Jump to content
Sign in to follow this  
Making Plans

Let's get real here

Recommended Posts

Yes I know, yesterday hurt big style and it ain''t got no better today. I suppose it''s a natural reaction to say "well we will just go straight back up next season" and I''ve seen plenty of posts on here conveying this very thought. Some seem to think it''s a mere formality and all we''ve got to do is turn up and we''ll win every game and get automatic promotion - if only it was going to be that simple.

However, we should not under estimate the enormity of the task ahead.

Firstly, it''s a long season in the Championship, you have to play a lot of games, very often two games a week, and this increases the risk of injuries, individual loss of form and fatigue.

To coin a phrase, "there are no easy games" - every team in the Championship will be fighting for something - to get automatic promotion, to get in the play offs or to avoid relegation. Many of these games will be tough encounters - ok we maybe losing some of the divers but we''re gaining a lot of kickers.

Being one of the most, if not the most, high profile Club in the Championship, every one will be out to beat us and you can bet your life that some teams will be trying just that little bit extra when they play us.

It might also be difficult for some of our players to readapt to life back in the Championship - there''s a big difference from playing to big crowd every week at the best stadiums in the Country than to turning out in front of 6,000 people at an athletics track in Brighton. 

Next season will all be about application and motivation. We''ve been up the ladder but we''ve now come down the snake and some players might not have the appetite to go through all that again.

So less of this "dead cert" rubbish and a bit more realism please. After all, according to the bookies we were dead certs yesterday and a fat lot of good that did us.

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Couldn''t agree more.  I cringe when I see people write that we''ll "walk" next season.  I''m sure a lot of people think all we need to do is turn up next year.  Well we don''t.  It''s going to be hard, bloody hard.  It took us 9 years to get up.  I''m sure we''ll do it in less this time round but it''ll still be tough.  There is no other league in the world where, at the beginning of the year, about half the league have their eye on promotion.  It''s an incredible league but it''s tough.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
its impossible to tell until the first few games have been played. And even then you dont know if there will be major slip ups or runs of form. The signings over the summer will affect my confidence for next season but either way its gonna be just as hard as the promotion season

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Yep, spot on. It worries me too that alot of people do view going straight back up as a forgone conclusion.

If Palace hold onto Dowie and AJ as Simon Jordan thinks they will according to an interview that i heard tonight, and Harry and Jim stay at Soton it is going to make our task of gaining auto promotion very hard. Sure Soton will lose a few players but Harry can wheel and deal as he did with Pompey and they will be a big threat imo.

Then there is Wolves who have secured Hoddle on a year on running contract. There record under Hoddle i am pretty sure is just 2 defeats in 26 games. Yes, they have drawn alot of games but if Hoddle can bring a few players in during the summer as i am sure he will they will be able to i feel turn alot of those draws into wins. They are gonna be a hell of a threat and our rivalry with them will intensify 2 fold i feel next season.

What these "we will walk the Championship" buffoons need reminding is that there are only 2 automatic promotion places and after that if you get in the play offs, anyone could win that. With Wolves, Palace and Soton to deal with let alone 3 from Ippo, Derby, Preston and Wham, going up automatically is going to be far from easy.

Heres hoping that we can hold onto Dean as he will be for me the one thing that separates us from the aforementioned teams, if we lose him the task of getting auto promotion is going to be even harder than if we had him. I would''nt be surprised if we only made the play offs. Also pray that Harry and Jim leave Soton and that Dowie leaves Palace along with AJ, but the trouble is i can''t think where Dowie will go now, now that Man City have given Pearce the job.

Your thoughts?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

.....but what gives us hope is that:

(a) Nigel has done it before

(b) there is no need to sell players if he doesn''t want to

(c) the side we still have walked the Championship in 03/04 and all but Malky, Iwan, McV and Mulryne are here, plus we have others of international experience

(d) in Ashton we have a man who can score 20 goals at Crewe let alone with Hux and Leon supporting him

(e) who else do we really really fear?? Preston, Derby, West Ham, Reading: all in or near play off places but hardly terror inspiring. Luton, Hull, Gillingham, Crewe? Hmmmmmmm.

