Disillusioned

[Milano]

I agreed with your post until you said Poyet's replacement was wrong. We made the playoffs (miraculously!) with a far weaker squad than the previous season, credit to Oscar for that, he's a good manager.

I think Hyypia could be a great appointment too - but I don't think even a miracle would be enough to make our current squad successful.

The problem is that it feels that club is taking the piss out of the fans (and the managers) - selling all our best players and failing to replace them is totally unacceptable considering our circumstances.

So you agree we played some terrible football last season yet you think Garcia is a good manager?
The only players not at his disposal were Bridge, but Ward was not a bad replacement, and Bridcutt (because of injury at first). Had Bridcutt not been injured I highly doubt Ince would have come through. We also lost Hammond but most thought that a good thing!!
Garcia showed his ambition by returning to the Israel equivalent of Celtic in a meaningless league. We are well rid IMO.

 

[Fran Hagarty]

I'm disillusioned with fans who are being so negative! Wait until the transfer window closes and we've played a few more games, then make a judgment.

 

[Biscuit]

You're welcome to your opinion Brian...We scraped into the play offs by a miracle.. Our football was dire!

No idea how anyone can disagree with that, but that's football I guess.

 

[spring hall convert]

No idea how anyone can disagree with that, but that's football I guess.

We clearly didn't scrape into the play offs by a "miracle" did we? We were the 6th placed team over 46 games. That's how it works.

 

[Benny Seagull]

A few points to note:

1. The transfer window does not close until August 31st, and our pattern over the past few seasons has been to leave a lot of our activity until the last minute (Lopez, Orlandi, Vicente etc).

2. Our best players have all been sold for decent money. The philosophy of the club is to not stand in a player or manager's way if a top division club shows an interest. Personally, I think that's the right approach to note.

3. The 'rumour' about Sami being unhappy is just that, it's a rumour.

4. Our 'very dull' football got us once again within a whisker of the Premier League.

5. If you've really decided to not renew your ST based on your reason's stated then you'll not be missed.

 

[Greg Bobkin]

You're welcome to your opinion Brian...We scraped into the play offs by a miracle.. Our football was dire! Look at the fact's Brian, we have managed to come from behind twice in 3 seasons! That show's how poor we are. What other clubs with ambition to get promoted sells all their best players and hope to recruit some inferior players a month later and in the mean time play a very weakened team? Yes, Sami is a rumour.. I've watched the Albion since 1977 home and away.. If you think I won't be missed for being honest then you are as deluded as the club and I believe they will feel the full force of the damage that has been done by the amount of season ticket cancellations next season. BTW, it hurts me to write anything derogatory about the club I love but I'm facing facts and relaying my feelings.

Well, technically, you're not. You assuming that the players won't get replaced by those of a similar quality, and you're jumping on the "Sami resigns rumour" bandwagon.

But keep the posts coming, I think they are hilarious.

 

[martin tyler]

Last season was some of the worst football I have ever seen. However I thought we were consistently good and sometimes excellent under Poyet. At times playing Premiership football. That was because we had players who had played at the higher level and a VERY ambitious manager.
We will never know but imagine if Poyet had been given some money to build on our 12/13 team.
Slowly we have less and less of those players.
The only mistake Bloom made IMO was getting Poyet's replacement very wrong, Garcia and Jones were a disaster for the team/club. Having almost the exact same personnel as Poyet they set the playing style back years. Worryingly one is very much still here.

Last year was ok. We finished 6th. It was prehaps not the greatest football in the world to watch but believe me when i say ive watched a lot lot lot worse

 

[Tooting Gull]

Anyone who points to last season as being in any way evidence of 'progress' or 'success' is deluding themselves, the play-offs were a smokescreen.

The football was worse, the players man-for-man were not as good as the previous season, Garcia's low-key approach was hard to get excited about, and it was a sheer miracle we as a clearly mid-table side got into the top six. From about February everyone was falling over each other in 'After you, Claude' fashion to chuck away points and let someone else scrape in. The top 5 were head and shoulders above sixth and below.

The club should be worried. If you have 27,000 punters paying top Championship whack, your biggest fear is that they get disillusioned and walk away from a big financial commitment. Given if anything this season is shaping up to be even more underwhelming with further playing staff regression, there should be conversations going on right now along the lines of 'We have to give these people something'. It's marquee signing time...but has there been too much drift to attract that calibre of player?

Yes, we all know (or hope) that the academy will be a godsend but that is for the future, probably years in the future to see the benefits, and there is a long time between now and then.

I really hope Hyypia isn't already disillusioned as been speculated, obviously whether or not he has cause to be depends on what was said/promised in the 'big sell' to him, and since none of us heard it we can only guess.

But I would suggest Bloom and Barber really can't afford to lose yet another highly-rated manager. People would start to draw conclusions they won't like. Let's hope it's just all hot air, everyone has fallouts and disappointments at work and big people sort it out and come through them.

