Expectations | Vital Football

Expectations

Good job he said these things after S/T renewals!
Think most accepted that we would struggle to match the achievements of last season. The salary cap was definitely a massive help. We may never again, unless something else happens to level the field between haves and have nots, and to stop those with flagrant disregard for financial sustainability!
The "model" could mean that we are in progression/transition almost permanently. There is every chance that our current main hope for goals won't be with us next season, maybe not in February. One or two others may not either. I'm not complaining about it, I accept it for what it is. I genuinely think that mid-table league 1 is probably where we belong. As such, I'd expect the odd flirtation with both ends of league 1, preferably more so at the upper end of it!
 
Few round me wanted rid of him after the game.
Some have asked for refunds as we're not going for promotion, dear me.
So we should've broken the bank and risk the future of the club like others have done?
 
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All you have to do is look back a few years. Remember the type of players we had, the style of play that we used, some of the grounds we went to week in and week out and an average attendance at Sincil Bank of around 2000.
I know, a team can’t go on forever being happy with a mid-table league one finish because “it used to be worse” but we’ve come a long way in a relatively short space of time. Can’t people be happy, for a while at least, that we have a good manager, some very good players, an entertaining style, an almost full ground with a great atmosphere and have some great away-days to look forward to?
It’s a fact that we can’t compete financially with some of our fellow league one teams. A lot of things are out of a managers hands.
I think it is ridiculous for people to be calling for a managerial change and slating the team so soon. Results haven’t gone our way but we’ve not been bad. It’s just the way it goes sometimes.
We’ll hit a patch of form at some point, get some dubious decisions in our favour and hopefully it will be when others around us are having their rough patch and not getting the decisions!
We’ll be fine this season. We don’t have to measure it against the freak season that we saw last time out.
 
Not sure what part of transitional some don't understand. It's been clear that the club has a good model and that through that model the plan is to make improvements incrementally and never at the risk of the club. Which is perfectly fine with me. I firmly believe we have one of the best boards and manager in the league. Careful what you wish for!!
 
It is beyond embarrassing to think even a very small minority of people believe we would be better off with any sort of change. MA is a superb coach and we are damn lucky to have him along with a very forward thinking board at SB. Perhaps these ‘fans’ should stick to watching and supporting the Man Uniteds of this world instead, as a club I doubt we would be missing much if they did.
 
For all the "wisdom of crowds" stuff the individual members of it are often barking mad.

A friend supports Scunthorpe and when they had that little spell in Division Two about 10 years ago, when Adkins was manager I think, he told me that there was a section of their support who thought the board lacked ambition for not going for promotion to the Premier League.

So these people exist everywhere and in surprisingly large numbers, divorced from reality yet still allowed out on their own, where they also tend to take football far too seriously.

Attendances will tail off, that was inevitable, but the progress has been amazing even if a few have goldfish memories. Only someone with no sense of perspective could think that keeping Lincoln City competitive in League 1, and maybe flirting with promotion now and again, isn't success.
 
Davidimp said:
Few round me wanted rid of him after the game.
Some have asked for refunds as we're not going for promotion, dear me.
So we should've broken the bank and risk the future of the club like others have done?
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As MA said a few weeks ago, a dozen have overspent massively, but only three can go up. I'm very glad we aren't one of the dozen he refers to, because what happens to the other nine when they find themselves still in League One next season?

For the answer, we can look to Brighton and Derby. Both gambled huge sums of money in an effort to reach the Premier League: one made it and has covered the £40m per season it lost in getting there; the other one failed to make it and is in dire straits. Watch this space.
 
I don’t think this applies to anyone on here, but if we’re honest with ourselves there’s decent chunk of our ‘support’ who didn’t know Lincoln existed pre-2017. There was always going to come a time when we don’t win every week, and attendances will take a hit. I guess we’ll see just how many of our new fans want to genuinely support a lower league team (and all it entails), or will just throw a tantrum and go back to watching some petro-dollar doped superclub.
 
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I’ve given up worrying about what other’s expectations are. I can’t control them, and they’re entitled to their opinion. It’s obvious that last season we overachieved and came a whisker away from Championship football. It was disappointing and frustrating, but what a ride it was. It’s plain that we are set up to have players come in, bow out, as a revolving door. That’s life for us. Our development will be slow and gradual. I’m more than happy with this and life as an established sustainable League One Club for the moment. We will have good runs and poor runs, but the aims and trajectory are good for me. Those at the Club are doing a fine job and have my full support.
 
