I'll probably get justifiably reprimanded for tempting fate... and obviously this pre-empting a promotion that might well not happen (though I am getting ever more confident)... But is anyone else getting an extraordinarily uncanny sense of deja vu? (1) Tired, demoralised and uninspiring squad in the league we were in with no clear sense of progress (if anything, clear evidence of stagnation) (2) Restless fans at loggerheads with the board and manager (3) Board making a bizarre change that looked sentimental or designed to get fans on board, rather than actually wise (4) New manager makes relatively decent start which papers over the cracks before it spirals out of control (5) Fans get even worse (6) Board makes surprise appointment seemingly out of nowhere (7) New managerial appointment appears inspired and results in a rapid accumulation of points at the level you would expect of the playing squad Being relegated to League One, as has been said many times (including by Binners), was a blessing in disguise. It was the step back that we needed to make leaps forward. Could it all be happening again?
I don't think relegation was a blessing in disguise. We were set to progress. Although NA's failures may prove to be.
Certainly seems to be the case and as long as we don't lose tomorrow night, I can't see any fans dissenting over AN's appointment!!!!
I don't think that if we were promoted (and it's still a really big 'if') we'll be any more prepared for the Premier League than we already were. We shot ourselves in the foot last season and should never have gone down (although we definitely deserved to, don't get me wrong). The one good thing about it is that we have a renewed sense of purpose now, and everyone's feeling happy again, which is always good!
But that's more or less the same thing. Brian Gunn's failures proved to be the blessing in disguise... I'm not so sure we were set to progress. Possibly. But the way the 1st team were playing seemed to be more a gradual stagnation under Hughton than a sudden implosion - that to me implies a steady ebbing away of team morale, form and purpose, rather than necessarily being set to progress and it all suddenly going up in flames? It's not like we kept making steady leaps like Swansea, West Ham, Southampton or even Newcastle did after their promotions. I see us more like West Brom - promoted, had a good couple of seasons, and then gradually eroding every since, only West Brom survived (and may well again this year)
I'm afraid we'll have to agree to disagree onthe question of whether we will be any more prepared. It's been discussed ad nauseam lately, but to summarise when we were promoted under Lambert we had a noticeably weaker squad man-for-man (apart from the odd individual) and substantially weaker squad, the club infrastructure was tiny (scouts, coaches, youth set-up). All of that, and more throughout the club, has been significantly improved (IMO wisely) using the PL money. We are much, much better placed IMO. The only doubt might be the novice manager and whether there is the same "team spirit" as Lambert harnessed! The former, I have faith, won't be an issue, the latter is something that is great but with our technically better squad might not be quite so necessary... But I completely agree with you that having a renewed sense of purpose is the key, and may be the point of the "deja vu". A bit of belief. I thought at the time getting relegated was shooting ourselves in the foot. We, IMO, shouldn't have let ourselves do it. And of course whether it is a blessing in disguise only time will tell. But I'm finding the deja vu quite uncanny!
