The Morning After, The Morning After...

[Day]

I'm sure some of you will have shifted your thoughts on to next season now, what is the early thinking towards next season before any arrivals/departures?

Obviously it would be nice to do an Ipswich, however I'm not sure it would be fair on the ownership, staff and players to set the bar that high.

Our promotion back to the Championship was fast tracked somewhat, achieving it in half the time it took Ipswich despite starting with only 4 players on the books.

The idea of being in a Championship relegation battle again isn't one I'm terribly excited by, however it feels like it's a fair and realistic target to have which will ultimately see us survive, before taking the next step.

When you look at the likes of Watford and Sunderland who are currently just 9 points above the bottom 3 going into the final game of the season, that relegation battle is not confined to the bottom 4 or 5, mid table and you're looking over your shoulder into the new year as a mini slump can throw you back in there.

I won't waffle on anymore and say by early target for the club next season is to finish between 14th and 21st. 

Anyone feel like the minimum bar of expectation should be much higher?

[TomBustler1884]

Stay up, spring a few surprises, get points off Forest.

Sensible club, build properly.

 

[Srg]

All depends on the recruitment, of course, but 12th-17th will be the realistic target for me.

[Walkley Ram]

Mid table would be a fantastic achievement. Better even than last time we came down from the Prem.

I do expect us to be around the bottom though. Anything better than survival would be a very welcome bonus. As for top six, we just can't afford to compete with parachute money. It would take a minor miracle over the next few seasons to get back there without going bust again.

[RadioactiveWaste]

I'd be happy with something a bit like "never seriously looked in danger of going down" along with some positive signs of building the squad.

I don't expect Warne's style to change very much, but, being a better team doing it at a higher level should raise the standard a bit.

[Simmo’s left foot]

Anything better than 50 points, take a few scalps, and continue to build back up. Develop young players. Thats my target.

Yes, we will lose more matches, and probably draw more too. But development does not happen overnight. 

 

Edited April 29 by Simmo’s left foot

[LazloW]

I agree. If my assumptions about our resources are likely to be accurate - and we’re sensible with the money we have- then I reckon mid-table would be a very good achievement. Higher than that - an excellent achievement.  We may well struggle a bit, especially at first.

If we do struggle, then I hope people manage their own expectations a bit and we don’t start getting at the manager, players and owner.  Sure there will be some who want instant gratification and pushing for playoffs straight away, but hopefully most will be sensible and be patient (especially when the parachute payment boys come to town!).

[TomTom92]

4th bottom or above is job done.

Of course i'd rather not be involved in a last day great escape but i think any higher than bottom 8 and we've done very well. Of course this opinion changes if by some small miracle Clowes wheels out the war chest.

[Ram-Alf]

After watching Hull Vs Ipswich on Friday night...my thoughts about us being in the Championship took a nasty vibe...they are both way ahead of us...but...PW will be aware of this and knows what bar needs to be set.

This squad...imo would struggle in the Championship...even relegation fodder, There's going to be a a big turnaround...10/11 players coming in at least.

There's not a chance of us doing an Ipswich, But a midish finish and we'll know that there's a work in progress.

[angieram]

I'm going full Nigel Clough and will be happy with 50 points. Anything else is a bonus!

(Although I've a sneaky feeling we will do quite a bit better than that.) 

[scout's dad]

Mid-table mediocrity for me for the next season will do for me. Look what happened last time we did things too quickly.

[CornwallRam]

The team spirit and togetherness of a promoted side is often a great springboard for the next league. At present, I reckon we're a bit low on quality to really be competitive. If we can sign 6 or so top quality Championship players, we'll be in with a shout of the play-offs. 

I suspect that we just don't have the resources for that, so it'll be Adams plus a few journeymen. 10th to 14th...although that would be sensible and a bit boring, which isn't Derby County. 1st or 24th it is then 🙂

 

 

 

[FKANorwichExile]

21st will do for me! Seeing how Plymouth smashed League 1 but still aren't safe tells you all you need to know about the strength of the Championship. We need a lot of strengthening but I'm confident in Warne and the team getting it right and keeping us up.

