Making the Play Offs only to lose


Of course I want us to make the Play Offs but theres a part of me hoping we dont. I tell you why.

I cannot see us winning over 2 legs and then a final with all the injuries and the no striker situation we have.

Therefore in the long term , is it best for the team to - just miss out ; get all the plaudits for incredible season ; not have any play off heartache/baggage ; take a well deserved holiday and come back ready for next season with no play off hangover......... OR is the experience and involvement for the players very useful. Your thoughts???
Got to be a mag on a wind up.
 
I love how some people seem to think you can pick and choose when you get promoted.

For most Sunderland supporters thought it is every bloody season. What's the rush? When we first started playing Championship football after 4 years in the third tier only, what 8-9 months ago, we could barely walk. Now we think we should be running. I bet some of us thought we were barely able to hang with long established clubs like QPR, Stoke City, Coventry City or Millwall back in August after barely being able to fend off challenges from the giants of football like Shrewsbury Town, Bristol Rovers, Fleetwood Town and Exeter City for four years previously. Just being able to compete on a level footing and look at these clubs in the Championship like Cardiff City and Preston North End in the eye was an overachievement. Now we think we are good enough to beat teams like Tottenham Hotspur and Brighton & Hove Albion. We have not even begun to lay the groundwork, the foundations, of a strong Championship club. We are still trying to break free from the ways set in as a result of four years in League One.

Just not going down was the very least we should have aimed for. We should be content with having done just that. Worry about challenging for promotion when we have a team and a club good enough to do just that.
 
Of course I want us to make the Play Offs but theres a part of me hoping we dont. I tell you why.

I cannot see us winning over 2 legs and then a final with all the injuries and the no striker situation we have.

Therefore in the long term , is it best for the team to - just miss out ; get all the plaudits for incredible season ; not have any play off heartache/baggage ; take a well deserved holiday and come back ready for next season with no play off hangover......... OR is the experience and involvement for the players very useful. Your thoughts???

I’d 💯 rather be in them and lose than not be in them. If nothing else it sets the benchmark that minimum next season is playoffs
 
Of course I want us to make the Play Offs but theres a part of me hoping we dont. I tell you why.

I cannot see us winning over 2 legs and then a final with all the injuries and the no striker situation we have.

Therefore in the long term , is it best for the team to - just miss out ; get all the plaudits for incredible season ; not have any play off heartache/baggage ; take a well deserved holiday and come back ready for next season with no play off hangover......... OR is the experience and involvement for the players very useful. Your thoughts???
Suggest you support another football club.If we get to the play offs,we will give it a go.If we get to Wembley ,we will give it a go. See what happens after that. That's the Sunderland way.
 
Any proof that the net hasn't been installed due to cost reasons? The extra stewarding/policing 100% costs more than a net. As ironic as it sounds, the net likely hasn't been installed due to H&S reasons. "A net would likely encourage away fans to throw stuff, not deter them. I think this will be the main reason as to not having one, especially as it is likely looked mainly from a H&S point of view. Having a net would enable 100s of pissed up away fans to think its acceptable to throw stuff onto the net as that's why it's there - to catch thrown objects. Smoke bombs/pyros/flares are illegal in stadiums in the UK, if a fan sets one off (which people will still do) then the obvious next step is to throw it on the net as to not be caught by stewards/police with an illegal object. Currently, the majority of objects don't get thrown down. I think a net would encourage objects to be thrown onto it. Objects will inevitably go through the net and thus onto the fans below. If the net isn't effective, then the club have basically created a scenario where they've encouraged more throwing of objects, with just as many, if not more landing on fans below."

We didn't loan out squad rotation players to save money on a few grand a week, we loaned out those players because they simply wouldn't play under the plans. It was impossible to predict a freak injury crisis - Matete would have been competing with 6-7 other players for his spot. Wright would have been competing with 5-6. It'd be daft to hold two good players back.

We may have no history of a club of extracting profit from player sales, but what has that got to do with the current ownership and you thinking they're doing things on the cheap?

You're creating scenarios from nothing man. Asif they wouldn't pay for a net if the only obstacle was £15,000 man.
Yes the bit where Steve Neil said “we’ve asked for a quote for the net for £15,000 but the club have refused to finance it” was the clue. At the latest RAWA meeting - can see GGs minutes for a reference for that if you would like to confirm yourself.

I’d suggest you have a very naive view of how incompetent those at the top of our club actually are.
 
