Chunes ponders what has happened to those who, during the mediocrity of last season, were arguing that it was never really Pardew or the boards plan to put up a promotion push that year. It was, in fact, this year we were going to settle down and push-on as we were part of the much-referenced - 'two-year plan'.
So if that was your fervent belief, where is your excitement? Or do you now think that the two-year plan was nothing but a statement to drop expectations?
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I am probably one of those this is directed at. I genuinely believed as a club and a team we were in no position to get promoted last year, that we needed the all important 2nd year to blood youngsters like Shelvey, Moo2 and Basey, and turn players like Varney and Youga into the strong Championship performers.
I still stand by some of that. If we were to be promoted this season it would be much more sustainable than last year, though obviously when I was arguing that point last season, I had no belief at the time that the cutbacks in budget this summer would be anywhere near as severe as proved.
At the moment, I don’t believe we are operating in any form of plan to move forward, and until we see signs of stabilisation at least, it would be folly to try and do so.
As far as I can see we are back to where we were in the late 90's. A decent well run club with decent prospects and with a chance of promotion if all goes well and others slip up.
We now have to hope that Pardew and his staff are at least as astute as Curbs and his staff were then, to be able to push that extra bit to get the job done.
Hell I'd be happier with a 'Plan B' on the pitch rather than any long term footballing plan off it, as we haven't seemed to have one of those for the last three seasons at least.
Next season will be a new plan necessarily for this reason i.e a drop in income if promotion doesn't happen.
the rose tints are still on for me and others i think lately there has been far too much pesimism and not enough optimistic posts that may give the impression the tides have changed but for me that is not the case at all
i cant see us as being in any worse stae than last year if any in fact i feel we are slightly better off my reasons being
1. The players at the club havent changed that much so they have had longer to bond and gel as a team
2. We have a new unkown starlet in our ranks who is ready to burst on the scene as an unkown quantity in an area of the pitch in which we have been desperate.
3. My expectations are lower and so should everyone elses we are not this Big team that should whoop everyone so get over it and have and breath a bit of confience to the players.
4. Our main competion in this league has got harder however they are also buying a lot of new players and like us last year unless they get extreemly lucky they will take time to gel and bed in.
5. i believe that players like Thomas have changed their attitude, we have not got the biggest squad so everyone knows they have a chance like Racon, Shelvey, Waggs, dicko, Fleetwood and therfore if they are sportsmen they will be driven enough to oust players currently in their position.
6. Toddy may just see this as a make or break season and find the form he showed at pompey to get one last shot of the big league
7. I dont think we should be concerend about loosing Bougy i do think he was a good prem player but that doesnt always make you able to play in the chumpionship i would like to keep him of course but if he goes he goes.
8, and most importantly we are not being lied to or decieved as to what way the club are trying to go down, the are being honset about our financies, they are putting the trust and focus on yoof and that can only be comended.
We may not go up folks but we are a long way off of relegation and doom and gloom
However in support of your view, we haven't flogged gray or varney so there must be some thought behind it somewhere?
just my views
I agree that he should've played the younger ones. I believe we were, as fans, much happier when he began to give games/sub appearances to Basey, Wagstaff, Jonjo, Youga and Moots then when he was playing Lita, Cook and Halford. If he'd have kept to the youngsters we would've certainly been in better stead this year. But at the same time, our expectations last year were much higher, perhaps he was responding to the fact that we wanted to see the team triumph rather than watch the youngsters blood.
Can we be blamed for that, though? It seems like Pardew was sending us contradictory messages. On the one hand there was the 'two-year plan', yet on the other he was saying we had a real chance. I remember him talking about how once the team had learnt what they had to do to win games, we would fly.
What about Big Sam's five year plan at Newcastle!
It didn't really happen, and by the end of the season the squad list on the back of the programme was getting near to the bottom of the page.
In a strange sort of way, perhaps being more strapped for cash this year could work in our favour in that we'll have to work with the squad we've got and just get on with it.
Top post Uncle and from somebody who should know. I'm really looking forward to the new season.