Reality setting in- another season of struggle?

Nosmo-King

Well-known member
I had hoped after our close call with relegation we would be able to kick on. The right manager in place? Unquestionably. But once more we’ve proved we are totally useless at acquiring our real targets.

And once more a lot of our players are showing they just arnt good enough. Warnocks frustration is becoming more apparent. Why oh why can’t we become what we should be? A professional football club? For too long we have appeared to be little more than a cottage industry, homespun type of club.

We seem incapable of being a club who can operate in a shrewd and canny manner.

Something in testing Financial Times is essential. But, I’m afraid, it is the same old, same old. We’re not even a pale shadow of what we were. Depressing.
 
He may know what he’s doing but playing Coulson right wing back and Bola left wing back is as frustrating as when Woodgate player Gestede and Nmecha against Swansea. Only saving grace is this was a cup game so I’m not particularly as arsed as I would be normally.
 
He clearly didn’t care about last night’s result, tried a few different things with various players, non of which appeared to work. He will be more than aware of what he needs to get the show back on the road. Let’s see where we are come the end of this window.
 
I'm not sure it's reality setting in. It's exactly what I expected.

It's the same none scoring and little no creative squad we had last season. Some of these players have been part of the problem for 2-3 years. Due to fees paid and wages we can't move them on.

Warnock is not a miracle worker. He came in at Rotherham and more so Cardiff with struggling squads. That said they had more players of his 'style'. This side is so unbalanced it's almost criminal how it was assembled (by 3 managers).

I expect much better than last season because I believe we have a manager who knows what he's doing. I would imagine 10th-14th with the odd relegation and playoff flutter.

I'm sorry to say it but that's an 'improvement' after last seasons car crash. I really don't know how anyone can think we could remotely go up? I would wager Warnock would move on 7-8 and bring in another 10 if he had his way.

So hopefully it's mid table mediocrity 👍
 
We are one league game in and have lost a cup game with a heavily rotated squad. Window is also open for another 3 weeks. Its far too early to write off having a decent season just yet. A win on Saturday and another signing in this week and the mood will be massively different once again
 
We finished 17th and haven't yet replaced Moukoudi, Morrison, Roberts, Nmecha & Gestede (or at least the roles they were supposed to carry out)
 
I just posted the following on the ‘promotion’ thread but it probably is more fitting on here . My thoughts anyway -


Listen guys I don’t like saying this but here goes . Traditionally over our history we are an upper second tier club . We’ve been saturated in success during lengthy spells of our Boro supporting lifetimes . To me success was being proud of my club and by God I was .

I started going in 77 so it’s 65/35 for me of good v bad as we don’t do evens . I know older fans than me who call it 20/80 so I still count myself as fortunate .

like I say I don’t like saying it but we are back to our norm and with NW at least we’ll have players and a team that give everything and no Gestede’s ever again . Not least a chairman most fans the country over would kill for .

Hey looking around I’ll take this and accept it .
 
The reality we're operating in at the moment is dominated by Coronavirus, without the income from fans attending matches most clubs in the league will be on the brink of financial collapse. Until this is resolved I wouldn't expect the club to be spending much, if any, money on transfers.
The only realistic objective at this moment in time has to be 1. Financial survival 2. Staying in the league, anything else would be a bonus. All clubs apart from a handful are in the same boat. I'm expecting us to be OK because we have a manager who knows what he's doing.
 
