jono

Honestly,I'm anticipating a slow start,as per this season,as the new squad gels under warned and gains it's fitness,then a consistent run from December onwards,leaving us in the playoffs.

Mid table - maintain our hard to beat defensive success whilst building a squad of young hungry players that can see us challenge for top 6 the following year

Stay out of trouble without any real threat of relegation and a suggestion that we might push on the year after. There is so much parachute money floating around that I think the finances are going to dictate a slow and steady approach and we'll have to be patient.

"Never seriously looked like flirting with relegation" lower mid table solid enough ish mediocrity is fine by me for the season ahead.
Be nice if we can get a few good results along the way, or even a decent cup run.

What are our early aspirations for next season, prior to any signings? 
Personally, I would be happy to consolidate our position in the Championship without spending too much money. If we could steer clear of the relegation dog fight and flirt with the top half, I would be happy. 
This would give us a platform to build upon and aim for the play offs the following season, all the while, steadily improving the quality of our team.

I disagree. There was a home game mid season and Fozzy was in a race for the ball with a younger attacker, can’t remember who, no half yard, right foot advantage. He won it, (just !)
Also .. watch how he heads a ball .. one of the few who can direct a defensive header to a white shirt. He’s also cute enough to play the line ball inside or outside to a runner he has actually seen. No he isn’t the dynamic striding forward man that he was 10 years ago but he is an able and intelligent footballer with another season in him. Not retrograde .. intelligent use of a loyal and experienced player. 

Absolutely, it is all about opinions. From my perspective we will always need a balance of youth and experience and if you have Fozzy as part of the experience quotient you’re on a winner. He won’t sulk if he isn’t picked, he’s able and he’s got Ram in his DNA. I’m not naive, he will never be a first choice starter at this stage of his career and at this level but he will make a competent job of whatever is asked of him.  Just look how he stepped in as makeshift CB. The stop gap turned into a fixture. 

I think the only real issue with playing out from the back is that you need technical footballers, 1 through 11, to do it well. Even Ederson in goal can play the intricate stuff on the floor and that ability is a significant part of the reason Man City are as good as they are. Quite perilous though as you step up the ladder, playing against teams who can press tighter and faster than you're used to. 
I'd personally like to see us play from the back as the default, but we'd need to apply a little common sense too. Wildsmith is not the best with ball at feet, so I think an 'if in doubt' policy of sticking it wide and long wouldn't be the end of the world when needs must.

The logic of controlling the ball from the back is all well and good and there is something to be said for drawing the opposition on to you to then suddenly going through the gears with snappy passing and bypassing them, and if your defence have the first touch of a Man City defender then all well and good but doing it at all costs in all situations is inviting trouble, particularly with a Champ/League 1 squad.
There is a perception that this is how football is played these days, and it may well be at the upper levels level, but you need every player to be calm and comfortable on the ball and their team mates to be mobile and creating space and actively wanting the ball. If nobody shows for the ball then a pass gets delayed and your defender gets closed down and mugged and you concede a goal and your defence and keeper look like chumps.
At this stage in the process of (hopefully) rebuilding a quality side, I would rather that we were pragmatic and mixed it up. If the opposition are all over us and closing us down and are forcing errors then sometimes you just have to be a bit cannier and mix it up with some balls down the channels or whatever. A high energy hard-pressing game is hard work and if that's what the opposition are doing then you should get more opportunities later but I don't see the point of playing to 'pure' football principles in every situation if the opposition are just going to force error after error because of the quality of their press and/or the limitations of your defenders. We'll face some ruthless forwards this year compared to last and you can't just constantly gift opportunities by over-playing.

Problem comes when teams and managers get obsessed with it ,, there’s a time and place for it no doubt but doing it to death is daft , watched spurs last night absolutely gift wrap a chance for city ( which they missed ) and put themselves under huge pressure needlessly time and again 

I think that it's unlikely that we'll get any young keepers or defenders on loan from Premier teams as they all seem to favour this crazy playing out from the back at all costs system.
Liverpool, last night were cruising to victory until they starting messing about a the back and got caught, it seems that every week on Match of the Day, you see goals conceded or should be conceded by teams playing around at the back. LR insisted on this practice which was the reason that I was happy for him to go.

I'm really excited to see what PW can do for us back in the champ with no restrictions. If you're a Prem manager with a potential young gem, PW is just the man you'd want to send them out on loan to. How he is as a person and a manager, the togetherness he's created with our team, add into that our facilities and attendances we'll attract some good young players this summer. 

Looking at just the league table its been an amazing year by any reckoning. Amassing 92 points, securing a record number of away wins etc. Pompey had to come up with something pretty special to beat that. And yet, it seems weird how there is still a feeling that there were so many unnecessary points that we seemed to drop. Obviously, that's just the way it goes and you can't win every game but in amongst the excellent wins, there were definitely a decent number of soft points dropped.
Just glancing down the results list - failure to see a poor Cambridge off at home, conceding a gutting late equaliser vs Pompey, really poor official decisions at Bolton, drawing at Cheltenham who hadn't scored in 12 games, conceding a 98th minute penalty equaliser against bloody Wycombe, the late collapse at home against Peterborough from leading the game at 84 mins to losing it, chucking away a lead at home to Charlton to leave empty handed, conceding 87th minute equaliser against Shrewsbury at home. You then realise how many points we could have actually ended up with - well North of 100 which would have been truly remarkable by any means !! 😃

Sure, there were times when I'd loved to have seen a bit more swagger and flair but by any standards, the relentless points accumulation was hugely impressive, and ultimately it simply broke the spirit of the chasing pack. PW and the lads earned that.