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This season has already exceeded expectations, we'll more than likely not make the play offs but the season can be seen as a success.

1st back at this level after 4 years in the wilderness, 3/4 of the season with no centre forward.

has it? with the squad we have albeit without Ross and Corry has made it tougher but we have a very good if a little thin squad capable of automatic if they had stayed fit
 
and there it is....the supporter who thinks just because we are Sunderland that we are an "entitled" club. No respect for other clubs such as Luton , Preston , Millwalletc. You just think we are bigger and better than anyone else and are arrogant enough to produce a comment like that. Sport does not produce results on reputations as we at Sunderland have had to endure for past 5 years. Them young players this year have given their heart and soul to ressurect some pride for the fans and from where they have come from 12 months ago is a huge acheivement....but you slag them off mate . well done

And the last sentence at the end was very clever too. Very funny. Very mature.

The one thing I do agree with seemingly everyone else on is that Rome (ironic really) was not built in a day. It has taken me 46 years to see the bloody place! It’s a marathon and not a sprint. Slow and steady wins the race. A slow and steady build up will hopefully see us get better and stronger.
 
I'd takw losing in the playoffs over not being there

I didn't expect this season. I'm amazed we've done what we have, and on the final day I'll be very proud of this team.

But going into next season on the foundation of being in so close, is a better stepping stone than having our last few games fizzle out. It may be the difference between a player signing for us or not, and it won't do us any harm
 
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Why can't you see us winning it over 2 legs?

We drew with Luton home and away
We beat Boro at home 2-0 lost 1-0 away
We beat Blackburn at home and they were dead jammy with poor decisions at their place
We drew with Coventry at home and should have at least earned a point away, we were the better side overall imo. Again, a poor refereeing decision favoured them in the lead up to their first goal.
West Brom we should have had the game won at half time, we'll see how we fare against them this weekend.

Nothing to be afraid of regardless of our long and heavy injury list. We've got recent experience playing in playoffs and winning them.
This.

Sick of the defeatist attitude on here at times, you’d think we’re rooted at the bottom of the league.
 
No season spent in this league without promotion can be described as incredible in any way shape or form

I'll take competing in this league over hovering around the basement of the PL any day of the week. Yes it's great to play Man City, Arsenal etc... but getting beat off them soon wears off.

I want us in the PL, of course I do. But should we need 2 seasons down here, as long as we are at the right end... I'll take that.

Ffs we were playing Shrewsbury not that long ago
 
Heard the old adage "Take your chances when they come along 'cos they don't come round that often?"
Yeah but they do come round quite often for us.
Pretty much every season in League One we had a chance.
And pretty much every season we’ve been in the Championship (or second division as was) we’ve normally been in with a chance of promotion
 
For me it’s more even if we somehow did win the playoffs could anyone see us getting over 10 points next season?

Over to the boardroom and recruitment side to decide that. Same as at any promoted club.

That's the gamble you take, but being there brings in extra revenue, if spent wisely consolidates us as a PL side. Not being promoted doesn't give us that option and risks losing talent we have

Our track record at spending wisely is pretty poor mind....
 
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For most Sunderland supporters thought it is every bloody season. What's the rush? When we first started playing Championship football after 4 years in the third tier only, what 8-9 months ago, we could barely walk. Now we think we should be running. I bet some of us thought we were barely able to hang with long established clubs like QPR, Stoke City, Coventry City or Millwall back in August after barely being able to fend off challenges from the giants of football like Shrewsbury Town, Bristol Rovers, Fleetwood Town and Exeter City for four years previously. Just being able to compete on a level footing and look at these clubs in the Championship like Cardiff City and Preston North End in the eye was an overachievement. Now we think we are good enough to beat teams like Tottenham Hotspur and Brighton & Hove Albion. We have not even begun to lay the groundwork, the foundations, of a strong Championship club. We are still trying to break free from the ways set in as a result of four years in League One.

Just not going down was the very least we should have aimed for. We should be content with having done just that. Worry about challenging for promotion when we have a team and a club good enough to do just that.
Very good and sensible comment which I think is about right. However, a winning/killer instinct is required at all levels of this club and when opportunity arises through the clubs/players hard work it should be grabbed with both hands. If the most extraordinary thing happened and we were promoted the club must not loose its focus on the plan it has laid out for itself no matter how much the wailing fannies on here and elsewhere scream for a spend, spend policy. Stay the course KLD and you never know we may actually become club we want to be and can afford to be.
 

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