18/19 proper, done

[ilkleyram]

So, here we are again, another season proper done and dusted and we enter the lottery through which we may, or may not, prosper, if your definition of prosper is the premier league. You gotta be in it to win it.

If we do go up then the comments Mel made at the last Fans Forum are important.  He asked the question (and I paraphrase): ‘Do we gamble or not?’. Do we spend significant money on new players with the risk that we still go down and potentially, even with parachute payments, struggle on the pitch and financially.  Or do we not?

If we decide not then all sorts of other questions come into play: Do we keep some of the experienced out of contract players who might otherwise go, because they are experienced; can we realistically expect as many/any of the Academy players to come through into the EPL rather than the Championship; will our three loanees, each in their own way successes this year, decide to come back; can we get an even better class of loanee because we’re in the EPL.  And fundamental to all those questions will be the thought, can we afford, in all senses of that word, an EPL season along the lines of our last one?  Would that sort of a season in practice set us back even further than not going up at all?

Or do we try to find somewhere between the two?

But that’s for the future, and I would still be surprised if we did go up, but what an excellent season it has been.  Some fantastic, memorable, individual matches - Old Trafford, Chelsea, Southampton home and away, Middlesbrough away first half especially, Bristol City away, QPR at home (and well done referee for being alone amongst your colleagues in tackling time wasting), Rotherham destroyed, the unexpected FA Cup romance and exceptional friendliness of Accrington; some less memorable performances both home and away - Blackburn, Leeds, Villa, Reddogs and Bolton low amongst them - and points dropped that could easily have made the end less nerve wracking than it was.  And individuals and individual goals.  Tomori, Keogh, the Masons and Harry; Roos and Bogle; Bradley falling out of favour and coming back in to good effect. All of the squad showing a character and belief that perhaps we didn’t believe existed.  And not one single public moan from those not playing or not in the squad.

And well done to Darren Wassell’s Academy too.

But through it all Frank.  And Jody and Chris and Shay.  Between them all not only have they changed the style of play to something more positive and better to watch but they’ve changed the whole atmosphere around the club.  I really hesitate to compare his impact to that of Sir Brian but it’s very similar in a couple of significant areas apart from the fact that they both understood and managed the media extremely well.  When he first arrived Brian wasn’t happy with the club’s and players’ level of ambition - ‘how can you be a happy club when you’ve won nothing for years’ was the gist of it. And, secondly, he demanded hard work as an absolute minimum, whoever you were.  We look stronger, fitter and more committed and unified this season than we have for many years and Frank has felt confident enough to refer to and call out a less than positive approach from some behind the scenes. They will know who they are even if we don’t.

It took Brian one and a half seasons to find success with his revolution. Whichever division we’re in next year perhaps Frank and his team and our club are on their way.

[MackworthRamIsGod]

Get promoted, keep the money, sign good championship players, see what happens, if we stay up then spend some cash.

 

 

[RIMBAUD]

This time last year I printed off some tickets for a play off match; I've just done the same about two minutes ago.

Totally different feeling.

Last year we had a team and way of playing that you could acknowledge as relatively effective but not one that you could love. It's the first time since I have had a ST that I considered not bothering.

 I love what we've done this year and Frank Lampard and his staff and the players have created a way of playing that I have really enjoyed watching. Of course it's not perfect but it's clear to me that we are growing as a team and a club.  The future looks positive and watever happens in the next few games I feel like I have a DCFC that I can love again.

[TimRam]

If we go up I will be happy with 12 points and above.