This sort of thread depresses me. It is like some of you have to find something to blame RD for.
First, despite us being bottom of the table last season, you moan about sacking the manager.
Then, when the new person is brought in from the network, he is a toady.
After he saves the club from relegation, using EXACTLY the same players as the previous manager, but isn't kept on, he becomes one step down from God. And the owner is slagged off again.
Because the new manager is ex-Millwall, he is treated as Satan's right hand man. He leads us to to the top the table, and then becomes worthy of sanctification.
Then, he leads us in a spiralling decline towards relegation. He is sacked, and again the owner is hung in effigy around the stadium.
The new manager brought in is now the new anti-Christ. Then he signs a number of players with Championship experience, and despite clamouring for exactly that to happen, the players signed are usually denigrated, before they have even kicked a ball.
The manager turns our season around, us nominated for Manager of the Month for March, has us playing aggressive, attacking football, that leads to some of the most impressive victories we have seen, home and away, for many a year.
Then, we are told it is the worst season we have had in 23 years.
Please don't renew your season tickets. Do something with your time that makes you happy? We only have limited time on the planet, and no-one should spend 3-4 hours every other Saturday in the winter being that unhappy.
We have made both a good and a bad season. It has had low points and high points. It certainly has been more interesting than the mid table finish suggests. We have seen good and bad from the owner and the network. The summer is going to be a massive barometer. Is he an arrogant egocentric idiot, or does he have a great plan that will get stronger as he learns what works and doesn't for us?
Here are our finishing stats for our last 7 seasons in the '2nd division' from 1997/98 to 2014/15 (courtesy of the regular statistician on cafc@lists.addicks.org). As you can see it's our 3rd worse performance in that time (only better than last season and 2008/09 when we went down to League 1) and 5 points less and 12 goals worse than 2 seasons ago in our 1st season back in the Championship in 2012/13:
Here are our finishing stats for our last 7 seasons in the '2nd division' from 1997/98 to 2014/15 (courtesy of the regular statistician on cafc@lists.addicks.org). As you can see it's our 3rd worse performance in that time (only better than last season and 2008/09 when we went down to League 1) and 5 points less and 12 goals worse than 2 seasons ago in our 1st season back in the Championship in 2012/13:
So, if I understand the stats you are quoting, that exclude a number of seasons in League 1, last season was nowhere near the worst we have had in 23 years?
Better than I expected back in August but an opportunity missed back then by not strengthening a small squad after a good start which then lead to 14 game winless run which had us on the brink of League One.
The penny finally dropped with 3/4 Championship experienced players to rectify the slump.
12th is a good season imo and with a decent squad at the end. The summer as per usual will be key. Can we keep the majority of our best players? Will M.Roly give Luzon adequate funds to push us into a promotion challenge or will we be firefighting again to consolidate our championship place.
Yes, I would have taken the finishing position at the start of the season.
Very apprehensive about next season as much squad rebuilding to do particularly with the spine on the side. We could well lose all four recognised centre defenders, need someone alongside Cousins and there is the omnipresent need for a big man up front.
We finished exactly half way up the championship or half way down...you takes your choice. I have to admit I have enjoyed the past few months as we have had some entertainment and, in Tony Watt, someone to bring the buzz back to watching football. It may be our superb playing surface has had something to do with it too although it has worked against us when the likes of Bournemouth come to town. We get to see our team in proper red shirts next season but it's going to be a stressful time knowing just what that team will be.
Start of the season I said I'd take 13th - mid-table anonymity. I was actually expecting a relatively meh season, and that's what it's turned out to be. A new regime, new manager, new players - obviously there was a buzz around Igor and a few others, but still, I wouldn't have expected everything to work from the word go. I thought there would be a bit of experimentation (what form that would take, though, I didn't know), and some things would go right, some would go wrong.
However, I'm expecting the owner and senior management team and such to realise what has and what hasn't worked though with next season in mind. We've made some, ah, questionable signings, BUT under Luzon and indeed Peeters we've played a nice brand of football on a beautiful Valley pitch, even if it hasn't come off all the time (well, anywhere near as much as we would've liked).
