Are we going to be in a relegation battle this season??

[Blackadder]

Unfortunately this is true. And if we count Newport in this it gets more embarrassing.

Leeds and Derby are unlikely to be among the top six come the end of the season, and if Newport are pushing for top six in League Two then that's going to add to our embarrassment.

We need to turn over some shit teams

Leeds might be. Agree on Derby,

 

[Goring-by-Seagull]

We only have 1 point less than we did at this stage last season!

 

[Jbanged]

Not a chance

 

[Ninja Elephant]

Wolves were confident of the top 6 last season.

 

[essexeagle]

You can pass your way out for sure. Our new style however is nothing like that we played under Gus. Continuity's gone and its now a transitional period to get players who can play Oscar's way (whatever that is).

Yeah, good point. Maybe there will be a transitional period. Assuming Oscar's way is the Barcelona blueprint, I can't think of another side that has succeeded in getting promotion from the Championship in that style. I think it takes a special team to play that way and it would be remarkable to see a Championship team do that, given that it would take players beyond the budget of most (if not all) Championship clubs. I also include clubs in the lower half of the Premier League in that as well. (so this is not about Palace btw) It will be interesting to see how it pans out.
And thanks for your constructive answer to my question, rather than the usual anti-stuff just cos I'm a Palace fan.

 

[Adders1]

We have nearly the same squad as last season so no

...apart from the two players with the most quality / most experience at the highest level, which the club haven't replaced.

 

[Bognor Seagull]

When I looked around the park yesterday & saw the team that was put out, thought, how many of our players would fit into other Championship teams. In truth not many.

Smell the coffee peeps - we will be nearer the bottom than the top for the whole season.

Birmingham away & another defeat I suspect. Getting twitchy over here in Bognor.

 

[Seagull73]

I'm not sure I get the ridiculous amount of confidence that Garcia is going to get a grip with this team and we are suddenly going to be unbeatable.

Im prepared to give the guy plenty of time but the only solid proof we have at the moment is of disorganisation and no pattern to our play.

I genuinely think this season is going to be a long hard slog.

 

[Icy Gull]

I'm not sure I get the ridiculous amount of confidence that Garcia is going to get a grip with this team and we are suddenly going to be unbeatable.

Im prepared to give the guy plenty of time but the only solid proof we have at the moment is of disorganisation and no pattern to our play.

I genuinely think this season is going to be a long hard slog.

I was concerned about how disjointed we looked right across the pitch, even taking into account the penalty that we should have had, I don't think we can consider ourselves unlucky. I was confused as to quite what the game plan was. It seemed a bit gung ho to me without any clear structure.

Gonna have to be patient but I don't discount a relegation scrap on the basis of what I saw yesterday. The hoof ball in the last 20 mins was a concern.

 

[scousefan]

First of all I hate the abuse on here. The OP has a valid point of view.

Reasons not to worry
1. We've started each game well.
2. Ulloa for a whole season is a huge asset
3. We have most of the squad that did so well last year.
4. OG makes a lot of sense and deserves every chance.
5. It's only 2 league games
6. We can only improve!

Reasons to worry:
1. It's a tough league and based on last year there wasn't a lot of difference between promotion and relegation.
2. We have essentially the same team minus Bridge and Hammond and squad support players like Dicker and Painter. Agustien has been the only major signing and he's not added much yet.
3. There is still a risk we could lose a player or two. However this is looking less of a risk now.
4. The squad don't look fit - particularly Agustien and David.
5. Little sign of major signings or investment.
6. Defence looks dodgy
7. Several players like Bruno, El Abd and Upson are getting old and will get more injuries.

My view
I was roundly abused on here just after OG was appointed when I said we would need to work hard to maintain our squad. Since then we resigned El Abd, Upson and David which was great and couldn't be expected at the time. We have also not lost anyone significant yet. However with OG coming in so late, the squad don't look comfortable and several key players are not match fit. I saw Agustien at Leeds and was really disappointed. To avoid a significant drop this year compared to last, we still need more loans/ signings. I don't believe relegation is a big risk, but we have to improve. When I saw the fixtures I thought that we had a tough start. Birmingham and Burnley won't be much easier. Therefore this might get worse before it gets better. I will worry if we are in the bottom three in mid- October. I expect that a top half finish would be realistic this season with anything better a bonus.

 

[Baaaald]

No.

 

[Super Steve Earle]

You need to win a few games, scrape a few draws, nick some lucky points to even be good enough to move from relegation certainties to relegation battlers. I can't recall the last time I saw us look this clueless, this unfit, this lacking in belief, this lacking even in a recognisable team shape. I'm not calling for Oscar to go, but yesterday was truly appalling and shambolic and I can't see it improving with this squad without some of Oscar's own choice of additions. By that I mean players he knows from abroad who understand what he is trying to do, because damned if I do.

 

[Horton hears a few]

I don't see a relegation fight. Once there's a few points in the board it should be fine. A lot will depend on the crowd though, 26k yesterday. Was that a real 26k or were ST holders absent at all?

 

[Rugrat]

Given how tight this league always is no team should think relegation is not possible ... just ask Wolves. There's been numerous examples over the years of clubs you'd think would be battling for promotion at the beginning getting relegated at the end.

I'm not worried but there's a good deal of work to be done, we looked inept yesterday, almost "panicky". All of the next 3 should be very winnable, if we fail in all of them then I might start to worry

 

[BuddyBoy]

I don't see a relegation fight. Once there's a few points in the board it should be fine. A lot will depend on the crowd though, 26k yesterday. Was that a real 26k or were ST holders absent at all?

Must have been a few absent. WSU seemed to have a few empties.

 

[Tony Meolas Loan Spell]

Of course we are. Yesterday was absolutely pathetic. Worthy of withdean or gillingham. If we were at withers turnimg in a performance like that with dan marney up front and george santos in defence etc the fine. But we didnt. Frankly its UNFORGIVEABLE. Truly truly SHIT.

 

[Notters]

I don't see a relegation fight. Once there's a few points in the board it should be fine. A lot will depend on the crowd though, 26k yesterday. Was that a real 26k or were ST holders absent at all?

There were loads of people missing as there always are in August .

 

[Horton hears a few]

Must have been a few absent. WSU seemed to have a few empties.

That could be a bit of a worry if it continues. Empty seats and quiet crowds can transfer negativity to the team. One win could turn it around though, just needs to be soon.

 

[Uncle Spielberg]

Unlikely as we still have enough quality players to stay up if Garcia gets them playing. I think though we can forget any pipe dream of the top 6 this season that Bloom said was the target in the match programme. We lost 7 weeks to all the other clubs in preparation and it shows and now we have a guy in who is totally alien to playing or managing in England and again it shows. I think 16th or 17th this season. The thing is how will that affect st sales for the season after. This will be 4 seasons in the championship and the drop in gates will start then.

 

[BuddyBoy]

That could be a bit of a worry if it continues. Empty seats and quiet crowds can transfer negativity to the team. One win could turn it around though, just needs to be soon.

Holiday season, mate.