Think again

[ricky knight 0]

All those who said City, could''nt, would''nt go down think again, imo we now look odds on favourites and 2 wins in 16 maybe we deserve to go down. We have been let down again by not having a go in the windows especially for minimum one striker, let alone the two we needed, that was and is priority and i think nearly all City fans realised that, but we huffed and puffed and brought in a Spurs, reserve, and an American micky mouse player, and an over the hill player from leeds, who appears to be playing hide and seek rather than football.

Some of us called for City to be brave and have a shoot in the transfer window and were slagged to death on here but the money spend would have been loose change, if the figures for another season in the prem are to be believed.

A bit of investment in the right areas in January would have seen us stay up imo but same old City no bottle and it has cost us dear.

Hope i am wrong and we stay up but i cant even see us beating WBA Saturday, we have to go for it shit or bust, play an attacking team and at least go down giving it a go.

[Aggy 944]

In January, it looked like we would stay up relatively easily, and we had just had a 10 game unbeaten run. Would you have preferred us to spend 10million or so on Hooper?

We didn''t pay over the odds, we then went and got RVW at a reasonable price. It just so happens that our performances since January haven''t been good enough and we have fallen down into the relegation battle.

I think overall it was a balance between getting rid of the debt and buying a big name striker. Given that, when we last had the opportunity to buy a big name striker, we looked relatively comfortable, I think we made the right call at that time. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but I back the call we made at the time.

[lake district canary 4,830]

Its a thin dividing line between success and failure.   Its easy to say that going out and buying a player or two would have solved the problem.   But in reality,  whoever was up front would have struggled this season.   If we had bought a midfielder who could actually pass reliably and at the right time, we might have seen more goals.   

We are not down yet and there is everything still to play for.   Teams up to Fulham are still in the mix.   Any team that loses their next two games will be down there at the end.  Against WBA we have to win - and that will be more in the style of what we have been doing all season - hopefully like the first half against Sunderland.  We have to keep lukaku and company at bay too - so all out attack is not necessarily the answer.  

Just play good football - as in that Sunderland match and others where we have shown our true capabilities.  We can do it, but its going to be tough.

[ricky knight 0]

guys you must be blind folded if you dont think we have needed strikers all season and its not hindsight i called for it in summer and January and we will still need them next term because rip van winkle whatever his name is wont be coming to the championship.

[marvin the martian 0]

Ah, the return of Ricky Knight with the old " I told you so " post

[lake district canary 4,830]

[quote user="ricky knight"]guys you must be blind folded if you dont think we have needed strikers all season and its not hindsight i called for it in summer and January and we will still need them next term because rip van winkle whatever his name is wont be coming to the championship.[/quote]

You may be right, but the whole team hasn''t gelled, not just the strikers. The overall quality just hasn''t been there often enough.  We have to hope they can find a way through to goal against WBA.     Hopefully the penny will have dropped that the midfielders  have to get the ball through to the front men earlier and/or shoot occasionally. 

[norfolkbroadslim 225]

This season isn''t like previous seasons, where we''d do our best working within very limited budgets.

 

The difference this season being, that we do have money.  Yes, this is the final year of repaying the debt, but we do have money sitting in the bank.

 

It was obvious that we needed to sign a quality striker and we had 2 transfer windows in which to sign one and it didn''t happen. 

 

IMHO if you take Kone away from Wigan and Benteke away from Villa, they wouldn''t be anywhere near where they are now.

 

I''m not going to comment further on this until after the final games of the season as I have made a conscious effort this season not to criticise and to try to enjoy the ride.

[R_S 0]

[quote user="marvin the martian"]Ah, the return of Ricky Knight with the old " I told you so " post[/quote]

yeh but hes rightthere were a handfull on here that got slaughtered for writing about what was clear to see from 5 games inthe blind faith happy clappers came out in force with the ''get behind hughton'' rubbish

[marvin the martian 0]

Ah, the return of mendhams_rusty_shank with the old " I told you so " post

[Gingerpele 0]

What do you gain from the ''I told you so'' attitude?

Seems a bit pointless to wave your obviously superior knowledge in the clubs failure in other fans faces. Its the kind of thing you''d think someone would do to fans of another club, not their own.

And we''re not down yet. Yes we''ve had some poor performances. But all we need is a bit of luck against WBA if we play like we did agains WBA, Reading, Arsenal or Swansea (4 of the last 5 games) and we''ll win.

[ricky knight 0]

its not a told you so attitude its my belief on a football forum whats gone wrong this season but if we dare say anything not arse kissing we are jumped on by the same old faces. i agree the team as a unit are not good enough but villa have goals in them with out their front free they would be dead and buried, goals win matches and good strikers score goals, i only manage at a local level but i always make sure i get lads who know where the net is as its first part of job done, score goals you have a chance to win games. Even in our ten match run, nice as it was we never looked convincing imo and covered over the cracks.

