Rangers fan in peace Good luck to you guys tonight, hope you bring back 3 points and some VERY tired legs for the game on sunday!! Just a thought, but if we are to survive this season, I recon that you, Stoke and Bolton are probably the sides we need to emulate. But I really can't remember how much you guys spent / what your transfer strategy was in your first season in the Prem. So how close are we coming do you think?
I can't remember either, I think I was 14/15 when we got promoted! We bought in a fair few players though. It looks as though you'll be alright. You don't seem to be high-flying (which has proven to be a bad omen - see Blackpool and Hull), but you look solid. If you stay up this season I think we'll see many more derbys, like the good old days. As a side note, credit to you for coming on our board in a civil manner. That other lot do you an injustice.
We are spent a fair bit over the years, but we have also recouped a fair bit on selling the likes Saha, Smalling etc. To be fair to Tigana we had a pretty team when we came up, Saha and Malbranque were with us. The key to remaining in the premiership though is to have a solid defence. It is essential to not concede loads of goals as it has a negative effect on moral and obviously means you have to push forward more, improving the chances of conceding. The premiership is brutal if you make mistakes at the back. Not sure what you're defence is like, you do however have some real talent attacking wise. Signings like SWP and Barton will hold in good shape with their premiership experience. Looking forward to the weekend, we need some goals so I hope your defence is not so good. Not going to the game but live near by so will get the atmosphere. COYW
Considering they've played 3 games together, our defence is a lot more solid than most Of us were expecting, especially with Gabbidon and Ferdinand as cb's, as they've not inspired confidence over the last couple of uears. I am a bit concerned that we're going to miss Traore though. He was fantastic in those 2.9 games before he got sent off, and balanced the team nicely!
Traore will come back a better player for his ban. Another thing which you've addressed well is players with PL experience - they're vital to staying up.
Joking aside, well done to your lads on a great result tonight. As the ORIH said, i really think its sides like you that we should be looking to emulate. I just hope that in a few years time its us playing in Europe too. All the best
AS frogman said, it is all about the defence. You need a solid back four. Look at blackpool- inspired going forwards, but leaked goals at a disgraceful rate. you must be able to close out a game when it comes to it. i think, though, you will be safe this season.
At some point in the first season, teams hit a stage when things don't go right for a run of matches, it's how you do then that dictates if you will get into relegation trouble. If you get caught in a spiral and the bad results continue then it is tough to break out. If you get better quickly then safety could be assured. But then comes the second season syndrome, we almost got caught in that with Tigana in charge.
No, I don't see Fulham in a relegation battle, they've a solid defence and some good options going forward. I'll be happy with a point on Sunday and delighted with three...
Going back to the question of our transfer policy when we were first promoted, I think we signed Malbranque early in the first Premiership season rather than already having him when we went up, and we also signed Van der Saar that summer. I think it was that year that we splashed out £10mil or so on Steve Marlet, a signing that worked so well (!) that we didn't spend that kind of money again for several years. I think QPR will be all right. As others have said, defence and experience are the key factors to staying up. You've got both of those plus a wiley manager. If one of your strikers can start making a regular contribution, you'll be fine. I just hope none of them do that this weekend. This is the kind of game that we need to start winning, and so far that hasn't happened for us.
For me one of the reasons why we survived and have eventually prospered is that we started bulding a team before we got into the premiership based on the expectation that we would get there. Saha played for us in the Championship, so did Goma - a vital piece of the defence, who was nick-named the Rock. Boa Morte, Lee Clark, John Collins, Zat Knight, Steve Finnan, Andy Melville, Rufus Brevett and Sean Davis were also with us in the Championship. We had a Premiership quality team when we came up to which we added Malbranque, Legwinski and Van der Saar. Chris Coleman would also have starred for us in the Premiership had it not been for his career ending car accident.
Fulham have a good foundation as a tidy team that is difficult to beat, which I hope R's can emulate. But you seem to draw a huge number of games and rely heavily on home form - what's the initial feeling on Jol and whether he can break these habits? Personally I love having 3 West London teams in the Prem, just wish one was Brentford instead of Chelski. Buck your ideas up Bees.
The feeling with Big Mart (IMO) is that's he's concentrated on bringing in younger players and adding a bit more flair to our play, as well as adding a Plan B and C. It's taking time for us to found our feet, but most of us are optimistic and are putting it down to our team not gelling fully yet, due to new manager, new palyers, totally new way of playing...
