BladesPod: Season starts here. There. Somewhere. Maybe | West Ham review

[Beans]

I appreciate you're probably not all chomping at the bit for this one, but for the dedicated souls among us, here is Roygbiv and I talking through the West Ham game. It must be said, struggling for positives in this one, as we consider such dilemmas as "what are we actually good at" and "how do we even go about getting out of this". But, I hope you at least get some enjoyment out of listening.

Cheers!



As always, available too on Spotify and Apple.

 

[Large Mendonca]

Go on then, I'll comment

Even though it is utterley depressing with not much hope, you've nailed it fellas. Can't disagree even slightly. I find it difficult to constructively discuss us (I burst into emotional language), especially when it gets as bad as we are right now, so hats off to you.

We're not even in a pickle, we are completely gone right now.

 

[Bartleby]

Not chomping at the bit for this one no, but I'm building up to listening to it. Can you add the download option please Ben? Cheers

 

[Beans]

Not chomping at the bit for this one no, but I'm building up to listening to it. Can you add the download option please Ben? Cheers

Cack, apologies. It's there now.

 

[Swannyblade]

It’s always sad when the anger turns to apathy and that is the direction I’m moving in.

 

[Stretch]

Cheers Beans and Roygbiv for putting in the hours, yet again, but I might just give this one a miss

 

[Houston_Blade]

For some reason I've listened. I have become a creature of habit with PoF on Monday and Blades Pod on Tuesdays.

My summary after the game when I spoke to my dad was "they look like they can step up a gear and score at any time, we look like we wouldn't score if we played all week".

As far as our strikers go, we can't play McG and McB together, If I were a PL defender of reasonable competence I would get my pipe and slippers out if I was playing against that pairing.

My main concern now is twofold:

1) We lose JOC, Egan, Baldock, Berge, Fleck, Basham and Stevens if we go down and end up with all the players who aren't that good. I know they won't all leave but if 2 or 3 do then we're screwed.

2) We get less than 11 points.

 

[Wards]

Said it on another thread but you touched on it too - we don't currently have enough good CB's to play a back 3 and haven't got two adaptable enough to play in a back 4. Horror show at the back.

 

[Beans]

1) We lose JOC, Egan, Baldock, Berge, Fleck, Basham and Stevens if we go down and end up with all the players who aren't that good. I know they won't all leave but if 2 or 3 do then we're screwed.

Feel free to bump this in 8-9 months if I'm hugely wrong about this, but I'd be surprised if we have many takers for our players even if we stay up this season - not a slight on the players, just the stage they're at in their careers. No one is going to spend money on JOC until they see what he's like post-injury. Basham will be 33, Fleck will be about to turn 30, Stevens will be 31.

Berge would almost certainly leave (although, look at some of the highly-marketable relegated players who are still in the Championship - Brooks, King, Cantwell, Buendia, Aarons etc) and I could see Egan and Baldock being semi-attractive options for lower-end / newly promoted teams - although again, they're entering their late 20s by the end of this season, and most of those teams might look at the pair and think they're not appreciably better (if at all) than the players they already have.

If I had to bet, it'd be that the core of the side would still be here in 7-8 months, assuming we want them to be.

 

[Houston_Blade]

Feel free to bump this in 8-9 months if I'm hugely wrong about this, but I'd be surprised if we have many takers for our players even if we stay up this season - not a slight on the players, just the stage they're at in their careers. No one is going to spend money on JOC until they see what he's like post-injury. Basham will be 33, Fleck will be about to turn 30, Stevens will be 31.

Berge would almost certainly leave (although, look at some of the highly-marketable relegated players who are still in the Championship - Brooks, King, Cantwell, Buendia, Aarons etc) and I could see Egan and Baldock being semi-attractive options for lower-end / newly promoted teams - although again, they're entering their late 20s by the end of this season, and most of those teams might look at the pair and think they're not appreciably better (if at all) than the players they already have.

If I had to bet, it'd be that the core of the side would still be here in 7-8 months, assuming we want them to be.