I desperately want to stay up, am a City fan but always felt we never have the ambition to move to the next level.

[PurpleCanary 6,386]

[quote user="Aggy"]In January, it looked like we would stay up relatively easily, and we had just had a 10 game unbeaten run. Would you have preferred us to spend 10million or so on Hooper?

We didn''t pay over the odds, we then went and got RVW at a reasonable price. It just so happens that our performances since January haven''t been good enough and we have fallen down into the relegation battle.

I think overall it was a balance between getting rid of the debt and buying a big name striker. Given that, when we last had the opportunity to buy a big name striker, we looked relatively comfortable, I think we made the right call at that time. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but I back the call we made at the time.[/quote]

 

Aggy, I more often than not agree with your sane posts, but not this time! It may have looked superficially from the league table as if we would stay up easily, but the lack of striking power was obvious even then to fans, and more to Hughton, because he asked the board to spend serious money on a striker. It is a fact that we made separate bids of £7m for Hooper and - presumably - RVW. It was not unforeseeable that our performances would tail off in the second half of the season. It was perfectly foreseeable and that is why Hughton asked for squad strengtheningI am as sure as I can be that you are wrong about it being a balance between paying off the debt and paying big money for a striker. We have to pay off the debt (virtually all of it anyway) this season, so that was been factored in before we made two bids of double our previous transfer record. It was not a question of either/or. We had found the money for both (possibly by way of the short-term bank loan the board warned in the latest accounts might be necessary this summer). And if it was a question of one or the other, how come we are paying (at least in part already apparently) £8.5m for RVW?

 

[Gingerpele 0]

ricky, i''m not arse kissing anyone. We''ve not been good enough. Yesterday I saw the table after the last game in our unbeaten run, 17 games, 25 points, 7th. Above Arsenal. And when we went 1-0 up vs WBA we were temporarily in 5th. Its criminal that form has been let slip so drastically. On that form we should be above 50 points, but we''re no where near that.

I would be quite happy to see Hughton go at the end of the season even when we stay up. I''m not going to start chanting Hughton our at the game or anything, and won''t get too upset if he stays. As long as the team shows signs of actually knowing what to do in the final 1/3 at the beginning of next season.

I think overal the team is a lot better than many give it credit for. There are a few major issues that hold everyone, and the performances as a whole, back.

[It's Character Forming 1,204]

Yes as fans it''s always easy to call for the club to sign more and better players.  We don''t have to balance the books.

 

Last summer the decision was to strengthen the defence and defensive midfield although we did bring in Snoddy on the wing.  That was a reasonable decision given that the previous season we scored plenty of goals but also conceded too many.  It would have been nice to pick up a top striker last summer for small change but they''re in demand for obvious reasons.  Easy to be wise with hindsight.

 

In January we obviously pursued several strikers.  It''s easy to over-pay in January because the selling club normally doesn''t have to sell.  Just look at Andy Carroll.  Our board kept negotations tight.  At the time we were well placed so again this was a reasonable decision.  In hindsight maybe we should have gambled and paid too much for a striker.  Maybe if we did, he''d have turned out like Andy Carroll and we''d be in exactly the same place only £10m or £15m worse-off and facing much bigger financial problems if we did go down.

 

The margins are wafer thin.  If we''d got one decent official at Sunderland, we''d likely have another 2 points.  Or if Bunn had covered his near post against Kone, we''d be 6 points ahead of Wigan instead of 3, and almost home and dry.

[nutty nigel 7,902]

[quote user="ricky knight"]All those who said City, could''nt, would''nt go down think again, imo we now look odds on favourites and 2 wins in 16 maybe we deserve to go down. We have been let down again by not having a go in the windows especially for minimum one striker, let alone the two we needed, that was and is priority and i think nearly all City fans realised that, but we huffed and puffed and brought in a Spurs, reserve, and an American micky mouse player, and an over the hill player from leeds, who appears to be playing hide and seek rather than football. Some of us called for City to be brave and have a shoot in the transfer window and were slagged to death on here but the money spend would have been loose change, if the figures for another season in the prem are to be believed. A bit of investment in the right areas in January would have seen us stay up imo but same old City no bottle and it has cost us dear. Hope i am wrong and we stay up but i cant even see us beating WBA Saturday, we have to go for it shit or bust, play an attacking team and at least go down giving it a go.[/quote]

 

I can''t think of anybody who didn''t think we needed premier league quality striking options. Not just in the last window but also in the three previous ones. In fact, as I''ve said before on here, the only premier league window we did do that was Jan 2005 and dean Ashton. But even that was a gamble on an unproven player. And think back to 1988 when we were 3 points off top with a game in hand and in the FA Cup semis.. still no striker. We went with Rosario. We finally got one through the youth team in the 90s and sold him. Don''t tell me you''re surprised this time..

 

Maybe VWW is the real deal... let''s hope it''s not too late.

