Looking To Next Season

Good thought provoking post nines.
I totally agree that we have a squad of players who are without doubt putting in the effort on the pitch, and generally look as though they want to be at LR. When does Caulker's contract expire?
I'm happy with the way we are playing and it is good to see that people's opinions of Conor Washington are beginning to become more positive, I really do believe he will come good. And the likes of Ryan Manning have been a real bonus.
All in all we now have a decent squad, which next season is capable of challenging for a play-off place (transfer window dealings aside) but I don't see sufficient quality in the current group of players to actually achieve promotion.
Should we find ourselves back in the Premier league, how would we want to approach it this time around? I can't see TF crowbarring open the petty cash tin and throwing huge amounts of cash at it again, so would we become fully paid up members of the yo-yo club?
Anyway, whatever happens it will be fun!

 

9 points off a relegation place with 9 games left to play doesn't mean we are safely in next seasons Championship yet, and so it"s way too soon to think about next season for me, and I hope and trust the Club.

 

You are probably right, with all the stories flying around about Caulker no other club will take the risk.
I don't think Holloway would be given the cash even if he wanted it.

 

That would save us buying previously relegated PL players looking to maintain their wages.

How many Caulkers, Fers are out there ripping off promoted clubs?

 

So Saturday is a top v bottom clash... I don't like it one bit. I recall the year we gifted Swindon the only double of their rotten season.

 

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You lost me there Nines. If we got no more points Bristol City (3rd bottom)would need just 3 wins to go above us on GD, not 5. As for the table you could put one up with us bottom of it from not long ago. We're not done yet.

 

How sickening that we are wasting so much cash on that waster.

 

It will be interesting to see where or how we need to strengthen in the summer.

I think that we will need at least another proven centre back. We will lose Caulker, but I don't know if that really changes anything in reality. We have Onuoha, Lynch and Hall, plus the youngsters whom I cannot name. I think we probably need four good and proven centre backs.

If we wish to play Hall in front of the back two, then we have no real back up and we look well short and potentially exposed. An alternative scenario, is to get a player who can play in front of the central pair as a sweeper and keep Hall as a CB with an option to alternate as the sweeper.

Other than this I cannot see any real gaps. However, I would not say no to a genuine "playmaker" of the Gerry Francis mould. But there is always room for improvement.

 

I doubt it too, but until recently we were the Club that everyone wanted to play to break long running sequences.

I genuinely like what I'm seeing at the moment and believe we are not that far off being a play off contending squad

 

Nice write up 999s, with good reasoning about the strength if the division next season. However, we are nowhere near the finished article, but Ollie is doing a great job of polishing up the old turd that JFH left behind.

A few astute signings in the summer should see us truly competetive in this league, but I feel we are still another season away from being able to challenge for the top slots or play-offs. Ollie seems to have finally found a formula to get all the team playing to his plans, and is also able to change these plans when situations dictate making substitutions that actually make a difference in games.

The players are also now showing some pride in playing for our club, and are getting the support from the fans that their efforts deserve, so Ollie and Birch deserve credit for that too. If he does stumble across the stars needed for a promotion push, then the squad will need a major overhaul before heading into the firing line of the Premier League, as none of us would want a repeat of our previous excursions, but therein lies the big issue - we've finally got our club identity back, but will probably have to sacrifice it again to maintain PL survival, and so the cycle starts again.

 

Not 4 wins either. In all probability just 3 as Bristol's GD would be better if we lost them all, otherwise 3 Wins and a Draw would be enough for them.

 

We have a manager who wants to be here.
We have a team ( mostly ) who want to be here.
We certainly have fans who would love to have a 'settled' off season ........... so why not!
Hopefully, we as a team, as a club, can finally have a decent off season and hit the ground running at seasons start, 2017-18.
Until then, hoping our team can continue to build something great.
Funny, I'm not used to speaking with such enthusiasm but could this be the start of something big?

 

Good overview nines. Credit has to be given to the way things have slowly begun to turn around. But I agree with steelmonkey, we have a way to go yet. Another season of consolidation and bedding in this necessary culture of playing for the team and the club is required. We need this squad to be together longer, stabilize and add where we know we can/need to improve when the right player is available - no more of this waving our 'wad' around and demanding to spend our money like some spoilt rich kid. Look at what we need where, and see what 'right sort' is available. Hopefully our new scouting set-up will be working hard on that front.

We do need a playmaker in the centre, we lack that creativity and spice in the middle (we have good work rate, but not that spark to make something extraordinary happen; someone to draw in a couple of players or unsettle defences and make them nervous). We also need another reliable centre back - Caulker is a write-off - so we need to replace him and strengthen (he weakens our squad). We have developers in Furlong, Manning and Goss. Possibilities in the Washington and Smith partnership. Possibilities in Sylla and N'Gbakato. Opportunities with Freeman and Wszolek. But there are players we could replace with better, should the opportunity arise.

So still a way to go, in my opinion, but far more optimistic than when JFH departed and Holloway came in (I wasn't a fan of him when he came, but I do give him some credit for beginning the turnaround; however I still need to see more from him to become a true believer- he has, however, made me much more positive about our club... but then we are QPR, and we know absolutely anything can happen - and it usually does).

 

While the squad does indeed look settled and well organised against most opposition I honestly can't see the core of a promotion chasing side. Most clubs that succeed in the Championship - probably the most competitive league on Earth - have one or two key players that provide the spark to lift them above the pack. I think Manning has the potential to grow into such a player but otherwise we are hard working but ordinary. If anyone mentions Morrison at this stage I'm going to scream...