I wasn’t that man but I’ve groaned with the best of them during the season. I’ve never shouted anyone was rubbish though.
At times, it was a bit like watching your children in an awful school play, being generally supportive but not entertained 😊
Throughout it all, I appreciated that the team was always giving its all. Sometimes in games, nothing ‘clicks’
League One is a tough old division and teams battle hard. That’s why it’s such a relief to have escaped.

Really is a horrific site to read on mobile. Just an explosion of ads and junk. Can't believe they make money from it.

And you're criticising him for THIS?! 😉

Absolutely, it is all about opinions. From my perspective we will always need a balance of youth and experience and if you have Fozzy as part of the experience quotient you’re on a winner. He won’t sulk if he isn’t picked, he’s able and he’s got Ram in his DNA. I’m not naive, he will never be a first choice starter at this stage of his career and at this level but he will make a competent job of whatever is asked of him.  Just look how he stepped in as makeshift CB. The stop gap turned into a fixture. 

I disagree. There was a home game mid season and Fozzy was in a race for the ball with a younger attacker, can’t remember who, no half yard, right foot advantage. He won it, (just !)
Also .. watch how he heads a ball .. one of the few who can direct a defensive header to a white shirt. He’s also cute enough to play the line ball inside or outside to a runner he has actually seen. No he isn’t the dynamic striding forward man that he was 10 years ago but he is an able and intelligent footballer with another season in him. Not retrograde .. intelligent use of a loyal and experienced player. 

Absolutely, it is all about opinions. From my perspective we will always need a balance of youth and experience and if you have Fozzy as part of the experience quotient you’re on a winner. He won’t sulk if he isn’t picked, he’s able and he’s got Ram in his DNA. I’m not naive, he will never be a first choice starter at this stage of his career and at this level but he will make a competent job of whatever is asked of him.  Just look how he stepped in as makeshift CB. The stop gap turned into a fixture. 

I disagree. There was a home game mid season and Fozzy was in a race for the ball with a younger attacker, can’t remember who, no half yard, right foot advantage. He won it, (just !)
Also .. watch how he heads a ball .. one of the few who can direct a defensive header to a white shirt. He’s also cute enough to play the line ball inside or outside to a runner he has actually seen. No he isn’t the dynamic striding forward man that he was 10 years ago but he is an able and intelligent footballer with another season in him. Not retrograde .. intelligent use of a loyal and experienced player. 

I disagree. There was a home game mid season and Fozzy was in a race for the ball with a younger attacker, can’t remember who, no half yard, right foot advantage. He won it, (just !)
Also .. watch how he heads a ball .. one of the few who can direct a defensive header to a white shirt. He’s also cute enough to play the line ball inside or outside to a runner he has actually seen. No he isn’t the dynamic striding forward man that he was 10 years ago but he is an able and intelligent footballer with another season in him. Not retrograde .. intelligent use of a loyal and experienced player. 

I disagree. There was a home game mid season and Fozzy was in a race for the ball with a younger attacker, can’t remember who, no half yard, right foot advantage. He won it, (just !)
Also .. watch how he heads a ball .. one of the few who can direct a defensive header to a white shirt. He’s also cute enough to play the line ball inside or outside to a runner he has actually seen. No he isn’t the dynamic striding forward man that he was 10 years ago but he is an able and intelligent footballer with another season in him. Not retrograde .. intelligent use of a loyal and experienced player. 

I disagree. There was a home game mid season and Fozzy was in a race for the ball with a younger attacker, can’t remember who, no half yard, right foot advantage. He won it, (just !)
Also .. watch how he heads a ball .. one of the few who can direct a defensive header to a white shirt. He’s also cute enough to play the line ball inside or outside to a runner he has actually seen. No he isn’t the dynamic striding forward man that he was 10 years ago but he is an able and intelligent footballer with another season in him. Not retrograde .. intelligent use of a loyal and experienced player. 

I disagree. There was a home game mid season and Fozzy was in a race for the ball with a younger attacker, can’t remember who, no half yard, right foot advantage. He won it, (just !)
Also .. watch how he heads a ball .. one of the few who can direct a defensive header to a white shirt. He’s also cute enough to play the line ball inside or outside to a runner he has actually seen. No he isn’t the dynamic striding forward man that he was 10 years ago but he is an able and intelligent footballer with another season in him. Not retrograde .. intelligent use of a loyal and experienced player. 

It’s a shame, I was hoping he would play with our new signings, Archie Bishop, Pope, Angel, Curate, Rector, Parsons, Verger, Priestly, Dove and that new winger we’ve been linked with , what’s he called ? Sidesman ? 
 
Anyone thought about that Goalie from Macabi Bethlehem ? Jesus something or other. Now he can really save. I’m sure there was talk about a German centre back called Choirmeister. 🤪