You're probably right, I think they'd be a cheap punt for a promoted team at best. Berge will definitely leave and to be honest he's a luxury player that we can do without in the Championship, let's face it, we don't really know what to do with him in the PL do we?!

I'm fairly confident that he'll have a relegation release clause in his contract and be off like a shot, I just hope we recover a decent fee for him (i.e. don't lose too much).

 

[IdLiketoRogerMoore]

I just think we're having the season we were predicted to have last season but this season.

I'd come to terms with that the previous Summer, so for me I'm ready to eat a shit sandwich for a few months and look forward to Tufty rebuilding next season.

The point Roygbiv makes about the stages of grief is pertinent and the sooner we can all get to acceptance the better!

 

[Gimli]

I just think we're having the season we were predicted to have last season but this season.

I'd come to terms with that the previous Summer, so for me I'm ready to eat a shit sandwich for a few months and look forward to Tufty rebuilding next season.

The point Roygbiv makes about the stages of grief is pertinent and the sooner we can all get to acceptance the better!

I’ve reached the point of acceptance, but still with some hope that we can turn it round. Is that allowed in the stages of grief cycle?!

 

[IdLiketoRogerMoore]

I’ve reached the point of acceptance, but still with some hope that we can turn it round. Is that allowed in the stages of grief cycle?!

I think once you've 'Accepted' you're empowered to be free to hold whatever hope you can muster!!

Personally I still think this is set up for some spring time heroics and last day survival excitement.

Looking at the last 12 games of the season, they're all winnable. Just saying....

 

[Houston_Blade]

I just think we're having the season we were predicted to have last season but this season.

I'd come to terms with that the previous Summer, so for me I'm ready to eat a shit sandwich for a few months and look forward to Tufty rebuilding next season.

The point Roygbiv makes about the stages of grief is pertinent and the sooner we can all get to acceptance the better!

I've just checked the thread with the vote on where we'll finish and I said 15th. 3 people (0.3%) thought we'd finish bottom none thought we'd finish 2nd bottom.

I wonder how that would change now?!

 

[I should coco]

Thanks for stepping up and doing it. I guess it's easy when we are flying high, so credit to you for doing it when things aren't going well.

I felt much like yourselves but fortunately I am not a social media superstar with legions of adoring fans who must be supplied with their fix.

You said all there was. It is so difficult to be optimistic with no signs of change, or even scoring a goal. Having said that, we have had far worse times, so chin up.

 

[Beans]

Thanks for stepping up and doing it. I guess it's easy when we are flying high, so credit to you for doing it when things aren't going well.

I felt much like yourselves but fortunately I am not a social media superstar with legions of adoring fans who must be supplied with their fix.

You said all there was. It is so difficult to be optimistic with no signs of change, or even scoring a goal. Having said that, we have had far worse times, so chin up.

"Legions of adoring fans"

It's alright, I get a measure of catharsis out of them even when we're talking about a match as rubbish as Sundays! Definitely far worse times, it's just hard not to live in the moment especially when there's not a lot else going on entertainment-wise in the outside world. Scrap a win from somewhere and I'm sure myself and lots of others will feel a hell of a lot better.

 

[YorkBlade]

Another great pod lads. It's hard to imagine the cocktail of ingredients that could have led to this feeling many of us have, particularly when you look at just how incredible the start of last season actually was.
Keep it up, can't wait for a win, everything will seem rosy again. It feels like...5 months since our last.

 

[Roygbiv]

Another great pod lads. It's hard to imagine the cocktail of ingredients that could have led to this feeling many of us have, particularly when you look at just how incredible the start of last season actually was.
Keep it up, can't wait for a win, everything will seem rosy again. It feels like...5 months since our last.

I think a fall from last season was expected by most. I think we even expected some hammerings this season. What I don't think anyone saw coming is how dramatic the fall has been and how quickly it all seems to have unraveled.

Still beat West Brom and who knows i suppose?

 

[IdLiketoRogerMoore]

So long as we have enough points to mean if we win 10 of the last 12 games we stay up - I'm ready to be patient!!

For Tufty's next act - The Great Escape!!

I'm calling it now. Remember where you heard it first!