Papering over cracks might be a bit strong but I do think not winning the Championship when we had three games to do so was poor and probably a reality check to all of us in keeping our feet on the ground, is the squad Premiereship ready do we have options enough to unlock defences?
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Are the last 3 results a blessing in disguise??.....
- Thread starter Bring back Bryan wade!!
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Papering over cracks might be a bit strong but I do think not winning the Championship when we had three games to do so was poor and probably a reality check to all of us in keeping our feet on the ground, is the squad Premiereship ready do we have options enough to unlock defences?
No. It will just detail which out of contract players have accepted / been offered / not been offered contract extensions.
Contracted players may be moved on after the transfer window opens, possibly as late as after the 25 man squad is named ( if they are not in it ).
Wrong-Direction
Well-known member
- Mar 10, 2013
- 13,426
Yes definitely, the only good thing about fluffing, should've finished the job at Bristol.
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Shatner's Bassoon
The Puff Pastry Hangman
- Feb 12, 2012
- 860
No, the club is run incredibly well from top to bottom and I'd have been very surprised if that had changed on the basis of three wins after sealing promotion.
This is what worries me. We have a very specific style of play and if it doesn't work we usually carry on doing the same but change the personnel. I feel we need some alternative approaches for next season.
Only Andy has the Ansah.
In all seriousness GB could be a potential upgrade on Sidders (he's older, has more mileage but also more PL experience) which would be no bad thing as our ability to play more expansively relies solely on a combative quality midfield IMO.
Sometimes right, sometimes wrong but ALWAYS certain
Two Professors
Two Mad Professors
Champions would have been nice,but realistically,I think the team over-achieved.Knocky was our secret weapon,but got found out by the end of the season-just glad we're not in the play-offs.If Stephens stays,I think we've got the basics of a mid-table finishing team for next season.
pasty
A different kind of pasty
Would hardly class him as a former player. Ok, he was part of our youth set up but, and forgive me if I'm wrong, he never made a first team appearance for us did he?
Machiavelli
Well-known member
I see little reason for thinking that this prism will change, which is one I strongly suspect Bloom uses when assessing betting on football, and one in which Winstanley has gone on record about us using in terms of player recruitment. But I think you're right in stressing the intangibles.
Knocky's Nose
Mon nez est en Valenciennes..
I think it may have done us a favour...
Romping home by winning the last 3 games could have led to a bit of complacency when thinking "right, who do we buy... or do we need to?"
Fluffing the title has made us think. Maybe a positive from a negative.
Romping home by winning the last 3 games could have led to a bit of complacency when thinking "right, who do we buy... or do we need to?"
Fluffing the title has made us think. Maybe a positive from a negative.
Perfidious Albion
Well-known member
Not a blessing in disguise but perhaps a faint glimmer of a silver lining if you really want to find one.....
Agree. Not a 'blessing in disguise' so much as a lesson to be learnt. No one can now pretend that our current squad is a squad capable of surviving in the PL with perhaps just one or two additions. They had not one, not two but three chances to win the Championship - and they couldn't do it. That's the blunt truth.
This of course in no way detracts from their achievement in gaining promotion. All of the squad of 2016-17 deserve to be remembered with respect and admiration.
Yes. Along with both results against Newcastle, Hudd away and Leeds away, all of which would probably be easier than PL games, it exposes very clearly that idea of "our incredible team spirit plus just a couple of quality additions this summer", is a recipe for an inept PL season and sure fire relegation.
Hopefully TB/PB/CH/Winstanley knew that already.
Tom Hark Preston Park
Will Post For Cash
- Jul 6, 2003
- 70,215
If there's a blessing in there somewhere, it's that our strike force isn't anywhere near clinical enough to hack it at this level, let alone at the next level up. Hoping CH will be BRUTAL in culling some of these players. Fair play, it's not their fault, they've been playing at the absolute top of their ability. And full respect for that. But the future is incremental rather than sentimental.
Barry, the 2017/18 version, would slow us down in CM. Everton's main forum sigh when he starts these days. Unless a player is exceptionally talented on the ball, pace is so important in the PL.
Lawro's Lip
New member
Nor will be able to give the ball away as often as we do without being punished.
bn1&bn3 Albion
Well-known member
Certainly was for me, with the amount I drank Saturday day, night and into Sunday morning I don't think my body could have handled the celebrations..
BensGrandad
New member
My son suggested Gareth Barry to me some weeks ago as I posted on here but I see him as a not very great improvement on Sidwell at a much higher expected wage and 2 years older, so it would be a no from me. My youngest would be happy because he wants Barry and Terry.
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AZ Gull
@SeagullsAcademy Threads: @bhafcacademy
Not only did he not make a first team appearance, I'm pretty sure he never played for the reserves and I'm not even sure if he actually played for the U-18s. He joined Aston Villa on a scholarship in the summer of 1997 so he left us after his U-16 schoolboy season (he'd joined Albion at the age of 10).
It was actually Michael Standing who, at the time, was viewed as the better prospect (he had been involved in the England youth set-up). Whilst Dick Knight and his Albion team did a great job to put Albion's case in the tribunal that saw us awarded an incredible sum of money for Barry, we were extremely fortunate that he had become a permanent fixture in the Villa side by the time the tribunal made it's decision.