Yesterday was "exotic" and the culmination of a great season. Can players of our calibre kick on fron here or was this the pinnacle? Will they have the mettle, hunger, desire and mental attitude to cope with "second season syndrome"? Will the Manager? To retain Prem. status is going to be a big ask imo and the owner does not seem to have the monies to invest much in the near future. I am in a yesterday-was-great-but-tomorrow-looks-bleak frame of mind.
If we had a young inexperienced team then I might agree somewhat but we don't. Thudd, Livermore (not ours yet) Meyler, Elmo, Rosie, Long, Jelavicc Mcgregor, they are all seasoned pro's. They are adept and well equipped to break for the summer and come back fully rev'd up for a new season. Big thing for me is that this bunch clearly love playing for SB and he loves managing them. That closeness and commitment will count for a lot next season, especially with Europe in mind.
We add 5 or 6 new players to bulk out the squad for Europe and push on from here. Survival is the aim once again and i'd happily take 17th place with a nice europe run thrown in.
Id guess we will add 2 maybe 3 players to a great bunch of lads, spend max 10 million, thats the most we can afford, if we stay up next season it will be a miles bigger deal than this season, we are achiving on pure passion, team spirit, and working class grit, we will never compete with the big boys, but nobody can touch our soul, its an invinsable a rock, And that is down to Steve Bruce and his backroom staff
An interesting few weeks ahead no doubt. Bruce to sign new contract? Allam to announce his next move on the branding? Season ticket prices? Transfer kitty? New sponsor? New kit? Bruce also hinted that he knows where we need to strengthen. He hasn't been shy in the past in making decisions on fringe players (Cairney, Simpson, Evans, Hobbs) and I suspect there will be a question mark over whether Bruce thinks he can bring in better players than Quinn, Boyd, Figgie, Harper and Rosie. He said's previously that he's happy with the strikeforce of Long, Jelly, Sagbo, Aluko and Fryatt, but I suspect things might change if a high profile loan option becomes available.
Before yesterday I thought Quinn would go, but he played him. I'd be worried if I was Sagbo. Also a fit Brady will push Boyd down the pecking order. We need another GK, left back, centre back, midfielder and someone with a little flair to have as an option. This excludes and sales. Wonder if Pulis comes in for Aluko
I'd happily sell Aluko for 3 mil, he doesn't get enough games due to injuries and only plays well a handful of times.
Let's make a charge for the League Cup next year. We might get someone like Swansea or Birmingham in the final, rather than Arsenal. That's our first bit of metal in the cabinet then. You're welcome.
My dream used to be to be in the Premier League. Now it is to play Barcelona in Europe. Until that happens I will not be satisfied. Whatever happens season, even if we get relegated, it is going to be enjoyable. A club on the up.
We will be back at Wembley in the next 2 seasons . I think we will finish 15th or 14th in the league No idea what we will do in the Europa league .
This is exactly what I was thinking, don't be supprised if we win this one, another FA Cup in a year or two perhaps. Minimum adventure in the Europa groups. A club on the rise
A lot of people are saying "no money" or "if we can afford it". We aren't exactly broke. We aren't rolling in it ala Man City or Monaco, but I'd have thought we'd have enough money to bring in the players that Brucey wants. I'd be very surprised if we brought a striker in during the window, given that we spent all that money on two very good ones in January. Fryatt showed he is a capable backup and we know Sagbo is dependable when called upon. If we bring in any more strikers, the players will start to become unhappy at not being picked. There are some fringe players that will no doubt move on and Fryatt aside, I don't think any of the out of contract players will get a new deal, so that will free up some wage bill. I think Boyd and Quinn will both stay on. As for incomings, I think we need a CB, a third choice keeper (Kuszcazk is out of contract, he'd do), a LB, a central midfielder (if we don't get Livermore) and an AM with a bit of flair. Like Aluko, but with working body parts.
I mentioned right after that the worst part of the loss was 'what if that's as far as we ever get' and it did kill a bit. But to think where we've been in recent years I'm being incredibly greedy. Survival and a decent Europe run would do me. Basically, a season like Swansea had this season would be fine. Interesting to note that all three clubs who participated in the Europa league this year sacked their managers. Would hope that Bruce is safe regardless of what happens next season.