WellingtonImp said:
I’ve given up worrying about what other’s expectations are. I can’t control them, and they’re entitled to their opinion. It’s obvious that last season we overachieved and came a whisker away from Championship football. It was disappointing and frustrating, but what a ride it was. It’s plain that we are set up to have players come in, bow out, as a revolving door. That’s life for us. Our development will be slow and gradual. I’m more than happy with this and life as an established sustainable League One Club for the moment. We will have good runs and poor runs, but the aims and trajectory are good for me. Those at the Club are doing a fine job and have my full support.
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Well said, including the correct point about last season being an overachievement.

There's been a developing revisionist narrative by some on this this forum that ultimately "we blew it". That's utter codswallop. When you consider budget, squad size and the unique circumstances of last season, that we made the play off final was a truly extraordinary achievement.

Nonetheless, last season was the best opportunity for promotion and falling just short a disappointment for all of us. But that ultimate disappointment shouldn't detract from appreciating what the club achieved.

The ripping up of the salary cap has allowed other, more financially irresponsible clubs to bet the house on going up. Of the dozen or so doing that only a maximum of three will succeed, the others might be in serious trouble in 12 months time.

Our board are in this for the long term, with a clear-eyed strategy and structure in place to continue to move the club forward in a sustainable way. As a result of the short termism of other clubs, including Saturday's visitors, that might indeed mean this season feels a backward step. That doesn't mean the club's strategy or MA's implementation of it on the pitch, is flawed, or shows a lack if ambition.

Some really need to get a grip.
 
Chesterimp said:
Well said, including the correct point about last season being an overachievement.

There's been a developing revisionist narrative by some on this this forum that ultimately "we blew it". That's utter codswallop. When you consider budget, squad size and the unique circumstances of last season, that we made the play off final was a truly extraordinary achievement.

Nonetheless, last season was the best opportunity for promotion and falling just short a disappointment for all of us. But that ultimate disappointment shouldn't detract from appreciating what the club achieved.

The ripping up of the salary cap has allowed other, more financially irresponsible clubs to bet the house on going up. Of the dozen or so doing that only a maximum of three will succeed, the others might be in serious trouble in 12 months time.

Our board are in this for the long term, with a clear-eyed strategy and structure in place to continue to move the club forward in a sustainable way. As a result of the short termism of other clubs, including Saturday's visitors, that might indeed mean this season feels a backward step. That doesn't mean the club's strategy or MA's implementation of it on the pitch, is flawed, or shows a lack if ambition.

Some really need to get a grip.
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Absolutely.
Except I don't think any Lincoln fan thinks otherwise? No one is attacking the manager or team or board. We all do realise the situation and how well things are going.
 
Chesterimp said:
Well said, including the correct point about last season being an overachievement.

There's been a developing revisionist narrative by some on this this forum that ultimately "we blew it". That's utter codswallop. When you consider budget, squad size and the unique circumstances of last season, that we made the play off final was a truly extraordinary achievement.

Nonetheless, last season was the best opportunity for promotion and falling just short a disappointment for all of us. But that ultimate disappointment shouldn't detract from appreciating what the club achieved.

The ripping up of the salary cap has allowed other, more financially irresponsible clubs to bet the house on going up. Of the dozen or so doing that only a maximum of three will succeed, the others might be in serious trouble in 12 months time.

Our board are in this for the long term, with a clear-eyed strategy and structure in place to continue to move the club forward in a sustainable way. As a result of the short termism of other clubs, including Saturday's visitors, that might indeed mean this season feels a backward step. That doesn't mean the club's strategy or MA's implementation of it on the pitch, is flawed, or shows a lack if ambition.

Some really need to get a grip.
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Codswallop it isn't I'm afraid. We blew it. We should have been promoted automatically last season and we would probably only have lasted a season in the Championship, but what a journey it would have been. The fault can only be laid at the feet of the manager who made strange team selections, substitutions (or lack of them) and substandard (panic) incursions into the Jan. transfer window. I am quite happy with Appleton as manager, I am not calling for him to be sacked, God forbid, but he is human and makes mistakes. I just wish some of you bloody lot could see and accept that.
 
Brendan Bradley said:
For all the "wisdom of crowds" stuff the individual members of it are often barking mad.

A friend supports Scunthorpe and when they had that little spell in Division Two about 10 years ago, when Adkins was manager I think, he told me that there was a section of their support who thought the board lacked ambition for not going for promotion to the Premier League.

So these people exist everywhere and in surprisingly large numbers, divorced from reality yet still allowed out on their own, where they also tend to take football far too seriously.

Attendances will tail off, that was inevitable, but the progress has been amazing even if a few have goldfish memories. Only someone with no sense of perspective could think that keeping Lincoln City competitive in League 1, and maybe flirting with promotion now and again, isn't success.
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There were people I spoke to who genuinely believed the cowleys would turn down Man Utd to stay with Lincoln.
So I guess this blind faith v perspective things works two ways?
 
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