Season of failure?

[Acker79]

I don't think he did. Can you find any evidence of him saying that?

I disticntly remember Bloom saying that at the pre-season fans forum.

He didn't.

http://www.theargus.co.uk/sport/10589607.Bloom_wants_Albion_to_be_challenging_again/

Bloom told fans at a forum at The Amex last night: "We aim to get to the Premiership. It's a very competitive division as we know and every season at the start of the season we've got to try and have the squad we think is capable of promotion. I certainly think this season we have that.

"You can get a few bad injuries, a few bad games, we can be just outside the play-offs, we could get a bit of luck and finish in the top two, but I think if we finish in the top six we've got to be happy and if we are in the play-offs again hopefully we'll get a bit of luck.

"But it's very difficult to say. Outside the play-offs we're not going to be happy but at the end of the day we try to be competitive so that we have a reasonable chance of promotion every season we are in the Championship."​

Essentially, it sounds to me that his aim is to have a club that will always be challenging for a top 6 spot. We have that, so while he won't be happy that we failed to reach the top six, just because you're not happy, doesn't mean you are sad or upset. I imagine he will be satisfied we were/are challenging for it with only two games left.


For me the failure of this season is a failure to entertain me. Points, league position, etc, that's all perfectly fine. I just haven't enjoyed the football.

 

[Footsoldier]

How about Derby? They've more than competed without throwing money at the squad.

They hadn't needed to have they. They have class all over the place.

 

[northernseagull]

Yes. Failure on a massive scale. Blackpool and yeovil at home and win both then we'd be in the play offs meaning if we failed in the play offs then look at the cash we would of made and Barber would have been banging one out. Teams from 6th to 12th would have seen the remaining fixtures and would have been gutted to see our last 2 home games but now they are laughing.

If any other team had the run in like us then they'd have smashed these teams. Us?, We are bottle jobs on a massive scale. Need a total overhaul in the summer as these players who bang on about wanting to play in the premiership aren't good enough and the ones out of contact should be gone and replaced. Barber say's were Premiership ready? Maybe on the stadium and training ground but the squad is light years away.

In order for us to reach the premiership and stay there then you need quality players and they cost money and we aren't willing to pay that because of FFP so we'll be forever be mid table or fighting relegation.

Look at the top 5 teams bar Burnley. It's like the premiership and we can't compete with that and it'll get worse as the money for prem teams who get relegated increases while we have to cut cloth.

Monday afternoon really got to you didn't it... instant success band wagon

 

[Footsoldier]

Ha, you're funny.

Well engage in a discussion then instead of the usual one liners.

 

[sydney]

Is it just me who thinks that if we weren't to finish in the play-offs this would be a failed season?

I know a lot of fair-weather fans, and a few die-hards, who think that just because we finished in the play-offs last season that guarantees that we should finish there consistently from now on.

With a new manager there is always going to be a transition period and I for one think finishing say 7th, a point of so off the top six would be a decent campaign.

We sold Bridcutt and Barnes and people still expect us to be one of the favourites for promotion, when really we don't have a good enough squad for it.

Don't get me wrong at times the football we play is boring and lacklustre when we should press forward instead. But overall it's not been a bad season. We've had poor performances but so has every other club, similarly we have won games we should have so it balances out.

I think Oscar has been unfairly blamed for the times we have lost but the same blame needs to be put on the players when they under-perform.

Bottom line if we don't make the play-offs that does not make this a bad season and we should use it as a stepping stone to push on next campaign. Cardiff were in the Championship ten years before getting promoted!

the fact that we have been within striking distance most of the season but have been unable to consolidate a play -off spot let alone auto leads me to believe that this season has been a bit of a failure , however , Tony Bloom is a man of the world and i have to take a look back at our new ground ,our new training facility and our general ascendence from league one mediocrity to prem potentiality.....this has all happened in a very short time span and although this season is frustrating as the last one was we are still on the way up........i would really like to have a quarterly mission statement from the board to be honest.........a lot of frustration born out of silence at board room level ......and the hardcore fans would love to know what is going on rather than getting supposition from the arsegas...........goodnight.

 

[nwgull]

I don't have the time to do a proper search, but I'm fairly sure that there are threads from last summer/autumn speculating on whether or not we'd be in a relegation dogfight at this stage of the season due to the summer shenanigans and that the league was supposed to be so much stronger this season.

