Many fans on here are keeping the faith with the anticipation of finishing in the playoffs for a third concessive season. Our team has completely changed though, so why should we expect another top 6 finish? Without equal or better replacements (of the players lost), the chances of scraping into the playoffs again seems unlikely. Let's analyse who we've lost, and who's replaced them.
(New players on BOLD)
Goalkeepers
Tomasz Kuszczak - David Stockdale -1M
Peter Brezovan
Defenders
Stephen Ward - Joe Bennett Loan
Matthew Upson - Aaron Hughes Free
Midfielders
Kieth Andrews - Craig Gardner Loan
Andrea Orlandi - Danny Holla Free
David Lopez - Toko Free
Paddy Mac Free
Teixeira Loan
Attackers
William Buckley - Lilly Savage +1.5M
Leo Ulloa - Sam Baldock +~6M
Ashley Barnes - Adrian Colunga +500K
Conclusions:
Our Goalkeeper is worse. Our defence is slightly worse. Our midfield looks better, but lacks creativity (just like last season). My biggest concern though is our strike force. It looks significantly worse than last season, and last season our options were often limited. Baldock, O'G (though he tried really hard today) and Colunga are not enough to replace Ulloa alone! We've also made a profit on player sales, but obviously can't invest every penny made because we need to balance the books (loosing 1M a month can't be good). However, unless we actually invest in a decent striker, we will NEVER get promoted from this devision. The players lost were not replaced adequately. This is not acceptable if the club wants to match its ambitions. If they want to cut costs that's understandable, but you can't do this AND expect promotion. Unless something dramatic changes in January, this season is a write off (though absolutky don't see us going down).
(New players on BOLD)
Goalkeepers
Tomasz Kuszczak - David Stockdale -1M
Peter Brezovan
Defenders
Stephen Ward - Joe Bennett Loan
Matthew Upson - Aaron Hughes Free
Midfielders
Kieth Andrews - Craig Gardner Loan
Andrea Orlandi - Danny Holla Free
David Lopez - Toko Free
Paddy Mac Free
Teixeira Loan
Attackers
William Buckley - Lilly Savage +1.5M
Leo Ulloa - Sam Baldock +~6M
Ashley Barnes - Adrian Colunga +500K
Conclusions:
Our Goalkeeper is worse. Our defence is slightly worse. Our midfield looks better, but lacks creativity (just like last season). My biggest concern though is our strike force. It looks significantly worse than last season, and last season our options were often limited. Baldock, O'G (though he tried really hard today) and Colunga are not enough to replace Ulloa alone! We've also made a profit on player sales, but obviously can't invest every penny made because we need to balance the books (loosing 1M a month can't be good). However, unless we actually invest in a decent striker, we will NEVER get promoted from this devision. The players lost were not replaced adequately. This is not acceptable if the club wants to match its ambitions. If they want to cut costs that's understandable, but you can't do this AND expect promotion. Unless something dramatic changes in January, this season is a write off (though absolutky don't see us going down).