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So we survive another but it could have been so much more...

ChaddesdenRam

By ChaddesdenRam
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ChaddesdenRam

ChaddesdenRam

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The main reason was probably as you said throwing points away.

It's not like we aren't good enough we proved on so many occasions we can beat anyone, it's just consistency and I hope the added experience in the summer can help that.

However there are also times this season when we have been unlucky, now obviously luck seems to balance itself out over the course of the season. But places like going 2-0 up away to top of the league but the goal from Martin being unfairly ruled offside and then we concede. I feel slightly aggrieved because we have in my opinion actually been unlucky.

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ronnieronalde

ronnieronalde

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Pride Park is a bigger dump now than this time last year. Now even the Forest and Leeds games are drab. Oh, it now has 'fan cam' or whatever it's called.

Anyway,

In my view I said sometime ago( early 2013) that the season had been a success so far and that the only way it could really go wrong is if we stop playing and progressing in the same style. I put this in a couple of threads so nobody can really label me a wrist slasher.

I was really pleased. I didn't even care what position we finished. We were getting the odd unlucky result and had we kept on and on and on then eventually we'd be the next Swansea. Teams like Swansea had been the best side in the Championship for years. They were nailed on to survive the PL IF they got up. It's just difficult over 46 physical games to get the required playing that way. Its not like PL football. It's faster and stronger. Longer too. But less ability. It's a division that favours hulking CB's and big target men. Box to box midfielders full of energy instead of David Silva and Samir Nasri.

But if you can develop like Swansea and flourish at this level then you have the foundations to go a long way. You just have to take a few frustrating defeats to hoofball percentage teams along the way. Swansea started with Martinez and went through Sousa before Rodgers finally got them there didn't they?

But we start on this journey. Bueno, Green, Cywka, Kuqi, Commons Bailey, Hughes, Hendrick, Bryson. They've all played some lovely stuff in the earlier months. But come the disruptive international breaks, Xmas break and due to the small squad/lack of options it all goes tits up.

Again this year. The signs were promising. Wolves away was the best away performance under Nigel. At home we have been scary. Didnt Copell stay behind to compliment us at Molineux?

Show him us now. It's all been thrown down the sh1tter again. We can't take owt from this season. The positives are lost back in 2012. Well that's how I feel. I felt we needed to keep on the way we were going and install a proper identity regardless of results. But nope. It's like last year. Wasted.

Forest home, things began to look sloppy. But the next few games weren't too bad.

Hull at home people were very critical but Derby were pretty good. Certainly looked the team that was higher in the league out of the two.

Then it started to get a bit patchy. Bolton barely created owt but the boo boys were sniffing around. Cardiff and Palace gave me hope that it was going to be ok(ish) and then came this load of toss

Leicester, Bristol, Leeds, Ipswich, Blackburn. We took 9pts from the first 3 and I'd rather we gave them back and got our just rewards from Cardiff and Hull. Seriously, garbage. Billy Davies would be proud but there's no future in playing like that. My worse fear is grinding results and thinking its ok. Before you know it all you do is grind results. Years ago that would be fine but since our PL adventure I hate it. Sometimes it's nice. Very rarely. But since then I think all our performances have been tired and lazy.

The squad is small. The team is ok but the squad is weak. We seem no closer to a decent finish in the away league table. I don't see any of it changing for next season. More of the same. Yay.

Think I'm still on my man period. <insert sad face or summat>

Good, interesting post Alpha.

 

There's nowt wrong with having a bit too much length. I'm guilty of it myself.

 

I agree that the style before the New Year was something worth pinning our hopes on. I agree as well that we ended up grinding out results and that it's left a little bit of a bitter after taste on what had the potential to be a really positive season.

 

I'm bloody glad we ground out those 3 wins though. Awful performances or not. If we hadn't we'd have been right in it.

 

I'm pinning my hopes still to the fact we want to AND CAN play good football. I haven't lost faith with this squad of players either, I think we've got a first 11 that on it's day can beat anyone.

 

I think the management team have realised though that they need a bit more depth to the first team squad. 4 real quality experienced first team squad players, not development squad fillers, so that we can keep things fresh when we have the inevitable drop in performance from a tired/not fully fit player.

 

If we get those and they are the same quality or better as the players we have now, then we will be really pushing top 6 next year.

 

It's been frustrating but again there have been signs this year that when we're firing, we're a match for them all.

 

If we're not in the mix, then I think the board will decide it will be time for someone else to have a go.

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Uptherams

Uptherams

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Would like to see this against Millwall - 4-4-1-1. 

 

                                 Fielding

 

 

Brayford             Keogh       Buxton     Hoganson/Freeman

 

 

Jacobs       Hendrick              Bryson              Ward

 

                              Hughes

 

                              Sammon

 

Hughes can drop back into midfield, him or Bryson occupy left midfield and Ward to go up top with Sammon. 