 

[Guinness Boy]

It's not a season of failure but of frustration. If we were 10th / 11th and we'd won a few and lost a few (and maybe done slightly better at home and worse away) and had no chance of playoffs or relegation for a while I think most would be chilled. It's precisely because we beat the Burnley, Leicester and QPRs of this world and do so badly to poor sides who just come here to kick and frustrate us and waste time that people get so wound up. Anything in the top 10 isn't failure given the summer we had plus the injuries. Yet we can all see that with a couple more players and a bit more attacking intent the top four really shouldn't be beyond us.

This isn't limited to us however. Reading fans are doing their pieces that a side with talent and parachute payments can't put a top six finish away. Ipswich have beaten us twice but can't buy the right result when they need it.

Honestly, there are times this season where I just wish we'd been out and out crap instead of nearly good enough but it certainly isn't a failure.

BTW anyone desperate for the Prem should have a long think about what it will actually mean. I was having a chat after the game when someone suggested it might be better to stay in the Championship. Sounds like madness eh? Then we listed it out. 10 / 15% on your ST. Binfests for away games with everyone scrambling to pay £50 a ticket at Arsenal or Chelsea. More Monday night and Sunday lunchtime football. Gary Linekar's ears. Man U fans. And a possibility of a proper season of failure seeing as the best we could hope for would be to emulate West Brom or Swansea.

 

[Footsoldier]

Monday afternoon really got to you didn't it... instant success band wagon

Listen up you old mucker. I've been a season ticket holder for 32 years so I've been used to more downs than ups. New stadium then I expect a bit more entertainment on the pitch and better quality players to help us reach our goal.

 

[sydney]

Listen up you old mucker. I've been a season ticket holder for 32 years so I've been used to more downs than ups. New stadium then I expect a bit more entertainment on the pitch and better quality players to help us reach our goal.

that is fair comment i'd say.

 

[Thimble Keegan]

He didn't.

Well I remember hearing it when listening to the radio broadcast of the fans forum...The reason this is so clear is that I thought at the time to say this was quite a steep thing to do and almost instantly places unfair pressure on the new manager.

Maybe you can dig out the recording of the forum and have a listen...

Albion & England forever.

Thimble Keegan
Rustington BHA

 

[nwgull]

Listen up you old mucker. I've been a season ticket holder for 32 years so I've been used to more downs than ups. New stadium then I expect a bit more entertainment on the pitch and better quality players to help us reach our goal.

I don't understand why you get so wound up about it; you should be used to us being far far poorer than this over 32 years.

 

[sydney]

It's not a season of failure but of frustration. If we were 10th / 11th and we'd won a few and lost a few (and maybe done slightly better at home and worse away) and had no chance of playoffs or relegation for a while I think most would be chilled. It's precisely because we beat the Burnley, Leicester and QPRs of this world and do so badly to poor sides who just come here to kick and frustrate us and waste time that people get so wound up. Anything in the top 10 isn't failure given the summer we had plus the injuries. Yet we can all see that with a couple more players and a bit more attacking intent the top four really shouldn't be beyond us.

This isn't limited to us however. Reading fans are doing their pieces that a side with talent and parachute payments can't put a top six finish away. Ipswich have beaten us twice but can't buy the right result when they need it.

Honestly, there are times this season where I just wish we'd been out and out crap instead of nearly good enough but it certainly isn't a failure.

BTW anyone desperate for the Prem should have a long think about what it will actually mean. I was having a chat after the game when someone suggested it might be better to stay in the Championship. Sounds like madness eh? Then we listed it out. 10 / 15% on your ST. Binfests for away games with everyone scrambling to pay £50 a ticket at Arsenal or Chelsea. More Monday night and Sunday lunchtime football. Gary Linekar's ears. Man U fans. And a possibility of a proper season of failure seeing as the best we could hope for would be to emulate West Brom or Swansea.

that is also fair comment.

 

[northernseagull]

Listen up you old mucker. I've been a season ticket holder for 32 years so I've been used to more downs than ups. New stadium then I expect a bit more entertainment on the pitch and better quality players to help us reach our goal.

Couldn't resist Its really intriguing how many fractions of support come about this time of season - I've personally really enjoyed the season despite the obvious lack of flair on show!

