The 24/25 Season of Optimism Thread

[Snowflake Royal]

Other than LW I don’t think we have any glaring weaknesses

Not too sure what we’d do if one of the CBs got injured - maybe Dorsett there. Mola’s getting close to the standard of a regular LB so I’d be ok with not signing another one, esp with Carson, Ryan and Dorsett knocking about

Goes without saying it all depends on tbe takeover but I’d be interested to see if we put the faith in the U21 - ie Senga, Akande, Tuma, Wareham, Abrefa, John Clarke, Paul, Stickland - filling those gaps as they do have the same profile as what we need

It’s probably decision time on a few of those. Itd be nice for them to come through but my head tells me we’d prob need to bring in 4-5 strong div1 players to the squad to push for the play offs and not sure we can afford to also run such a strong u21 side.

I'm unsurprisingly very keen not to fall immediately back into bulking out the squad to block youth progress.

That's not to say we should be looking to rely heavily on them. But planning for a fair amount of bench time, sub appearances and maybe a fee starts.

If you look at Olise and Richards for example, two definite success stories. Both transitioned gradually into first team starlet over two or three seasons of exposure.

Not everyone is going to do a Rino and hit the ground running like a legend.

So important not to block them (and loans can help) so we end up losing them largely untried to go on and exceed us, like Dickie, Hyam, et al.

[Snowflake Royal]

We're all allowing ourselves to think several steps ahead with the takeover, myself included. We're still in a very dangerous situation.

If it goes through it's definitely good news, but I hope the new guys are sensible. We have a team and set of footballing operations that are already doing fine, so hopefully they wouldn't mess around with their own manager, coaching staff, DoF etc.,

We've hit the key milestone to safety. We might as well switch to the optimistic view now and not borrow trouble worrying about the deal falling through.

Because if it does there is no back up plan or further saviour anyway, it's just the funeral.

[windermereROYAL]

A poor Rotherham side are coming down but whoever joins them are sure to be up there with 5 points separate 8 teams above them.

The annoying thing about Rotherham is, even if they do shit in the Championship, they usually still do well in League One the following season.

They are the perennial Yo-Yo club however, this season they didn't even make a fist of a fight and are so far adrift at the bottom i feel they probably won't be anything to worry about.
However, Sheff.Weds, Birmingham, Huddersfield, Plymouth, Stoke, Blackburn and Millwall are are totally different kettle of fish and would probably easy command a run at the auto's.

You missed out the fake hoops. they are still very much in the mix.

[From Despair To Where?]

I think enough of the youngsters have proven this season that they can cope with this division so I really think any transfer activity should focus on any weaknesses in the starting XI. Assuming whoever we want to keep of the OOC players re,-signs, I don't think we need more than 4 new signings.

Left wing and left back and someone to replace Azeez if he moves on.

I get the arguement about CM but, by the same token, Wing and Knibbs should be the first 2 names on the team sheet and you would expect Craig and Savage to improve. Along with players like Camara, you then get into the territory of someone blocking a path to the 1st team.

At the same time, if someone comes available who would be an absolute no brainer to snap up, then obviously go for it if we can afford it. For example, if Oliver Norwood was prepared to step down to League 1 and was happy on £4k a week.

I wouldn't mind seeing Ballard back on loan. He looked a decent player but tbf, I'd be happy if our sole transfer activity was to get rid of Dean.

[tidus_mi2]

A poor Rotherham side are coming down but whoever joins them are sure to be up there with 5 points separate 8 teams above them.

The annoying thing about Rotherham is, even if they do shit in the Championship, they usually still do well in League One the following season.

They are the perennial Yo-Yo club however, this season they didn't even make a fist of a fight and are so far adrift at the bottom i feel they probably won't be anything to worry about.
However, Sheff.Weds, Birmingham, Huddersfield, Plymouth, Stoke, Blackburn and Millwall are are totally different kettle of fish and would probably easy command a run at the auto's.

I thought maybe that would be a factor, but they set the record low in a 3 point season for the Championship in the past and were promoted again the next season

[South Coast Royal]

Hopefully we can make some more freebie signings and a few Prem. loans again.
This season I think the club did well in those areas but we need at least another 5-6 to entertain a team capable of a promotion push.

Of the current lot I would like to see Bindon, Yiadom, Knibbs and Wing as the nucleus and build around them.
Two desperate areas needing improvement in quality are left back and centre-back (Mbengue is far too erratic for me).

It seems as though Selles is not as great a fan of Craig as many on here as well as big Kelvin but let's hope that his faith in Elliott is justified and we have seen good evidence of his potential recently when not played wide left.

[WestYorksRoyal]

I think Elliott could be a massive player for us next season. Technically he looks like our most talented player, he can find space, play between the lines, take the ball on the turn. Give him a summer where he can bulk up a bit in pre season and find the right role for him in the middle and it could be like Convey's 2nd season (except position). He would bring a bit more cutting edge and ingenuity.

We're really well stocked in midfield. Wing, Craig, Savage, Elliott and Knibbs are all good players at this level, but 5 won't go into 3. I can't remember the last time we had that sort of depth in any position, where any injury would simply be an opportunity for another player to make their mark.

[paultheroyal]

Benchmark for me are the Portsmouth and Bolton away games. What did they have over us, to turn us over so emphatically. Style of play? Fast wide players? Quality of player in certain positions? Match off against that with what we have now and we would be just fine, if we can find that type of player.

[Mr Angry]

The takeover is the single most important thing that can make me optimistic for next season or not; frankly, as a fan I want to be proud of my club, and the owner behaving the way he as done has eclipsed any genuine enjoyment I have had for this season.

