The attached article actually sums up how I feel about where we are: http://www.westerndailypress.co.uk/Cotterill-stopped-rot/story-20826410-detail/story.html I know many on this board are very dissatisfied with the club and how it's wrong - and I get that However, perhaps I'm an optimist, but I've been posting on here since the appointment of Cotterill that things are getting better. The way back is long and there will be a few ups and downs on the journey, but I feel we are on the way back. So what would success look like in the short-term? I think success would be staying up this season and mounting a challenge for promotion next season. Thoughts?
Nothing wrong with being an optimist in life. Despite the fact I was seriously underwhelmed by Cotterills appointment, I do agree that we seem to be slowly turning a corner (oil tanker slowly) but turning none the less..
It's nice to hear some optimism but like me a lot of other supporters were very upset at our fall from the heady days of the Wembley final despite being in the hands of a dedicated wealthy owner. It just boggled my mind that despite SL's millions we just couldn't seem to get anything right and that includes the whole package of managers and their players that have been part of our failure. I wonder if indeed we do recover from what can only be described as a nightmare is the long term commitment in place to take us where we should be and I reckon most supporters would settle for Championship stability rather than the Premier League package that can end up being a nightmare of another kind. Despite my criticism of SL and his motley crew of board members I would suggest that we are in a better position under his stewardship than a lot of other clubs who have gone for the foreign ownership, money laundering tax evasion and all, but I would like to see us come up with a better business plan next time. Chucking millions at the fan doesn't necessarily make any of it stick and our bleak lack of success at that option should make the powers that be come up with something better. Given all the assets we do have, is success such an unattainable goal - I think not!
Mike of course it is attainable but at the moment probably only a distant dream. The points gathered since Boxing Day are indicating that we have already reached the bottom and are now slowly on the way back. However, being a cautious person, even pessimistic, beware of what is called in Stock Exchange circles, "Dead Cat Bounce" which for those who don't know this term, if you drop a dead cat from a great height, it will actually bounce a little but immediately returns to earth. Earth in our case is the bottom four of League One!
"Dead Cat Bounce" Oh I do love that that term but if you drop a dead cat and a feather from the same great height, they will both land at the same time, gravity guaranteed together, but the cat will bounce, not the feather. Proves nothing, except we are on the way back.
Every season that passes with us outside of the Championship, which I'm sure we all agree is where we should be as a minimum, means the gulf between the Premiership/Championship and L1/L2 grows. I know we'll never be a Liverpool or a Man U but we ought to be well capable of being an established Premiership side or at least a yo-yo club between the 2 divisions. The question is, even if we were in the top division, is there any point in being there if you are always entrenched in mid table, almost knowing in advance who you will and wont beat. Never being good enough for the top 6 or bad enough for the bottom few either. Personally I'd rather see us competing at the top of the Championship, and that for me is a realistic dream.
I would suggest that our dead cat (if that is what you think we are Cider) has been bouncing along fairly merrily for the last month or so. Top 6 of the current form guide would suggest we are more of a tennis ball than a dead cat.
No Glenn I was not thinking we are a dead cat and liable to sink back into the mire. But having been a City fan for a long lifetime and having suffered the last four years with all of my fellow City fans, I know that wild optimism at the moment is silly. Because if there is one club that can snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, it is BCFC.
What happens if you drop a Robin??? if it's not quite dead then maybe it will try to fly??? I will be happy to see us improve and attempt to get towards the play offs next season. I hope that the troubles of the last few years has given us fans a realistic view as to where we are and what we can do, but expect (if we survive in this league) fans to immediately expect us to win the league, by a mile, next season. That ain't gonna happen! slow steady progress that'll do.
Cats - Oil Tankers - Robins .......... all great stuff!! Is the recovery real? I suppose only time will tell, but most people now think we will avoid relegation, so that must be progress? It's important to get the recruitment of players right in the summer.
Remind me please, but didn't it take 9 years for us the last time we were in this division to gain promotion? I would expect to see us back in the Championship within the next 2 years or it will send me a message that the club are not interested in sustainable success. As angelic rightly said the gulf between us and them is growing by the season and it would be nice if we became one of them again. We should not be playing the likes of Crawley and Stevenage etc - should we?
The future of our club lies in its youth set-up. We cant compete in the transfer market, and so its our only option. Its also the best option. I pointed out in 2009 that we needed to redesign and upgrade our academy by bringing in a foreign coach to teach our kids. Much of this has happened (to the board's credit) and it is extremely important to City's future, maybe more than a new stadium is.
To a large extent it is more important to get a regular supply of talent from the Academy into the First Team squad. But unless SL is willing to totally fund the Academy, which is outside of the SCMP rules, we also need a successful first team. And of course if the first team is bad, the kids will not even come to us anyway. As Sir Matt Busby once said "You can get 60,000 to watch a great team on a rubbish tip, but you cannot get anywhere near filling a wonderful stadium to support a struggling side playing unattractive football".