No, it ain''t gonna be easy. But lets be positive- we are actually quite well equipped with a manager who now knows his way around this league and with a stronger squad than last time round and a bigger and even more vociferous stadium. Don''t get all doom and gloom yet- the season is still 3 months away!!!!!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Making plans for.... when I read your post i thought i couldnt agree more, but Tumbleweed you have hit the nail on the head. Of course its not going to be easy-peasy, but we do have so much in place to set ourselves up for an extremely strong promotion push.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Agree with lots of this BUT not convinced that just because we still chiefly have the squad that went up, minus Malky, we will therefore do it again. Months ago I posted the question on here "is the defence good enough?".  I pose the same question again but this time in relation to the next 46 games.  What is there in what we have seen this season that convinces us that we can win enough of the key games against the top 6 or so (includes Palace and Soton against whom we just shipped 7, and West Ham who we couldn''t beat in Jan, albeit without Ashton) with the defence we have?

Unless we get some quality to accompany Shackell I for one won''t feel too confident come the kick off. 

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

[quote].....but what gives us hope is that: (a) Nigel has done it before (b) there is no need to sell players if he doesn''t want to (c) the side we still have walked the Championship in 03/04 and all but ...[/quote]

Hi Tumbleweed

I was not trying to be negative or spread any doom and gloom. I was just trying to put things in perspective before too many people get carried away. I honestly believe that we can do it but the point is it won''t be easy. Some people just seem to think that being the 19th best team in the Premiership means you are automatically the best team in the Championship.

I can agree with first your reason as to why will we go back up but in all honesty I think your other arguments are seriously flawed. Yes I can see us scoring plenty of goals but what about our defence - this must be strengthend

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

[quote]Yes I know, yesterday hurt big style and it ain''t got no better today. I suppose it''s a natural reaction to say "well we will just go straight back up next season" and I''ve seen plenty of posts on her...[/quote]

Hopefully , the players who couldn`t cut the mustard  this season , or were obviously  disinterested   in staying with Norwich , will have been exposed  for what they are , and shown the door !     here`s some to be getting on with  ....

Francis ,  who called HIM a striker ???

Mackenzie ,  ditto !   headless chicken  about sums him up ....

Green   IMO  a goalie  who lets in as many goals as him  aint England  class !  ........  IRRESPECTIVE of a lousy defence ..   throughout the season  he`s been letting in  goals that would have been stopped by any , self respecting , goalie   , people mainly remember the good saves  , but  letting in 6 in one match ...  hilights that Green has always had another agenda !!!   get rid of him  ....pronto !!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I disagree with all this caution ''it won''t be easy stuff''. It bloody well should be easy. We already have a team that, without a 20/30 goal-a-season Dean Ashton, quite literally walked the Division 12 months ago. Add the Premiership experience, Worthington''s experience, parachute payments and more funds to strengthen the squad even further and there is absolutely no excuse to expect anything less than automatic promotion next season.

Whats more, as the teams established in the Premiership grow stronger and stronger, Division One is becoming weaker and weaker, with few, if any relegated Premiership teams even in for contention nowadays. I fully expect the Division we play in next season to be substantially weaker than the Division we played in 2 seasons ago.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

MPFN- I agree 100% that the defence needs strengthening as in another thread I have argued for it to be rebuilt from scratch barring Charlie and Shackell.

I also should have added that in Delia and Munby we have a very safe and stable pair of hands. At Wolves, you can just see how if Hoddle doesn''t do things quickly the fans and the Board will get on his back. Harry may quit Saints at any moment (they are sore, some of my friends are Saints fans and they are really really low) and Dowie could well walk out of Palace into a Prem job (plus they could lose AJ who was the only reason they got to Survival Sunday) and Simon Jordan could fall out with Nelson Mandela.

So I totally agree with your sentiment that it''ll be tough but I do believe that we are as well placed as anybody.

Now if Aston goes, that will make a big difference, although we''ll be a lot richer.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
Sign in to follow this  

×
×
  • Create New...