And in the meantime, looking for a big positive, I think Craig Mackail-Smith could cheer us all up this season. It hasn't worked out for him at Brighton as we all would have hoped even before the horrendous injury problems. Maybe this can finally be his time, and being very popular he potentially has the power to lift the whole place.

 

[London Irish]

A few points to note:
2. Our best players have all been sold for decent money. The philosophy of the club is to not stand in a player or manager's way if a top division club shows an interest. Personally, I think that's the right approach to note.

Except we knocked back Norwich when they made an approach for Bennett in the January window. Allowed to leave when promotion was in the bag.

It's hard to avoid the conclusion that the next promotion is not a priority now for the board.

 

[Westdene Seagull]

I wonder if this time last season Burnley fans were deploring the lack of signings and spending of money by their club

 

[Billy the Fish]

Lets be honest, last season the football was mostly dogsh*t but it worked just about well enough.

That isn't the issue here, this issue is what people expect from supporting a football club. Barring the big 5 there isn't a club in the land that does well every season, so why are people getting so pissy over this perceived bad patch? We are going to do badly at some point, it's inevitable.

Football is a leisure activity, you pay to do it, you're supposed to enjoy it. If you don't enjoy it then stop going, it's as simple as that.

Granted most of us are thoroughly addicted, we are society's invisible crackheads - we keep sucking on that lovely BHA glass pipe no matter how much expense and emotional pain it causes. We're chasing the high of a win or a promotion, and when it happens the buzz is unbeatable for about 10 seconds, but mostly we are slaves to the reality of spending our last pennies on a fiver-bag in a squalid squat face down in a puddle of cats piss.

Fair play if someone breaks the shackles, but don't come on here expecting shock or sympathy for making the logical choice.

Mabye the reason for all the recent bedwetting is that people know they can't give up when it's not going our way and the only way to justify doing something so illogical and that only has negative emotional connotations, is to feign anger on NSC. That way it doesn't seem so stupid.

 

[London Irish]

Lets be honest, last season the football was mostly dogsh*t but it worked just about well enough

Because of a good defence and Ulloa's goals - the midfield was below par which is why is all "looked" terrible, it was a big contrast from Gus when the midfield passing drove everything.

Now we don't have Ulloa and the defence may not be as good without the class of Upson. Chances of matching last season are receding a lot.

 

[Billy the Fish]

Now we don't have Ulloa and the defence may not be as good without the class of Upson. Chances of matching last season are receding a lot.

Our chances receded the second Oscar resigned. If he'd stayed and had a proper pre-season and tweaked the squad to suit how he wanted to play then we might be able to expect another shot at the top 6.

3 managers in 2 years won't get you promoted, you need consistency not upheaval. We are now back to square 1 - new manager with new ideas and players that don't fit his system.

 

[Biscuit]

We clearly didn't scrape into the play offs by a "miracle" did we? We were the 6th placed team over 46 games. That's how it works.

We were very lucky to make the play-offs, and suitably humiliated by Derby at the first opportunity because we were poor.

 

[spring hall convert]

We were very lucky to make the play-offs, and suitably humiliated by Derby at the first opportunity because we were poor.

I can't refute the Derby comment, I don't think we would have beaten them if we had a fully fit squad

However, I maintain that over a 46 game season you finish where you deserve to finish. 6th was about right for us last year. It wasn't a miracle.

 

[TSB]

 

[spring hall convert]

Our chances receded the second Oscar resigned. If he'd stayed and had a proper pre-season and tweaked the squad to suit how he wanted to play then we might be able to expect another shot at the top 6.

3 managers in 2 years won't get you promoted, you need consistency not upheaval. We are now back to square 1 - new manager with new ideas and players that don't fit his system.

I think you are dead, dead right.

 

[RexCathedra]

However, I maintain that over a 46 game season you finish where you deserve to finish. 6th was about right for us last year. It wasn't a miracle.

5 points up or down is blind luck, I figure -- that would have had us somewhere between 4th and 9th.
The latter would have been accounted a catastrophe, the former would have been level with the year before.
So I guess you're right.

 

[Biscuit]

I can't refute the Derby comment, I don't think we would have beaten them if we had a fully fit squad

However, I maintain that over a 46 game season you finish where you deserve to finish. 6th was about right for us last year. It wasn't a miracle.

Fair enough, I think on very rare occasions the table can lie, and last season was one of them!

 

[Simster]

Fair enough, I think on very rare occasions the table can lie, and last season was one of them!

It's a good indicator but I think you'd have to be a bit of a clown to think we were any worse than say 5 points below where we finished. For a start, only Burnley conceded fewer goals than we did, and the 5th best goal difference overall.

That doesn't happen to very ordinary teams. I think we deserved to finish somewhere between 6th and 9th.