I know that every other fan in the country will be doing likewise and especially those that face a season in the Championship next campaign (and we know what that feels like, although not with as much clarity as the lads up at NE1) but ours really was a season of if's, but's and maybe's. What if Bruce has stood firm on Bent and told him to stay until the summer? i reckon we would have had at least another 10 points with his goals in thiose games we lacked a cutting edge. What if we had brought in a Demba Ba (loan) or AN Other to stand in until the end of the season, would we have coped much better? Maybe if Bent had been retained the differences between club and player could have been resolved and a place in Europa League may have turned the player back? What if Campbell had stayed fit and not been out for thre season and Meyler had been back to add some muscle. What if we hadnt collapsed for the second year running (surely the worst form in the EPL for the last 14 games) and scrambled another 6 or 7 points during that period with a couple of wins - I'm thinking Wigan at home and Stoke away where we should have won? Would our opinion of Bruce be more sympathetic? What if we had retained Bramble and Turner (pre injury form) for the whole season and added to the clean sheets we amassed? Would that have built a platform for the rest of the team to galvanise around? What if Steed could score goals? I love the bloke to bits but he is frustrating in front of goal. What if we had paid the extra in August for Johnson and N'Zogbia? Would we be in a better place? I think so? I suppose every fan has these discussions at the end of the season (except Man Utd maybe) but ours really has been a season of what could have been.
But what if we kept Bent, changed the wage structure as a result, and had other players demanding a rise? We could have had a fully fledged strike, and possible relegation. Very unlikely, but it could have happened...
The big problem I have here of course, is that fans are talking about the likes of Klose and Van Nistelrooy? They will demand much bigger salaries than Bent and yet I’d rather have Bent in my team. Proven over 5 years in the EPL and 20 goals a season guaranteed. I think players get far too much money but that’s the way it is. We could well end up paying similar wages for a player with no commitment, or at the end of his career when we had one of the best in Europe already here and settled?
Ah, the mysterious world of what if's. I reckon if we'd splashed a bit more for the Zog and Johnson, life would have been pretty sweet. My big question is what if our team showed an ounce of battle at St James's?
What if we hadnt collapsed for the second year running (surely the worst form in the EPL for the last 14 games) and scrambled another 6 or 7 points during that period with a couple of wins - I'm thinking Wigan at home and Stoke away where we should have won? Would our opinion of Bruce be more sympathetic? Cest, what do you think happened when we played Wigan at home, because I am fairley sure we won 4-2
During the season we have lost 23 points from a winning position. If we had held on during those games we would of finished 4th!!
Hindsight is a wonderful tool. I certainly don't hold Bruce as the main reason for our bad run. In my opinion it is Bent who let us down badly and also the fact that we had a dreadful run of injury problems.