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Alph

Alph

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I guess it's just a question of faith Ronnie.

I can't disagree with anything you've said. If you take the positives from this season and add a pinch of faith then you can believe the negatives aren't too hard to fix.

For me right now I can't help but feel those negatives have been a bit consistent over the last few years. I can see them being a constant problem.

We've heard the line "this summer is about bringing in experienced Champ players" before. There's a lot of talking usually at this stage. I won't call it spin but I think the club try to get a bit of a buzz going (and fair play to them) to sell some tickets.

This year we have Sam Rush so it's slightly different. But I think the budget will be similar. The limitations will be the same. The summer will be like all the others and we'll enter next season exactly like the years before.

Then there's the away form.

I'm not saying "Clough Out/Board Out". But I don't think the whole set up is very close to promotion. I did back in November. I thought we had some cracking ball players and were controlling every game. The next step was to turn that control into results. But now I feel like we've taken a step back again.

All we have to predict the future is to look at the past. Nobody knows for sure. 2 signings could alter the whole team. Like Will Hughes and Coutts attitudes brought out better football from everyone else.

Just down to faith I guess.

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ChaddesdenRam

ChaddesdenRam

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Would like to see this against Millwall - 4-4-1-1. 

 

                                 Fielding

 

 

Brayford             Keogh       Buxton     Hoganson/Freeman

 

 

Jacobs       Hendrick              Bryson              Ward

 

                              Hughes

 

                              Sammon

 

Hughes can drop back into midfield, him or Bryson occupy left midfield and Ward to go up top with Sammon. 

 

 

Noooooooooooooooo

 

not you falling for it as well.

 

You cannot play Sammon on his own up front...

 

and

 

have have Bryson Hendrick and Hughes playing  in the centre.

 

It just turns to 451.

 

Bryson out wide wont work.

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ramblur

ramblur

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The club are rightly trying to get a buzz going - not just to attract fans but players too

I remember Shackell saying in an interview when he signed that transfer targets mentioned to him by Clough were a factor in him deciding to sign for us

I wonder how enthusiastic he was when 2 of them didn't materialise?Maybe he had feelings similar to Clough and twenty thousand + fans.

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notts_ram

notts_ram

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If we're not in the mix, then I think the board will decide it will be time for someone else to have a go.

I don't think we will be in the mix at all, the phrases silk purse out of sows ear or more crudely you can't polish a turd spring to mind. The board won't sanction either players on a sufficient wage to make a step change or those of a sufficient transfer fee on a smaller wage likewise. 

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ramblur

ramblur

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I don't think we will be in the mix at all, the phrases silk purse out of sows ear or more crudely you can't polish a turd spring to mind. The board won't sanction either players on a sufficient wage to make a step change or those of a sufficient transfer fee on a smaller wage likewise. 

I share your reservations,but we'll just have to wait and see what the summer brings.I've a nasty feeling that the 3 likely to come down will be different animals to those usually seen,particularly if Redknapp stays the whole year.If I were a betting man,I'd back QPR ,with a bit of a worry about Wigan if they came down and retained Martinez (which has been signalled).I think Reading were wrong to sack BM-history has shown that ditching a man who's got you promotion in the first place isn't the wisest move.

 

The last bet I had (and will ever have) was on Hearts to win the SPL under Burley.I won't be backing QPR (which is probably a guarantee they'll romp the division). 

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notts_ram

notts_ram

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You would have thought that both QPR and Wigan had decent shouts to go straight back up again, I did say the same about Wolves this year so shows you what I know :) Having read the comments on Natalie Sawyers Twitter page about us getting up to 6 players in this summer makes me even more convinced that it smacks of posturing or hype - still remember fondly when Maxwell took us over and famously said he was going to rub Cloughies nose in it, 2 years down the line and we were hurtling into the next division after the fat one had imposed a transfer embargo on us. Still trying to work out which Cloughie has was talking about, obviously couldn't have been Brian. 

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Mostyn6

Mostyn6

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I think our season went from 'promising' to 'stuttering' at Brighton away. For me, the experiment of putting Brayford in midfield backfired spectacularly off the back of good results against Middlesbrough and Tranmere, and decent performances (and bad luck) against the likes of Hull.

 

I think had Clough left Brayford at right back and picked round pegs for round holes, we may have carried on in the top 8 and maybe been in the play-off places.

 

Just my opinion of course..

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WilkoRam

WilkoRam

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Good bit of marketing. It got there on time. Good job we don't have the royal mail.

If the ball is ever slightly deflated, lost in the crowd etc then we'll have a wait on our hands.

"Ref the ball's gone down a bit"

"Right get onto DHL and get another one here. We'll resume tomorrow, it's guaranteed next day delivery"

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