We have a lot of mercenaries in our squad, if I had to be cold about it: Ben-Haim, Bikey, Bulot, Buyens, Diarra, Lepoint, Eagles, Johnson... so on, so forth. I'd be happy letting them all go/selling them. I'd almost be tempted to add Igor to that list, but he's obviously got something about him as a footballer, more so than the others there have. Like I said, a lot of these signings were a bit questionable.
I mean... It's not been good OR bad. Results - meh. Signings - meh. Pitch - good. Clarity of owner's motive - unclear. Change in management - meh. Watt - good. Lepoint - abysmal. Etc.
Next season I expect the right recruitment in the right areas, a similar brand of football, and a top half finish. Still, like all football fans, I hope for more - I hope for a more lethal edge to our football, players who pose a constant danger, players who WANT to play for our beautiful football club, and playoffs/promotion.
Duchatelet's plan is still unclear, so what can we do but wait and see?
we finished 12th - so that's as far from being good or bad as it's possible to be compared to where we were after 10 games it seems bad compared to where we started february it's terrific against my expectations when the squad was assembled it's really good overall there's not been much entertainment at the valley but that's still a whole load more than last season
if youd said to me at start of season we'll finish top half of season i'd have bitten hand off after last season/ we had a new manager none of us had heard of . signed players none of us had heard of .
so on that basis think its been a good season. seen some good football. some cracking goals. lot of positives for me
Last few seasons we have finished seasons quie strongly but this season not so strongly which statisically was going to happen one year. But overall it hasn't been the most best but certainly not the most terrible either. You always feel a bit better when you end the season strongly but hey ho!
Yes it's been a good season for reasons I've posted before. And nowhere near the worst in 23! Decent football on a decent pitch with a squad made up of Academy players, great signings from abroad and two great loans from Liege. Some dubious signings too but they move on fairly quickly.
A big improvement on last season but some choose not to see that. If we continue to improve at this rate then we can challenge the top eight.
It is yet another year spent away from the FAPL so there's a risk of more fans allowing their ST to lapse or even stop altogether. But most acknowledge that we've closed the gap between where we were last season and the top six. I'm afraid I think it inevitable that one or two top players will be sold this summer. From a footballing perspective that appears to set us back but we've seen that new recruits can and will be found. From day 1 of the takeover there were scare stories about how we might become a feeder club for Liege. Most acknowledge that we've always been a selling club and the cold reality is that we've witnessed players like Buyens, Bulot and Gudmundson at our stadium this season precisely because there is a win-win between club and player. And that is that they can multiply their salaries by five if they secure a move up in the game. And us (or Liege) secure a significant fee if they go to the FAPL.
I would much prefer they all stay and we see even more talent arrive...and I would argue that the new FAPL deal makes a strong case for pushing on. But either way our club now has choices. And these are much more positive than anything faced by the two previous boards since the day Curbishley left.
So yes it's been good on the pitch but more importantly the club has wealth behind it and breathing space off the pitch.
And finally I don't think it helps to dream of automatic promotion. Having been to Watford away and yesterday's game I know what that looks like. And so does Luzon, the owner and all the new players. And we are nowhere near!
No, all I want is for the club to strive for a 25% crack at the FAPL aka the play-offs. Compete with the likes of Brentford, Wolves, Ipswich, Boro and others with the caveat that players can be sold to pay the bills in the event of failure.
There are disaffected fans for sure and we will see how many next season. The club can do so much more to explain the direction and engage supporters.
And at the same time we've seen two 20,000+ crowds recently. Due to football for a fiver and today's additional Bournemouth fans. The club have stated that they are aiming for a 20,000 average at this level and that makes sense. To that I say forget the financials and do far more promotional games for a fiver etc.
The players were up for the Huddersfield game and any new players arriving over the summer can only be inspired by a full house and a decent pitch. So what if they are only with us for one season to advance their careers! If they perform well and entertain and assist our club through points and sales fees then all good.
