The New 5 Year Plan

I really hope so. Just hope he can make the step up to the Premiership. I think he could.

I know they loved him there, and are desperate to get him back. Still has 3/4 years on his deal here yet though.

 

Is having a 5 year plan that shoots for champions league any more delusional than one that says a broke league one team with a few good players will be in the PL in 5 years? I think not. How many of us actually believed we could do that. Not only did we do it but got there early. That almost says the goal was not stretch enough, which I never would have guessed. That plan had everyone, players and fans, alike focused. It you do not aim high you will shoot low. We should realize that we will not always reach the goal early for maybe not make it but why not try. As long as we keep the finances tight so we don't do through what went through before we should set ourselves a stretch goal.

 

I also missed out Gape who is another of the class of 2002/3 since 8 yrs old boys and Jake Flannighan. The latter has been training with the first team and both have been in the matchday squad already.

 

No, it's not. We weren't broke when that plan was made though. Far from it.

 

Yep, a few won't make it obviously but I could see 3 or 4 getting into the squad.

 

Can't argue with that really.

 

The next five year plan should be regularly challenging for the CL spots, i.e. as Everton and Spurs have been doing for a little while now.

This can be achieved by using the academy to provide the necessary squad depth within our limited resources, supplemented by 2-3 quality signings from which we can expect 1-2 to work out each year.

I would absolutely agree with the sentiment expressed by St Brendy that we are closer than it might seem. All clubs can point to "what ifs" but the fact is we have thrown away a lot of points this season, due primarily to lack of decent backup but also IMO due to MP still learning his craft.

The greatest risk to this plan is instability caused by the big clubs buying our best players.

 

We didn't have a 5 year plan when we were broke... When Markus came in we then developed a plan, that's totally different. We might say in 5 years time how no-one could have predicted us as champions league winners and the best team in the world, or we may be saying how far we have fallen, or just maybe we could be talking about our steady progression that we all want. Who knows.

 

Someone said once, "Control the controlables," but that one can be harder to do.

Who was it that said that?