[Albion] The Albion Rollercoaster or Mid Table Mediocrity?

On the Left Wing · May 16, 2014

When I started supporting the Albion in the 1960s we were definitely a Mid Table Mediocrity club. Usually well safe from relegation, but never really promotion material… just another 3rd Division team.
There has been a lot of gnashing of teeth in the past week over our failure against Derby, the club’s set-up and the style of play. Yet we finished in the Play-offs. For me that was amazing in itself. The excitement and agony of the Albion roller-coaster is something we have become used to since the dark days of Bellotti and Archer. Just look at our league positions over the past 20 and see how far we have come and how every season (except two) has been a battle for survival or promotion.
So the question is simple: would you rather support a Mid Table Mediocrity club or ride the Albion rollercoaster?
94/95 16th Mid Table Mediocrity
95/96 23rd Relegated
96/97 23rd Saved from extinction in last game
97/98 23rd Saved thanks to Donny Rovers
98/99 17th Up and down between 23rd and 6th
99/00 11th Mid Table Mediocrity
00/01 1st Champions
01/02 1st Champions
02/03 23rd Relegated
03/04 4th Promoted via play-offs
04/05 20th Relegation dog fight
05/06 24th Relegated
06/07 18th Fighting Relegation
07/08 7th Promotion push
08/09 16th Russell Slade’s Great Escape
09/10 13th Mid Table and the Gus bus arrives
10/11 1st Champions
11/12 10th Pushing for play-offs until last 5 games
12/13 4th Play-offs
13/14 6th Play-offs

peterward · May 16, 2014

It is amazing, and right now we're doing more than OK, but fickle nature of fans (myself included) always wants more.

fwiw i'd still love to nut Bellotti if i ever saw him, slimey bullshitting scumbag

Dan Aitch · May 16, 2014

peterward said:
slimey bullshitting scumbag

Apart from that I assume you have no strong thoughts on the matter. :wozza:

Thunder Bolt · May 16, 2014

We've never been a 'static' type of club

Goldstone Rapper · May 16, 2014

2009/10 was a relegation battle

peterward · May 16, 2014

Thunder Bolt said:
We've never been a 'static' type of club

View attachment 53845

so true, was our most successful manager since Mullery, Barry Lloyd? who got to Wembley play off final for place in top division..... if only.........everyone mentions Hereford as absolutley pivotal game, and of course it was but it would be so interesting to know if we'd won that one game at wembley against Notts County, what our history would now be......... Archer, Bellotti, Hereford, Knight,Zamora, Bloom? we'll never know.

90 mins that changed history

Napier's Knee · May 16, 2014

And this is why we love the Albion - often through gritted teeth and head in hands

Goldstone76 · May 16, 2014

Ive seen quite a few doom and gloom posts and have come t the conclusion that for some nothing more than intergalactic domination will do. Just read that Blackpool have released 17 players.. The fact that some top managers have enquired about the vacant position speaks much of how far we have come. I suspect that with the money 'saved' from not dipping into the market in January will allow TB to invest more this season than the others. Im feeling very confident. For those who have supported this club pre Amex .. you know how far this club has come.

Thunder Bolt · May 16, 2014

Goldstone Rapper said:
2009/10 was a relegation battle

It was.

beorhthelm · May 16, 2014

i love the rollercoaster.

ozzygull · May 16, 2014

Would not want it any other way.

Greg Bobkin · May 16, 2014

I'm ready to take a ride on the Peter Reid Rollercoaster :moo:

On the Left Wing · May 16, 2014

Goldstone Rapper said:
2009/10 was a relegation battle

It was for half the season then Gus arrived and it all sort of changed...

Goldstone Rapper · May 16, 2014

On the Left Wing said:
It was for half the season then Gus arrived and it all sort of changed...

We only began pulling away from relegation after seven months into the season. We started to play a lot better passing football under Gus, without getting much in the way of good results.

Tom Hark Preston Park · May 16, 2014

I'd suggest the last TEN final positions have been extremely flattering including 10/11 when Southampton finished like an express train having only left the station at the back end of Autumn, whereas we just about spluttered across the finishing line like some kind of tinpot FCC four carriage thing. OK, we've been consistently punching above our weight over the last decade, but that's not sustainable going forward without a very very large injection of funds into the playing side. The game's changed forever. We need to change in step. Can't do it on the cheap anymore.

TSB · May 16, 2014

Tom Hark said:
I'd suggest the last TEN final positions have been extremely flattering

I think last year was about right. Tremendous second half of the season catapulted us into the play-offs.

Javeaseagull · May 16, 2014

Southampton finished like a train and we spluttered over the line? That's not how I remember it. We stopped playing with 4 or 5 games to play because we were already champions and players were on the beach.

Thunder Bolt · May 16, 2014

Tom Hark said:
I'd suggest the last TEN final positions have been extremely flattering including 10/11 when Southampton finished like an express train having only left the station at the back end of Autumn, whereas we just about spluttered across the finishing line like some kind of tinpot FCC four carriage thing.

Spluttered across the finishing line? We got a record number of points in our history, with 5 games to spare.

Tom Hark Preston Park · May 16, 2014

Javeaseagull said:
Southampton finished like a train and we spluttered over the line? That's not how I remember it. We stopped playing with 4 or 5 games to play because we were already champions and players were on the beach.

And as I remember it, Southampton suddenly realised about October/November that they'd better get their arses in gear, and started pegging us back bigtime from then on in.

Thunder Bolt · May 16, 2014

Tom Hark said:
And as I remember it, Southampton suddenly realised about October/November that they'd better get their arses in gear, and started pegging us back bigtime from then on in.

Even though we took our foot off the gas when we'd clinched it, we still beat them by 3 clear points. There was no danger of them catching us.
I thoroughly enjoyed March 2011 when we won 8 out of 8 games.

http://www.football-league.co.uk/page/DivisionalLeagueTable/0,,10794~201025,00.html

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[Albion] The Albion Rollercoaster or Mid Table Mediocrity?

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