Bottom line for me is that if we improve next season then all the change is worth it, particularly if we progress without breaking the bank.
Here are our finishing stats for our last 7 seasons in the '2nd division' from 1997/98 to 2014/15 (courtesy of the regular statistician on cafc@lists.addicks.org). As you can see it's our 3rd worse performance in that time (only better than last season and 2008/09 when we went down to League 1) and 5 points less and 12 goals worse than 2 seasons ago in our 1st season back in the Championship in 2012/13:
So, if I understand the stats you are quoting, that exclude a number of seasons in League 1, last season was nowhere near the worst we have had in 23 years?
The stats are only intended to compare 'like with like' in the championship in order to compare how we're doing now - so they also exclude our years in the Premiership in 1998/99 and 2000/01 to 2007/08 as well as League 1 from 2009/10 to 2011/12....
Like many I would certainly have taken 12th at tha start of the season. Back then words like building and consolidation were used. Both have been achieved to an extent over the last 9 months. Let's just hope that the owner doesn't take us backward in the close season, because there are plenty below us who will certainly be better next year, we must also improve.
As for this year. Well I would sum it like this. When you have a tricky away match we often say " I would take a draw". On the day you concede a last minute equaliser and suddenly, somehow the draw looks a little disappointing. I feel the whole season has been like this. Would have settled for the final place at the start, but now we are here it all feels a bit meh.
We had a season that finished along the lines the club targeted before the season. The problem was the way we got there, losing a manager and going three months without a win. But hey ho. Made it more interesting although the run without a win was pretty depressing!
Comments
First, despite us being bottom of the table last season, you moan about sacking the manager.
Then, when the new person is brought in from the network, he is a toady.
After he saves the club from relegation, using EXACTLY the same players as the previous manager, but isn't kept on, he becomes one step down from God. And the owner is slagged off again.
Because the new manager is ex-Millwall, he is treated as Satan's right hand man. He leads us to to the top the table, and then becomes worthy of sanctification.
Then, he leads us in a spiralling decline towards relegation. He is sacked, and again the owner is hung in effigy around the stadium.
The new manager brought in is now the new anti-Christ. Then he signs a number of players with Championship experience, and despite clamouring for exactly that to happen, the players signed are usually denigrated, before they have even kicked a ball.
The manager turns our season around, us nominated for Manager of the Month for March, has us playing aggressive, attacking football, that leads to some of the most impressive victories we have seen, home and away, for many a year.
Then, we are told it is the worst season we have had in 23 years.
Please don't renew your season tickets. Do something with your time that makes you happy? We only have limited time on the planet, and no-one should spend 3-4 hours every other Saturday in the winter being that unhappy.
I recommend macrame...
--------Pld Pos W D L F A Pts GD
1997/98 46 4 26 10 10 80 49 88 31
1999/00 46 1 27 10 9 79 45 91 34
2007/08 46 11 17 13 16 63 58 64 5
2008/09 46 24 8 15 23 52 74 39 -22
2012/13 46 9 17 14 15 65 59 65 6
2013/14 46 18 13 12 21 41 61 51 -20
2014/15 46 12 14 18 14 54 60 60 -6
The penny finally dropped with 3/4 Championship experienced players to rectify the slump.
12th is a good season imo and with a decent squad at the end. The summer as per usual will be key. Can we keep the majority of our best players? Will M.Roly give Luzon adequate funds to push us into a promotion challenge or will we be firefighting again to consolidate our championship place.
Very apprehensive about next season as much squad rebuilding to do particularly with the spine on the side. We could well lose all four recognised centre defenders, need someone alongside Cousins and there is the omnipresent need for a big man up front.
Start of the season I said I'd take 13th - mid-table anonymity. I was actually expecting a relatively meh season, and that's what it's turned out to be. A new regime, new manager, new players - obviously there was a buzz around Igor and a few others, but still, I wouldn't have expected everything to work from the word go. I thought there would be a bit of experimentation (what form that would take, though, I didn't know), and some things would go right, some would go wrong.