 

 

 

 

[ricky knight 0]

ICF with respect bit more investment your last paragraph would be irrelevant imo we would not be worrying about ifs and buts.

[CDMullins 498]

[quote user="ricky knight"]All those who said City, could''nt, would''nt go down think again, imo we now look odds on favourites and 2 wins in 16 maybe we deserve to go down. We have been let down again by not having a go in the windows especially for minimum one striker, let alone the two we needed, that was and is priority and i think nearly all City fans realised that, but we huffed and puffed and brought in a Spurs, reserve, and an American micky mouse player, and an over the hill player from leeds, who appears to be playing hide and seek rather than football.

Some of us called for City to be brave and have a shoot in the transfer window and were slagged to death on here but the money spend would have been loose change, if the figures for another season in the prem are to be believed.

A bit of investment in the right areas in January would have seen us stay up imo but same old City no bottle and it has cost us dear.

Hope i am wrong and we stay up but i cant even see us beating WBA Saturday, we have to go for it shit or bust, play an attacking team and at least go down giving it a go.[/quote]

10/3

[It's Character Forming 1,204]

The problem is it''s not a "bit of investment".  To get a good striker in January we''d have had to pay serious cash and it would have been more than the player was really worth.  And it might not have worked out - he might have contributed no more than Kei, we could be stuck exactly where we are but £15m worse off. 

 

Look at Andy Carroll - bought for an absurd price, did nothing for Liverpool.  This season he''s been at a West Ham team who play an ideal style for him.  Result - 7 goals.

 

It''s easy to say we should spend more money in every single transfer window (like one poster says above).  Look at Portsmouth for where that ends up.

[Bws Cat 0]

100% agree

Going down and damn ashamed of the boys and hoots. Nevertheless I will be cheering them on come Sunday.

[ricky knight 0]

we always get the pompey leeds scenario, which is ridiculous pompey spent 100 grand to win FA Cup, any striker is a gamble can dry up at anytime, Danny Graham Sunderland for example, who people on here wanted but nobody would take a risk in life in any form if you want guaranteed success at end of it, Anyone who knew remotely where the goal was would be better than what we have atm.

[Salopian 1]

We  might have broken the bank and signed an expensive striker, but we have problems in other areas as well. It''s not the strikers who are leaking in goals at the moment, and it''s not the strikers who lack creativity and passing skills.

 

We tried to find a striker. I personally feel that it was a mistake to let Vaughan go on loan. There are many things that might have been different, but in January we were comfortable mid table and we kept an eye on what we might need next year. It was a risk, and it could backfire, but the decline from the 10 match run is inexplicable and unpredictable.

 

I don''t honestly think that splashing money at inflated prices in January on one or two players would have made much difference. There has been a collective and unforeseen failure.

[nutty nigel 7,902]

[quote user="ricky knight"]we always get the pompey leeds scenario, which is ridiculous pompey spent 100 grand to win FA Cup, any striker is a gamble can dry up at anytime, Danny Graham Sunderland for example, who people on here wanted but nobody would take a risk in life in any form if you want guaranteed success at end of it, Anyone who knew remotely where the goal was would be better than what we have atm.[/quote]

 

It''s not about knowing where the goal is Ricky. Holty has nothing to prove to anyone on that score. It''s about moving up to the next level. It''s about being able to make something happen. Premier League match winners do not come cheap. I don''t think Graham is a step up on what we have, he''d just be another option. VWW could be the real deal. I hope we get the chance to find out.

 

 

[Tumbleweed 106]

Last season proved that we had the basics right. January was a chance to push on and cement a place in the top 10/12. With the resources at our disposal, which pretty much everyone agrees is better than last time, we could have been well clear of this mess. January should have been the difference between mid/lower tier and upper/mid tier, but not the difference between mid/lower tier and relegation. The alarm bells rang for many when the first reports came out of the pre-season games that we were looking sterile and not creating much. CH seems to have had a deliberate philosophy which has castrated the basics of a side already capable of staying up.

[BOO 0]

It''s fair comment Ricky, many dont like it but its true

[R_S 0]

lets face it we could have van persie and suarez up front and still wouldnt score goals with hughtons tacticshe would probably bring them on as 89th minute subs

[PurpleCanary 6,386]

[quote user="Its Character Forming"]

The problem is it''s not a "bit of investment".  To get a good striker in January we''d have had to pay serious cash and it would have been more than the player was really worth.  And it might not have worked out - he might have contributed no more than Kei, we could be stuck exactly where we are but £15m worse off. 

 

Look at Andy Carroll - bought for an absurd price, did nothing for Liverpool.  This season he''s been at a West Ham team who play an ideal style for him.  Result - 7 goals.

 

It''s easy to say we should spend more money in every single transfer window (like one poster says above).  Look at Portsmouth for where that ends up.

[/quote]

 

I don''t know where the figure of £15m comes from. But we were not limited to buying a striker; a sensible Plan B in January would have been to have had a loan deal lined up just in case.