Everton have done us a real favour.

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Being a lifelong Saints fan I have learned that when we go through a rough patch, it feels so much better when things come right. To be slumming it at the top with everything going rosy would be terribly boring and so much more upsetting when it all goes pear shaped.
 
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KillerCephalopod said:
Most resilient in England, but a lot of continental clubs go through what we do every season too.
Ironically, it's clubs like us that do it to other leagues. Sevilla, for example, get ripped to shreds almost every season - I suspect Les etc. are modeling us on successful clubs like them rather than any other British team - I've heard they have a huge football analytics department like we do from before we got our Black box.
There's a whole raft of other "second tier" clubs across Europe just below the Barcalonas, Bayerns etc. who happily play in the Europa every season after getting ripped apart time & time again - it's only English teams that seem to treat it as second rate. I think regular Europa football is our short term focus; becoming the English equivalent of Sevilla rather than trying to compete with the top 4 in the Premier League. Though given the falling standard of the top 4, and seeming break-through of Spurs & Liverpool into that bunch it means we'll have to put at least one of the traditional "big teams" out of Europe entirely every season to do it...
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Oh ,how we all wish we could match Sevilla's achievements. Athletic are another club that are constantly shredded - llorente, martinx, herara!! Now Liverpool want Inaki Wiiliams whilst others are after Laporte. However, due to their policy they will only replace their outgoing players with players born and educated in the Greater Pais Vasco region.
 
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The Ides of March said:
Oh ,how we all wish we could match Sevilla's achievements. Athletic are another club that are constantly shredded - llorente, martinx, herara!! Now Liverpool want Inaki Wiiliams whilst others are after Laporte. However, due to their policy they will only replace their outgoing players with players born and educated in the Greater Pais Vasco region.
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At least some of their players get taken out of the league they're in. Ours almost exclusively strengthen our closest rivals.
 
letissier86 said:
Can you believe we're all thinking this? We were completely downtrodden once again this summer. You would have thought, surely we can't reinvent ourselves again but we've bloody gone and done it. Does it matter that we'll lose Puel in a few years? Of course I'd prefer to say, "ah, but he's different - quieter, unassuming, ambitious but loyal and will stay with us for a long time". Maybe it doesn't matter and revolution is key to our progression.
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We weren't all completely down trodden in the summer. Some of us got slated for simply saying that we'd been here before so trust the Board and wait and see.

Too many knee jerks.
 
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The Ides of March said:
Oh ,how we all wish we could match Sevilla's achievements. Athletic are another club that are constantly shredded - llorente, martinx, herara!! Now Liverpool want Inaki Wiiliams whilst others are after Laporte. However, due to their policy they will only replace their outgoing players with players born and educated in the Greater Pais Vasco region.
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Medium term, there's no good reason we can't emulate those teams in terms of success, we already have more financial muscle that either (http://www.football-observatory.com/IMG/sites/b5wp/2016/159/en/ ) of them - it's "only" regular European football that we now need, throw in a bit a Europa run now & then, and we'll also get that type of recognition in Europe, where they are used to the model of having clubs shredded - even if the British press aren't. And having big European names play against us will only help us become an even more attractive destination for talent, it's slow and steady progress.
 
We should find it easier to keep players when we are more successful....note use of 'when' not 'if'. :) Players already see us as a team that is good to join for their career's sake....the next step is keeping the best of them. We must remember that they aren't all rushing to leave...it is a good club to play for.
 
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I suspect that Les Reed has identified that VVD may well be a top target for many clubs here and elsewhere next summer, so it is likely he may well have targetted his replacement.
 
KillerCephalopod said:
Medium term, there's no good reason we can't emulate those teams in terms of success, we already have more financial muscle that either (http://www.football-observatory.com/IMG/sites/b5wp/2016/159/en/ ) of them - it's "only" regular European football that we now need, throw in a bit a Europa run now & then, and we'll also get that type of recognition in Europe, where they are used to the model of having clubs shredded - even if the British press aren't. And having big European names play against us will only help us become an even more attractive destination for talent, it's slow and steady progress.
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Interesting to compare the PL squad costs to a mere 7 years ago http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...ers--Sportsmails-guide-teams-squad-costs.html , Arsenal's was £78m.
 
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