Yawnanthon

Iv'e said all along i'm pleased where we are but have some concerns and you make a fair point with the games in which we have scored 3 , 3 ,and 2 and hope we do sign in the new year bt we are targets for money grabbing clubs and as i have stated we do not want to break the bank but i just think we are going to need back hopefully without being ripped off and i still think scotty is a little greedy

 

Scott, in your post #24 you say that we would retain the majority of the squad. That may well be true but no doubt the cream of our players will be cherry picked by other PL teams. For me, players under obvious threat would include Vorm, Ash, Allen, Dyer, Sinclair, Rangel, Taylor and maybe even little Britton. That's seven or eight players and the heart will be ripped out of our team if that happens. We will also lose Caulker.

The players might well still be under contract but, like us, they have now had a taste of top flight football and I would guess that they would want to stay there - particularly as those players now know that they can cut it in the PL. I would imagine that contracted or not, on the basis that we probably would not want to retain dissatisfied players, they would be allowed to leave.

We might well get some pretty tasty transfer fees but our squad will have been decimated and I would guess that it would take years to bring in that number of replacement players and school them in our way of playing. Bear in mind that Buck might also be a casualty of relegation.

Now this is all pretty academic because I believe that we will not be relegated; but it is as well for us to be aware of the potential consequences if we are. I have no doubt that we would go straight back up if our star players stayed but, if they did leave, I fear it would be a long time before we became a force again in the NPC. At least our club would be financially sound for years to come but I think we all know where we want to be next season and I hope that we do everything humanly possible to ensure this - save for taking crazy financial risks that might endanger our future.

 

Decent points Ivor. Do you think, though, that the longevity of the plan currently in place at SCFC is the beauty of it? If, and it's a big if, everyone behind the club can remain patient enough, for long enough, we should hopefully be producing our own players in the future, all indoctrinated in our style of football. I'm not saying it'll happen next year, and I'm not saying we've sufficient replacements (far from it) lying around waiting, but if there's one thing that we've proven it's that if the player understands the system, and your system is more efficient and well-drilled than the other system, you will, more often than not, prevail. Take the last two home games for example. For me, both away teams played a similar style, the difference being Manchester United have class and are clinical. There are teams in the Premiership who will do that to you, and score at any opening you give them, but they're restricted to European challengers. Against all the rest, we've shown we can mix it.

If we do go down (which we both doubt, happily) we would probably lose Ash, Vorm, Taylor and maybe Allen & Rangel, I think. Sinclair needs to do something if he wants to cement a reputation as a flying PL winger, while Dyer, as much as we love him and outstanding as he's been, is shy in the goals and assists department (while excellent in terms of ball retention) and a replacement could be found, I'm fairly sure. I'm not sure on Allen as I think he likes the idea of being a bastion of footballing and ethical virtue in this crazy world we live in... I could be wrong but I hope I'm not! In the Championship, with more funds than we could have previously dreamed of, is it not too much to think we could find players early in the summer who would quickly adapt to a system which is growing in fame? To risk stating the obvious, there aren't as many good teams in the NPC as in the PL, and with another year of "playing the system" under their belts, those players remaining (with added PL experience which should stand them in good stead) should do just fine I think. We might not come straight back up first time if our prior squad was decimated but I bet we'd give it a good go, wouldn't go bust in the process, and would continue to grow year on year.

I'm so excited about the future of the Swans. I wish I could see 20 years into the future, but I can't, and all I hope is the path they've embarked on is still the same one they're treading when I'm old and withered.

 

Aye, a crystal ball would be handy, Scott. Of course there are any number of scenarios that could happen should we be relegated but I do think that we might struggle if we had to replace half the team in one go.

Players who have the ready ability to adapt to our style of play are few and far between - so Buck keeps telling us and I tend to believe him. If we had to integrate one or two, fair enough but a half dozen, which it could be, would be a hell of an ask. Names don't do it as Cardiff found to their cost.

Of course an Academy is the answer to drip feed young talent into the squad but that is a long term solution and, being long term, the sooner we get it up and running the better. Let's hope that we continue to improve, stay in the PL and give ourselves the breathing space we need to put the Academy in place.

 

I think what I meant was if we lost, say 4 players... then if we brought in one or two players they would, combined with our existing squad, be able to make a decent fist of a promotion push the following season. As you say, if we lost 6, even 7 players we'd struggle, but what team wouldn't? Our style of play with what some other people would regard as "average" players may stand us in good stead in the future, do you think? We've still got Orlandi, Dobbie, Moore, Augustien (although I heard a rumour he's been kicked out of the squad...anyone?) in the squad, who, while they may not be PL class at the moment, would come straight back into squad rotation reckoning if we were to get relegated.

This is a good drawn out debate considering it's irrelevant, seeing as we're staying up, eh?

 

Aye, totally and utterly irrelevant, Scott. Watch me splutter, though, if we don't pick up something at Blackburn.

 

not even half way through the season and your talking about relegation get a grip guys its a roller coaster ride, ups and downs going to happen all the way through the season. i can honestly say there are 5 or 6 worse teams in the PL than us.

 

I'm confident we'll be ok but the other teams below us are more experienced at getting themselves out of a hole and perhaps they've got a bigger purse.The key is that we can't afford to lose any more key players (they're all key I know due to the size of our squad)and January is kind to us regarding BR forfilling his wish list.

 

i can honestly say there are 5 or 6 worse teams in the PL than us.

I would not be to sure about that. we are one of if not the worst for scoring and getting the 3 points that everyone is confident about before the match.....drawing at home is not going to keep us up especially when we cant win away......lets see what happens in january.....