‘It’s been a poor league this year’ | Vital Football

‘It’s been a poor league this year’

nlondonimp

nlondonimp

Vital Champions League
I noticed this from the Carlisle fan. Has it? Is this an attempt to diminish our achievement. How do you judge the strength from year to year? Were Accrington better than us? Luton better than bury? Barnet better than Notts?
 
I tend to agree with this.

While not wanting to play down our achievement in (most likely) winning the league, we have only played really well in about 20% of our games - but will have walked the division. Defensively we have been excellent, but going forward much less so.

That to me augers well for next year, as we have lots of room to improve - and D&N's record is that we will.
 
forza_imps said:
People were saying this about our national league season as well.

People were also saying it about Accy winning it last year.

I never take much note of it.
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Yeah we saw the same when got 99 points and Tranmere 95, two years ago.
If we're a poor champion (fingers crossed ) doesn’t say a lot for the rest of them does it?
Outsmarted by two pe teachers, again!
 
NottyImp said:
I think Luton were a pretty good team - but Accrington, Wycombe? Decent enough teams, but hardly epoch-making.
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I agree about Luton. Had a good method, also good young players, that appear to be still improving. Even changing manager hasn’t held them back. Instilling the method on the club, rather than relying on one particular manager, or a couple of exceptional players... might be a valuable lesson.
 
I tend to think what DC says is probably nearer the mark - there's not much between a lot of the teams and the number of home draws probably supports this, which is why our away performances have proved so crucial his year.
 
I'm not a believer in this "it's a better/worse league this year" business. How does a league improve? The teams who come down can't be brilliant, or they wouldn't have come down. Likewise, adding a couple of non league teams isn't going to strengthen it significantly. You can't measure the strength of a league, it's a meaningless concept.
 
Well the standard of players is definitely much higher than when we went down.
Illustrated by our own squad with five full internationals in it for example.
This is most likely a consequence of the ever growing number of imports in the Premier League and Championship and lower.
Better home based players inevitably more likely to be populating squads lower down than in earlier decades.

That said, whilst we have done well and had an astonishing unbeaten run, we have rarely been more than a goal better than the opposition and have repeatedly struggled to earn a draw.
So a lower quality league? Maybe not.
But certainly a much more bunched up league in standard.
 
The league has small margins between each side. When Danny says it, he is not playing mind games. Hands up how many games you have seen when we have blown away the opposition away this year? How many times have we won due to fitness, mentality and resilence? I would argue that most victories have been built on these strengths!
 
Early in the season, we have looked like blowing some sides away. However, having got in front, often very comfortably, we have taken the foot off the pedal.
 
I think it has been if I'm honest. We've won the league but I don't think by playing at 100% week in week out which is what champions should have to do.

When we look back at all our results there'll be some that we'll be disappointed in (of course most very happy with and as a collection delighted with).

I would have expected many teams to have been much better and us to have been pushed further this season.

Of course it doesn't matter, weak league or strong league promotion is promotion and champions is a trophy. And we've done both.
 
The way the Imps have won the league this season has been a masterclass.

We may not have been 'the best footballing side' and therefore the perception may be it's not been a vintage season, but the consistency, the steady accumulation of points, the absorption of lessons from occasional blips and substandard performances to ensure they don't happen again.

Make no mistake, its textbook. That graph video a couple of weeks ago showing the Imps moving steadily on in the top position nearly all season while those behind swapped places more often than a swingers' party. The Cowleys made sure 'a bad run' comprised draws, everyone else lost unexpected games.

Not a bad year, but one won methodically and steadily. Unspectacular maybe but imagine the planning and application which went into it. Truly, a masterclass from the best young management team in the game
 
There are a handful of good sides and a fair chunk of very average ones. On a one off basis, there are maybe better teams than us on their day, but none that I'd be more confident of having a small wager on winning a game.
Not a poor league, but a pretty inconsistent one containing one relentlessly consistent squad of players.
 
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