The season after a decent one

[Bergen Blade]

1996/97: After a dreadful start with Dave Bassett, we finished 95/96 very well with Kendall's team that looked both solid and exciting. There was a lot of optimism in the summer, but our general performances weren't as good and we finished fifth, eventually losing the play off final.

2003/04: The 02/03 season was fantastic. Warnock had built a great team that held their own against some of the nation's top clubs, and only an off day in the play off final denied us a promotion which neutrals would say we deserved. Results were decent at the start of the following season and we topped the table a few months in. Performances were unconvincing though, and we eventually drifted out of the play offs, finishing 8th.

2008/09: Following Bryan Robson's dismissal we finished the previous season on a high under Kevin Blackwell. Blackwell was also given a great budget and was able to make a decent attempt at promotion, finishing 3rd, but losing the play off final. Our football wasn't great though.

2009/10: The football was horrible to watch as Blackwell wasted enormous amounts of money on a small and vulnerable squad relying on loans. Finished 8th.

2012/13: Danny Wilson had a good first season at the club and had us playing very entertaining football until things went wrong after Ched Evans' trial. United's performances were rubbish the following season. Somehow we were top of the league at christmas, but we finished the season as one of the worst sides and embarrassed ourselves further in the play offs.

2014/15: United had a terrible start to the season under David Weir, but Nigel Clough turned things around, got us to the semi final of the FA cup, setting club records and climbing the table. With the club in a healthy financial position there was a lot of optimism and United were betting favorites as the season started. Early performances weren't anything like before the summer though and United must improve a lot if they are to live up to the expectations.


The above shows that it is often difficult to keep up the momentum gained from the end of one season to the next. It may be a mental thing for the entire club, the board, the management, the players.


I think the arguments that we see among fans at the moment are similar to the ones that took place in each of the above seasons. One 'side' looks at the table and expects us to improve. The other side are worried by the performances and fear that some decent results/not too bad table position are papering over the cracks. In the past they've usually been proven right, and that's why I hope Clough won't be lenient with the current players.

 

[bornablade]

1971/1972??

 

[Revolution]

1996-7: we were in the top 3 and very close to Bolton and Barnsley on Boxing Day. 2 things screwed us: Kendall became very defensive away from home (7 away wins by Boxing Day: none after) and a lot of injuries.

2003-4: sell Michael Brown and replace him with Monty, you deserve all you get

2008-9: we had a better year. We might have done better at the end had we not sold Beattie, had a fit striker other than the other Beattie, and Blackwell knew how to deal with Burnley.

2009-10: always going to be worse after the best defence in 25 years is sold (the Kyles, Kilgallon) suspended (Kenny) or injured (Naysmith). There were many loans but that was partly because on injuries and the amount of cash tied up in the appalling Evans.

2012-13: all our best players in jail or moved on for financial reasons. Wilson worked miracles to keep that lot in the promotion frame, as was seen when he was sacked.

This season: sell the best centre half in the division? You don't need to wonder why you get humped at Swindon.

A thread running through this is the wilful dismantling of the best bits of all our play off final losing teams. That strategy has been a disaster.

 

[Bergen Blade]

1996-7: we were in the top 3 and very close to Bolton and Barnsley on Boxing Day. 2 things screwed us: Kendall became very defensive away from home (7 away wins by Boxing Day: none after) and a lot of injuries.

2003-4: sell Michael Brown and replace him with Monty, you deserve all you get

2008-9: we had a better year. We might have done better at the end had we not sold Beattie, had a fit striker other than the other Beattie, and Blackwell knew how to deal with Burnley.

2009-10: always going to be worse after the best defence in 25 years is sold (the Kyles, Kilgallon) suspended (Kenny) or injured (Naysmith). There were many loans but that was partly because on injuries and the amount of cash tied up in the appalling Evans.

2012-13: all our best players in jail or moved on for financial reasons. Wilson worked miracles to keep that lot in the promotion frame, as was seen when he was sacked.

This season: sell the best centre half in the division? You don't need to wonder why you get humped at Swindon.

A thread running through this is the wilful dismantling of the best bits of all our play off final losing teams. That strategy has been a disaster.

But still - for the level we were at we had great budgets available. Although we lost players it should have been possible to regroup and mount another strong challenge. And some of the seasons we did sort of stay high in the table, but the most striking thing for me was how poor the football was, how disappointing the performances were. In all of those seasons half the fan base thought we were crap and rightly predicted a slide.

Could there be a psychological factor involved, maybe that we slightly overestimate the quality of a squad that's done pretty well, and underestimate the task of mounting a new challenge?


Bristol City had a very similar season to ourselves last season. We both improved after changing managers and ended the season on a high. But their summer signings were so full of intent. 7 proven players, a nice mix of experience, athleticism, skill and creativity, all straight into the starting line up in their best position in a preplanned formation. We'll see if they can keep their form up, but Cotterill clearly had a plan and knew what he wanted to do to improve even more from last season.

Our main plan was to keep most of last season's first eleven, and then add a few more options. All summer we kept hoping that we'd keep Maguire and get Brayford back. We tried replacing Coady with Basham/Wallace. But instead of having Maguire/Brayford we ended up with back up signings in their positions, and Basham has of yet not successfully replaced Coady, while Wallace has been injured.

Injuries to Scougall, Baxter, JCR and Flynn hasn't helped. Murphy's lack of form and Higdon's lack of fitness the same. I personally rate JCR, but he and McNulty (like Alcock, McGahey and McEveley) are more back up signings who may end up first choice. The players Clough wanted to gradually phase out, Collins and Doyle, are also back playing. It seems to me that we, again, didn't fully realise how difficult it can be to keep the momentum from one season to the next.