a canter again, it happens to one club most seasons. Granted, a real ****show next week, a heavy defeat at home and all bets are off as far as Smith is concerned. But nothing is ever that clear cut! Edited December 12, 2022 by shefcanary Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
keelansgrandad 6,679 Posted December 12, 2022 16 hours ago, nutty nigel said: Fourth in the league Fourth highest scorers Third best goal difference Perhaps it's xg that suggests sacking the manager... Not really. Maybe its that we sacked DF as we wanted to stay in the EPL and banked on Deano achieving that. That he didn't do so your stats are slightly irrelevant because he isn't meant to be in this division. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nutty nigel 7,539 Posted December 12, 2022 5 minutes ago, keelansgrandad said: Not really. Maybe its that we sacked DF as we wanted to stay in the EPL and banked on Deano achieving that. That he didn't do so your stats are slightly irrelevant because he isn't meant to be in this division. So where we are in the league Goals scored Goal difference is slightly irrelevant What's relevant is sacking Farke Trouble is he's not coming back😥 We can sack the manager every month until doomsday and he still won't be back. Farke's gone, Emi's gone, making what we previously achieved in the champs with them more than slightly irrelevant. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Essjayess 307 Posted December 12, 2022 18 hours ago, hogesar said: Arguably, expecting us to consistently be in top 2 of the Championship for a third consecutive championship-post-relegation was unrealistic. Has it ever been done in the history of the Prem / Championship before? No, Fulham became the first team in history to achieve 3 succesive promotions to the top tier after 3 successive relegations from the top tier but that included play off final wins after finishing 3rd and 4th in those 2 seasons., so you are correct, history in the 2nd tier says its unrealistic. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
keelansgrandad 6,679 Posted December 12, 2022 2 hours ago, nutty nigel said: So where we are in the league Goals scored Goal difference is slightly irrelevant What's relevant is sacking Farke Trouble is he's not coming back😥 We can sack the manager every month until doomsday and he still won't be back. Farke's gone, Emi's gone, making what we previously achieved in the champs with them more than slightly irrelevant. I think you have missed my point. I am not advocating bringing back anyone. I was just pointing out we are no better off. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Petriix 2,840 Posted December 12, 2022 2 hours ago, nutty nigel said: Farke's gone, Emi's gone, making what we previously achieved in the champs with them more than slightly irrelevant. That's fair. I can accept that sacking Farke was a mistake while also conceding that sacking Smith might also be a mistake. The bar definitely needs to be lowered. It ultimately comes down to where you think the club is heading. I have an awful feeling that we'll be in serious trouble if we don't (somehow) gain promotion this season. Accepting mediocrity at this stage seems criminal when we've been on the cusp of achieving long-term stability for so long. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nutty nigel 7,539 Posted December 12, 2022 1 hour ago, keelansgrandad said: I think you have missed my point. I am not advocating bringing back anyone. I was just pointing out we are no better off. It's unknown really. Would we be better off if Farke had stayed? I honestly don't know. I guess if Emi had stayed too I'd say yes. But we are where we are. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hogesar 9,676 Posted December 12, 2022 2 hours ago, Essjayess said: No, Fulham became the first team in history to achieve 3 succesive promotions to the top tier after 3 successive relegations from the top tier but that included play off final wins after finishing 3rd and 4th in those 2 seasons., so you are correct, history in the 2nd tier says its unrealistic. Thank you for this. That sounds about right. I think the expectation of three consecutive title wins in the second tier is unrealistic, and thanks for showing history backs that up! 🙂 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
