Now that the shock of being walloped has sunk in I ask myself if I'm really surprised. I know you might think the following is stating the obvious but if we get our heads right we can still have a great season. We all knew that our romp through the champ last year was not going to be emulated this season and getting beaten four nil was a slap in the face but one I think we all saw coming. I watched the community shield match and truthfully couldn't see our lads living with either team in what was really a pre season warm up. Would any of our squad be considered for either team? Bolton are a decent side and capable of giving most a tough game however I don't see them finishing better than the top half of the table which I believe most Bolton fans would consider a good season. Having said that the reality is they have a much better team than us which is of course why they thrashed us. The Prem is an unusual league because, I would submit without claiming any special insight, that although there are many fine sides like Bolton, only four teams can win it, Utd.,City,Chelsea and Arsenal. There are probably only another four or five teams that can finish in the places 5 to 10. Spurs, Liverpool, Villa, Everton and maybe Fulham, perhaps even Bolton. That leaves the league we're in and I think we can do well in it with only a small improvement in our squad. If we concentrate our thinking on a league of ten teams we can and must be competitive against, I think we can have a relatively successful season. It's about tailoring our expectations to align with the reality of competing in the Premiership. A very unequal competition.
A fair assessment Oldtime, I'd go further and say we're in a five team league, Blackburn, Wigan, Norwich, Swansea and ourselves. One of the others may have an upheaval and plummet but I think on squad strength and signings to date we have to finish 1st or 2nd in our five team league! Saturday's result could be a blessing in disguise as the tight-arsed behaviour of the Goons has been widely ridiculed.
You may be right Sooper, I draw some hope from the fact that bigger clubs like Newcastle and Wolves have very unsettled domestic situations themselves. We must make a fortress of Loftus road when the like of these and the Wigans and Blackburns visit. Bettering the teams you mention is a must
Totally agree kind of said something similar myself, but you put it into a better perspective. Although Sooper don't agree with Norwich can't see them being that involved with relegation there team is well balanced and work extremely hard for each other, better than most the the bottom half of the table and this has been my opinion for some time and not based on one match.