Get rid of Dai and then I am 100% buckled up into the Optimism train for the ride of the times that the 2024/25 season is going to be!

[Snowflake Royal]

Benchmark for me are the Portsmouth and Bolton away games. What did they have over us, to turn us over so emphatically. Style of play? Fast wide players? Quality of player in certain positions? Match off against that with what we have now and we would be just fine, if we can find that type of player.

Bolton's tempo was incredible. And that was all down to three things imo:
Athleticism - they were simply bigger, quicker, fitter.
First touch - far fewer miscontrols or half controls
Passing accuracy - passes were really precise to exactly where the receiving player wanted it.

By contrast we were second to everything, puffing, most our first touches were loose, and our passes bobbled up or were too hard or soft, or too far ahead or behind, or too high or into throat / midriff.

[Mid Sussex Royal]

Benchmark for me are the Portsmouth and Bolton away games. What did they have over us, to turn us over so emphatically. Style of play? Fast wide players? Quality of player in certain positions? Match off against that with what we have now and we would be just fine, if we can find that type of player.

We lost to Portsmouth away because of Button and rub of the green rather than being beaten by a better side like we were at Bolton..

[Snowflake Royal]

It really has been a great reset, hasn't it.

[Clyde1998]

Benchmark for me are the Portsmouth and Bolton away games. What did they have over us, to turn us over so emphatically. Style of play? Fast wide players? Quality of player in certain positions? Match off against that with what we have now and we would be just fine, if we can find that type of player.

I think both were simply clinical. They took their chances when they came, whereas we didn't. We could (and maybe should) have been 3-0 up at Portsmouth before they got their first goal.

We also made a number of defensive errors in those games, with Portsmouth and Bolton both having players who could punish those errors.

I think it's relatively minor things that led to the scorelines we got against those two. I think all we'll need to get up to that level is a couple of improvements in certain areas and a bit more experience/improvement time for our younger players.

[WestYorksRoyal]

Benchmark for me are the Portsmouth and Bolton away games. What did they have over us, to turn us over so emphatically. Style of play? Fast wide players? Quality of player in certain positions? Match off against that with what we have now and we would be just fine, if we can find that type of player.

I accept think we need to improve against lesser teams too. A draw against Lincoln was a good result this season, but we were much the better team and a side chasing promotion simply has to win that game. Since our form improved, we took 1 point from 3 games with Fleetwood, Wycombe and Shrewsbury - irritating now but very costly if you're competing at the top.

It's an unpredictable league and I'm sure even Portsmouth have had a couple of really bad results, but you need to consistently win the games you should which is hard work.

I also think it'll be a challenging league. The top 3 this season are very strong, but Derby or Bolton may stay down. I expect Wigan to be strong without points deductions under Maloney, I think Barnsley and Peterborough will be good at this level as they always are. Then coming down, there will be 2 teams who have competed well in the Championship plus Rotherham who always do well at this level.

[Hendo]

It really has been a great reset, hasn't it.

Oh aye, great - super relaxing without any major dramas!

[Snowflake Royal]

It really has been a great reset, hasn't it.

Oh aye, great - super relaxing without any major dramas!

I don't recall anyone saying resets were relaxing or drama free.

[under the tin]

For me, the most positive thing to come out of this season is the re-connection between the fans and the people on the pitch.
We all know that you can't expect to see your team every single match, we do however expect to see effort and commitment from the players, and we're getting that now after what seems like years of watching far too many sulky players on unsustainable wages looking for all the world, as if deep down, they couldn't care less.
The reaction from the fans to this has been profound. The away support has grown immensely, not only in numbers, but also in decibels.
The numbers attending the Madstad are also growing, and a successful season promises an eventual Madstad sell out, setting the record for the highest Tier 3 attendance there.
Bring it on.

[paultheroyal]

For me, the most positive thing to come out of this season is the re-connection between the fans and the people on the pitch.
We all know that you can't expect to see your team every single match, we do however expect to see effort and commitment from the players, and we're getting that now after what seems like years of watching far too many sulky players on unsustainable wages looking for all the world, as if deep down, they couldn't care less.
The reaction from the fans to this has been profound. The away support has grown immensely, not only in numbers, but also in decibels.
The numbers attending the Madstad are also growing, and a successful season promises an eventual Madstad sell out, setting the record for the highest Tier 3 attendance there.
Bring it on.

Good post and agree with all of that. I really hope the fans can do one last push and we look to get 18,000 in for that game. Not sure what the numbers are looking like right now?

[WestYorksRoyal]

If next season starts well, I can see the average attendance reaching the 17k mark. Good for the team and also good financially. 3k extra tickets must be about £50k more revenue a game, so c. £1m a season which is significant in L1.

Fixture list will have an impact; midweek attendances are always lower, so hopefully we can have plenty of Saturday home games and away games rearranged for international breaks.

[Snowflake Royal]

For me, the most positive thing to come out of this season is the re-connection between the fans and the people on the pitch.
We all know that you can't expect to see your team every single match, we do however expect to see effort and commitment from the players, and we're getting that now after what seems like years of watching far too many sulky players on unsustainable wages looking for all the world, as if deep down, they couldn't care less.
The reaction from the fans to this has been profound. The away support has grown immensely, not only in numbers, but also in decibels.
The numbers attending the Madstad are also growing, and a successful season promises an eventual Madstad sell out, setting the record for the highest Tier 3 attendance there.
Bring it on.

Good post and agree with all of that. I really hope the fans can do one last push and we look to get 18,000 in for that game. Not sure what the numbers are looking like right now?

When I bought a week or so ago C1871 was completely unavailable. Plenty of space in East still though.