I will celebrate if and when we get over the line, General. And I think most of us will feel the same.
IF we DO go up, I might amend my reply on Tash's alcohol thread and suggest we all get smashed. IF we DON'T go up, I might amend my reply on Tash's alcohol thread and suggest we all get smashed.
We will get there. Average job done by all but that's enough in this league. Well it is when you've spunked 57m and paid PL wages to your manager. Some overreact to a few bad performances and some spend way too much time pissing up rafas back. I sit somewhere in between. Job will get done but there is no doubt in my mind we've made extremely hard work of it given what we spent on players/manager etc. It's been dour to say the least. Hopefully better is to come. Fortunately there are not very many good sides in this division - Huddersfield really should have taken advantage but let's face it, they've bottled it just as much as we have. Can't see them getting out thru the play offs. Such a limp end to the season like ourselves. The end of the season has summed up a season long under performance from ourselves. If we go up we will most likely be in relegation battle along with the usual 6-8 others.
You can't play defensive, cagey football when you are the big fish and everyone ups thei game. Attacking football would have seen us well clear at the top. If we had played two up top all season we wouldn't be looking at other results. Rafa will achieve the bare minimum but he needs to have a long hard look at himself.
I'd like to think this defensive cagey football in a long term view looking to embed principles we might need next year. I'd like to think we will all be sitting here in a years time saying, "look we just couldn't see it at the time" but I'm not sure that's the case. That is the positive way of thinking how we have approached this season.
I think it could be a combination of this, and the simple fact that Rafa has zero experience at this level. The Championship is a different game. Rafa is better suited to the PL. I'm hoping he can deal with a relegation scrap as well as he has with the top half of the PL. If he gets us promoted in his first season in this league, that's not an achievement to be easily dismissed.
I think that is an extremely hopeful way of looking at things. I think good managers just get the job done whatever the level. Too much is made of the Championship being a different game in my opinion. Its still football and you can rise above the ****e. Plenty have done it in style. I'm worried Rafa is not the manager he was and has not kept pace with the modern game. I look forward to being wrong though.
Howe has done well also. Bournemouth were really entertaining when they won the championship. To be fair I think most just find it difficult to compete once they get up as they never have the budget. Hence your so called superstar managers shy away from the challenge.
thing is he made really basic errors that everyone can see ,,, selection ,formation and for me non tempo football at home which was killing the crowd ... not sure on the signings like ... but he deserves a shot at the prem def . just hope he gets the backing if we go up
