Next season what would be your bottom line? | Vital Football

Next season what would be your bottom line?

What is the lowest expectation for next season?

  • Champions nothing else will do

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Automatic Promotion

    Votes: 6 14.6%

  • Promotion through the play off's

    Votes: 11 26.8%

  • Qualification for the play off's

    Votes: 17 41.5%

  • Top 8 finish

    Votes: 1 2.4%

  • Top half finish

    Votes: 2 4.9%

  • Staying in league two.

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • No real expectations as yet.

    Votes: 4 9.8%
  • Total voters
    41
chris who

chris who

Vital Champions League
Different fans appear to have very different ways of thinking at the moment. I find myself trying to work out who is good enough to win us promotion as that is what my expectations are .Hard to know of course where we will stand budget wise in the next 12 months.So we won't know what we have to contend with promotion wise.
Will we have the budget to blow league two away Wrexham apart ?
Can we attract league one players?
Are we looking at a longer term building programme as some.have indicated?
 
My expectation is that we at worst finish 7th and make the play-offs. Despite the regular criticism and debate over how we’ve done post-Christmas, the form guide over the last 20 games has us in the play-off positions, so once NH has a pre-season with the January signings, plus some more quality added on top in the window, we’ll improve again so should have more than enough to be in the mix.

That said as long as we don’t fall foul of lengthy injuries to key players or anything like that, I’m confident we’ll do better than 7th.
 
League 2 will be harder next season, not by what is coming down, but what is coming up.

Obviously we don't know who we are going so sign. But a play off spot should be goal
 
Lozzy-Hove_Gill said:
League 2 will be harder next season, not by what is coming down, but what is coming up.

Obviously we don't know who we are going so sign. But a play off spot should be goal
Click to expand...

Disagree. Wrexham or Notts County are guaranteed to come up and they both may do (but not guaranteed). Both have done superbly this season, but my sense is that Wrexham is more due to bankrolling which will continue next season, whereas Notts County is more down to good management on and off of the pitch, enthusiasm in the stands and big crowds and just having generally a bloody good season - I'm not sure they'll be as big a threat as Wrexham next season (and that's if County do come up - it could easily be Woking or someone else through the playoffs). There are no really good teams at the top of our division - most are organised and well drilled - but Orient, Stevenage, Northampton etc. would likely be up there again next season and three of them will be gone and those coming down look a lot weaker.

For me, given that the division this season has been poor, Wrexham will be a threat, Notts County, if they come up to may be too to a lesser extent, but we'll be losing 3 or 4 decent teams to promotion to the likes of Morecambe, Forest Green, Cambridge and Accrington, who look weak, the division will be weaker next season. Given that since Christmas, a rock bottom team (by some distance) changed almost overnight to a team with as good form as any in the division - automatic promotion form of near two points a game- with a handful of additions/changes, given the likely weakness of the division next season and that we've been promised considerable further quality additions in the summer, for me we should be aiming for promotion, if not the title, with anything but a playoff spot unacceptable. Also, we shouldn't underestimate the feel good factor at the club now, which reminds me of the buzz when Scally and Pulis took over off and on the pitch - season ticket sale are up and attendances now are generally 6000 and above and I could see that increasing to 7-8000 plus if we give it a we add quality and really give it a go on the pitch next season (both in terms of a promotion challenge and better football with more goals!), which would be up there in the top 5 in the division, I would imagine. We're also taking a good number on the road, despite our poor away form, such is the feel good factor.

Nothing but a promotion challenge will be acceptable next season for me.
 
A lot will depend on who ends up going up from this league this season for me. I hope it's Northampton, Bradford and Salford personally, as I'd consider them probably our 3 biggest threats next season (plus Wrexham and Mansfield). I also really don't want Oxford to get relegated as they'll join that group, and I don't think the bottom 4 in League One would as it stands, they all look weak.

I think we'll be looking at a play-off finish, but if some of the more awkward teams are taken out of the occasion by being in a different league then that should help us in a top 3 pursuit.
 
I am just looking for more dynamism and a team where everyone has confidence in each other, with more understanding. I think results will then follow.

Even going back to Evans and before, our main attacking threat seemed to be Ryan Jackson's long throws and the midfield relied upon lay offs from the target man or second balls. We never seem to be able to create chances through a forward passing movement.

Of course, I am not advocating sideways or backwards passing or passing for passing sake, Russell Martin MK Dons style, as that is dull as ditchwater.

Winning more than losing and at least being in the play off mix by October would be adequate for me, and take it from there.
 
