Nigel Posted July 10, 2017 VT Supporter Share Posted July 10, 2017 1 hour ago, ender4 said: Only a few... Middlesborough, maybe Sheffield Wednesday, maybe Fulham. I doubt any others are thinking that automatic promotion is a MUST. Sunderland, Norwich? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ender4 Posted July 10, 2017 Share Posted July 10, 2017 4 hours ago, Nigel said: Sunderland, Norwich? Yes possibly. But more probable that both are hoping to squeeze up through the play-offs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reivax_Villa Posted July 10, 2017 Share Posted July 10, 2017 2 minutes ago, ender4 said: Yes possibly. But more probable that both are hoping to squeeze up through the play-offs. Have you been forum hunting as well? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
One For The Road Posted July 10, 2017 Share Posted July 10, 2017 (edited) 10 hours ago, villan-scott said: Realistically automatic promotion should be where we finish the season. Im sorry but why should we "realistically" finish in top 2 this season when we didn't finish in the top 12 last season? Shouldn't the teams who finished in the top 6 more "realistically" finish in the top 2 than us? That's not even considering the teams who came down. I am really concerned about the unrealistic expectations of a lot of our fan base. Edited July 10, 2017 by One For The Road 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wazzap24 Posted July 10, 2017 Share Posted July 10, 2017 34 minutes ago, One For The Road said: Im sorry but why should we "realistically" finish in top 2 this season when we didn't finish in the top 12 last season? Shouldn't the teams who finished in the top 6 more "realistically" finish in the top 2 than us? That's not even considering the teams who came down. I am really concerned about the unrealistic expectations of a lot of our fan base. Assuming we sort the goal keeper issue out, we've got the best squad in the league by a mile. There's nothing unrealistic about expecting automatic promotion. The manager just needs to get us playing. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villan-scott Posted July 11, 2017 VT Supporter Share Posted July 11, 2017 (edited) 8 hours ago, One For The Road said: Im sorry but why should we "realistically" finish in top 2 this season when we didn't finish in the top 12 last season? Shouldn't the teams who finished in the top 6 more "realistically" finish in the top 2 than us? That's not even considering the teams who came down. I am really concerned about the unrealistic expectations of a lot of our fan base. I guess from a simplistic point of view that if football was played on paper, top 2 would be realistic. Of course there are a million variables, but with a fair wind top 2 is realistic IMO. We've got a good squad that now only needs tweaking and not overhauling. Players who should have adapted to new surroundings, and be able to replicate previous form from previous clubs. A settled, gruelling preseason, where it seems we will be fit and firing from day 1. Theres a lot of reasons top 2 is realistic. For me, I'm an optimist. I've got a very good feeling about this season. We've finally got a bunch of players, who in the most are likeable for the first time in a very long time, so the fans should get behind them and the manager until they give us reason not to. The expectations of fans, the board, the owner and the manager is to get promoted. There's no harm in that. If the players can't handle the heat they should look at themselves. Our expectations are built on all the noises coming from the club and not unfounded. I am really concerned about a lot of the negativity and pessimism from some of our fans. The club is heading back in the right direction. Let's try and enjoy the ride. Edited July 11, 2017 by villan-scott 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
One For The Road Posted July 11, 2017 Share Posted July 11, 2017 (edited) 1 hour ago, villan-scott said: I am really concerned about a lot of the negativity and pessimism from some of our fans. The club is heading back in the right direction. Let's try and enjoy the ride. I have seen absolutely nothing to s uggest that we are heading in the right direction at this point. I'm not saying that we aren't, but the evidence proves otherwise. We finished bottom of the PL just over a year ago, and bottom half of the Championship a few months ago. Since then we have signed one 37 year old. There are plenty of reasons to be pessimistic about our current situation so don't be concerned that there are people who recognize that. Once again, I'm not saying that we definitely aren't going to improve, but there is no actual evidence to support that at all. Yet. Edited July 11, 2017 by One For The Road 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villan-scott Posted July 11, 2017 VT Supporter Share Posted July 11, 2017 44 minutes ago, One For The Road said: I have seen absolutely nothing to s uggest that we are heading in the right direction at this point. I'm not saying that we aren't, but the evidence proves otherwise. We finished bottom of the PL just over a year ago, and bottom half of the Championship a few months ago. Since finishing bottom of the PL we have a new owner, new board, new TD, whole new coaching staff, manager and playing staff. Like you say, it was a little over 12 months ago that we were one of the worst ever PL sides. To coin a Bruce saying, there are shoots of recovery. We appear to be running like a football club again, and imo we will bear the fruit of that this season. The club is a different beast to what it was 12 months ago, and there has been definite improvement, unfortunately that hasn't yet translated on the pitch. Which is where it matters, but that's just hopefully a matter of time. To say there's absolutely nothing to suggest we're heading the right way is something I disagree with. 51 minutes ago, One For The Road said: Since then we have signed one 37 year old. In normal circumstances I'd also see that as a problem, but it's John Terry, not any old 36/37 year old. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pacbuddies Posted July 11, 2017 Share Posted July 11, 2017 15 hours ago, One For The Road said: Im sorry but why should we "realistically" finish in top 2 this season when we didn't finish in the top 12 last season? Shouldn't the teams who finished in the top 6 more "realistically" finish in the top 2 than us? That's not even considering the teams who came down. I am really concerned about the unrealistic expectations of a lot of our fan base. I expected as an absolute minimum play offs last season with all the money we spent and the number of new (and supposedly better) players coming in. With the addition of Terry (and hopefully a few others) and the benefit of a season of experience in the Championship I would now expect automatic promotion as a minimum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alreadyexists Posted July 11, 2017 VT Supporter Share Posted July 11, 2017 I think most would agree, and I certainly do; automatic promotion must be the aim. If we did slip and just get playoffs and go up then I think most would accept that too, but if we fail to get up this year, even via a playoff final loss, that really is unacceptable. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim Posted July 11, 2017 Share Posted July 11, 2017 On 10/07/2017 at 22:51, wazzap24 said: Assuming we sort the goal keeper issue out, we've got the best squad in the league by a mile. There's nothing unrealistic about expecting automatic promotion. The manager just needs to get us playing. Best squad on paper, yes. Best team? I'm not so sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dn1982 Posted July 12, 2017 Share Posted July 12, 2017 8 hours ago, jim said: Best squad on paper, yes. Best team? I'm not so sure. We had one of the best teams on paper last year. It'll be stronger this year. The relegated teams will have hangovers like us. Newcastle were the exception as they bought heavily in Jan before relegation and kept the squad together. All the relegated teams have hit trouble this year. Boro being the main threat but I can't see them scoring enough. Our team in terms of quality and preparedness is up there with the best if not the best as is the squad. It's now up to SB To get us playing. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
briny_ear Posted July 12, 2017 Share Posted July 12, 2017 On 11/07/2017 at 08:24, One For The Road said: Since then we have signed one 37 year old. And he lied about his age. He's actually 67, you know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alreadyexists Posted July 12, 2017 VT Supporter Share Posted July 12, 2017 Terry is the new Joseph Minala Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wazzap24 Posted July 12, 2017 Share Posted July 12, 2017 (edited) 21 hours ago, jim said: Best squad on paper, yes. Best team? I'm not so sure. That's where the manager comes in. It's totally down to him and the coaching staff now to get the players in form and playing well. If we didn't sign another player (bar Johnstone being confirmed), we have the squad, on paper as you say, to romp this league. It's on paper for everybody now, last season has gone. Some teams will do better next year, some not as well as they would like, others will have a stinker. Players will be the same. The negativity some fans feel is down to last seasons new beginning, becoming a false dawn. I think there were a number of reasons things didn't pan out, but nothing so fundamental it can't be sorted. Automatic promotion should be the demand and expectation from everyone inside and outside the club. We are the championship equivalent of Bayern or PSG and we need to go out show it. Bruce needs to instil confidence, a bit of a swagger into them, we are the biggest club in this division by a mile and the team should reflect that. Edited July 12, 2017 by wazzap24 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommo_b Posted July 12, 2017 Share Posted July 12, 2017 I don't feel confident of automatic promotion, but I imagine we will be in the play offs, but then I thought that last year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sexbelowsound Posted July 12, 2017 Share Posted July 12, 2017 Based on those two friendlies the fitness levels are way ahead of where they were last season. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theboyangel Posted July 12, 2017 Share Posted July 12, 2017 8 minutes ago, sexbelowsound said: Based on those two friendlies the fitness levels are way ahead of where they were last season. Also most played a good 75+ minutes before substitution. Pretty decent for the first preseason showing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoelVilla Posted July 12, 2017 Share Posted July 12, 2017 With those two starting elevens today we have a pretty good squad for the Championship. One more CM and a winger of high quality and we are favourites for promotion in my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JAMAICAN-VILLAN Posted July 12, 2017 Share Posted July 12, 2017 21 minutes ago, sexbelowsound said: Based on those two friendlies the fitness levels are way ahead of where they were last season. Does it mean we are gonna win the league? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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