Are the last 3 results a blessing in disguise??.....

[Blue3]

In the fact that it's highlighted clearly to both our manager and chairman that serious squad strengthening is required for next season.

If we had held on today and won the title would that have papered over the cracks to some extent and perhaps not given the strict focus that is needed to make our squad Premier League ready?

Papering over cracks might be a bit strong but I do think not winning the Championship when we had three games to do so was poor and probably a reality check to all of us in keeping our feet on the ground, is the squad Premiereship ready do we have options enough to unlock defences?

 

[sparkie]

It will be interesting to see our 'retained' list. I assume that not only confirms players released at end of contract but also those that are in contract but we have said can go find another club. Is that correct?

No. It will just detail which out of contract players have accepted / been offered / not been offered contract extensions.

Contracted players may be moved on after the transfer window opens, possibly as late as after the 25 man squad is named ( if they are not in it ).

 

[Wrong-Direction]

Yes definitely, the only good thing about fluffing, should've finished the job at Bristol.

Sent from my SM-A310F using Tapatalk

 

[Shatner's Bassoon]

No, the club is run incredibly well from top to bottom and I'd have been very surprised if that had changed on the basis of three wins after sealing promotion.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

do we have options enough to unlock defences?

This is what worries me. We have a very specific style of play and if it doesn't work we usually carry on doing the same but change the personnel. I feel we need some alternative approaches for next season.

 

[Bigtomfu]

Oh I wasn't, hence not quoting you, it was just a perfect lead into my genuine question.

I guess I should be grateful it wasn't Jeffrey Monakana, although I'm sure it won't be long before someone decides Jeff is the answer.

Only Andy has the Ansah.

In all seriousness GB could be a potential upgrade on Sidders (he's older, has more mileage but also more PL experience) which would be no bad thing as our ability to play more expansively relies solely on a combative quality midfield IMO.


Sometimes right, sometimes wrong but ALWAYS certain

 

[Two Professors]

Champions would have been nice,but realistically,I think the team over-achieved.Knocky was our secret weapon,but got found out by the end of the season-just glad we're not in the play-offs.If Stephens stays,I think we've got the basics of a mid-table finishing team for next season.

 

[pasty]

Gareth Barry - no matter how tenuous the link why is NSC always so desperate to get former 'players' back?


This is a serious question:-

Are other forums/fans as obsessed as this place is in returning players?

Would hardly class him as a former player. Ok, he was part of our youth set up but, and forgive me if I'm wrong, he never made a first team appearance for us did he?

 

[Machiavelli]

I see what you're getting at here.

What they demonstrate is that this team/ squad has relied on intangibles (motivation, team spirit etc....) for a lot of the year and that the margins in the Championship are extremely slim so when some of the motivation is removed results suffer.

However, it seems to me the lesson isn't 'go out and spend a load of cash' it's 'remember that this triumph has been built on character as much as skill' and continue to view the vast majority of future signings through this prism.

I see little reason for thinking that this prism will change, which is one I strongly suspect Bloom uses when assessing betting on football, and one in which Winstanley has gone on record about us using in terms of player recruitment. But I think you're right in stressing the intangibles.

 

[Knocky's Nose]

I think it may have done us a favour...

Romping home by winning the last 3 games could have led to a bit of complacency when thinking "right, who do we buy... or do we need to?"

Fluffing the title has made us think. Maybe a positive from a negative.

 

[Perfidious Albion]

Not a blessing in disguise but perhaps a faint glimmer of a silver lining if you really want to find one.....

 

[Brovion]

Bizarrely the last three games might actually go a long way to us staying up next year.

Had we got the Championship there would have been a huge wave of euphoria over the summer, and as previously alluded to in this thread papered over the cracks.

Whilst there is no room for sentiment in professional football it would have been hard for Hughton to do what he has to do and break up the squad on the back of a Championship win, now he has the ultimate get out when shipping players out, you had three chances to win the Championship and you came up short each time.

We need 7 players minimum, apparently the first is rumoured to be Gareth Barry, whether he's still got what it takes is another debate that I'm sure will be played out on NSC.

Agree. Not a 'blessing in disguise' so much as a lesson to be learnt. No one can now pretend that our current squad is a squad capable of surviving in the PL with perhaps just one or two additions. They had not one, not two but three chances to win the Championship - and they couldn't do it. That's the blunt truth.

This of course in no way detracts from their achievement in gaining promotion. All of the squad of 2016-17 deserve to be remembered with respect and admiration.

 

[Mellotron]

The main lesson being that we ABSOLUTELY WILL NOT BE ABLE TO SIT ON 1-0 LEADS IN THE PREM. We will get punished EVERY time if we just sit back and back and back and back.

 

[Weststander]

In the fact that it's highlighted clearly to both our manager and chairman that serious squad strengthening is required for next season.

If we had held on today and won the title would that have papered over the cracks to some extent and perhaps not given the strict focus that is needed to make our squad Premier League ready?

Yes. Along with both results against Newcastle, Hudd away and Leeds away, all of which would probably be easier than PL games, it exposes very clearly that idea of "our incredible team spirit plus just a couple of quality additions this summer", is a recipe for an inept PL season and sure fire relegation.

Hopefully TB/PB/CH/Winstanley knew that already.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

If there's a blessing in there somewhere, it's that our strike force isn't anywhere near clinical enough to hack it at this level, let alone at the next level up. Hoping CH will be BRUTAL in culling some of these players. Fair play, it's not their fault, they've been playing at the absolute top of their ability. And full respect for that. But the future is incremental rather than sentimental.

 

[Weststander]

Oh I wasn't, hence not quoting you, it was just a perfect lead into my genuine question.

I guess I should be grateful it wasn't Jeffrey Monakana, although I'm sure it won't be long before someone decides Jeff is the answer.

Barry, the 2017/18 version, would slow us down in CM. Everton's main forum sigh when he starts these days. Unless a player is exceptionally talented on the ball, pace is so important in the PL.

 

[Lawro's Lip]

The main lesson being that we ABSOLUTELY WILL NOT BE ABLE TO SIT ON 1-0 LEADS IN THE PREM. We will get punished EVERY time if we just sit back and back and back and back.

Nor will be able to give the ball away as often as we do without being punished.

 

[bn1&bn3 Albion]

Certainly was for me, with the amount I drank Saturday day, night and into Sunday morning I don't think my body could have handled the celebrations..

 

[BensGrandad]

My son suggested Gareth Barry to me some weeks ago as I posted on here but I see him as a not very great improvement on Sidwell at a much higher expected wage and 2 years older, so it would be a no from me. My youngest would be happy because he wants Barry and Terry.

 

[AZ Gull]

Would hardly class him as a former player. Ok, he was part of our youth set up but, and forgive me if I'm wrong, he never made a first team appearance for us did he?

Not only did he not make a first team appearance, I'm pretty sure he never played for the reserves and I'm not even sure if he actually played for the U-18s. He joined Aston Villa on a scholarship in the summer of 1997 so he left us after his U-16 schoolboy season (he'd joined Albion at the age of 10).

It was actually Michael Standing who, at the time, was viewed as the better prospect (he had been involved in the England youth set-up). Whilst Dick Knight and his Albion team did a great job to put Albion's case in the tribunal that saw us awarded an incredible sum of money for Barry, we were extremely fortunate that he had become a permanent fixture in the Villa side by the time the tribunal made it's decision.