Realism

[Davalon]

Now I can't pretend I'm not a little underwhelmed we haven't brought in one or two attackers to get the saliva glands going.

And I can't pretend I'm overly confident the next 3 weeks will provide that but we have to hope.

That said my own expectations for this season were mid table even with some pretty good recruitment.

We all won't have the exact same expectancy but surely we should all be in the fairly same ballpark.

This squad is nowhere near good enough to challenge automatic over 46 games, and imho unlikely to be top 6 even with realistic good striker recruitment.

My point is I suppose what is it about today that has really rankled those most annoyed?

The lack of reinvestment of the Brooks money?
The potential for a weak looking strike force seeing us through to January at the earliest?
Still no pace introduced to a largely pedestrian team?
Wilder appearing to drastically backtrack in the space of 24 hours on our targets?
Or just the nagging feeling of same old same old?

 

[SteveBlade]

I'd take some of your own advice and clear the thought of a top six finish out of your mind. Even mid table is pushing it.

Happy clapper.

 

[Harry's Game]

We need a good result on the pitch ASAP to calm things down a bit.

 

[robbiez666]

not just today, but over the window.

• Not improving the team or squad on last season
• Not planning for the future
• Wilder's u-turn in a short space of time
• Lack of re-investment
• Inane obsession with buying British (ish)
• No intention on scouting in Europe
• Not addressing the problems we've had since October 2017
• Chasing ridiculous transfer targets and then claiming "we tried"
• Obsession with buying 'proven Championship' when it's clear that these players are largely out of our reach
• Realisation that it's all downhill from here.
• Same failures, different excuses
• Not being able to sign 'proven Championship' but no attempt to sign the best players from league 1 we can afford

 

[Bellypork]

not just today, but over the window.

• Not improving the team or squad on last season
• Not planning for the future
• Wilder's u-turn in a short space of time
• Lack of re-investment
• Inane obsession with buying British (ish)
• No intention on scouting in Europe
• Not addressing the problems we've had since October 2017
• Chasing ridiculous transfer targets and then claiming "we tried"
• Obsession with buying 'proven Championship' when it's clear that these players are largely out of our reach
• Realisation that it's all downhill from here.
• Same failures, different excuses
• Not being able to sign 'proven Championship' but no attempt to sign the best players from league 1 we can afford

That's true in the striking department, as you're looking at £30 - £40 K a week, but maybe not elsewhere in the team.

And I think that was pretty much confirmed when he moved for Joao, a player to be developed rather than the finished article.

Unfortunately there weren't any Winnall scenarios to exploit, at least that I knew about anyway.

 

[IdLiketoRogerMoore]

I'll say it again, our principal plan for this seasons front line was Brooks + Clarke/Sharp/ANOther...

Since we sold him we've been trawling the dance floor at 1:55am desperately scraping the fat minger barrel and are heading home empty handed...

 

[ChipButtyBlade]

Fuckin hell 3 more weeks of possible player this possible player that.

 

[Harry's Game]

Fuckin hell 3 more weeks of possible player this possible player that.

I feel sorry for Ricky’s avatar.

 

[South_Stand]

Wilders gonna have one hell of a job to do next summer. Clarke will be 34/35 Sharp & Duffy 33/34 and Mcgoldrick is on a 1 year deal. We are going to have to buy a completely new strike force at least 4 players. How are we gonna do that if we can’t even manage to buy 1 this window? We’re gonna be down to the bones next summer once the loans go back. You could also assume that Fleck and O’Connell will be off if we don’t go up as well. It’s just been a bit underwhelming tbh. Could have been worse, but could have been a lot better.

 

[Nicolaus_Copernicus]

not just today, but over the window.

• Not improving the team or squad on last season: Our shortcomings were evident from Coutts injury until the end of the season & haven't been properly addressed.
  
• Not planning for the future: On my SWOT analysis, this issue is a 'Threat'. We have 4 or 5 players on the books who are entering the last 12-18 months of their careers, and we haven't properly addressed this. Making it a far greater issue in future.
  
• Wilder's u-turn in a short space of time: We have lacked that certain 'joie de vivre' since Fulham at home, and it seems to have followed us into this season.
  
• Lack of re-investment: I supported the sale of Brooks as I thought it would bring in 3 players of appropriate quality. It hasn't. At best it's brought in 1, at worst 0, and it appears spent.
  
• Inane obsession with buying British (ish): I think CW has a way of operating and he is sticking to it.
  
• No intention on scouting in Europe: See above.
  
• Not addressing the problems we've had since October 2017: See above
  
• Chasing ridiculous transfer targets and then claiming "we tried": I don't know the facts or full picture, but we do seem for whatever reason to have more trouble than most buying players.
  
• Obsession with buying 'proven Championship' when it's clear that these players are largely out of our reach: Stearman & Egan are at the uppermost of our buying ability. Played in the championship, but can they do it at the next level?
  
• Realisation that it's all downhill from here: Fearful of what the next 8 months holds at the moment. If Clarke & Sharp can't recreate their scoring records of last season, then we are in a relegation battle, because insufficant goals will come from elsewhere, even more so that BS appears not have had a fair crack of the whip the 1st two games of the season.
• Same failures, different excuses: As a club, we don't seem to learn from our mistakes, not only repeating them, but also finding new ones to bugger us up.
  
• Not being able to sign 'proven Championship' but no attempt to sign the best players from league 1 we can afford: The cost of buying the best talent from L1 is probably beyond our means at the moment, so it's either L2 or the continent (and we don't do continental). Other clubs appear to utilise L2 and lower, better than us. I would've loved us to pull a nade, kazim-richards, littlejohn, kabba, type player out of the bag pre-season. Raw, pacey, unpredictable, etc. Macauley Bonne for example at Leyton Orient? 22 yrs old and scored 22 in 44. Never seen him play, but straight away those figures, should be sufficient to provoke a scouting trip. We might have to accept that this is the pond we are now fishing in.

 

[Pittsburg Blade]

trawling the dance floor at 1:55am desperately scraping the fat minger barrel

You were doing well until your brought my wife into it...

 

[ChipButtyBlade]

I feel sorry for Ricky’s avatar.

 

[robbiez666]

It's refusing to quote you Nicolaus_Copernicus but

On your SWOT analysis did you find any opportunities?

In terms of downhill, I don;t necessarily think we'll be in trouble this year, but we've stored a greater problem up for next season in terms of the ageing attack. We'll need to buy 4 strikers next summer. I for one feel that's unlikely given our history.

 

[Nicolaus_Copernicus]

It's refusing to quote you Nicolaus_Copernicus but

On your SWOT analysis did you find any opportunities?

In terms of downhill, I don;t necessarily think we'll be in trouble this year, but we've stored a greater problem up for next season in terms of the ageing attack. We'll need to buy 4 strikers next summer. I for one feel that's unlikely given our history.

• Large capital receipt & potential re-investment
• Underutilised foreign markets
• Use of domestic loan markets
• High quality free transfer/under appreciated player signing
• Maximising relationship with Malaga & Inter

It's a work in progress