Team vs Villa | Page 4 | Vital Football

Team vs Villa

I'm also remaining optimistic for a change. I've always been among the first to get fed up with management and want change over the last few years since Lambert but I don't know why but I just feel it's different this time round. Despite results on the pitch I genuinely believe there has been progress.

Last year with a very experienced squad on massive wages and a settled manager and system we managed to finish 9th on 70 points having lost 16 games that season shipping 69 goals (1.5 goals a game leaked). This year since making changes both on and off the field that's never before been heard of we sit only 3 places off that last finish having currently lost 2 games less and an improvement on the GD and goals to game ratio (currently 45 goals in 41 = 1.09 p/g)

I think most clubs would struggle in the first year with a squad for the most part that's never even played in England before and have made a step up 2 divisions. Even our keeper that was British had never played a single competitive game. In exactly 12 months of Webber being here we have stripped 25 MILLION off the wage bill. (No wonder Delia was saying we never had any money). I keep saying that at the beginning of this season I think most realists expected a mid table finish. I am sure I predicted 12th or 14th (I'll have to find the old thread). There is no way you can go through the change we have and then be among the best in the league over night, anyone who thought that must be in fantasy land.

Fulham went a similar route to us and it's taken a few seasons (since 2015 I believe) and they're now seeing the rewards. Huddersfield finished 19th their first season. I agree with what YB said above in that looking at in terms of since 4-5 years ago to now it's just not been good enough. The owners were to blame for firstly employing staff that were not good enough, but more so that they failed to act as usual when action was required to prevent needless declines. That also includes in wasting so much money on useless players that's resulted in terrible business - spent all those millions on Wildschut and now letting him play for Cardiff.

The reason why I believe it is different from this year is because we now have someone with a football mind making the decisions and not our owners or one man trying to juggle everything. Despite recent comments I like Webber and find it refreshing that he is so straight talking and honest. We have been led to believe for a long time how great our academy and facilities was and he hadn't been here 1 year and actually said how bad they were. How many expensive flops did we have before in terms of signings? We have made generally low risk purchases under Webber and so many have been brilliant (better than most of the players we've bought in the years before). Zimmerman, Stiepermann (I thought was good until injury), Trybull and Hernandez have been brilliant. Srbeny starting to come good as is Vrancic and Leitner. I think only really Husband/Franke have been disappointing and guess what? They've not really played. The last regime kept playing the poor performers like Martin/Jerome over and over.

Next year I expect us to be in and around the play off places enough to be a serious contender to the end. Beyond that is where I feel we can then seriously contend promotion thoughts. One final thing to consider which will offer hope for next season is that if we look at the 13 draws we have had this year to date, at least half of them have been due to us not finding a winning goal. Of the 45 goals we've scored in 41 games, a whopping 34 of them have come from midfield/defence (Maddison 15, Murphy 10, Klose, Vrancic & Trybull 3 each). With a striker or 2 that can actually put a few away himself next year how much more of those draws will naturally turn into wins? Strikers will be top of the list this summer I guarantee it.

Keep the faith...all will come good (and rest assured that if it doesn't, this time I fully believe we will actually react with Webber and not sit and dither). OTBC
 
It is very interesting to read thoughts of supporters who have optimistic and realistic views regarding next season. To me it is not about being optimistic or pessimistic but looking at the cold hard facts and applying them to this season.

This season has been a disaster.
Forget a change of manager ( every club has them ) and a change in structure ( that means not having amateurs in charge as most clubs do not ) so that leaves in simple terms a manager, coaches and players.
They started the season the same as every other club and after 41 games have managed to
get 37 points behind leaders, 28 points off automatic promotion and 11 points from final play off spot.
The bottom 3 look doomed and we have played 5 games against these poor sides, failing to win a single one and scoring a pathetic 3 goals in process.

We are now likely to finish in bottom half of table below millwall, bristol city, sheffield united,
brentford and preston. That is not transition. That is abject failure.

You can be totally sure Maddision will be sold, Gunn / Reid / Leitner go back to parent clubs and Klose / Oliveira be sold to save money. Add Tettey who will not take a pay cut and that is 7 of current starting XI gone. You think this season was all change, what about next season !

The money received / saved will go into the big hole caused by loss of parachute payments and
fewer spectators so even if we offload Martin, Naismith, Jarvis, Wildshut etc there will be no big signings and more second rate players such as the hopeless Srbeny.

Meanwhile other clubs are not standing still or getting worse, hence our poor league position
and expect some of these clubs to be signing our decent players too.

The Smiffs selfish ways have removed our premier league status and now our chances of being competitive in the Championship.

Oliveira will go, Srbeny is poor at best and that is it. Do not expect more than the pathetic goal and game average next season as any new striker is unlikely to be good enough to score 20 a season.

I have bought a Season ticket for about 50 th year on the trot and will go to all home games and a handful of aways as usual, but all that I have seen this season does not make me naive enough to think we will improve.
Our big chance was to play a different type of football. DF has not change tactics once in 9 months so is unlikely to do so next season and with a weaker team and other clubs growing, there will not be a cat in hells chance of top 6.
 
Disaster NO
Disappointing Maybe
Interesting and Intriguing Most Definitely
Enjoyment not always but how could we not enjoy Maddison Gunn Lewis leitner and even Vrancic
There will no doubt be different names next season and some of our own
Keep The Faith