[Mucker1884]

Just staying away from the edge of the cliff will do for me.  15th or so is fine.

Looking forward to the first league table that shows us above "Pompy", if only for the joy it'll bring on here!  😁

[angieram]

@Day, is it possible to bump up the prediction thread from the beginning of the season? I think there might have been a poll attached.

I tried to find it on Saturday but couldn't.  (Alcohol may or may not have been a factor!) 

[Ambitious]

It's important to avoid a relegation battle, ensure there are teams below us and keep our heads above water. A Bristol City, Preston North End-type season. 

I think we'll ultimately know our aspirations and what kind of season we're in for based on two signings: Korey Smith & James Collins. 

Both have more than played their part in our return to the Championship but anyone with eyes can see that they don't stand much of any chance to be impactful players at the next level. It's a big jump and if we are going to give them contracts to stay on for next season then we will need to buckle in. 

We need to improve substantially to keep our head above water as you see the types of teams down there - who all have better players than Smith & Collins. These are essentially players who have been released by these types of teams. 

There will be potentially 12-14 players through the door this summer - without huge investment we're going to need to showcase a level of creativity in the transfermarket we haven't seen since the days of George Burley. 

[Gee SCREAMER !!]

2 minutes ago, FKANorwichExile said:

21st will do for me! Seeing how Plymouth smashed League 1 but still aren't safe tells you all you need to know about the strength of the Championship. We need a lot of strengthening but I'm confident in Warne and the team getting it right and keeping us up.

Plymouth did have a lot of loans and then lost their manager to Stoke which won't have helped.  Strangely, I think the loan market will be the best option for stabilisation for us.  Minimal outlay on 4 or 5 loan fees in the forward options without the burden of 3 yr deals will allow us to strengthen in midfield with fees.  We won't be competing for strikers in the 9 million quid bracket on 3 year deals which looks about the price now for a 15 goal a year player at championship level.  I still think we'll be doing well to hold on to Cashin but the fee will be a fair bit larger than it would have been.

Also been advised that Bristol City have had interest in Knight at 8 million but are looking for a bit more and we have a sell on of 15% after original fee, so that would help.  Destination Bournemouth I understand, so we'll see on that one.

[Gee SCREAMER !!]

36 minutes ago, Day said:

I'm sure some of you will have shifted your thoughts on to next season now, what is the early thinking towards next season before any arrivals/departures?

Obviously it would be nice to do an Ipswich, however I'm not sure it would be fair on the ownership, staff and players to set the bar that high.

Our promotion back to the Championship was fast tracked somewhat, achieving it in half the time it took Ipswich despite starting with only 4 players on the books.

The idea of being in a Championship relegation battle again isn't one I'm terribly excited by, however it feels like it's a fair and realistic target to have which will ultimately see us survive, before taking the next step.

When you look at the likes of Watford and Sunderland who are currently just 9 points above the bottom 3 going into the final game of the season, that relegation battle is not confined to the bottom 4 or 5, mid table and you're looking over your shoulder into the new year as a mini slump can throw you back in there.

I won't waffle on anymore and say by early target for the club next season is to finish between 14th and 21st. 

Anyone feel like the minimum bar of expectation should be much higher?

No.  I'd take 5th from bottom as a starter and rebuild from there.  Not 4th bottom, I've had enough stress

[Kernow]

All I know is that my voice still hasn’t come back yet. Hopefully I can post the good news that it’s returned tomorrow in the “The Morning After, the morning after, the morning after…” thread.

As for next season, I’d like us to put real building blocks in place towards a successful future now.

Our business plan is over, we aren’t restricted to players as a short term solution now, we can look to develop a core squad over a few seasons and hopefully grow stronger each year.

I hope we can get some gems, have some promising signs and finish comfortably in the middle of the bottom half.

Any hope or expectation of troubling the top 6 is still at least 3 years away in my opinion.

[maxjam]

We need a good transfer window - some good oldies on frees, spend the money on youth.  Do that for a few seasons and progress the club within its financial means. 

For me survival will be a good base to build from.  Hopefully we can avoid any relegation concerns with half a dozen games to go.