 

[Footsoldier]

It's not a season of failure but of frustration. If we were 10th / 11th and we'd won a few and lost a few (and maybe done slightly better at home and worse away) and had no chance of playoffs or relegation for a while I think most would be chilled. It's precisely because we beat the Burnley, Leicester and QPRs of this world and do so badly to poor sides who just come here to kick and frustrate us and waste time that people get so wound up. Anything in the top 10 isn't failure given the summer we had plus the injuries. Yet we can all see that with a couple more players and a bit more attacking intent the top four really shouldn't be beyond us.

This isn't limited to us however. Reading fans are doing their pieces that a side with talent and parachute payments can't put a top six finish away. Ipswich have beaten us twice but can't buy the right result when they need it.

Honestly, there are times this season where I just wish we'd been out and out crap instead of nearly good enough but it certainly isn't a failure.

BTW anyone desperate for the Prem should have a long think about what it will actually mean. I was having a chat after the game when someone suggested it might be better to stay in the Championship. Sounds like madness eh? Then we listed it out. 10 / 15% on your ST. Binfests for away games with everyone scrambling to pay £50 a ticket at Arsenal or Chelsea. More Monday night and Sunday lunchtime football. Gary Linekar's ears. Man U fans. And a possibility of a proper season of failure seeing as the best we could hope for would be to emulate West Brom or Swansea.

Maybe not for you but Tony Bloom wanted a top 6 finish and as he pumps his cash in and we fail to reach the play offs then it's a failure to him like me and others. Are you going to argue with Mr bloom when he says it's been a failure because when he wants a top 6 finish and we fail then that is failure isn't it.

 

[Guinness Boy]

Maybe not for you but Tony Bloom wanted a top 6 finish and as he pumps his cash in and we fail to reach the play offs then it's a failure to him like me and others. Are you going to argue with Mr bloom when he says it's been a failure because when he wants a top 6 finish and we fail then that is failure isn't it.

Oddly that was the end point of our discussion. Tony wants his money back - I have heard this from two separate sources - and the Prem is the only way I can see of doing it as this division is a moneypit and a lottery. I just won't be turning somersaults when we get there and I'm paying loads more per season to see far more losses.

 

[Footsoldier]

Couldn't resist Its really intriguing how many fractions of support come about this time of season - I've personally really enjoyed the season despite the obvious lack of flair on show!

I haven't. I loved withdean, ups and downs but great entertainment and some of my best years supporting the Albion ba the Goldstone. Move to the Amex and it has been a total let down.

 

[Footsoldier]

Oddly that was the end point of our discussion. Tony wants his money back - I have heard this from two separate sources - and the Prem is the only way I can see of doing it as this division is a moneypit and a lottery. I just won't be turning somersaults when we get there and I'm paying loads more per season to see far more losses.

I'm not interested in sources mate. Yes, Mr bloom wants his money back but it won't be when we are floating around the Championship. I bet he is unhappy like a majority of us how this season has panned out when we had the play offs in our hands and let it slip.

 

[Seagull58]

the fact that we have been within striking distance most of the season but have been unable to consolidate a play -off spot let alone auto leads me to believe that this season has been a bit of a failure , however , Tony Bloom is a man of the world and i have to take a look back at our new ground ,our new training facility and our general ascendence from league one mediocrity to prem potentiality.....this has all happened in a very short time span and although this season is frustrating as the last one was we are still on the way up........i would really like to have a quarterly mission statement from the board to be honest.........a lot of frustration born out of silence at board room level ......and the hardcore fans would love to know what is going on rather than getting supposition from the arsegas...........goodnight.

I don't think I'd like to see a quarterly mission statement from the Board. This is a football club, not Tescos.

 

[hybrid_x]

depends what one is regarding?

Trophies: Failure
Promotion: Failure
Play offs: Failure
Entertainment: Failure
Consistency: Failure
Killing off teams: Failure
Build on last season: Failure
Up for it against the top teams: Success.
Bringing youth through: Success
Ammount of paying fans: Success
FFP complient: Success.

The only on that really matters in this list is the top one.....so yes, the season has been a failure.

 

[Guinness Boy]

I'm not interested in sources mate. Yes, Mr bloom wants his money back but it won't be when we are floating around the Championship. I bet he is unhappy like a majority of us how this season has panned out when we had the play offs in our hands and let it slip.

Calm down. I'm saying you're right. I think Tony Bloom will regard it as a failure if we don't go up this season. I won't and I'm ambivalent about what we'll miss out on if we don't.