(19-03-2019, 02:32 PM)Alf Garnett Wrote: (15-03-2019, 04:14 PM)Paplane Wrote: Now the disappointment of Wednesday has dissipated a little, I'm thinking if we finish 7th or 8th it will have been a really good season IMO. It would be really something to build on. We saw on Wednesday how much of a class difference there was between us and Villa.
Hopefully we don't/won't need wholesale changes to the squad, just two or three holes plugged. And if MON & Keane can avoid the chop we'll go into pre-season in a really positive way, all settled and ready to go from the off.
That is a good point Paplane.
There will be an initial disappointment at missing out on the play offs but 7th or 8th would be a great improvment on recent seasons and prove that we are at least heading in the right direction.
Before the season started, I felt that going from top of the bottom 8 (relegation fears...) to bottom of the top 8 (bypassing the middle 8) would have been great progress.
Vs Teams that have spent far more than Forest or been in the Premier relatively recently.
I felt that was progress.
But..?
Not my £25 million. I'm not the boss of Forest. I'm not holding my money to account.
Positives?
1. 3 points off the play offs.
2. Old Ground? Is going to the the New Ground. For-ev-er!
3. MoN/Keane are here! Dream ticket. (But for Pete's sake. Give them a pre-season and a Summer transfer window.) We've seen tactical flashes of the team Forest can be under MoN. But you can only shuffle your deck to a point. He's given every player a chance bar Liam and App'.
4. Unearthed some very good CHs. For 'no money.'
5. Unearthed Yates and Pele, that, with some coaching and a pre-season and different attacking players ahead of them...
Negatives?
1. Our Summer transfer business.
2. 1 injured top striker.
3. An old deputising striker.
4. The Portuguese business has been a relative disaster for the money spent.
5. Soudani. Injured.
6. Imbalanced squad. (See '1'.)
7. None of the above are MoN's fault.
8. Being 3 points off the play offs (that's NOT where 'Mr. Walkout' left us...) SHOULD have been firmly in the top 6 but...
9. Due to a petulant December...
Anyway. Same old arguments.
I'm sure Steve Bruce will be telling his Wed' squad it's possible. Maybe they started from a higher base than we did. Steve hasn't had to do what Aitor or MoN has had to do.
Same with Villa. The 'other' in form team.
Preston? Fair play to them. We should have beaten them. But they're pressing for a top 6. And they didn't spend £25 million? Perhaps they scout or something...or develop players...or are several years into a strategy...?
Who knows.
SA.