JoeScout said:
A lot will depend on who ends up going up from this league this season for me. I hope it's Northampton, Bradford and Salford personally, as I'd consider them probably our 3 biggest threats next season (plus Wrexham and Mansfield). I also really don't want Oxford to get relegated as they'll join that group, and I don't think the bottom 4 in League One would as it stands, they all look weak.
.
Click to expand...

Have to agree.

At times this year, I have been underwhelmed by most teams in this division. I can't personally fathom how, say, Carlisle, are where they are. Or Barrow in the top 9. I think it's quite a slim line of quality at the top.

A lot can change in an offseason, but I'd like to see LO, Stockport, Bradford (auto) and Salford (playoffs) go up. Mansfield and Northampton still look solid and Wrexham will be a handful. Failing that, I don't think we'd be in anyone's shadow.

My bottom line - and I hope Brad/Neil/Hess/Kenny all feel the same - is that anything below the top 7 is a bad outcome. I have faith, after the January transfer window - that the summer phase is going to be equally exciting!
 
  • Like
Reactions: PuB
For me it’s promotion, hopefully we’ll get the 5/6 quality players Hess has spoken about and get rid of the dead wood from the squad.
Hope the bottom four in league one stays the same as I don’t see them as threats.
 
LockdownLife said:
I don't feel comfortable voting in this poll.



😉
Click to expand...
I was a bit undecided as to if I should make it a poll. But in the end I was very curious as to what percentage expect promotion.It appears to be almost 50% expect promotion which is a very high figure perhaps a bit higher than I expected.
My own feeling was that in theory at least we should have a really good chance. However if does depend on a lot of different factors not least our unknown funds .Targets as we have seen before can go badly wrong. Other sides might well have better funding than we expect.
I can see benefits from sticking with existing players and management. But also everyone who failed miserably in the first half of the campaign will be fortunate to get another season in many respects weather in or out of contract.
 
chris who said:
I was a bit undecided as to if I should make it a poll. But in the end I was very curious as to what percentage expect promotion.It appears to be almost 50% expect promotion which is a very high figure perhaps a bit higher than I expected.
My own feeling was that in theory at least we should have a really good chance. However if does depend on a lot of different factors not least our unknown funds .Targets as we have seen before can go badly wrong. Other sides might well have better funding than we expect.
I can see benefits from sticking with existing players and management. But also everyone who failed miserably in the first half of the campaign will be fortunate to get another season in many respects whether in or out of contract.
Click to expand...

I think what it shows is that everyone is expecting us to challenge the top eight, optimists have said promotion, realists have said playoff spots. There’s a wafer thin line between those two of course, but I think that’s where we should (as in any other season in this division) be aiming.

I’d be extremely surprised if that doesn’t match the ambitions of our owners too.
 
Anything less than promotion would be a failed season and I think thats how the Galisons would see it. And if NH is still with us, he wont be much longer.
 
Play offs minimum. So a top 7 finish.

Brad is aiming higher than that according to his interviews. But no matter how much money, good players, good manager and backing you give a side, it’s all still open to luck and circumstances to finish at the very top, or be successful via play offs.

Injuries, form (good or bad), when you play other sides and luck of the bounce/ref decisions can all affect the marginal outcomes.

Unless you have a squad and staff that are way too good for the level. Can’t see us being THAT good.
 
OneSirKeefy said:
Play offs minimum. So a top 7 finish.
Brad is aiming higher than that according to his interviews. But no matter how much money, good players, good manager and backing you give a side, it’s all still open to luck and circumstances to finish at the very top, or be successful via play offs.
Injuries, form (good or bad), when you play other sides and luck of the bounce/ref decisions can all affect the marginal outcomes.
Unless you have a squad and staff that are way too good for the level. Can’t see us being THAT good.
Click to expand...
Absolutely, and although BG will have big plans, his approach so far has all pointed to a strategy of gradual growth as much as, or even more than, instant success.

Bringing in KJ and AH to set up an organised recruitment and scouting system. Bringing in Millen to start to build a renewed youth system.

There would be no need for any of that if we were just going to "show the money" to a mass of already proven players and give them all 3 or 4 year contracts.

The approach in January was due to the dire position we were in, and it has worked but I do not think it will be typical of how we will operate now we have some breathing space.
 
I'd take a season flirting with the playoffs a la the 2 Hess seasons. They were pretty fun even if frustrating at the end.

It's all a case if it will be a transition season, or if we can make that transition quickly. Our 2023 form gives me a lot of hope it could be quick.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.