However, I'm expecting the owner and senior management team and such to realise what has and what hasn't worked though with next season in mind. We've made some, ah, questionable signings, BUT under Luzon and indeed Peeters we've played a nice brand of football on a beautiful Valley pitch, even if it hasn't come off all the time (well, anywhere near as much as we would've liked).
We have a lot of mercenaries in our squad, if I had to be cold about it: Ben-Haim, Bikey, Bulot, Buyens, Diarra, Lepoint, Eagles, Johnson... so on, so forth. I'd be happy letting them all go/selling them. I'd almost be tempted to add Igor to that list, but he's obviously got something about him as a footballer, more so than the others there have. Like I said, a lot of these signings were a bit questionable.
I mean... It's not been good OR bad. Results - meh. Signings - meh. Pitch - good. Clarity of owner's motive - unclear. Change in management - meh. Watt - good. Lepoint - abysmal. Etc.
Next season I expect the right recruitment in the right areas, a similar brand of football, and a top half finish. Still, like all football fans, I hope for more - I hope for a more lethal edge to our football, players who pose a constant danger, players who WANT to play for our beautiful football club, and playoffs/promotion.
Duchatelet's plan is still unclear, so what can we do but wait and see?
compared to where we were after 10 games it seems bad
compared to where we started february it's terrific
against my expectations when the squad was assembled it's really good
overall there's not been much entertainment at the valley but that's still a whole load more than last season
so on that basis think its been a good season. seen some good football. some cracking goals. lot of positives for me
A big improvement on last season but some choose not to see that. If we continue to improve at this rate then we can challenge the top eight.
It is yet another year spent away from the FAPL so there's a risk of more fans allowing their ST to lapse or even stop altogether. But most acknowledge that we've closed the gap between where we were last season and the top six.
I'm afraid I think it inevitable that one or two top players will be sold this summer. From a footballing perspective that appears to set us back but we've seen that new recruits can and will be found.
From day 1 of the takeover there were scare stories about how we might become a feeder club for Liege. Most acknowledge that we've always been a selling club and the cold reality is that we've witnessed players like Buyens, Bulot and Gudmundson at our stadium this season precisely because there is a win-win between club and player. And that is that they can multiply their salaries by five if they secure a move up in the game. And us (or Liege) secure a significant fee if they go to the FAPL.
I would much prefer they all stay and we see even more talent arrive...and I would argue that the new FAPL deal makes a strong case for pushing on. But either way our club now has choices. And these are much more positive than anything faced by the two previous boards since the day Curbishley left.
So yes it's been good on the pitch but more importantly the club has wealth behind it and breathing space off the pitch.
And finally I don't think it helps to dream of automatic promotion. Having been to Watford away and yesterday's game I know what that looks like. And so does Luzon, the owner and all the new players. And we are nowhere near!
No, all I want is for the club to strive for a 25% crack at the FAPL aka the play-offs. Compete with the likes of Brentford, Wolves, Ipswich, Boro and others with the caveat that players can be sold to pay the bills in the event of failure.
There are disaffected fans for sure and we will see how many next season. The club can do so much more to explain the direction and engage supporters.
And at the same time we've seen two 20,000+ crowds recently. Due to football for a fiver and today's additional Bournemouth fans. The club have stated that they are aiming for a 20,000 average at this level and that makes sense. To that I say forget the financials and do far more promotional games for a fiver etc.
The players were up for the Huddersfield game and any new players arriving over the summer can only be inspired by a full house and a decent pitch. So what if they are only with us for one season to advance their careers! If they perform well and entertain and assist our club through points and sales fees then all good.
Bottom line for me is that if we improve next season then all the change is worth it, particularly if we progress without breaking the bank.
If you think it was the worst season for donkey's years, then that isn't correct and the problem is with you, not how the season panned out.
Anything else that happens is then a bonus.
As for this year. Well I would sum it like this.
When you have a tricky away match we often say " I would take a draw". On the day you concede a last minute equaliser and suddenly, somehow the draw looks a little disappointing. I feel the whole season has been like this. Would have settled for the final place at the start, but now we are here it all feels a bit meh.