The reality we're operating in at the moment is dominated by Coronavirus, without the income from fans attending matches most clubs in the league will be on the brink of financial collapse. Until this is resolved I wouldn't expect the club to be spending much, if any, money on transfers.
The only realistic objective at this moment in time has to be 1. Financial survival 2. Staying in the league, anything else would be a bonus. All clubs apart from a handful are in the same boat. I'm expecting us to be OK because we have a manager who knows what he's doing.
Great point
 
Just cyclical - since WW2 as an example

1946-1954 - 1st Divison
1954-1974 - Division 2 with 1 season in the 3rd
1974-1982 - 1st Division
1982-1986 - 2nd Division, swift deterioration
1987-1998 - yo you club from 3rd to 2nd to 1st, then up and down.
1998-2009 - 1st Division
2009-2020+ - 2nd Division with 1 season in the first

Since 1946 we've spent 32 seasons in the top flight out of 74.
6 top 10 finishes in the top flight in that period, only 4 since 1975 and 2 since 1980.
Our third longest run in the top flight ever was 1998-2009 with 11 seasons, prior to this 17 seasons 1929-1954 and 18 1902-1924.
Longest spell out of the top flight was 1954-1974
We spent 7 years out 2009-2016
We had never reached an FA Cup semi-final (never mind Final) until 1997

To summarise. Years of mediocrity interspersed with spurts of punching above our metaphorical historic weight in short spells. In the downspells players haven't been good enough (actually, in the good spells according to some fans players haven't been good enough, spot a pattern?) because they are where they are for a reason, it's only when you can afford to bring in better players (but must have an "OK" or better manager) or have an outstanding manager who can get players to out perform. Charlton and Rioch examples of the latter, Robson and Karanka the former.

Could be another decade before we get back up. Minimum of 12 clubs pushing every year makes it so hard - Watford, Forest, Bournemouth, Norwich, Cardiff, Derby, Brentford, Swansea, Stoke, Bristol City....
 
NW gets to see what the players can do everyday in training. I think last night was an exercise in finding out more about what the players cant do, rather than what they can do! How flexible are they, where can they provide cover when needed are they squad players!
 
Just cyclical - since WW2 as an example

1946-1954 - 1st Divison
1954-1974 - Division 2 with 1 season in the 3rd
1974-1982 - 1st Division
1982-1986 - 2nd Division, swift deterioration
1987-1998 - yo you club from 3rd to 2nd to 1st, then up and down.
1998-2009 - 1st Division
2009-2020+ - 2nd Division with 1 season in the first

Since 1946 we've spent 32 seasons in the top flight out of 74.
6 top 10 finishes in the top flight in that period, only 4 since 1975 and 2 since 1980.
Our third longest run in the top flight ever was 1998-2009 with 11 seasons, prior to this 17 seasons 1929-1954 and 18 1902-1924.
Longest spell out of the top flight was 1954-1974
We spent 7 years out 2009-2016
We had never reached an FA Cup semi-final (never mind Final) until 1997

To summarise. Years of mediocrity interspersed with spurts of punching above our metaphorical historic weight in short spells. In the downspells players haven't been good enough (actually, in the good spells according to some fans players haven't been good enough, spot a pattern?) because they are where they are for a reason, it's only when you can afford to bring in better players (but must have an "OK" or better manager) or have an outstanding manager who can get players to out perform. Charlton and Rioch examples of the latter, Robson and Karanka the former.

Could be another decade before we get back up. Minimum of 12 clubs pushing every year makes it so hard - Watford, Forest, Bournemouth, Norwich, Cardiff, Derby, Brentford, Swansea, Stoke, Bristol City....
It's all down to recruitment. If you don't have the players/managers to sustain top flight football.. you don't. History doesn't come into it. A lot of teams would envy our position right now. We are in the process of bringing in half a dozen players to challenge for promotion.

We've not in the premier league and we're not in a position to buy the league (I don't think anyone is tbh) we have to wheel and deal, we have to be smart. nothing in this league is given to you on a plate.
 
We have spent most of our history in the top flight, so I don't know why this 'we are a second tier club' keeps being wheeled out.

You are correct since we joined the league in 1902 we have spent more seasons in the top flight than out of it, more recently though we are a second tier club. The 1998-2009 period was exceptional, and outside the norms over the past 76 years. 32 years in 76 (living memory) does not make us a top flight club. It's like saying Newcastle and Sunderland are consistent trophy winners.
 
Back
Top